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Wedding Articles

Tips for a Successful Wedding Celebration

By Ted Chamberlain of Ted's Tunes DJ Service

We’ve been playing weddings for over thirty years and these are just some observations that our DJ’s have made.

Most brides put a lot of thought into choosing songs they want played at their wedding. Sometimes they make extensive lists and actually try and script their party leaving no room for their DJ to take requests from the floor or utilize his experience to play what he’s learned motivates the dance floor. Most events only have time for about 60 songs and over the years we’ve received lists of nearly 200 songs. This is a lot of work for a bride when she has so many other important details to tend to, it’s very time consuming and it’s not necessary.

We realize that every bride wants to put her personal touch on the event and here’s where it gets tricky. Experienced DJ’s know what will rock the crowd and they also know that they need to weave into the evening, the brides requests. What if songs that may have special meaning to a bride and groom don’t do anything for the dance floor? I highly recommend consulting with your DJ when you have any special songs that don’t get a lot of radio play. Very few guests at your event will dance to something they’ve never heard before and if that song means a lot to you then perhaps playing it as your last song when everyone’s taking pictures would be a good place to put it.

On another topic: Ontario has enacted new no smoking bylaws recently that has affected every event. Firstly, our electronic equipment and our lungs will last longer now that there’s no smoking inside a building. There is downside however.

Young adults tend to do most of the smoking at any event and they are normally in the wedding party also. I advise all my prospective clients that staying with the party helps keep their wedding party and guests at the party also. People tend to follow the bride and groom wherever they go that night and if they spend a lot of time outdoors smoking, your DJ ends up playing to a half empty hall . This is very difficult to deal with as people that come in from smoking tend to request songs that have already been played when they weren’t there. There is also a trend to having speeches between dinner courses. This is exactly when smokers leave the room for a smoke. Keep in mind when you’re planning your wedding that up to a third of your guests may miss some or all the speeches if you have them throughout dinner.

Ted Chamberlain
Ted's Tunes DJ Service

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