I’ve considered myself a Professional DJ for the past 2 years, mainly because I’ve invested some time and money into learning the trade.
At the Improv
I’ve taken some improv classes at Massive Creativity to help me think faster on my feet. If anything happens that is out of the ordinary, with the training I received at Massive, I can quickly adapt to the situation. They teach you to build connections and to use your emotions to keep those connections… alive, so to speak. So whenever I perform the role of Master of Ceremonies, and I am in the middle of a presentation that goes bad, instead of sitting there and freezing and making the situation worse, I can come up with something to make it a lot better…
Well if you don’t have your DJ for your December event, you have just a few weeks before times become hectic. With Halloween and the holidays just around the corner, now is the time to book the rest of your DJ, or other Vendors for that matter. Also, you run the risk of not finding the right one since most of the good ones are already booked for the popular dates. This year it’s the first three Saturdays of December which are; December 1st, December 8th, and December 15th. All of which are already booked for me, including some Fridays and Thursdays.
December is the month when all the companies are having their holiday celebrations and a lot of people chose to get married to take advantage of all the days off. So finding vendors for an event will be difficult the more people procrastinate.
Some of my December dates were booked as early as March (Dec. 1st) because people know that the good December dates are gone in a flash.
So what to do if you have not booked your Vendors already?
Find a local vendor.
Use the power of the internet to find local vendors for Entertainment, Linens, Cakes, Reception Halls, Photography, video, etc…
Call and make an appointment to meet at least 2 of each category.
Believe me, the more people you interview the better your chances are on finding a great match for your vendor. You can compare they way they attend you, the way they conduct themselves and the options they have for your event. So the more you have to compare against, the better your decision will be.
Avoid the upcoming Holidays. I will include Halloween in this, even though there is little to no expenses, for some people, during Halloween, it is a time where some of your energy is wasted and you can feel overwhelmed with “things to do.” Of course then there is the month of November when you are preparing to leave town for your Thanksgiving Celebration with family and friends, or better yet you have to prepare your home for the upcoming celebration and again, your mind and focus is in other things. Finally, you have to start purchasing gifts for Christmas. Less money in your pocket and less time to recover from the additional or unexpected spending.
Make out a contract and leave a deposit ASAP.
Most vendors work on a first-come-first-serve basis. It’s hard to hold a date for somebody that does not leave a deposit. If there is no contract, there isn’t any guarantee for either party. There is no guarantee that your vendor will hold your date, even if they tell you verbally, and there is no guarantee to the vendor that the client will chose another service, the week before the event.
Feel good about not procrastinating.
It feels good to cross things out of a to-do list. Give yourself that reward and that satisfaction that there is one lest thing to worry about.
So take my recommendation and try to have a contract signed at least by the end of next week for at least one more vendor. If possible try to have everything taken care of so you can enjoy the upcoming Holidays without anything in the back of your subconscious mind.
Today is a beautiful day, its nice and sunny… and cool. I love this weather and we don’t get much of it down here in Houston.
I went jogging last night and it was also pleasant weather to do some exercise. Boy am I feeling the burn today But hey, no pain no gain right. Well In this case I hope is loss.
I’ve decided to drop some pounds and I’ve tried weight lifting, crunches, and push ups for about 8 months and only lost 10 lbs. as of last night. But the good thing is that they have stayed off while still eating bad, unhealthy food. Pizza, my wife’s home cooking with a lot of grease , fast food, and so on. So my next step is to add cardio and I’ve chosen to do running over purchasing exerciser equipment for a few reasons.
First, I get to enjoy the outside weather, the peace and tranquility of a park, the feeling of freedom, and just getting outside to breathe some fresh, well as fresh as it gets for Houston, air.
The alarm blasted in my ear and awww man, did I want to stay in bed another 10 minutes. It was one of those overcast day where no matter how good you sleep the night before, you still want to continue laying in bed.
As a former member of the American Disc Jockey Association and the Houston Chapter of the American Disc Jockey Association I have been able to transform my passion of music into what I love and enjoy doing, week after week. They have given me tools, resources, demonstrations, personal advice, personal assistance and personal care to be able to do it every weekend and to do it good. It is also thanks to them, and a few individuals, that I have been able to acquire the confidence necessary feel good about what I do and to start charging what I deserve to make as a professional entertainer.
What we do as DJ’s is more than just put in a cd, sit down, let the song play, and repeat the process all night long. We study, we practice, we visualize, and we do anything necessary to ensure that we are prepared before every event. Some times we devote up to 20 hours to a single event; Sometimes more and sometimes less. So when asked why we charge $600+ for a 4-5 Hour event, that is the answer we will usually give you. It’s not only 4-5 Hour of enjoyable work for us and time away from our families (my wife, my daughters) whom we work so hard for. It’s also all that time that does not go accounted for, planning the schedule, driving to meetings, reading and learning new activities, organizing the the entertainment agenda, arriving 1-2 Hour before the event, leaving 1-2 Hours later, and not to mention our accumulated knowledge and experience of how to make an event fun, enjoyable, and overall exciting for everyone.
So what have people started doing?
The newest trend is to rent out small DJ equipment, purchase or use an existing Ipod, downloading the music and letting the Ipod do the entertaining.
Good alternative right?
See for yourself, the American Disc Jockey Association has released a video of an actual wedding where they decided to use an Ipod for their reception.
Finding that special song to dance with your father is part of the planning process. It has to say the right words and it must represent the relationship between the father and the daughter. I’ve just come across two new songs that can be used as a father and daughter dance, whether at a Wedding or a Quinceañera. They are absolutely wonderful. Check them and remember, these have not been over-used and if you are looking for something new that nobody else has played as their father and daughter dance, you might have just found that special song
When planning an important event, such as a Wedding, Quinceañera, or any other formal event, planning and organization are key to making sure everything flows smoothly. However, knowing the guest’s reaction to a certain action or event can also help you plan something as important as the grand introduction and/or the guest arrival correctly.
A situation happened in August, at one of my Quinceañeras, where they brought an outstanding Master of Ceremonies, Councilman Adrian Garcia, who did an wonderful job of performing the Role of Master of Ceremonies. However, the situation came that there was going to be a formal introduction after Dinner, at let’s say 8:00 pm. The Quinceañera was scheduled to arrive at, let’s say 7:00 pm. From yeas of experience, I realized that once the Quinceañera and her court of Honor arrived at the hall, there was going to be a natural reaction for people to applaud her as she arrives.
The initial plan was to let her walk in and not say anything, so I suggested we come up with a way of letting the guests know that the Quinceañera had arrived but without doing the formal presentation. Councilman Adrian Garcia came up with the best way to put it and right as she arrived he made the following comment (paraphrased, not exactly word for word):
This is one of those things some people take for granted. Making announcements in English and in in Spanish for your event does require some pre-planning.
There are certain areas that you can say them in one language and then in the other without a problem. However, there are a few times when you have to stop and think about how to phrase it so you can do it in both languages. The primary example is when you are building up the Grand Introduction of the Guest(s) of Honor. Bride and Groom if it’s a Wedding or the Quinceañera if it’s Sweet15.
What I would suggest is that if your guests are 70% or more and can understand one language, then do it in that language. That way you just build it up once and it flows smoothly. If you want to do it in both languages, the technique I use is to say the following, or something similar.
I’ve considered myself a Professional DJ for the past 2 years, mainly because I’ve invested some time and money into learning the trade.
Here is a speech that I liked a lot, it was performed at a Quinceanera this month of October by the Quinceaera’s fater.
Well if you don’t have your DJ for your December event, you have just a few weeks before times become hectic. With Halloween and the holidays just around the corner, now is the time to book the rest of your DJ, or other Vendors for that matter. Also, you run the risk of not finding the right one since most of the good ones are already booked for the popular dates. This year it’s the first three Saturdays of December which are; December 1st, December 8th, and December 15th. All of which are already booked for me, including some Fridays and Thursdays.
Today is a beautiful day, its nice and sunny… and cool. I love this weather and we don’t get much of it down here in Houston.
But hey, no pain no gain right. Well In this case I hope is loss.
, fast food, and so on. So my next step is to add cardio and I’ve chosen to do running over purchasing exerciser equipment for a few reasons.
The alarm blasted in my ear and awww man, did I want to stay in bed another 10 minutes. It was one of those overcast day where no matter how good you sleep the night before, you still want to continue laying in bed.
As a former member of the 
Finding that special song to dance with your father is part of the planning process. It has to say the right words and it must represent the relationship between the father and the daughter. I’ve just come across two new songs that can be used as a father and daughter dance, whether at a Wedding or a Quinceañera. They are absolutely wonderful. Check them and remember, these have not been over-used and if you are looking for something new that nobody else has played as their father and daughter dance, you might have just found that special song 
When planning an important event, such as a Wedding, Quinceañera, or any other formal event, planning and organization are key to making sure everything flows smoothly. However, knowing the guest’s reaction to a certain action or event can also help you plan something as important as the grand introduction and/or the guest arrival correctly.