Monthly Archives: June 2010

Featured wedding of the week: Andrew and Kelli Marks

Cleveland wedding Photographer: Corey Ann Photography  http://www.coreyann.com/

Venue: Radisson Hotel in EastlakeWe booked this couple over a year before their cleveland wedding reception and they were extremely excited for the big day. They were fun in our first meeting and the energy and fun they started with in our 1^st meeting, lasted throughout the planning process and into the reception. They were always smiling and took our ideas and mixed them with our expertise and the reception turned out to be nothing short of amazing.

www.coreyann.com

When we arrived at the reception, we used our larger Bose sound system as there were almost 300 guests. We wanted the room to be filled with sound, but keep the volume louder on the dance floor so the guests were able to still enjoy conversation. Cocktails were set up in another room, so we used our smaller (less obvious) cocktail sound system which we played a nice Jazz mix of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, ECT…

We arrived extra early so we were able to coordinate with every vendor and

www.coreyann.com

employee at the wedding. As a very experienced Cleveland wedding dj company, our goal is to meet everyone that is involved and introduce ourselves and make sure we are all on the same page. When cocktail hour began, I took it upon myself to invite guests from the hallway to the cocktail area. We introduced ourselves to all of the parents and explained the evening in short detail so they were comfortable with everything that was going to happen.

www.coreyann.com

About ½ way through the cocktail hour, the bridal party arrived and was shuffled into a special room down the hall, while guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers. We took it upon ourselves to go down and meet with the entire bridal party and meet the bride and groom as well. We took the bride and groom aside and in addition to congrats, we asked if there were any last minute changes or if they had any questions. We went over a quick 35 second review of the evening and we even asked to make sure all the grandparents were coming. (You don’t want to introduce grandparents that couldn’t make it) After meeting them we went on to the Best man and Maid of honor. Why do we meet them, simple.. They are our assistants for the night. I would much rather ask things like “where is the throw bouquet” or “is the bride wearing a garter” to the Maid of honor, rather than bothering the bride herself. Let her enjoy her big day.

As the doors opened and we seated the guests, we discussed a special introduction for the bridal party and how it would go. I lined up the entire bridal party and went over all the names and where they were going to go. The introductions were extremely high energy to where they even pulled the Lebron James gig with throwing flour in the air….. We even played the cavs entrance song. That you can see on YouTube here.

www.coreyann.com

After the introductions we went into the cake cutting to the sounds of “how sweet it is” and then into 3 toasts. Because I had met with everyone using the mic and showed them where to stand, how to use the mic and so forth, it was easy for them to just pick the microphone up and go. After Monseniour gave the blessing, we played a nice array of old jazz standards for dinner. Dinner was sit-down and The Radisson Hotel, really outdid themselves with excellent service. Dinner went quick and 2/3 of the way through dinner, we switched the music to the sounds of, “mow town” and even some “sweet Caroline” the guests were all singing and dancing in their seats as they finished dinner.

http://www.coreyann.com/

We then immediately went into our formal dances. Starting with Andrew and Kelli’s first dance “My Best Friend” Tim McGraw……….. Then right into the father daughter dance (I loved her first, Heartland) and the mother son dance (find your wings, Mark Harris)

Then the dance floor opened as we invited each and every guest to the dance floor. Our announcement of “for each couple joining them, will be an extra added year of god luck for our newlyweds, was a hit and there were at least 250 guests dancing. We went right into the “twist” and the rest of the night was history. Dancing and activities all night long. We added an anniversary dance in and all the guests were involved.

Most of the music was a wide variety as we sat down with them and went over their likes and dislikes and balanced those with our expertise and the crowd’s reaction for an amazing and unforgettable evening. Working with Corey ann is so much fun as she takes amazing pictures and she really knows the right pictures to take. When you work with fun and amazing vendors, the night really goes smooth as the communication line is wide open and understood.  This couple was nothing short of amazing to work with and we certainly hope to run into the new Mr. and Mrs. Andrew and Kelly Marks again real soon.

www.coreyann.com

One of the biggest fears of any bride and groom is interaction at their wedding reception. Why? because they are scared that the DJ will do something foolish or dis-tasteful to embarrass their guests.  Weddings need more interaction than ever, however we have to do it in a tasteful matter that will involve almost everyone and be fun at the same time.

An option that is almost a must at any reception

The Anniversary dance, if done correctly, will not only pack your dance floor, but is a very tasteful icebreaker that involves almost everyone (married) at your wedding. Sometimes you will never see “all” of your guests dancing, but this will guarantee at least “all” of your married couples are out their dancing at least one song at your reception.

What we do differently…. After making a few announcements that you are inviting everyone to join the bride and groom on the dance floor for the anniversary dance,  you play a classic song to start and then start excusing those in order of marriage. We usually start with 8 hours or so (find out ahead of time when the bride and groom said I do) that usually gets a laugh. Then 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years and so forth.. BUT>>>>>>>> WE DO NOT excuse them from the dance floor, we (you must repeat this 3 to 4 times) excuse them to form a circle around the dance floor in a circle to salute the longest married couples.

As we get down to 40 years and over, there is an amazing atmosphere that develops of ooohs, ahhhs and applause each time we do the countdown and get higher. When we have 1 couple left we finish the dance out to “Young at Heart by Jimmy Durante” and get the couples name and ask how many years. We do announce it and sometimes ask for some advice for the newlyweds.

NOW……………after doing all of this you didn’t realize one thing……….WE HAVE A PACKED DANCE FLOOR already in a circle.. what do we do…….Right into an awesome song for all ages. Sometimes we us the twist, sometimes we do Shout, and sometimes we use Old Time Rock N Roll..  These are songs that everyone knows and likes and is GUARANTEED to keep at least 40 to 50% of your group dancing.

The above way is just how we do it. It is a great way to get everyone involved and keep the evening moving. In most cases brides and grooms do not want to do the garter and bouquet anymore, therefore we use this as an alternative. If they have the bouquet as an extra, we have them present that to the longest married couple. In some cases we have had brides and grooms present bottles of wine, champagne and even some unique things.

Good luck and contact us for more information on some of the ways we can help with tasteful interaction at your wedding reception.

Choosing music for your reception. Good or Bad or how much?

A Cleveland wedding Dj Selective Sound Entertainment.

If your reading this article, I will lead you through the truth behind what makes a successful reception when it comes to music. The biggest misconception of all brides and grooms is that they are required to choose the music for their reception. TRUTH=NO WAY (see below)

1st of all, you should be meeting with your DJ/MC 4 to 5 weeks before the reception to discuss the music. Yes, you will have access to your online planner and get a chance to choose some must plays, do not plays, ect.. but you should have trust in your DJ that their talent and experience, balanced with your input on the music for your wedding reception will make for a great mix of music for all.

When choosing music: THINK DANCE MUSIC NOT your favorite listening songs. Most do not realize this and just put down music they want to hear, but truth be told, how are your guests going to react to those songs. We as DJ’s need to build an atmosphere of fun music for all age-groups.

DO NOT: submit a playlist with your own songs for the reception. If you do this, there is no room for error and your guests surely and most likey arent going to react the way you had hoped. If this happens, you better have a plan B for your DJ.

A do not play list should be discussed with your DJ. Most wedding DJ’s stay away from: corny novelty (discuss), rap, heavy metal, explicitlyrics, suggested lyrices ect… But go a little further and dig.. ask them questions about where they went to college, where did they like to go dancing,, oh, they aren’t dancers, ask them if they like to karaoke, go see bands,, ect.. This will way better tell us what they like music wise.

If submitting a Do not play list, only list about 5 or 6 of your most favorite. If the DJ has a do not play list of 10 songs or more, it does get more difficult as each song has to be run through the do not play list..

Interaction: should you or shouldn’t you………..we reccomend, but it can be done on a “if needed” basis

Trust your DJ/Mc,, utilizing their talent, your experience and taking requests from the guests, should make for an amazing night.

Selective Sound entertainment Cleveland Dj wedding service just completed a very successful weekend. With an amazing crew who worked with many cleveland brides. With over 12 successful weddings this past weekend, this cleveland wedding dj service is on its way to becoming the leader in the industry for quality and fun. Special thanks to the following vendors. Glidden house, Landerhaven, Windows on the River, Pine Ridge, The Patrician, The Ritz Carlton, St. Michaels Woodside, The Bertram inn, Embassy suites, Michaudes, Corey Anne Photography, Shima Limo, MIke Shuba, LCD photography, The Raddison In Eastlake.

Wedding of the week:

The new Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Josephine Yuzuik

Photographer: Justin Ketchum

Venue: the club at Key center

April 24^th, 2010

The Club at Key center Marriott

When you begin the planning process, we have usually met the bride and groom ahead of time and discussed some ideas. Because Tom and Josie were from out of town, they booked us over the phone. They had seen us at some friend’s weddings; therefore they knew they felt comfortable with us. We set up a meeting when they got back into town and that is when the fun really began.

The Happy wedding couple

When we sit down with a bride and groom to plan their wedding, they have already spent a significant amount of time on our online Selective Sound Entertainment Cleveland DJ wedding planner. It is very detailed and gives us a more clear vision of what your wedding details are. We went over all of these details together in the meeting and came up with an amazing agenda and plan for the entire evening.

The guests arrived for cocktails in the heritage room and their was a piano playing. Even though we technically weren’t supposed to be playing, I took our wireless microphone and put it near the piano so it could be heard in the main room where guests were sitting. During this cocktail hour, I was able to meet the parents of the bride and groom and introduce myself and congratulate them.

Cleveland DJS Selective Sound Tom and Josie

When the bridal party arrived towards the end of cocktail hour, I greeted the new Mr. and Mrs. And their bridal party. We instructed everyone where to walk, lined them up, went over names for the final time and coached the ones who were doing toasts.

After seating the guests, we did the introduction which stared with I gotta feelin by the black eyed peas for the bridal party and parents and then for Tom and Josie, we went into David Grey Babylon (qued up) for their grand introduction. There was a very heartfelt warm round of applause for all and when Tom and Josie entered, the guests erupted in joy. After their grand entrance, they met on the dance floor and danced their first dance to somewhere over the rainbow by Israel K.

Immediately following their first dance, they went right over to the beautiful cake to cut. After us coaching them and Justin Ketchum leading them through it, they were very classy and fed each other.

http://www.justinkphotography.com/

Dinner service was amazing as our friends at the Club at the Key center always do an amazing job. We put together a mix of music from the Garden state soundtrack and some Jack Johnson, Cat Stevens and David Grey. This was Tom and Josie’s idea and it truly was a fresh welcome to dinner music.

Towards the end of dinner, we had a couple toasts by the best man and Maid of honor and then into the dancing.  Josie got to share a dance with her father to My girl by the Temptations and then Tom danced with his mom to a song for my son, my Micki Vierdick.   Then the fun really began.

We opened up the dance floor to a slow song and got everyone up there. The dance floor was packed from edge to edge. We went into a fun upbeat song, and ½ stayed on the floor. We continued to dance the rest of the evening to a fantastic mix of everything. We also included the Anniversary dance, which worked out amazingly.

After playing a fun mix of sing alongs like Sweet home Alabama and livin on a prayer as well as Country roads by John Denver and more, the night ended way to quick. While the after party was at RJ bolands, our party stopped at 10.00 with Tom and Josie.

They were thrilled and happy with the outcome and everyone had an amazing time. I truly enjoyed working with Justin Ketchum photography and like always, the Club and Key center.

Special thanks to Justin Ketchum for the photos.