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Personal Consultation with your DJ, Master of Ceremonies: 1-6 hours, Total time spent on each wedding: 21-31 hours
This will cover all aspects of your reception, from entrance of your first guest to the final goodbye. During your consultations, we’ll use our creativity and expertise gained from our experience at over 250 weddings and combine it with your personalities, style, and ideas of how you want your reception to be remembered by you and your guests. This will create a once-in-a-lifetime experience that everyone will talk about.
Custom Introductions & Love Stories: 2-3 hours
Your Emcee can write and create customized introductions for you and your wedding party or special guests, and/or your own unique Love Story, set to music. These personalized introductions and Love Story will be set to the music of your choice, which we’ll even help you create. Your Love Story can be romantic, funny, emotional or more often, a combination of all three. It’s unlike anything you've ever seen before. Sample videos are available in our office.
Custom Recordings: 1-2 hours
We offer a variety of custom recording options. The bride and groom can record special messages to each other, which we will edit to perfection, and master into the first dance. We will also re-master the music to customize the instrumental portions to fit your words perfectly. You may also choose a message from the bride to her father for the father/daughter dance, from bride and groom to their parents or guests, the vows from the ceremony, messages from guests unable to attend, or many other variations.
Custom Agenda: 1-2 hours
We will create an agenda for your entire reception, which will be given to your photographer, caterer, videographer, and anyone else who needs it. This detailed agenda will be based upon our consultations with you so that all your wedding professionals are working together as a team to create your ideal wedding reception.
Pre-Reception Coordination: 1-2 hours
We will work with any professionals or friends or family members to iron out any details of the reception in advance. Additional photography or video shots, unique arrivals, special songs, readings, toasts, presentations or performances will be properly orchestrated to fit the flow of the reception. This will ensure that no details are overlooked, freeing you to enjoy your reception.
Event Preparation, Travel & Set-Up: 4-5 hours
Normal event preparation begins at our warehouse about four hours prior to our start time. Equipment is checked and cleaned and van is loaded, props and specialty items are prepared, and our arrival is scheduled about two hours prior to arrival of your guests. Equipment is set up, sound checked and customized to the room’s acoustics so that the first guest hears and sees perfection.
Additional Staff: 5-8 hours
You will have your choice of one or two additional staff members to assist at your wedding, taking care of everything from rounding up the wedding party to making sure that your parents are in the room for the special moments like your first dance. Our 105 point Reception Checklist is managed, so that every detail goes off without a hitch.
Event Performance: 4-5 hours
From the moment your first guests arrive until the final goodnight, we will supply you with a non-stop high quality sound system, music entertainment, announcements, coordinating and Master Of Ceremonies services, the finest equipment and legal music libraries, and backup equipment on site. Includes coordination of all vendors, wedding party and family. We will manage our 105 point reception checklist to ensure your reception is one of the most incredible days of your life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there really a difference between a Master of Ceremonies and a DJ?
Some DJs work alone and some work with assistants. Do I really need two people there?
Why are you more expensive than other DJs ?
We want a DJ who is fun, but we don't want him to take over the reception. Is this possible?
How much planning will you do with us?
What is a Wedding Master of Ceremonies?
A good Wedding Master of Ceremonies is a professional who has demonstrated superior knowledge and skills in seven specific areas: Comprehensive Personalization, Creative Involvement, Event Direction, Talented Spokesperson, Music Programming, Appropriate Presentation and Quality Amplification. All good Wedding Master of Ceremonies are qualified as a DJ and MC, but not all DJs are qualified as good Wedding Master of Ceremonies
If you've seen a cheesy, obnoxious or boring DJ, (and who hasn't?) then you know what we mean. It seems that every DJ thinks they're funny. Sadly, a large percentage of them are wrong.
A professional MC has probably had some real training and experience with speaking in front of large groups of people. They should have excellent organizational skills, because a big part of the MC's job is to keep the event flowing smoothly, even when unexpected delays occur.
Your MC should be able to get their point across with proper diction and grammar, and should be able to make their point succinctly, so as not to spend an inordinate amount of time on the microphone. Just as some photographers can take a great shot in a few seconds, while other photographers take three or four times as long for the “same shot,” some DJs take 30-40 seconds to say what should be said in 10-15 seconds. Add that up over the course of a five hour wedding reception, and suddenly you have a “chatty DJ,” even though he's only making the required announcements.
The biggest difference between DJs, MCs and Professional Wedding MC's is in the results. Nobody really wants a great DJ – they simply want a great wedding reception, and that's what we deliver each and every time.
Back To Questions
Some DJs work alone and some work with assistants. Do I really need two people there?
It depends on many factors. For a wedding reception, if you have a single DJ working alone, it will likely be very difficult for him or her to smoothly coordinate all the different aspects of their job. If all you want is for him to play music and make basic announcements, then a single DJ is probably acceptable. But if you want a true Master Of Ceremonies, then he needs to be free to move around the room, while still keeping a DJ/sound engineer in place at the DJ booth.
Gathering the wedding party for introductions, toasts, specialty dances and other activities can be a full-time job. Of course, you could always just have the DJ get on the microphone and announce, “Could we please have the wedding party come to the head table for the toast?” But that would get pretty old throughout your reception don't you think? Directing the details of your reception is better done off the microphone, quietly, and behind the scenes.
Back To Questions
Why are Wedding DJ's more expensive ?
We can't speak for other DJs , but there are three factors that go into pricing for DJs . First is the cost of doing business. Everything from our state of the art equipment, including onsite backup gear, to extensive music libraries, liability insurance to protect you and your guests to the proper attire, usually formal wear.
Second is the quantity of service we provide. Don't confuse this with the quality of service, but it's still important. How much time would you like to spend with your entertainment, planning fun and unique ideas, brainstorming creative ways to personalize your wedding and looking for something your guests haven’t seen over and over? Nobody gives you more help than we do. But if you already know exactly what you want and don’t want to spend any additional time creating something extra special, then we have packages that reflect that level of service as well. But at Brandywine Valley DJ's, you have the choice.
Finally, and most importantly, are the results we create. Nobody really wants a great DJ – they just want a great reception, right? The best way to create that great reception is to hire the best possible wedding MC you can, and we work hard to keep our skills at the highest level. We constantly attend workshops, seminars and conventions with some of the leading DJ professionals in the country.
You will find that we may be the best value, dollar for dollar, that you'll spend on your wedding. At least, that's what our clients tell us.
Back To Questions
We want a DJ who is fun, but we don't want him to take over the reception. Is this possible?
Of course. Just ask any of our existing clients. The big problem is that the obnoxious DJs never think they're being obnoxious. It's not about how much the DJ says or does, it's about how well it's done. If it's comfortable, natural and warm, it will be well accepted by your guests. If it's forced or feels like a big act, then some people will be turned off. Make sure you see actual video footage of your DJ in action, on the microphone before you hire them.
Back To Questions
How much planning will you do with us?
More than you can imagine! There are several stages of planning. First, and most importantly, you will meet directly with your MC to create the entire agenda for the evening, to determine when and how you want things to happen. For most people, they have a basic concept of what they want, but they may not know all of their options. For example, most people have seen basic wedding party introductions. That may be exactly what you want, but there are so many other ways to honor your wedding party rather than just bringing them into the room and announcing their name. By sitting down with your MC and viewing different styles of introductions, you can choose and create your own unique introductions.
There are so many different parts of the reception to plan, and every couple has their own unique issues. Take the parents' dances, for example. If both sets are parents are still married, that's one set of circumstances. But what if one is divorced? Or both? Or divorcing? Or deceased? Or don't get along? Or re-married? Step-mom who doesn't get along with mom? What if the bride and groom have children together? Or children from previous relationships?
All of these scenarios and more occur all the time. It's our job to help you choose the right way to handle these issues with compassion and caring, so that everyone has a great time, and no one has hurt feelings. It's a wedding. It should be a joyous time, not stressful. We can help with planning things that you may have never even considered. Our average planning session is over two hours long, because there's a lot to talk about!
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