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.

Wedding planning – Where and when should your vendors eat?

You just finished your ceremony, formal pictures, and introductions. It’s time for dinner service for you and your guests. If you decide to be generous and offer your vendors a meal, that raises a few questions with your caterer. Where and when should your vendors eat?

In most venues, they ask that your vendors be served last after all of the guests have been served. Sometimes, in a vendor area down the hall or in another part of the venue is reserved for your wedding team. This ends up being rather tricky for your vendors as it is important for them to be with you for your reception.

From a videographer or photographer’s point of view, their job is to capture memorable moments. Some of these moments may happen during dinner. A family photo, or maybe you and your new spouse leaning in for a kiss at the head table. Either way, it’s important for them to be there so that you reap the benefits when it comes time to receive your wedding photos & videos.

From your Disc Jockey’s point of view, it is also very important that they stay with you. If for some reason a song during dinner service comes on a little louder than it should or maybe you have a request, or god forbid something happens with the sound system or lighting that requires immediate attention, your DJ will be right there to make sure everything is taken care of.
And last but not least, your parents dances, bouquet toss, cake cutting all come after dinner. And in order to keep the flow going, you want to make sure your DJ has enough time to get through their meal so they can keep things moving without unnecessary delays.

You are our number one priority on your special day. We want to have every opportunity to make your dream wedding come true!

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