With parent dances concluded, the amazing scent of food wafted from the warm tent beside the barn, where the buffet line was set up. Guests enjoyed dinner, while brave family and friends climbed a ladder to ring the cowbell! This signaled Porsha and Reed to smooch! Homemade cake pops were on each of the tables, accenting the fabulous decorations. Toasts started shortly afterwards, starting with Porsha’s dad, who sweetly toasted his beautiful daughter and new son-in-law. Reed’s mom stood half way up the steep stairs to the hayloft, reminiscing about Reed growing up and helping her with the hay, having to climb the ladder—one rung at a time—herself close behind so he wouldn’t fall. Life is a lot like the rungs of a ladder, their wedding day being the top of their amazing journey up the steps to celebrate their love. Reed’s mom ended with reassurance that if Reed and her new daughter-in-law ever need a parent to help them up the ladder, she would always be there.

Soon the dancing started, with the wedding party kicking off the party with “Mamba No.5!” Dancing kept the chilly night at bay, as people packed onto the dance floor to share in the festivities honoring Porsha and Reed. Tyler made sure to play “The Time” by the Black Eyed Peas, “Buy U A Drank” by T-Pain ft. Yung Joc, and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass.” There was even a request for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller!”

Fortunately, the Red Lion, Paper Valley Hotel had power for Laura and Dan’s Disney themed reception. Cocktail hour was held in the reception hall, with décor to match Laura’s love for Disney. Every guest was assigned a Disney character, which matched with a dinner table. Everything was soft, purple, silver, and fairy-tale like. 

After group photographs with their photographer, Jocelyn from Paper Raven Photography,the grand march ensued with style and energy, as family and friends welcomed Laura and Dan’s close friends and family of the wedding party into the reception to “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. All the bridesmaids and groomsmen were incredibly supportive and ready throughout the special day to help Laura and Dan in any way. Dinner was delicious, interspersed with guests picking Hershey kisses from a tote, which were wrapped in three different colors. After picking a gold kiss, several people had to smooch another, and others (including Laura’s dad!) told a story about Laura or Dan when they picked a silver kiss. Finally, Laura and Dan got to kiss if guests picked a purple-wrapped Hershey kiss! Toasts followed, with funny stories shared by the Maid of Honor and Best Man, showing their love for Laura and Dan. Dr. Keith conducted a funny, well-researched speech praising his daughter’s accomplishments and welcoming Dan to the family. ​

So why is something that is so wonderful so stressful? There are many reasons, but the biggest is simply that we want everything to go right without any snags! Add to this that this is the biggest, and likely most expensive, party you have ever thrown in your life, and the pressure just adds up.

While there can be some really huge snags that can happen with friends & family, there are also huge snags that can happen with professionals. The biggest snag that happens with the people you’ve hired for your wedding day can simply be summed up as: They go out of business, or they don’t show up for your wedding day.

Again, only deal with legit businesses in the first place, and your risk goes way down.

Bonus tip: If you do happen to have a friend who runs a business as a wedding professional treat their business as if that wasn’t your friend running it. They should do the same for you too. This means don’t ask for any special favors or discounts, and keep the friendship separate from the service they provide as a professional. It may be too hard to do, and it may be best to not hire friends at all.

Before determining your budget allocation for each part of your reception, it’s important to talk to lots of professionals. The best strategy is to start at the top and work your way down. Find the highest priced services in the market. Learn about their service, then ask the next lower, and the next lower. Pay attention to what’s missing as you work your way down. For some services you’ll want the best of the best. When it comes to the major three for a wedding: entertainment, food & drink, documentation; these are the areas that will most directly impact the success of your event along with the memories you preserve from it, and the ones you’ll likely want to invest the majority of your budget. Start there before you get to things like the dress, the invitations, and the favors.

If you start at the top and work your way down, it’ll also become much clearer to you what is an unsustainable, and therefore, unreasonable rate. An unreasonable rate is:
 – When the exchange of money is disproportionate to the service or good being exchanged.
Can that be a business that charges “too much”? Yes. Keep in mind that this is very uncommon though as “ripoffs” tend to get called out very quickly by the public and the media. A far more common unreasonable rate is one too low where a business could not survive without a supplemental income from another source. These are the side-hustlers. For example, if you hire a photographer with 10 years of experience that is only charging $800 for your wedding, that means you’ve very likely hired a side-hustle photographer. Why does this matter to you? Here’s why: if that photographer lost their “real job” tomorrow, had to sell their camera to make their rent/mortgage, and your wedding is in 2 weeks, guess who isn’t going to have a photographer for their wedding. It’s the same thing with cheap DJs, unlicensed bakers, etc. 

​The old saying, “If it’s too good to be true…” sums this point up nicely.

Shouldn’t have to (but it’s a good idea anyway):
Baker
Hair & makeup
Caterer
Venue (if you’re having your wedding at a private residence you may need to purchase your own event insurance)
Limo/Transportation
Tailor/Dress Shop/Tux Rentals

These professionals typically need licenses to run their business, and usually part of keeping and maintaining that license is to have insurance. So it’s a pretty safe bet that they have it, although it doesn’t hurt to ask how their coverage may help you and your event in the case of an incident.

Should Ask:
DJ
Band
Photographer
Videographer
Photobooth

These professionals have zero licensing requirements. That’s why the level of skill and quality can vary so greatly. Insurance from these professionals helps protect you and your event, but it also protects the business owner to help keep them in business should something go wrong at someone else’s event before yours happens.

So, it’s that simple! Hire professionals (not friends/people who do things on the side), expect to pay a professional rate, and make sure your professionals, especially your creative professionals, are insured. You’ll feel A LOT less stressed!

​The simple fact is, while there are more amateurs than ever before, and new technologies have made the barrier to entry easier into these crafts; the professionals will always stand out because they have put in the work, dedication, and drive to provide excellence in their service.

Simple, often times these averages don’t discern between the professionals and the amateurs.

I’ll use DJs as the example. According to one website, theknot.com, the average rate for a wedding DJ in 2017 was $1,231.

Why is this number extremely misleading? In a word: quality. It’s a poll from what couples reported they spent. It has no other qualifying factors to take into account – especially a question that really matters – was the person they hired an actual professional, and did the couple even like the service they received? Trust me, the profession that has the most “my friend does it” people are DJs (photographers a close 2nd). This average DJ cost number used by theknot.com includes the $200-$1,300 amateurs as well as the $1,300-$3,000+ professionals.

Why does it matter? The number one thing that couples say is most important to them at a wedding is that “everyone has a good time”. Since the DJ is the service provider that is going to have the most impact on this, who would actually want someone that isn’t working on a professional level?

​Pro tip: if you can’t meet the potential spokesperson for your wedding up front, then it’s likely that the DJ service you’re speaking to doesn’t assign you a DJ till only a short time before your wedding. Do you want someone that only knows you on paper who’s never heard of you until two weeks before your wedding?

• Is it of professional quality, and will they have backups in case something fails?
• Is the presentation of the equipment neat, clean, modern, and professional?
• Will the DJ’s lighting make my photos look like a unicorn decorated the place, or will it look classy?
• Does the DJ know how to use their equipment to its most effective extent to get you the results you want?

To illustrate the point. Here is a DJ that has decent quality equipment, but very poor presentation:

The other thing to consider is that with the DJ’s party lighting the photographer is going to have their work cut out for them, and it will likely reduce the quality of the images taken – especially with that laser.

One last thought on this topic:
Let’s say instead of a DJ you were picking out a carpenter to build you an heirloom bedroom set. Would you pick the carpenter that talks about what tools they purchase, or the carpenter that builds the highest quality, most beautifully designed furniture?

If we get back to talking about DJs, it’s the difference between the image above, and this:

​That being said, ask yourself what’s most important to you about your reception. If you are like most couples who say, “I want everyone to have a good time.” then be true to that statement, and make the DJ a high priority in your budget. They will make or break the reception, so invest in a high-end pro that will “make” the reception in an exceptional way. I gave a number example earlier in this post saying professionals are $1,300-$3,000+, and I believe that, at the time of writing this, that’s a fairly accurate range of low-end to high-end professionals in the Wisconsin market. Keep in mind that range is for a starting rate, and not a “package”. Below that price range will generally be amateurs, low-end/budget DJ farms (some that contact local amateurs the week of your wedding to send to your event), or the newly hired DJ on which the company is trying out on you.

​How much is your wedding experience worth to you? Do you actually want average, or do you want an experience you and your guests can rave about?

Normally when we shop for something, the first thing we think of is “What do I want?” Let’s take a TV for example. We don’t start off by saying, “I want to spend $500 on a TV.” We start off by thinking of size, features, brand, etc. i.e. “I want a 65″ Samsung TV with smart features and built in apps.” When it comes to choosing a DJ why not think of this the same way? i.e. “I want a DJ who can gracefully lead my event over the microphone, rock the dance floor, provide in-depth personalization, not be corny, and make my night unforgettable for the right reasons.”

Take a minute to figure out what you want in your DJ. Not sure what that is yet? Talk to DJs without bringing up price. Talk about the quality of the experience. What do they actually do for you? Do they make you feel like just another number, or is your wedding something they actually care about?

I reached out to a couple of the wedding communities I’m a part of on social media, and these quotes pretty much sum it up:
Hope Dalebroux – “I wish I would’ve started planning a lot sooner than I did so finding vendors didn’t feel like a crisis sometimes lol”

Amy DeJardin – “I wish I would’ve gone with my top pick of a photographer instead of trying to save money on that part of the wedding.”

Andrea Fields – “I regret a few things from my big day I wish I had a different dress. We also had a friend do photos, and that is my biggest regret cause I don’t have pictures that I love or any pictures I wanted.”
​
Patricia Dufek – “I wish I would have had a videographer and a planner. I REALLY REALLY wish I would have had someone to set up details/decorating/take down. It would have been so worth it, even though my family/friends offered help… looking back it was such an burden.”

Patricia’s comment brings us to the next thing a lot of couples wish they did differently:

Sandy Meyer sums it up perfectly – “Have a professional videographer, we had a family member do it for us and let’s just say it’s not what I expected.”

Today, wedding videographers are producing amazing work, and great videographers can make your wedding video look like a movie while creating a strong emotional connection. Here is an example from “Films Nouveau” a videographer we’ve had the pleasure of working & collaborating with:

There’s nothing wrong with saying, “I’ve never done this before, I need help.” That’s why professional wedding planners exist! A lot of planners will even offer different levels of planning for you too. Services tend to range from day-of all the way to full planning. At the very least have a day-of planner to help with decor, coordination, and ensuring details are ready on the day of your celebration. Of course, for the ultimate stress relief – hire a full planner!

Here are a few quotes that sum this up (aside from Patricia’s earlier):
Abi Peterson – “Have a personal attendant to take care of all the ‘little things’ the day of. This way you don’t run back to the venue to make sure it’s the way you want it to look ?”

Amanda Brackett – “I wish I would’ve hired a wedding planner, little details got overlooked(by me) and I think having a planner would have made the whole experience less stressful.”

Jessica Wolosek – “I probably would’ve asked for more help. I really wanted to plan every part of the day, and the week before was quite stressful.”

Claire Urness – “With regards to the reception, it’s so go go go, I would recommend just taking time, stepping back and observing. Take it all in. It was advice that I received that I wish I listened to. With the hustle and bustle, having that moment will likely be en-grained in your brain forever.”

In their survey 100% of brides would have spent more on their entertainment had they realized how much impact it had while they were planning. 78% wished they had made it a top priority during their planning and budgeting, and 72% wished they had spent more time researching before selecting their entertainment.

That’s a pretty high percentage of people who sound like they had some buyer’s remorse.

The fact that 100% said they would have spent more on it for a better outcome is likely a result of the suggestions that bridal sites and magazines recommend as the 5-10% allocation of the budget “for music”, indicating that in hindsight, 5-10% was not enough. Keep in mind that entertainment for an event isn’t “just music” – especially for a wedding. According to Peter Merry, author of the book, The Best Wedding Reception…Ever, entertainment should ALSO:

• Serve as the Master of Ceremonies
• Help you plan an agenda to ensure proper pacing in order to keep guests interested
• Act as the central hub of communication to keep guests, family members, other vendors, and YOU coordinated
• Work with you in advance of your wedding to personalize your celebration in order to create lasting memories for an unforgettable celebration.

It is often said that entertainment “makes or breaks” your reception. For something so pivotal to the outcome & success of your event, it should be one of, if not the very first thing(s) you research & book.

Get a book when you book! – our couples receive a free copy of Peter Merry’s book when they book their wedding with us.

The audience gave their first of many thunderous cheers for our couple that day. Music resumed, and the ceremony took place with ease.

Part of our preparation for special occasions, especially weddings, is to learn more than just the names of the VIPs. We want to know the relationships, their favorite hobbies, how they met the couple, etc., and we use this information to give charming, personalized introductions for each bridesmaid & groomsman in the wedding party.

After the Grand Entrance, we turned the microphone over to our couples’ parents for opening toasts and words of thanks. During dinner, in order to get the bride & groom to kiss, guests shared stories about Mariah & Brock!

Following dinner we heard toasts from the wedding party, witnessed a special presentation put together by Josh Thompson of Josh Thompson Media, and began our dance by sharing the love story of Mariah & Brock. Sharing the love story has become one of my favorite things to do for my couples at their weddings. It’s something we put together very carefully, and have actually received professional mentoring on both composition and performance to make sure it is always delivered exceptionally well.

Our day began with arrival and setup at 10am, with one of the first things being rolled in was our new DJ booth.  (We’re still coming up with names for it.  If you have a sweet idea for a DJ booth name, leave it in the comments!)  Followed by the rest of our gear for the day.  The game plan for the day?  Ceremony outdoors on the lawn, followed by appetizers and drinks inside, the wedding party arrival after departing for photos, dinner, and dancing!    

In honor of our couple we prepared and delivered on several musical nuances to please both our Midwestern and West Coast guests.  I’d say the results turned out pretty well.

Special shout outs to a few other wonderful professionals that were an integral part of their day:
Chefusion – caterer
Let it Rain Studios (Eric Johnson) – photographer

To inaugurate our new video booth we’re going to be doing something special for all 2018 and 2019 clients that have booked with Alton before 6/30/18 – we’re going to give you a free animated monogram that will be displayed on the booth intermittently throughout your reception.  This is a $350 option we want to give as a thank you to those who have chosen to entrust their events with us.  That also means there’s still time to book with Alton to get this service!

Here’s the catch though, and while this should be common sense, we need to say it anyway.  The booth will only work for events where it will be compatible with the setting/venue.  For the most part that means that it will need to be a place that has rolling accessibility from where we unload all the way to where the booth will be placed.  It will not roll on grass or soft surfaces.  We will not be able to accommodate stages unless they have adequate ramp access, undersized elevators where the booth cannot fit, and absolutely no stairs.  

For venues where the booth is incompatible we will bring our tried & true setup, that our couples have loved for years, to rock your event.

Again, we are so excited to be bringing this new feature to SoundFire DJ, and use it as an amazing tool to enhance your event!  

See you soon!!

SoundFire DJ is proud to be one of the very few preferred providers that come highly recommended from this wonderful facility.  We have had several successful events here, and look forward to having several more.

This space can do so much for your wedding, and I’ve personally seen it hold 350 guests with ease.  Not to mention that if you love beer, this is definitely one of the best places to have your reception!

If you’ve already booked, or are considering having, your reception at Badger State Brewing Company, get in touch with us here at SoundFire DJ.  We’ll help you bring the very best entertainment in Northeast Wisconsin to one of the very best venues!

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