|
|
Is DJ Craig Right For You?
DJ Craig is an Emcee, music programmer, remix artist, lighting designer and Party Enabler! He is the same DJ chosen for the weddings of Oympian Jennie Finch, musician Salvador Santana and rocker Tim Burgess of The Charlatans.
Companies like Microsoft, Toyota and The Marriott and have all chosen Craig to perform for their corporate events.
DJ Craig has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Weekly and has published articles for many wedding dj and party related web sites.
Now you can see and hear DJ Craig perform at a LIVE AUDITION. At this meeting you will also receive a lighting demo, music ideas, references, planning tips, a price list and a quote. Plus, you get a copy of DJ Craig's "9 Easy Ways To Make Your Reception Unique" just for stopping by.
After the live sound check, you will have the opportunity to reserve your date on our calendar or take our packet of information and make a fair comparison to any other Wedding DJ.
To see if Craig is available on your date and to set up a time for your live audition, please call 949-362-3535.
What is a "Party Enabler"?
More than just a guy playing songs and making announcements, a Party Enabler is someone who is actively engaging his audience through both verbal and non-verbal expression. He is constantly reacting to his dance floor, reading the room and playing the right song at the right time.
He knows when to pump up the crowd with an energetic vocalization and when to shut up and let the party happen.
A good Party Enabler/Wedding DJ is also involved with the timing and flow of the entire event. He is keenly aware of the emotional pulse of your guests and avoids lulls or slowdowns. He senses when it's time for a particular formality such as the cake cutting or first dance and is always in close communication with his clients, staff and other wedding professionals.
As a Pro Party Enabler, DJ Craig has been known to do whatever it takes to keep the party and the dance floor moving!
Start With A Great Plan
An LA/Orange County Wedding DJ who has entertained and coordinated at hundreds of weddings, Craig has a proven plan for success. He believes, "Every couple's reception is unique", although they do share one thing in common- extreme care is given to the planning, timing and flow of each.
DJ Craig's wedding clients are provided his exclusive "Reception Planner". It makes reception planning easy, even for the
inexperienced. Couples use The Planner to personally customize their reception plans and needs.
The page below also contains the wedding planning tips and ideas Pro Wedding DJ Craig has learned from planning and working at countless wedding receptions. Use it to help
make yours unforgettable. With these simple but effective ideas and a
clear game plan, the great memories of your reception will last a
lifetime.
Major
Focal Points
Your Wedding DJ/Emcee should help
you plan every step of your reception during
your final consultation, prior to your day. Coordinating
these Formalities is no easy task. A good wedding DJ is in contact with
you, the staff at the reception and your other wedding professionals
throughout the event. Prior to any announcements being made, he or she
should make sure everyone is ready.
Once
all the guests' eyes
are focused on the announced Formality, it's
too late to discover that things are not prepared or that a key person
has just stepped out of the room. Communication and coordination will
keep your reception flowing smoothly.
Formal
Introduction
Your
Introduction is usually the first Major Focal Point of the evening. To
kick off the reception, your DJ will formally introduce you as a married
couple. If you don't make Formal Entrances on a regular basis you may
be unprepared to take full advantage of this moment. For many couples,
their first inclination is to make a hurried beeline for their table.
This is the exact opposite of what you should do.
Your guests have been
waiting for this moment to express their love and excitement. Let them.
After you enter, STOP, look, listen and SMILE! You may find that the applause
you are receiving gets noticeably louder when you simply stop to
present yourselves and acknowledge your guests. An
alert Wedding DJ will point out the perfect spot for you to do this ahead of
time. Pause here for a few seconds. Take in this moment... look
around...
smile... enjoy it. Give your guests what they want, an opportunity to
see
the emotion on your face!
By
pausing to acknowledge
your guests, you are reciprocating the love
they are demonstrating with their presence and applause. After
a few moments, make your way to your table. Simply presenting yourself
to your guests this way is the small but important difference between
just entering and actually Making
An Entrance.
Introduction
Music
Walking
in to the right song can help energize a room. Pick an
upbeat
song that you like, perhaps one with a message or feeling that
resonates with you. Choices for this are virtually unlimited. Past
requests have included songs from U2, Barry White, Black Eyed Peas, Led
Zeppelin, Elvis, and many others.
Recently,
one client requested "Are
You Gonna Be My Girl"
by Jet for their
entrance. This upbeat rocker added a lot of energy to their
Introduction, culminating in a standing ovation from their guests.
Another
couple chose the 80's New Wave classic, "Walking on
Sunshine"
by
Katrina and the Waves. They walked in, paused and then planted a big
kiss on each other, much to the delight of their adoring family and
friends.
The
trick here is to pick
your song based on your own taste. An energetic
and original entrance song, along with your presentation as
a newly married couple, is a great way to start a reception that stands out and is remembered!
Toasts
A Wedding DJ should remind
any and all Toast Givers about their duties and when they will happen.
Usually the Toasts come at the beginning of the reception, just after
your Formal Introduction, before the meal. Unless otherwise instructed,
the wait staff is likely to have the champagne poured for all guests
prior to your Intro. For some reason, Best Men often think their Toast
will be later and may be unprepared unless reminded.
- 1.
Plan the end of your Toast first and then work backwards. How do you
end your Toast? By raising your glass. That's it. Often, inexperienced
Toast Givers get so wrapped up in the moment, they forget to raise
their glasses. This leaves the guests confused and the photographer
waiting for "The Shot".
A
Toast can be as easy as thanking the guests and asking them to
congratulate the Bride and Groom by raising their glasses in unison. It
doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. If you want to get
into humorous or touching stories about the Groom's
past or how wonderful the Bride is, feel free to do so. Just remember
where your end point is. If you get hung up or lost, go to the "Toast". This will keep you from getting lost and will make you look like a Pro.
- 2.
Toast Givers should also keep in mind the comfort level of the guests
and the reception timetable. Sometimes the ceremony and wedding party
pictures take longer than expected. Or for some other reason there may
be a large gap of time between the ceremony and reception. A long
winded Toast while hungry guests are waiting to eat is inconsiderate.
Unless you are the Best Man or father of one of the Newlyweds, keep it
short or consider giving your Toast later, after guests have gotten
their meals.
- 3.
Prepare notes if you like. Speaking in front of a large group of
strangers can be intimidating. There's nothing wrong with preparing an
outline and having it in front of you.
- 4.
If you would like to spice up your Toast by adding a famous quote to
it, go to one of the many web sites that offer these bits of wisdom.
Here are two:
www.quotationspage.com/subjects/
and
www.brainyquote.com/
Search under
"love",
"marriage" or other subject titles.
Here's an example:
"A
successful
marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same
person."
-Germaine
Greer
It
is not required for the Bride and Groom to speak but always adds a much
appreciated touch of class when they do. It can be something as simple
as thanking the guests for
their participation. They
will appreciate that you took the time to publicly express your gratitude
to them.
Often,
Brides and Grooms
will take this opportunity to express
appreciation to parents, relatives, mentors, friends and others who
have made an important difference in their lives.
Greeting
Guests
The Wedding DJ knows your reception is a brief
window of time when those closest to you are
all in the same place. Chances are this moment will never be duplicated. So every minute counts. As
a Bride or Groom, you are usually the first to get served your meal.
This works to your advantage. You can then use the rest of the meal
time to mingle with your guests. If you have a smaller number of guests
it's a bit easier. However, the more guests you have, the more
conscious you need to be about time.
Doing some simple arithmetic can
help you realize how quickly time flies. If you have 15 guest tables
and spend just 5 minutes at each one, that's well over an hour!
It's hard to pull yourself away from loved ones at one table and go to
the next one. When the after-meal mingling starts, the Bride and Groom
can work as a team to keep each from getting "stuck" too long in one place.
First
Dance
Every
First Dance is as unique as the couple performing it. We've seen
waltzes, swing dances and even tangos. While performing a choreographed
dance isn't a necessity, those who do always win the admiration of
their guests. Some newlywed couples choose to add extra emphasis to
their First Dance by performing it directly after their Introduction.
Listen To Unique First Dance Ideas Here!
Even More First Dance Ideas!
Whatever
song you choose, your comfort is important. If one or both of you shy
away from the spotlight, you may not wish to be the lone couple on the
floor for the entire song. Your DJ should ask how long you want to be
out there before others are invited to join in.
Prior to the wedding
day, instruct your wedding DJ or Band Leader to have others join at the
appropriate time. If you are planning a Father/Daughter Dance or other
protocol dances, you can have the First Dance edited or faded out early
if you like.
Listen To Father/Daughter Mother/Son Dance Song Ideas Here!
Get The
Party
Started!
Eventually
all guests will be invited out to join you on the dance floor. A good
slow dance is a great way to start off the Open Dance portion of the
evening. It's the style of music most likely to get the best response,
especially for those that have just finished their meals or are older.
From there, the Wedding DJ can build momentum and your celebration can be in full
effect in no time.
The
Bride and Groom are a like a "Guest Magnet". Where you go your guests are likely
to follow. If you stay out on the dance floor during the beginning of
open dancing, your guests are more likely to participate as well.
DJ/Emcee Announcements
Whether
trying to capture the attention of 50 people or 500, an Emcee's
announcements should be concise, informative and short. The best way to
show respect for your audience is to not waste their time with a
message that is convoluted, unclear or unnecessarily long.
The old
adage, "Tell them what
you're
going to say, say it, then tell them what
you said!" applies here. That
way, those who missed the
beginning of
the announcement still have a chance to get the message.
Personalize
it!
"Ladies
and gentlemen, Sally and Jim have invited all of you to gather around
their cake table, for the traditional cutting of the cake."
A
personal
invitation from the party hosts sounds a lot better than, "It's time
for the cake cutting everybody."
What
Not To Say
Anything
that can be interpreted as being off color or inappropriate. Even if
many of the guests thought it was humorous, there can be those who felt
offended. A spokesperson, representing his or her clients, should leave
all questionable humor behind. A spontaneous funny quip, in good taste,
is fine. But the stand up routine is best reserved for The Improv.
Need
A Crutch?
Another
amateur mistake is using crutch phrases. A crutch phrase is anything
one says to make themselves sound more authoritative or as filler to
give themselves time to think. These phrases add nothing to the
statement and actually work to emphasize that the speaker is
inexperienced or unprepared. Here is an example, "Ladies and
gentlemen,
at this time, I would like to...".
The
phrase, "at this time"
is one of the
most overused crutch phrases
ever. It adds nothing and is a desperate attempt to sound thoughtful.
Many inexperienced speakers use this and other crutch phrases without
realizing it.
Promo, Promo, Promo
An Orange County/LA Wedding DJ should always let the guests
know what they have to look forward to later. It encourages them to
stay around and lets them know that there is a master plan.
"Coming up a little later is the Cutting Of The Cake but right now it's First Dance time..."
Whether it's a Top 40 DJ or The Academy Awards announcer, a pro knows this simple technique keeps people interested and involved.
A Los Angeles/ Orange County Wedding DJ who helps his clients plan their Major Focal Points is a Pro!
He keeps his announcements concise, personal, uses
tasteful humor and says "No" to crutch phrases. He is very likely to
earn the respect of his audience and the appreciation of his clients.
Reception
Bliss = Honeymoon Harmony
Use these to plan your Formalities -the Major Focal Points of the reception! Emphasize
them and they will be remembered as the highlights of the party. Plan
all details ahead of time with an experienced Los Angeles/ Orange County Wedding DJ/Emcee. And encourage
your guests to dance by spending some time on the dance floor yourself.
You
may find that a great
honeymoon begins at the reception!
- DJ Craig
The
contents of this page are proprietary and exclusive property of Los Angeles/ Orange County Wedding DJ Craig. Any unauthorized use or reproduction without express written
consent is prohibited.
Copyright
© 2007-2022, Creative / DJ Craig / djcraig.net
All
rights
reserved.
Los Angeles wedding DJ / Orange County wedding DJ
|
|
