Pryme Tyme remembers Prince

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2016 has been a hard year in the entertainment industry. We have lost many legendary talents this year and in the last decade. One of a kind entertainers that will never be replaced. But this one really hurts.

Prince Rogers Nelson was one of a kind. His rock/funk/pop infused music was simply magical. In looking at the current state of music, there is very little quality musicianship to choose from. And with that, it is getting more and more difficult to find music that really packs a punch much like Prince’s did.

My first experience with Prince was in the 90’s. Well after his highest sold record Purple Rain hit the shelves. I was watching MTV (yes, when they actually played music) and heard “Cream” Not only was the music catchy but the video was pretty easy on the eyes as well. I remember the vibrant colors, deep in the pocket drum track, and playful guitar along with his sultry voice as one of the most memorable tracks of all time. It had everything that a song should to move and groove a dancefloor. Not too over the top but very full and tasteful.

But more than just this song, I remember the image ingrained in my head of his anything but watered down style. His signature yellow guitar didn’t just hang between his knees as he strummed along. It was a part of his body and moved with him. Prince had such amazing soul when he rocked out a solo and embellished his vocal parts. His appearance in general was anything but ordinary. He was in a league of his own. A quirky, sexual, creative genius with a hair style that rivaled Little Richard.

It was after my shock and awe Cream experience that I went to a wedding with my family as a child and I remember at 10 years old what the DJ played to get people dancing. It was the time of Def Leppard, Billy Idol, and Stevie B. And even though all 3 of them got people dancing, it wasn’t until Let’s go Crazy came on that the floor erupted. It was the first time I experienced anything like it and one of the things that shed some light on what I wanted to do when I grew up. I enjoyed the reaction so much that I couldn’t help but dance along.

And who could ever forget the BEST Batman movie ever made with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton? And who better than Prince to provide the sound track. The erie and very torqued soundtrack was right up Prince’s alley and much different than his funk and pop music offerings. This proved once again just how diverse of a musician and producer he really was.

All in all, Prince was a gift to music. We will be honoring his music in the next few events that we do and I am sure that just like the wedding I went to at 10 years old, the floor will once again be moving to the groove of the purple one more time.

wedding industry secrets

Wedding industry secrets you should know about

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Wedding industry secrets you should know about.

You’re a 20 something bride. Just graduated college and now you’re engaged and looking at starting your new career, purchasing your first home, and lastly but certainly not least, planning your wedding. The a fore mentioned life milestones are some of the most stressful times in a person’s life. You’re just a handful of years out of highschool and now you’re ready to hit the ground running by starting your new life. With all of these life changes takes a serious amount of money. You’ve invested in your college education and are left with a diploma and a mountain of debt. A new house will set you back a couple hundred thousand dollars, and to top it all off, the average wedding costs 37,000 dollars. It’s ok, we understand. We’ve all been there at one time or another in our lives.

About 2 years ago, 20/20 did a show called Wedding Confidential – Secrets the wedding industry doesn’t want you to know. It took one tough look and a lot of misleading journalism to cook up the 30 minute show that would fire up an entire industry painting them as shady car salesmen that prayed on emotional brides. And if you’re planning your wedding, let’s go back one more time and take a good look at the facts.

FACT: The average wedding in the Untied States costs about $37,000.

It’s true, the average wedding costs about as much as a medium sized sedan with some nice amenities. But like the car, what are you getting? Are you getting the bare bones minimum? Or are you getting something that is reliable, a good fit, and fun? When it comes to weddings, one of my favorite comparisons is, “Nobody ever walks onto the Mercedes Benz lot looking for a crasher for their kid.”

When you look at wedding venues alone, the majority of wedding venues in Connecticut offer breathtaking views, architeture, and a beautiful backdrop for your wedding photos. Not to mention, the food. Wedding venues hire 5 star chefs who are the best at their craft and at the top of their game to give your guests a culinary experience like they’ve never experienced before. And with that experience, they have to make each of the 150 individual meals absolutely perfect for your guests. And the reason for the $90-$150 per plate price is exactly that. You’re getting the best of the best.

FICTION: If you don’t spend that much, you’re not going to be happy with your wedding.

Every wedding is different from the next. You have your style and tastes and so does the next person. That’s why it’s important to find the wedding services that best suit your needs. If a Mercedes is not your thing and you want a Dodge, go for it. It’s your prerogative, and there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

FACT: Wedding DJs charge on average $700 more for a wedding than a party.

20/20 pulled a bait and switch in their wedding industry secrets expose and had actors call DJs in the area to get pricing. When they asked their wedding djs what they would charge for a wedding, it was right around $1300 on average, but when they called that same DJ for prices on a private party, the price was exponentially less. And when the jig was up, the DJ was thrown to the wolves and accused of price gouging. As the DJ attempted to explain, “Brides are not just getting a DJ. They are getting a wedding director.” a quick video edit later, the host replied, “I don’t want a wedding director, we were JUST looking for a DJ.” Hold up. Wait a minute.

Like the venue, the expectations and the stakes are ALOT higher at a wedding than at a party. And here’s why. As a DJ, your responsibilities don’t start and end on the dancefloor. They start with the meeting with the DJ when you tell them about the environment you wish to create for your wedding. All of the timing of events, music programming for each event, and introductions of friends, family, and loved ones are handled by the wedding DJ.

When it comes to the introductions, we have to rehearse everyone’s name so that even though this is our first encounter with them, make sure that we say their names properly as if we’ve known them as long as you have. In addition to that, ensure that the music played during those introductions is played in the correct order and at the correct volume. But it doesn’t end there, we have to help guide your guests and other vendors through the events of your reception to ensure that food is served on time, guests are informed of any important happenings, and that your photographers and videographers don’t miss an opportunity to take the photos you want like your dance with your new hubby, your dad, and cake cutting.

And after all of that is said and done, we have to entertain all of your guests from the youngest to the oldest and give them an experience that will be remembered as the best wedding they have ever been to. Talk about PRESSURE! We’ve got exactly one opportunity to do it right. We do not have the opportunity to give it another shot. It either works or it doesn’t. With that kind of guarantee not to mention the investment in professional equipment at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars, access to hundreds of thousands of songs for every occasion, and continuing education and training, in retrospect, it’s a small price to pay for the experience.

FICTION: All DJs do the same thing. The price should be the same.

Not all DJs are created equal. Like anything else in the world, you have varying levels of experience, personalities, and technical accumen not to mention the types of equipment used and how well the DJ can use it. If all DJs were created equal, that would mean that every bride would be the same. But because you and your guests are individuals and every person’s ideal reception is different, so are the choices in wedding entertainment professionals. Furthermore, the full time entertainment professional does this for a living. There are no “day jobs” and they need to afford a liveable wage to have a roof over their head, a vehicle to get to your wedding, and go to the doctor just like you do. Your wedding isn’t just a side gig for fast cash. It’s equally as important to the DJ that your wedding is a success because their lively hood depends on it.

FACT: Florist Charge more for flowers for weddings.

Like the venue and the DJ, they too have a massive responsibility on their hands. If you have 150 guests sitting at 15 tables of 10 guests each, the centerpieces on those tables need to match near perfectly. No two flowers are exactly the same and trying to create a look that is identical and consistent using naturally unmatched materials is a work of art. Each color, height of the stem, and arrangement of the centerpieces has to be handcrafted, chosen, and expertly placed to get the best result. And as any guy knows on valentines day, roses go from being $12 a dozen to $50-80 a dozen because of supply and demand paired with the additional little touches that make your valentines bouquet even more special.

FICTION: Anyone can arrange flowers to make it look like the pictures I saw on Pinterest.

If you’ve ever gotten a bouquet from the 7-Eleven and a different bouquet from a florist, there is an obvious difference. Your gas station flower has been sitting in the same water for 2 weeks and is one temperature change from wilting. But the florist ensures that their flowers are kept at a steady temperature, humidity level, and fed to make sure that your floral arrangements look vibrant, rich, and healthy for your special day.

WEDDING INDUSTRY FACT: Your wedding vendors want the best for you.
Your wedding vendors want the very best for you and it is our pleasure and honor to be considered to help you celebrate one of life’s big moments. We all have a passion for what we do along with many years of experience and acquired knowledge that we will put to work for you. We love what we do so much that we have thrown caution to the wind with the security of a “day job” to put all of our resources, talent, and reputation on the line to give you a celebration you will never forget.

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Why Professional DJs Don’t use playlists

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Why Professional DJs Don’t use Wedding Playlists:

Playlists. They are the new DJ replacement according to some. What’s better than your own customized playlist for an event? Nothing! But, a playlist made by one person only caters to one person. If you’re having a wedding for example, that would mean that there would only be one or maybe a handful of people in the room who might enjoy your playlist. But being realistic here, the average wedding is around 150 guests.

That’s 150 different personalities, age ranges, music preferences, and dance preferences and thousands of possibilities for what will help guests to the dance floor to celebrate. This is why professional djs don’t use wedding playlists. A professional DJ is a master of observation. Every moment of every event we do, we are constantly scanning the room with our eyes to see who is in attendance and look at the demographic as a whole. Then we throw out a few tests to see what kind of an audience we have. Once we get the reaction we are looking for, we can then customize what we play on the fly seamlessly to ensure that all of your guests, young and old are able to enjoy the music and have fun.

It’s a speculation but, by all of the stories that are heard at meetings and events themselves, I can understand why some people are steering towards the playlist over having their DJ do their own thing. And that’s a matter of preference. But you have to go beyond the typical DJ stereotypes. When I do a wedding, it’s not the Aaron show. It’s all about the celebration. It’s my job to make sure that the people in attendance know that and are able to enjoy themselves as much as possible. But if you’ve ever experienced a DJ who wasn’t quite up to snuff who played only what their preferences were and did not fit the environment, that’s the equivalent to making your own wedding playlist. It’s the same result just driven by different means.

It is for this reason that it is so important to really choose the RIGHT dj for the job and not just the cheapest one that you found on Thumbtack.

Still not convinced? Here’s an example.

2 years ago I was helping a couple celebrate their wedding in Simsbury and the bride was VERY specific as to what she wanted played at her wedding. She was a huge fan of hardcore hip hop. Not the light and fun stuff you’d hear on the radio but, underground and pretty heavy duty hip hop. She handed me a wedding playlist at our last meeting and said, “Play these songs in this order from start to finish. Do not derive from this list you are not to take any requests. This is MY day, it’s not about them. It’s about me.”

That’s a pretty bold statement. And when you make that statement, you take 100% responsibility for the success of your wedding. The DJ becomes no more than a jukebox or ipod at that point. Because I always put my best foot forward to make my clients happy, I obliged her demands and during the wedding, started playing her list from start to finish. Besides the dirty looks I was getting from the audience, it was only her and 2 friends on the dance floor. Everyone else sat and just watched with a look that burned a hole in my stomach. I felt bad because I wasn’t able to do anything for her guests and my hands are tied.  A few songs into it, she ran up to me and said, “Why aren’t they dancing? Make them dance.” I reminded her of our conversation and she simply replied, “They should be dancing, this is good music.”

When she left the room for the safety of her bridal suite, I snuck in a few favorites and like magic, the guests ran to the floor to dance but when she returned, she demanded that I not play anything except for her wedding playlist, so we went back to it and everyone sat down and began to leave early in groups of 5 and 10.

Remember, what one person’s favorite song may be, might be someone elses least favorite. Think about your guests and the outcome. 2 things that a guest will remember most about your wedding are if the food was any good and if they danced.

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Hawks Landing Tasting Event

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The Hawks Landing Tasting Event

is the perfect opportunity for engaged brides and grooms to get a taste of exactly what Hawks Landing has to offer. Bring your family, friends, and bridal party to help you pick out the perfect menu for your wedding or special event!

Enjoy food, fun, dancing, our photo booth and experience what some of CT’s best wedding vendors have to offer.

The tasting is from 6pm to 10pm at the Bella Vista Banquet Room this Saturday, February 13th 2016. It’s just $25 per guest and groups of 8 or more guests will receive $10 off of their total table.

Call Jamie at 860-793-6000 ext. 8 or email [email protected] to purchase tickets! We’ll see you tomorrow at HAWKS!

 

cutting out disposable wedding expenses, cheap wedding dj, wedding planning, wedding sale, bridal show deals

Cutting disposable wedding expenses.

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Cutting disposable wedding expenses.

In 2013, TheKnot had reported that the average wedding cost $30,000. It’s no secret, weddings can be quite costly. Necessities like your wedding venue, catering, and a dress are a given for weddings. But if you’re like many brides out there, you’re probably looking for the best deal to save money on your special day. And who doesn’t like to save some cash? What if I told you that you could save on wedding expenses by cutting out over $800 in disposable wedding expenses?

Wedding announcements – $150+

The 2016 couple is no stranger to social media. Facebook even has a relationship status button that tells your 800+ friends that you’ve been recently engaged. The tradition of wedding announcements seems redundant now that we’re in the age of technology. Reduce your carbon footprint and save some green by foregoing announcements before invites.

Wedding ceremony programs – $100+

How many times have you attended a wedding ceremony or a church service? The standard wedding ceremony starts with the groom heading to the altar, the bridal party following after, and last but not least, YOU! Unless you’ve got a theatrical performance happening for your ceremony, the equivalent to a Broadway playbill that will indefinitely end up in the recycling bin is probably not a necessity. Chopping the program will save on wedding expenses.

Table Place Cards – $100

Time is money. Penning and folding place cards or even having them printed is an expensive and timely proposition that ultimately gets brushed aside once guests make their way to the table. If you get them printed online, after the time of creating a database to send to the printer, the expense of printing itself, and shipping costs, it would be easier on you and save you some greenback if you simply put your guests names on a framed canvas on an easel outside of the reception space. Personalize your canvas with a picture of you and your beloved for a great keepsake!

Wedding Menus – $120

Since you’ve already taken the time to ask all of your guests what they want to eat during your wedding reception when you sent them a formal invitation by mail, wedding menus are also redundant and costly. The waitstaff will also be around to take your guests order for each table. Save on wedding expenses and save a tree by letting the waitstaff take care of catering.

Parting Gifts – $500

Parting gifts are a nice gesture to offer to your guests as a thank you for attending your special day. But, what could you give to your guests that will be both used and remembered. A bag of candied almonds? Or an engraved picture frame that can’t even fit a wallet sized photo. If you’re like me, you’re not a fan of dust me stuff. But in 2016, people LOVE selfies. Drop the cookies and get a photo booth instead. Yes, the booth will cost a little more than  cookies, but it will be something that your guests will use and with their photo, it’ll always hang on the refrigerator as a reminder of how much fun they had at your wedding!

Rose Petals – $90

Remember the movie Coming to America? Everywhere King Joffrey Joffer went, his flower girls dropped rose petals for him and his family to walk on. But that is a movie with mature actors. But take the 20 something flower girls and replace them with your brother’s kids and watch those beautiful petals fly! Save on the petals and put $90 towards your plane ticket for your honeymoon.

Every couple’s wedding is different from the next and priorities change depending on the couple. But by saving on these redundant and over played wedding expenses, you don’t have to settle for anything less than the best wedding team that will help you celebrate your special day with a packed dancefloor, hollywood quality video, and pictures that would leave Brides.Com readers jealous.

wedding ceremony music, wedding music, here comes the bride, wedding ceremony, wedding playlist, ceremony playlist

Top 50 Processional Songs to Walk down the Aisle To

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Top 50 Processional Songs to Walk down the Aisle To

You’ve got everything planned just how you like it. The perfect partner. The perfect venue and atmosphere, a killer wedding DJ, and an amazing wedding photographer. Now you just need the perfect song to walk down the aisle to. Since many wedding DJs offer ceremony sound systems, this really opens up the door to utilizing just about any song you could think of to walk down the aisle to. But choosing the perfect song that personifies your relationship with your soon to be spouse isn’t always easy.

We’ve taken the guess work out of it for you! Here are the top 50 Processional Songs! Enjoy.

1- Marry Me          Train

2- A Thousand Years         Christina Perri

3- Canon In D          Pachelbel

4- Over the Rainbow          Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

5- Make You Feel My Love          Adele

6- Come Away With Me         Norah Jones

7- First Day Of My Life          Bright Eyes

8- I Do          Colbie Caillat

9- Marry You         Bruno Mars

10- I Won’t Give Up          Jason Mraz

11- Everything I Do, I Do It For You        Bryan Adams

12- This Years Love         David Gray

13- Better Together         Jack Johnson

14- When You Say Nothing At All          Alison Krauss

15- All You Need Is Love        The Beatles

16- Here Comes the Sun         The Beatles

17- Ho Hey          Lumineers

18- Bless The Broken Road         Rascal Flatts

19- Only Time          Enya

20- Wanted         Hunter Hayes

21- At Last         Etta James

22- By Your Side         Sade

23- Heavenly Day          Patty Griffin

24- I’m Yours          Jason Mraz 

25- Good Life          One Republic 

26- God Gave Me You       Blake Shelton

27- Bitter Sweet Symphony         Verve 

28- I Do (Cherish You)         98 Degrees 

29- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring         Acoustic Alchemy 

30- I Will          The Beatles 

31- In My Life        The Beatles

32- Angel Eyes          Jim Brickman

33- Yellow          Coldplay 

34- Lucky        Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat

35-  Wonderwall          Oasis

36- Home          Phillip Phillips 

37- 1,2,3,4 (I Love You)          Plain White T’s 

38- This I Promise You         NSYNC 

39- God Only Knows         Beach Boys 

40- Blackbird          The Beatles

41- Ode to Joy         Beethoven

42- Paradise         Coldplay

43- L-O-V-E         Nat King Cole

44- The Prayer          Celine Dion

45- Dixie Cups        Chapel Of Love

46- Extreme         More Than Words

47- You and Me        Lifehouse

48- You and Me          Dave Matthews Band

49- She’s Everything         Brad Paisley

50- Waitin’ On A Woman         Brad Paisley

 

hipster wedding music, hipster wedding, non conformist wedding, offbeat bride

Wedding music for the non-conformist

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Wedding music for the non-conformist couple.

Manly beards, craft beer, and daisies. Enter the hipster.

2015 was the year of the hipster. It was a non-conformists paradise. And with that came the rise in wedding music that was anything but typical. From childhood superhero theme songs like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to “Gold on the Ceiling” by the Black Keys, no stone was unturned and all bets were off.

Many wedding djs found themselves in a challenging position because we tend to play it safe with what wedding music we know works. But this past year, I loved the challenge. It really forces you think outside the box and really LISTEN to the music to find a place for it.

What we found was a treasure trove of ideas that really focused on a concert like experience rather than the chicken dance, electric slide, and YMCA which just proves… you don’t always need a knock down drag out dance party for the wedding to be successful. Maybe you really enjoy sing alongs and power ballads. Some of the most memorable music makes a cameo on a goof in a movie.

Here’s some non-conformist wedding music that we played this year. There are no rules to have a good time. Just let your wedding music move you.

Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling

Foreigner – Juke Box Hero

Ben Folds – I am the Luckiest

Reel Big Fish – Beer

The Who – Teenage Wasteland

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Dropkick Murphys – Shipping up to Boston

Hozier – Like Real People Do

Rose Ave. – You and Me

Tim McNorris – Overwhelmed

Annie Lenox – Walking on Broken Glass

Harry Belafonte – Banana Boat Song

St. Motel – My Type

 

 

spotify for weddings, wedding playlist, itunes for weddings, ipod wedding, no dj wedding, djs in ct

Use Spotify for your Wedding and SAVE

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Use Spotify for your wedding and SAVE!!!

You’re probably asking yourself right now, “Ok, you’re an entertainment company that specializes in weddings. Why on earth would you promote a cheaper alternative?” Let’s begin.

Recently, Spotify has been promoting their ability to DJ your wedding for you with the use of custom playlists for your wedding. How awesome is that? Just hook up your iphone to a speaker and you’re good to go! It sounds too good to be true.

I understand the need to be budget conscious on some things. But knowing what to invest in and what to be frugal with are a matter of priority. If you want that 10,000 dollar dress and as a result, can’t afford a professional wedding photographer to capture you in your Vera Wang 5 digit dress, $800 Chris Louboutin heels, and designer necklace, what good is spending $10,000 on a dress? Same goes for your entertainment.

You’ve taken great care for making sure that every last detail is how you want it. The venue is exactly as you dreamed it would be, the centerpieces are just perfect, and every chair back comes wrapped in linen and decorated with a bow. A beautiful setting fit for a queen. And right near the dance floor is a speaker sitting on the floor with your iphone sitting on top and a cord draped over the speaker. Charming!

Now here it comes time for your introductions and first dance. Who announces you and your bridal party in? Who controls the iphone while you’re busy with introductions? Can they use them simultaneously to announce you in and change the music and or volume if it’s too loud or soft? Will spotify decide it’s a great time to let your 150 guests know that you can enjoy even more music by using Spotify premium for just $10 a month? Will the person using the microphone stand far enough away from the speaker to not let it feed back and squeal with delight during your introductions?

Phew! Now that we’ve got the intros and first dance out of the way, we’ve got to do a toast to the happy couple. Your besties head up to the lone speaker on the floor and grab the microphone and set their whiskey sour on the speaker. (Where else would they put it? They have 3 pages of stories to tell) In a moment of excitement, the best man bumps into the speaker knocking your $600 iphone to the floor and to add insult to injury, siri does a shot of whiskey sour to soften the blow when his drink crashes to the floor. Your iphone needs to be dried out to prevent it from shorting out so you run up and quickly dry it off with an expensive napkin from your table only to find out that the phone is toast. You quickly beg someone for their iphone to use and try to download spotify into their phone to get your music back but alas, it won’t be your account because the phone is assigned to it’s owner with an entirely different email address. Your wedding list is gone.

Thankfully, you can still stream regular spotify so you choose one of the safe playlists like jazz for dinner and like clockwork, every 3rd song has a commercial before it. Nice! You want to dance with your father following dinner but can’t seem to remember what song it was because it was in your whiskey soaked phone and you didn’t need to write it down because Spotify had you covered. So you pick a song quickly and grab your dad. Theres a long pause while the phone buffers a new song and finally begins to play. You and dad dance for 3.5 minutes and at the end you hear a round of applause followed by, “Did you know? Spotify Premium is just $10 a month!”

I don’t think I need to tell you that there is more to come.


It’s no secret. You can have spotify for your wedding, of course! But, what do you have to play it on? Are you going to invest in a pair of $600 powered speakers (That’s as cheap as they get. We are an authorized dealer for many brands of audio and lighting), speakers stands ($90/pair), a microphone, extension cables to plug it in and tape to ensure that your guests don’t trip over your thrifty investment? After all is said and done, you’re going to spend at least that much on a wedding DJ. Its your wedding. You deserve BETTER.

 

halloween wedding, bill millers castle, stephen wang photography, fritz photography

Halloween Wedding at Bill Millers Castle

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Halloween Wedding at Bill Millers Castle – Puttin on the Fritz

If you read the beInspired blog, you’ve probably heard the name Bill Fritz brought up a time or two. A little backstory…

I met Bill and his wife Colette in 2013 while at Allie & Aaron Stubbs wedding in Cheshire. Never meeting Bill before then, I had no idea what to expect from this wedding photographer. Bill looks like quite a badass with his dark black beard, dressed in black from head to toe. But after chatting with Bill for a while over dinner, I knew that he was a fantastic guy. And after seeing the photos of Allie & Aaron’s wedding, I also knew that he was one of the best wedding photographers I had ever seen or worked with. It was that very same day that Bill and Colette had decided on a DJ for their own wedding. Me.

Now when a fellow vendor asks you to help them with their celebration, it puts the fear of god into you. Although Bill and Colette are super awesome people and have become good friends, they are also colleagues. They see HUNDREDS of wedding DJs every year and out of the 400 listed DJs, they chose you. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. The expectations are high and you want to do everything to put your best foot forward to ensure that their wedding will exceed expectations.

When Bill and Colette sat down with me to tell me about their plans for a Halloween Wedding at Bill Millers Castle in Branford, I was blown away. If you’ve ever been to a halloween party, you’ve probably seen some cool costumes on some of the more outgoing guests and the rest just kinda show up. The Monster Mash and Thriller will probably get played and thus is the common Halloween party. But this wedding was so much more. Every detail of Bill & Colette’s Halloween Wedding was carefully planned and thought out. It was hugely theatrical. In terms of costumed guests, they certainly didn’t dissapoint. We had zombies, walking pigs. scarecrows, demons, drag queens, ghostbusters, and everything in between. Even the staff at Bill Millers Castle got in on the fun! All of the vendors dressed up in character and we helped the modern day Morticia and Gomez Addams celebrate their special day.

The great thing about doing a fellow vendors wedding is that, because they see so much, they love to think outside the box and create amazing celebrations. As a HUGE fan of heavy metal, Bill and Colette incorporated some non-traditional tunes into their grand introduction. As a surprise to Colette, Bill, Colette’s mom, and I worked on getting a very old recording of her late father to play during the ceremony. It was a very beautiful and tender moment. Bill and Colette’s vows were some of the most genuine I have ever seen which proved to me that this was a super couple like the world has never seen. I guarantee, they will be sitting around the kitchen table in their 90’s still holding hands.

In addition to some of the cool audio work that we did for their wedding, the theatrical lighting was nothing short of extraordinary. We created a low lying haze to replicate an erie fog over a glowing green pond. While they were dancing on a cloud, 4 moving heads highlighted the happy couple during their first dance for a spotlight dance that was breathtaking. These lighting effects in combination with the rustic atmosphere of Bill Millers Castle were a perfect paring for their Halloween Wedding.

Thank you to Bill and Colette for trusting us with your one of a kind celebration and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

You can read Colette & Bill’s review by visiting our weddingwire page!
Check out some of the AMAZING photos by visiting Stephen Wang Photography and check out Bill and Colettes Halloween Wedding Video by mebCinema below.

negotiating with wedding vendors, cheap wedding dj, cheap wedding venue, cheap wedding, inexpensive wedding dj

Negotiating with Wedding Vendors

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Negotiating with wedding vendors.

Emily writes:
“I was wondering whether people have tried to negotiate prices with wedding vendors and if so what have you been successful in negotiating? Also, what are your tactics? I’m not sure what is common practice. Thanks so much for the advice!”

Hey Emily.

People try to negotiate with wedding vendors all the time. Like purchasing a home or a car, negotiating is common practice. But this isn’t always the case when it comes to wedding vendors. Homes & Cars are commodities. The sellers have a pre-determined number they are willing to get to so that they are not losing money. They usually aim high and expect that they will bend a little on the price. How much exactly depends on you.

But when it comes to  vendors like wedding photographers or djs for instance, you’re looking at services, not items. There is a lot to consider. We’ll use Wedding DJs as an example. Your wedding DJ is responsible for keeping the timeline in check and making sure that all of the events of the day are executed properly and efficiently to help you get the most out of your day. They are responsible for making sure that your guests are entertained and comfortable during your reception and taking special care to make sure that the room is not too quiet or loud as well as adapting to the changing environment. They’re responsible for handling special requests from you and your guests and fitting them in on the fly in the appropriate place. Wedding DJs are master multi-taskers.

If you’ve been to a wedding where it was orchestrated with no hiccups and another where things didn’t go as smoothly as they could have, you have a basis of comparison between 2 wedding djs. But what is that worth? It’s the difference between success and failure. Most wedding DJs in Connecticut charge between $1200-3000 for their services depending on their own financial needs to make those weddings happen, their experience, and service offerings.

In our case, Pryme Tyme Entertainment offers multiple services including entertainment, lighting, photo booths, and more. So if you’re looking for a great deal on wedding dj services, plan on $1300 being a good jumping off point. Where the savings come in for many wedding djs is the a-la-carte items and adding them as a package. The wedding dj knows that you are investing in your wedding and will more than likely offer some incentive if you choose combinations of service.

This is especially great for you because you’ll get everything that you are looking for without paying more than you have to. It’s a win win for both parties. And the best part is, you’ll get the wedding dj that you want because you didn’t base your decision on price and price alone.