Tips For A Succesful Reception
1. SCHEDULING
A well planned and organized event will keep your guests excited, fresh and wanting to stay longer. Try to take most of your pictures before the wedding. This seems to work better than after the ceremony because your guests don’t have to wait so long for your arrival. When scheduling your event plan things close together. Have activities start immediately after your arrival to the hall. Plan the start of the meal within ten minutes of your arrival. Plan every special pre-dance event to take place at a fast pace. Down time, where nothing is happening is one of the biggest contributors to your guests leaving early. Boredom will set in if left to sit and wait for things to happen. If you plan things close together the flow will be so much better and if things do get behind schedule, it won't seem as time consuming to your guests. The "flow" or tempo of your reception is what keeps people wondering, "That was fun, what's going to happen next." Start your dance as soon as possible after the dinner is finished. The longer the wait, the more annoyed your guests will become. Reception attendees know that there is going to be fun and dancing, they want to get to it as quick as possible. Children get restless, and then begin to run around and cause chaos. Frustrated parents will decide to leave before your dance starts as a way to handle the children and not be embarrassed by them. You don't have to wait until 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock to start a dance. You can start it at 5:00 o'clock and after four hours of great dance and entertainment time; it's still only 9:00 o'clock. You can then have the DJ play longer if your guests are still dancing, or if everyone is tired, you can start your honeymoon and still be fresh for the evening.
2. MUSIC SELECTION
When selecting the music to play or not to play please keep in mind ALL of your guests in attendance. You may enjoy Hip-Hop, Rap or metal but your grandparents may not. Consider waiting to play these styles of music until the end of the evening after the older guests and young children have left. If you have many young children you may want to include the chicken dance and/or the hokey pokey. Everyone likes to hear music from their younger years. Play these styles early in the dance portion of the night. Talk to close family and bridal party members for their input. Remember this is a "DANCE" so select upbeat, fun dance tunes unless you are sure your crowd would just rather listen to good music and not have so much dancing... which is still ok because we bring over 65,000 songs for you and your guests to choose from.
3. KEEP THE DANCE FLOOR FULL
The Bride and Groom as well as the wedding party should stay on the dance floor as much as possible. People don't like to be the first or only people on the dance floor no matter how much they enjoy the music. Guests also like to be close to and have fun with the Bride and Groom, if you're on the dance floor they will follow your lead.
4. NEVER LEAVE YOUR PARTY!
Many times people want to steal the couple and go off bar hopping or do other things. This will bring your party to a quick end. Your guests are there to see you and enjoy your day with you. When you leave they no longer feel obligated to stay and will pack up and leave quickly. There are also many dances, special events and announcements that you need to be present for during the course of the evening. If you leave this will throw the timing and the flow of the event off and can cause awkward moments and the look of an "unprofessional" DJ. I personally have seen a room full of people leave shortly after the Bride and Groom left the party. When they returned to the dance the only people left were those who stole the couple.
5. HIRING A DJ
Only hire a professional DJ with proven experience. Some DJ's use the word "PROFESSIONAL" but in reality are just "HOBBY DJ's". What is their experience? You don't want someone who is inexperienced to be in control of one of the most important days of your life. The owner of Quality Audio Productions Bob Dodds has over twenty-five years of experience and has been a "FULL TIME" professional DJ since 1995.
6. DJ PRICE:
You want to save a little on the cost of your wedding so you think you'll just hire a cheap DJ, "it doesn't matter, they just play music". Well you couldn't be more wrong. A GOOD DJ is in control of about 80% of your wedding day. They introduce announcements, direct the background/dinner music, program the dance music, perform the light show, and enhance the overall mood and success of your reception. Many DJ's including Quality Audio Productions offer wedding planning and event coordinating with their services. The average PROFESSIONAL DJ in Missouri costs $475.00 to $800.00 per event. Sometimes when it comes to price "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR". The difference between a $200 DJ and a $600 DJ is experience, talents, skills, professionalism, services and peace of mind. It can be as big of a difference as the difference between a Volkswagen Bug and the GMC Hummer. Disc jockey quality will cost you more, but isn't your Wedding Day the one day that it is worth it? Please, don't settle with "the guy with the lowest price." It really can make a difference in the success of your wedding day. Our rates are very reasonable for our service (around $500-$600), but Beware of the $200.00 and under D.J. !!!