The article appeared on USA Today‘s website just before Valentine’s Day 2012.  The story focuses on a bride who paid $10,000 to reserve her dream wedding venue… only to see the place go bankrupt and shut down a few months later.  Her deposit was gone.  What now?  Would the couple keep their date by settling for a low-budget wedding, or would they postpone everything while they saved up the money again?

Thankfully, the bride’s father had purchased wedding insurance.  The insurance company reimbursed the lost deposit, allowing the bride to quickly book with a different venue of comparable quality.

But, the article also includes advice from one expert who says you might not “need” insurance, as long as you book with venues which have a solid reputation.  Like I mentioned, my wife and I didn’t even know wedding insurance existed, and our wedding day went off without a hitch.

In the end, it’s up to you — if any of your vendors disappeared midway through your wedding planning, would it completely destroy your day, or would you be able to overcome the setback?  The insurance policy could wind up being money spent on nothing, but you never know when it could wind up saving the day.

Even If You Don’t Get Insurance… Is Your DJ Insured?

I’m proud to report that I do carry a liability insurance policy for my DJ business.  The policy protects not only me, but it also protects my customers.  You should never hire an uninsured DJ.  Although you might save a few bucks up front, the decision could cost you much more if an unexpected mishap at your event causes damages to people or property.

If something goes wrong, who is to blame?  Let’s say there was an accident involving damage and/or injury, and the DJ is at fault.  If your DJ is not insured and can’t afford to cover the damages out-of-pocket, the plaintiff could come after you next, since you were hosting the event and you selected the DJ.  In the blink of an eye, saving $50 or $100 up-front might wind up costing you thousands later.   But if your DJ is insured (like I am), insurance would cover most if not all of the damage.

In fact, there are more and more venues which require your DJ to carry liability insurance.  Even if your venue doesn’t have such a rule when you book, they can always change their rules in the months between your booking and your big day.  Do you want to put down a bunch of non-refundable deposits, only to lose your deposit with an uninsured DJ because your venue forces you to re-book with an insured DJ?  Best to book with an insured DJ from the beginning and avoid any hassles later.

I blurred out the email… but you can still see the important part: this company is willing to hire people, “no experience needed,” to DJ weddings and parties.

Would you want to book a “known” DJ for your reception, only to learn at the last minute you’re actually getting someone with no experience?  As my wife put it when she found this ad and pointed it out to me, “here’s a DJ you wouldn’t want to hire!”

Even at the major DJ firms who offer a stable of experienced talent, how would you feel if you went through planning the details of your reception with one DJ, only to have your event reassigned at the last minute to a different DJ?  Can you be certain the “new” DJ will execute your plans exactly as you discussed with the original DJ?

When You Hire Me, You Get Me

You never have to worry about any of this when you book with Peter Naughton.  When you hire me as your DJ, you get me as your DJ.

• When you request a price quote, I’m the DJ who replies within 48 hours.
• When you book me, I’m the DJ who meets with you to plan your reception.
• If you have questions, changes or requests between the planning meetings, I’m the DJ who answers your phone calls and emails.
• Prior to your wedding day, I’m the DJ who makes sure I have all the music you want — and if I’m missing anything, I track it down.
• And on your wedding day, I’m the DJ setting-up the equipment, making the announcements and playing all your music.

On a day as important as your wedding day, you want to know the DJ you hire is the DJ who actually plays your reception.  When you hire me, you get me.

But, you can still save 10% OFF my regular rates anytime by simply “liking” my DJ Peter Naughton page on Facebook.

Before you continue, I need to note I only had a phone camera with me for this one, so please excuse the blurriness you’ll see in some of the photos.  (This is why I’m a DJ, not a photographer!)

Zach and Alyssa enjoy their first dance, “Then” by Brad Paisley.

The bride and her father dance to “My Little Girl” by Jack Johnson.

The groom and his mother enjoy a dance.  I was asked to play the opening line to Steam’s “Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye,” but then we faded into “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The bride’s mother prepared a wonderful slide show with photos from Alyssa’s and Zach’s childhoods, working gradually up to photos of the two of them as a couple.  Originally, my only involvement was to pipe the slide show music through my system and speakers… but when the DVD player and projector wouldn’t cooperate with each other, I stepped in to play the slide show DVD out of my laptop.

Open Dancing Photos

The rest of the photos were taken during various points throughout the rest of the evening.

Congratulations again to Alyssa and Zach, and thanks for choosing me to be your DJ! 

Click any image to see a larger version.

Starting off at left, a shot of the equipment setup.  At right, a shot from the First Dance, “Falling In” by Lifehouse.  Kristen and Greg had the dance floor to themselves to start, then had me cue the rest of the bridal party to join in about halfway through.  By combining the two dances into one, there’s more time for guests to enjoy open dancing later.

At left, two of the flower girls were so excited to dance, they couldn’t wait for everyone else to finish dinner.  At right, guests enjoy a slow dance.

At left, Kristen and her father enjoy their own dance right after dinner.  She selected “There You’ll Be” by Faith Hill.  At right, dancing under the lights as Kristen chats with some guests.

And we’ll wrap up this post with a few shots of a packed dance floor.  It was a great time, and the venue offered a wonderful view over the golf course, Sodus Bay and Lake Ontario.  The staff was also very helpful and the food was amazing.  Thanks to my friend Bryan for pointing Kristen and Greg my way.

For this event, I was requested to provide sound for both the ceremony and the reception, as both took place right at the same location.

The ceremony itself took place at The Overlook, which provided a fantastic backdrop for the wedding.  That was followed by the reception at one of the park’s reserved picnic shelters.  The only snag: while the shelters are wired for electricity, The Overlook is not.  While a portable generator or a running vehicle could have provided power for a full sound system, the couple understandably didn’t want a running motor throughout the ceremony.  Instead, I pre-recorded the welcome announcement and put the processional and recessional songs on a custom CD, which I played from a battery-powered boombox.  Although this meant we didn’t have microphones for the ceremony, the trade-off is that I was able to have my full sound system already assembled at the reception site in advance, so there wouldn’t be any “downtime” for moving the equipment.

Click any of the remaining photos on this page to see a larger version.

At left, is my setup underneath the picnic shelter before the guests arrived, and at right, the newlyweds are joined by friends and family on the dance floor.  While my typical wedding attire includes a formal button-down shirt and tie, the couple had informed me that this would be a more casual setting, and I was welcome to “dress down” a bit.

The bride and some of her closest friends and relatives formed an impromptu kick line for “New York, New York.”

For years, these guys have made a tradition of singing Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” during every family gathering they hold, and this was no exception.  Two microphones were set up — one for the ladies and one for the guys.

Even though it was a pretty steamy day (we reached a high temperature of 90º and a high humidity of 87%), the crowd couldn’t resist the dance floor!  At first, I wasn’t quite sure the dance lights would be useful due to the fact we would be outdoors, but I brought them anyway — and as it turned out, the picnic shelter and the nearby trees created enough shade that the lights really popped on the dance floor.

The first meeting typically takes place as early as possible.  That’s because it’s where most couples sign their contract and put down their 25% deposit to “lock in” their date.  (Once your date is locked in, any other requests for the same date will be declined.)

Since the first meeting is usually held anywhere from 6-12 months before your wedding, it’s really more of an “introductory” meeting than a decision-making meeting.  We’ll run through a basic overview of the topics listed below, but most couples don’t have all their details finalized this early.

That’s why we have a second meeting — much closer to your wedding date.  This is where we should be able to finalize everything, or at least a great majority of the details.  Anything still not wrapped-up by this point can be handled through email or phone calls.

Planning Meeting Topics

• The Basics. We’ll confirm the date, location, starting and ending times.
• Wedding Party Entrance. Typically, the DJ is also the emcee for your wedding reception, and that includes announcing the members of your wedding party as they make their entrances, leading up to the grand entrance of you and your new spouse.  We’ll discuss lineup order, background music and other details.
• First Dance: Most couples have their first dance as husband and wife immediately upon entering the reception hall.  If you don’t already have a special song in mind, I’ll provide a list with plenty of great suggestions.
• Parents’ Dances: Many times, the bride will share a dance with her father and the groom will dance with his mother, but some couples choose to skip this, or to do something different.  We’ll discuss your wishes, and I’ll be happy to help you choose songs.
• Toasts and Blessings: If you’re going to have anyone offering toasts or blessings, I’ll need to know who is speaking and when you’d like them to speak.
• Dinner and Cake: Any special music requests or announcements during dinner?  Special song for cake cutting?
• Other Events: If you’re doing a bouquet toss, garter toss, dollar dance, etc., we’ll discuss when you want these things to happen, and which songs you want me to play.  If you’re stuck for ideas … yes, you guessed it, I have more lists of event-appropriate songs to help you decide.
• Dance time! We’ll discuss some ideas that could help save some time with the “formalities” in order to maximize the open dancing/partying time at your reception.  I’ll also ask for your favorite songs/artists to make sure I play some during the reception — and just as importantly, I’ll ask if there are any songs or artists you don’t want to hear.

These meetings are meant to help making the process easier for you, but even between the meetings, we can still discuss song selections and other details via email or telephone at your convenience.  Even after decisions are made, you can still change things around, no problem!

Your next steps:

• Email me with any further questions you have
• Book your date before someone else does

First up, a couple of shots from the outdoor cocktail hour on the veranda.  Since the idea was to simply provide background music, I used just one speaker.  I also used my own table and plain black tablecloth.  (Click any photo on this page to see a larger version.)

Now indoors, we’re set-up on a table which was provided, clothed and skirted by the venue.  Since the second speaker and my lights were already set-up in here earlier, it was a relatively quick transition from the outdoor cocktail hour to the indoor reception.

The dancing begins!  You can see many more photos from Dawn and Joseph’s wedding on the Peter Naughton Productions Facebook page.

If you’re planning a wedding, this is a great example of how flexible I can be, in terms of using my own table or using one provided by your reception venue.  The move from inside to outside also went very smoothly.  Even though we had planned for about 15 minutes of “down time” while moving the equipment indoors, we had time to spare before the wedding party was ready for their big entrance.

There are a few different reasons that my rates are low, compared to other DJs with similar professional experiences.  Allow me to explain.

• No wedding expos. Ever visit these?  Every single vendor on the floor pays anywhere from $400 to $1000 just to be there.  Those full-color brochures, CDs and other handouts cost money too.  Who pays for all those extras?  Their customers.  I don’t do the expos, so I don’t need to “make back” that money.  Those savings are passed along to you.
• Minimal advertising. By strategically advertising in places which are free or very inexpensive, and by maintaining my own website (rather than paying someone else to design and maintain it), there’s even more savings I can pass along to you.
• I’m getting married. I know how quickly costs can add up because my fiancee and I are currently going through the same planning and budgeting that any engaged couple faces these days.  So even though I could charge more based on my experience (and my fiancee often says I should), I keep my prices low because I know couples are always looking for ways to trim costs without sacrificing quality.

Getting married myself, I definitely understand how couples can quickly question any vendor whose rates seem to be lower than usual.  Hopefully with this explanation, you can feel confident in hiring me to DJ your reception.