Featured Friends Friday: Specialty Sound Entertainment

It's been a little while since we shined a spotlight on one of our vendor friends! We are excited to bring you one of our favorite DJ/Lighting/Emcee/Photo Lounge professionals: Tommy Evans!

Vendor name/company: Specialty Sound Entertainment

Websites: http://www.receptiondj.com/; www.flash-pics.com

Services offered: DJ entertainment, Master of Ceremonies, Décor Lighting, Flash-Pics Photo Lounge, Audio / Visual

How did you get started in the wedding industry and when? The short story is that I offered to DJ for a fraternity party during college, because our chapter didn’t have funds to hire a “real” DJ and I had a huge music library (on vinyl). After that, I started getting calls from other groups, and Specialty Sound began! It was a couple of years later that I was asked to DJ a wedding reception, and I simply loved it. We’ve been in business now for over 22 years, and about 95% of by business is Weddings and Receptions.

What sets you apart from other vendors? First of all, my goal is to partner with the bride and groom in looking for opportunities to make their reception fun, unique, and memorable. Their wedding day is designed to be a once in a lifetime event, and it requires careful planning and preparation. I think they should have every opportunity to have some input in the details of the reception, while allowing me to provide some ideas and expertise from a professional's perspective.

What do you do for fun besides weddings? Spend time with my family, mostly - wife Cindy, son Tyler (age 9), and daughter Sarina (age 5). We are closed on Mondays for “family day”, and you’ll usually find us on some adventure at the zoo, museum, etc.

Why do you enjoy working with wedding planners? Receptions are much more grand when you have a team of people working together to collaborate ideas. I’m amazed at the creativity that the Dallas area planners have, and love being part of the “master plan” for someone’s wedding day. From beautifully elegant receptions, to themed weddings, it’s always something unique and exciting!

What is your favorite thing about working with a StarDust Celebrations planner? Stardust planners are nothing short of amazing. They always have a great relationship with the bride and groom, and are fun to work with. I think you can learn a lot about a planner on the day of the wedding, and the ladies at Stardust are always calm, collected, easy going, and a pleasure to work with. The bride and groom often derive their “day of demeanor” from the wedding planner. If the professional planner is stressed out, then the bride and groom are stressed. But, with Stardust, everyone is relaxed and enjoying their opportunity to help one bride’s dream come true.

Do you have any funny or memorable stories you can share about working with one of our planners? One of my favorite events with Marsha was her son’s wedding reception at The Filter Building. It was such a privilege to be part of that day, and one of my fondest memories was watching Marsha and her husband out on the dance floor.

What is the best single piece of advice you could give to brides? Look for opportunities to be creative and represent your own personalities and style. Engage your guests. Help your guests to have conversations about you. Get plenty of rest. Allow room for spontaneity. Have the time of your life!

Great advice, Tommy! We look forward to working with you again soon! Ladies, but sure to check out Specialty Sound's websites (http://www.receptiondj.com/ and http://www.flash-pics.com/)!

Featured Friends Friday: Marcus Rollins

We are thankful for the many wonderful vendors we enjoy working side-by-side with to execute beautiful and imaginative weddings for our wedding planning clients! Here is the scoop another of our talented friends, Marcus Rollins.

Vendor name/company: Marcus Rollins Entertainment and Lighting

Services offered: Entertainment and lighting for wedding receptions and corporate events.

How did you get started in the wedding industry and when? I got started doing weddings in 1987.

What sets you apart from other vendors? Creativity, talent, attention to detail, and taking the time to ask the right questions.

What do you do for fun besides weddings? Competitive softball, dirt biking, motorcycle touring, fishing, and just about anything outdoors.

Why do you enjoy working with wedding planners? They can take an enormous amount of tension and stress off of the bride and groom and they also make my job more fun.

What is your favorite thing about working with a Stardust Celebrations (SDC) planner? They always know their stuff, they’re a blast to work with, and they let me do my job!

Do you have any funny or memorable stories you can share about working with one of our planners? Yes, but you’ll have to ask me in person!!

What is the best single piece of advice you could give to brides? Hire a SDC planner!!

We love your advice, Marcus! Learn more about Marcus on his website: http://www.marcusrollins.com/.

And don't forget about our two awesome events this weekend! Designer Rani will make an appearance at the St. Pucchi Trunk Show at Stardust Bridal Salon in Plano. And we heard a rumor that there may be an Elvis sighting at our 50's Swing Event at LuLu's Bridal Boutique in Uptown Dallas. Hope to see you there!

Choosing Your Wedding Day Music

Deciding on the music for your wedding day can be a lot of fun. But it can also be daunting! Your music choices set the tone for the day, from ceremony prelude to the last dance at your reception and every key moment in between. Here are a few points to consider when making your selections.

Your ceremony music may be dictated, in part, by the venue in which you marry. Many houses of worship have guidelines requiring your music be religious or classic instrumental in nature. Be sure to check with your contact at your ceremony venue to ensure your choices meet any requirements.

Next, you’ll want to consider the style/theme of your event – classic/traditional, modern, eccentric, whimsical, etc. A garden wedding with a boho chic vibe would be the perfect setting to have the bride enter to something like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” strummed on an acoustic guitar, whereas a formal church or hotel ballroom ceremony may lend itself more to the bride walking in to “Trumpet Voluntary” played by a string quartet. But it is your wedding! Take time to do some research and brainstorm with your musicians if you want something a little more unique than the standard wedding repertoire.

After the ceremony, the real fun begins! The pressure is off as you are now Mr. and Mrs., and it’s time to party! For reception music, you’ll want to start with your cocktail hour if you’re having one. Again, the goal of the music is not only entertainment, but to set the mood. Jazz or big band favorites are a great way to go during the cocktail hour. You want the mood to be festive but your guests aren’t ready to cut loose. Consider the same approach for mealtime, especially if you’re having a seated dinner. Guests do not want to have to compete with high energy dance music to have a conversation.

Another fun consideration: do you want to incorporate any meaningful song – do you have an “our song”, is there a song that is a theme of your relationship or is there a song that is special to your families? Including songs that have personal significance is a great way to personalize your wedding and make it more memorable for you and your fiancé. You can do this for your ceremony or reception of course, and this is the best way to choose songs for your special dances such as your first dance and the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

Dinner is over and it is time to dance! Want to have the dance floor packed? Then please do consider your guests! Will Grandma be on the floor throwing down to Sexyback or would that give her a heart attack? You may adore Newgrass, but will your guests get it – and can you dance to it?! You can easily have a wide variety of music played to appeal to most of your guests, and any seasoned band leader or disc jockey can help you plan that out. Hire talented, experienced professionals, whether a band or DJ and trust their expertise and opinions!!!

Finally, we are thrilled to offer another tool in your wedding planning arsenal: our Wedding Music Library. We’ve included these examples on our website to give you a fun way to start brainstorming about your own wedding day music. Have fun with it and happy planning!