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For the outdoor ceremony, I had an hour of instrumental music to play as guests arrived and took their seats.  Then, Crystal and Dan wanted certain parts of certain songs for their entrances, so I edited those songs down to the desired parts and played them all from CDs.  Right after the ceremony was over, my wife Elizabeth and I packed up the gear we needed outside and moved it inside with the rest of the gear, which was already set-up for the reception.  (Similar to another indoor/outdoor event last year in Cooperstown.)

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This was a great night, and want to thank Dan and Crystal for choosing me as their DJ.  I also want to thank the management at Borio’s for allowing me to stop by about a week ahead of time for a quick “site survey” so I could stake out the locations and plan my set-ups before arriving.

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Click on any image to see a larger version.

 
Left: Set-up is complete about 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin!  My “full” setup usually includes dance lights, but outdoors on a sunny day, the lights wouldn’t have been visible, so they were not used.
Right:  Although it’s a chilly day, direct sunlight can still damage the equipment, so that’s why the tent was set-up.

 
Left: Time for the Limbo!
Right: Parachute games!

 
Left: Hokey pokey time!
Right: Jumping rope!

 
Left: Kevin, in the red sweatshirt and blue shorts, shows off his dance moves… and it was his birthday!
Right:  After a morning of dancing, games, face-painting and other fun, it’s time for lunch… free hot dogs, chips and milk for everyone thanks to generous donations to the Children’s Consortium!

Your choice of DJ can make or break your event… contact Peter now for date availability!

Please note, both events are taking place outdoors, during the daytime, so I will not be setting up my dance lighting.  The lights wouldn’t really be that visible in the daylight.  However, you will be able to check out the sound equipment I use for all of my events.

Saturday, April 28: Family Fun Fair

• 10:00am to 1:00pm.
• Children’s Consortium, 2122 Erie Blvd East, Syracuse.
• More details here.

Sunday, May 6: Syracuse-area Walk MS

• 9:00am to 1:30pm.
• Long Branch Park, Liverpool.
• More details here (including an important day-of-event traffic detour).

The general public is welcome to attend either event.  Feel free to come up to the DJ table and say hello but please be mindful that I will be actively working for these organizations.  If you wish to discuss your own event planning needs in detail, please contact me and we’ll set up a planning meeting.

Yahoo! Finance has all of the details from the survey, including the average cost for other common expenses like photographers, videographers, catering, flowers, cake, dress, limousine and more.  If you don’t have time to read the entire thing, here’s my commentary on some of the major “takeaways” from the survey, in terms of booking your DJ and other vendors:

Brides Planning Earlier

Nearly one in three brides say they started planning their wedding more than 12 months in advance.  If your heart is set on a specific venue or you spot an attractive price from another vendor, try to book them (or at least let them know you’re interested) as soon as possible.  If you wait too long, someone else might book your date first.  I’ve already had to turn away about ten or twelve brides for 2012, because I was already booked on the date they wanted.

When’s “Wedding Season?”  Maybe Not What You Thought…

The summer months have always been considered the peak “wedding season,” but TheKnot.com’s survey found 2011 broke away from the trend.  Last year,  autumn was the most popular season for weddings, with September in particular being the most popular month.  That could be a one-year fluke, with memorable dates like 9/10/11 and 11/11/11 both falling on weekends.  This year, 10/11/12 and 12/12/12 are midweek dates… so they might not be as popular for weddings.

One More Reason to Book Early

Even if your wedding is a year away, many vendors (myself included) will “lock in” their current pricing on the date you sign your contract and put down your deposit.  That’s important because there are two main factors which could cause vendors, across the board, to raise prices soon:

• Gas Prices — As gas prices approach and pass $4.00/gallon, vendors will be incurring higher expenses.  Those higher costs will often be passed right along to customers.
• Minimum Wage — New York State’s minimum wage has held firm at $7.25/hour since 2009.  The news media has been giving more attention to efforts to bring it up to $8.50/hour.  It may not happen immediately, but it’ll happen eventually… and when it does, some of your vendors (most likely florists and caterers, who tend to have larger staffs) will have to raise prices to keep up.

As of this writing, my rates have held firm and I have no immediate plans to raise rates.  That could change at any time, though.

Contact me now to see if I’m available for your date, and I’ll provide a personalized quote based on my current rates.  I’ll hold that rate for you for 30 days, even if my prices change in the meantime.

Once you sign your contract and put down a deposit, the quoted rates are locked in permanently, so you won’t have to worry about any price increases.

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!