Houston, Texas – January 19, 2010- WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Elegante Entertainment has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding DJ & Entertainment!
The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.
Elegante Entertainment is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.
“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”
We are happy to announce that Elegante Entertainment is among the very best Wedding DJ’s & Entertainers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.
Last year, in July, I wrote an article about Gobo Designs to inform you, my readers, about Gobos and Monograms as well as to provide a few ideas to help you get started in the design of your own Monogram, if you wanted to do it on your own.
What is a Monogram?
A Monogram is not the same thing as a Gobo, however, a Monogram can be used in a Gobo.
Sounds confusing? Well let me see if I can clear it up a bit.
A Monogram is the actual design that you use for your wedding.
A Gobo, is the metal plate that goes inside a special light, that is used to project your monogram.
Clear as Mud? Good!
Why another Post on Monogram Design?
Well I’m glad you asked, we have been designing Monograms for our brides since of Late ‘08 (Rhymes.. lol… Sorry I’m easily amused.) As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, in July of last year I did a blog post with a compilation of most of the Monograms that I had designed up to that point. To be honest, my main goal was to rank high on the search engines for Gobo Designers in Houston in Google and the other Search engines.
Well That worked extremely, extremely well… I was able to expand my business and offer the Monograms to some of the brides whom already had a DJ and even up lighting and all they wanted was to have their Monogram displayed at their event.
Anyway, this post was inspired by a call I got today from a bride who all she wanted was for me to help her design her monogram… I am more than glad to be able to help her and what she does with her monogram after we get it designed, then that’s up to her… So thank you for calling Michelle!
To our readers:
Whether you are a Bride researching Monograms, a Quinceanera looking for something different for your event, a birthday guy/gal looking for a way to put your stamp on your party, or another DJ trying to get into the whole Monogram Design world, feel free to be inspired by our designs and come up with your own!
So to continue with the last post on Gobo Design, I will put a few more of the Elegante Entertainment’s Monogram Designs for the second part of 2009 and the early part of 2010.
Monogram Designs in Houston
And if you can tell, there was one Monogram in particular that has been very popular… I really surprised myself, most people who call me ask if I can do that design for their event… If you are in the market for someone to design your Monogram, feel free to shoot as an email or give us a call!
Attending a bridal show is a great idea. You will have a chance to meet many of the vendors that you are interested in booking and you can see for your self how creative they are when it comes to decorating their booths. Additionally you can see their work displayed for you. Photographers will have their best pictures out to display, Cake vendors will have their best display cakes and maybe a few samples for you to taste, Linen Companies will have their most popular linens on display, Dress and Tuxedo shops will have the new fashions out for you to look at, and most importantly, everyone will be offering some type of discount or promotion for their services.
Sow how do you get the best out of a Bridal Show?
Here are 10 Tips that will help you enjoy the bridal show, get organized and save money
Pre-Register Before the Show
Save time and money by registering online through most bridal shows. By registering online, you avoid the lines and having to fill out long forms and some bridal shows give you a discount if you buy your tickets online.
Arrive Early
By arriving early at the bridal show you have several benefits:
(a.) You will be one of the first to go in and see everything still in tact and well organized
(b.) You will avoid the crowds
(c.) Be able to spend a bit more time with vendors
(d.) Not have to stand for soo long waiting for a vendor to talk to you.
Dress Comfortably
Be prepared to spend more time than you anticipate at the bridal shows, especially the big ones. Wearing comfortable shoes and clothes will make your day less painful and stressful.
Be Prepared to spend most of your day there
Chances are you will want to see 2 or 3 vendors of every service you still need for your wedding. And you probably want to spend a few minutes talking to each vendor, asking questions about their services, packages, pricing and options they have. That’s going to take more time as the day rolls along and more people start to attend the show.
Bring a Notebook and a Pen or Pencil
Prepare yourself with a few questions you may have for each vendor that you want to interview. Additionally, be prepared to write down some of the things you like as well as dislike about each vendor. Maybe they say something you really like and want to remember which vendor mentioned it.. if you write it down you can always come back to it and give credit to the right vendor. On the other hand, if a vendor mentions something you don’t agree with, make sure you take not of it. If they give you an unbelievable deal, make sure you write it down so you can reference it later on when you meet them. We vendors are human and can forget sometimes when we make a special offer for a special occasion.
Set up Alternative Contact Info
Set up an new Gmail address for your wedding and something new from Google.com is Google Voice. This is pretty neat and I love it… It the exact same concept of email, but with voice. Google.com will give you for free, a local phone number that you can use to receive voicemails, and check them from you computer, your cell phone, or any other phone. Another great feature about Google Voice is that you will receive an email notification to your Gmail account with a written transcript of your voicemail. The features are endless so check it out! Google Voice Link.
Contact Information Labels
Many vendors want your information, and in return they may be having a drawing, a special discount, or both. Print out some address labels with the following on them.
Both Names, ex. Maria Martinez & Kenneth Smith
Wedding Date, ex. 09-25-2010
An email Address, ex. myweddingemail@gmail.com
A Phone Number, Google Voice, Cell or home phone number
Do Your Research
Find out what services you still need to book, find out which vendors are going to be attending, check out their websites and what they have to offer, see pictures of their previous work and get as much information on them beforehand. Prices, packages, booth number, etc…
Bring Your Check Book
Many wedding vendors offer an additional discount if you book their services at the bridal show. So be prepared to make a decision and put down a deposit. It’s also a great idea to bring anyone that will be involved with the decision making and who may be helping you pay for your wedding.
Bring Your Camera
It’s a good idea to take pictures of the things that you see and like from your favorite vendors.
I hope these tips help you save some money on your wedding, get you organized, and make your day enjoyable!
I am in the process of watching a very video blog posted up by Steve Pavlina.
Steve Pavlina is widely recognized as one of the most successful personal development bloggers on the Internet, attracting more than two million monthly readers to his website, StevePavlina.com.
The video blog post is called, Creating Abundance and it is really a process that Steve used to go from over $150,000 in debt into a very successful, abundant person.
In this video he explains how anyone can create that abundance and describes the process that anyone can follow in order to create that abundance. Wouldn’t it be great if you could create that abundance for your wedding day? Whether it is abundance of Love from family members and guests at your wedding, abundance of relaxation the day of your wedding, abundance of happiness, abundance of fun and memorable moments, or even an abundance of money.
I’ve been a DJ and Master of Ceremonies here in Houston for over 10 Years now. I started young and learned pretty much everything I needed to know about the DJ Profession on my own.
I remember the first Social Event that I did clearly.
It was a Sweet Fifteen, or a Quinceanera, and I imagine it was also the first time the parents of the Quinceanera had ever celebrated a Quinceanera of their own (as is often the case).
I was new to the business and they were new to the experience. I remember there being times that I was thinking to myself, wow I wonder who’s responsibility was it to make sure that didn’t come out the way it did; you know, to make it flow better or come out better. It certainly wasn’t my responsibility, I’m the DJ… Right? I mean I had all the music they asked for and they provided me with a CD for all their dances. Why is it taking soo long to do the toast? What time will the cake needs to be cut? What do you mean I have to do announcements, I’m Just the DJ I’m not supposed to do that? Oh, you wanted the radio edited version? Oops…
A few of these things you learn by trial and error, which is scary, especially since most people spend a whole lot of money on an event.
The things that you don’t learn by trial and error, you have to learn by taking the role of leadership and being the person RESPONSIBLE for making sure that everything comes out flawless.
See, MOST DJ’s assume that their sole responsibility is to make sure that they have the correct music and make the correct announcements at the right times…
Are they right in assuming that?
I know a lot of my competition, or who try to classify themselves as my direct competition, are reading this and thinking, yes… that’s all our responsibility… the rest is left up to the bride and groom, parents of the bride and groom, or quinceanera, or the coordinator, if they had it in their budget to hire one.
Well, let’s just assume that they did not hire a coordinator, as most events that I do DO NOT have one, or the parents of the bride and groom, or quinceanera, do not know the ins and outs of planning and running their event, as is OFTEN the case…
Then what?
As the DJ, do you just allow those awkward moments to happen? Like when you announce that the bride and groom are ready to do their first dance, and they are no where to be found? you announce the Father daughter dance and Dad is in the Restroom? SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE LET HIM KNOW… right?
Well, as I stated before, some things you learn by trial and error, and others you have to take the RESPONSIBILITY ahead of time to make sure that those awkward moments do not happen.
What if just before you announced the bride and groom’s first dance, you went up and told them, in these exact words, or similar words…
We are just about to do your first dance, I need you to stand next to the dance floor, and as soon as this song is over, I am going to get everyone’s attention and announce your first dance…
As soon as, you get the bride and groom next to the dance floor, what if you went one step further and let the father of the bride and mother of the groom know that as soon as the bride and groom are done with their dance, that you, as the DJ, would like for them to be standing next to the dance floor because their special dance with their daughter or son is coming up…
Would you not avoid that void, that awkwardness, that moment where everyone is saying, oh… he’s in the rest room…
Even if there is a coordinator present, who’s job is it to make sure you don’t make an announcement at the wrong time?
The way I see it, it’s falls under the entertainer’s responsibility that HE does not look bad.
So Here are my top 10 Responsibilities that I think the DJ should make his:
Make Sure that he has the correct version of the songs for the Traditional Dances, Cake Cutting, Bouquet & Garter Toss, Grand Introductions, and any other highlighted events. And that he has them in order on his computer or burned off in order on a CD.
Learn all the names of the people that he has to introduce. There nothing worse than having your name mispronounced or said unclear.
Get EVERYTHING prepared in advance! Learn the Itinerary so that you can make sure that you stay on time.
Look ahead of what the worse case scenario is, and do everything possible to avoid it. The example of getting the bride and groom near the dance floor, or back at their seats is a perfect example. What about the cake cutting, toasting, bouquet and garter toss, etc. What can you as the DJ do to make sure the worse case scenario does not happen.
Have an Introductory Speech to welcome guests and a Farewell Speech to wish the guests and guest of honor farewell.
Have Radio Edited Versions of all the popular and top hits.
Have a clean, presentable area. Hide all cables, get rid of cluttered mess, etc.
Love your Clients, Do everything possible to ensure that the bride and groom or the quinceanera has the most amazing time of their life. This may seem like it should not belong on this list, but how can you care about your client, and then go off to other DJ’s and call them Bridezillas and ungrateful… I will never understand that. If a person is ungrateful or pissed off, it’s because they are not getting the service they paid for.
Have a Positive attitude, 100% of the time, even when nobody is looking. (Or you think nobody is looking)
Have fun, enjoy yourself, how can your client’s guests have fun if you are sitting down the whole night, and not dancing or cracking a smile at all?
So these are the ten Responsibilities I would say, that you as a DJ, or Entertainer should assume, always.
As you can tell, most of them have nothing to do with music. Music is the easiest part of the Job, In my opinion. Mixing Music does take some practice and knowledge, but nothing will kill the party more than guests, feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or even that they don’t know what’s going on. Not Bad Mixing, Not bad music selection (in the sense of going from one genre to the next, inappropriately), Not playing the music too low, Etc.
And BY GOD if you are going to make announcements over the microphone, make sure that everyone can hear you and understand you. Some DJ’s have this muffled voice that nobody can understand. It sounds as if their equipment has static or their microphone is malfunctioning. Or buy a name brand microphone that works good.
So if you are a DJ and would like to improve his events, these are some guidelines to follow that will take your performance to a whole other level. If you are a bride looking to book a DJ, then now you have slight idea of what to expect from a GOOD DJ that will make sure everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, not just the things the DJ thinks are important.. flows smoothly.
Welcome to The Elegante Entertainment Blog, where I Simply Frank, express my thoughts and Ideas on Wedding Entertainment and other related wedding topics. Please Comment and ask questions. I want to thank you ahead of time for your participation!
Good!
