Martha's View on DJ's

Martha Stewart Blog Post

The following is a blog post taken from Martha Stewart Weddings. Please visit her site for more information. We at M.R.K.Entertainment could not agree more with her basic advise. She generally knows how to throw a party and her advise is spot on. From the meeting to signing a contract, she gives straight forward advice that all potential brides and grooms should consider.

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226871/hiring-disc-jockey

Martha Stewart Weddings, Volume 13 2000

Even the most versatile and talented band on earth could never provide the range of songs and performers that a disc jockey can. The best way to find a disc jockey is through referrals from friends who have had a good experience using one; you can also ask your wedding coordinator, caterer, photographer, florist, or banquet manager for referrals.

What to Look ForSince most disc jockeys' music libraries are huge, you will rarely find musical reasons to hire one deejay or service over another. Focus instead on credentials and references. Ask about rates; if they are considerably lower than the industry norm ($500 to $1,000 for a four-hour event), there may be a reason. If they are higher, ask for justification.

Meeting With the DeejayNever hire a deejay you haven't met in person. This is your opportunity to assess his personality and style. Viewing a videotape of a disc jockey's work can be helpful, but you must bear in mind that what you are viewing has been edited to include only the most flattering material.

Equipment and Backup PlansA professional disc jockey will bring professional digital equipment, not just an impressive home system. In addition to a dual-CD player to ensure continuous music and a good-quality amplifier and speakers, a disc jockey should be equipped with a wireless microphone for announcements and toasts. Make sure that the deejay has adequate backups because equipment failures, though rare, can occur.

Selecting the MusicWhen you meet with a disc jockey, he will generally give you a list of his most requested tracks -- often ranging from several hundred to a thousand titles -- from which you can select songs. You should also feel free to add any favorites that may not be included in his library. You can either supply them yourself or ask the deejay to purchase the CDs. At most weddings, requests from guests will be encouraged, unless you direct otherwise. But tell your disc jockey about any songs, or even genres of music, you don't want played (even if requested).

Booking the DeejayTry to book a deejay at least six months ahead of your wedding day. You should both sign a detailed contract specifying all logistics of the reception: date, location, time (including setup time; one hour prior to the start of the event is the norm), and projected length. Other things the contract should do is stipulate price and overtime charges (with a guarantee that the disc jockey will not leave for another event if you need him to stay beyond the scheduled end of the reception); list the sound equipment the deejay will be using and specify that backup equipment and personnel are available; and indicate that the disc jockey is covered by liability insurance. It could even spell out what the disc jockey is expected to wear.

Cape High School Homecoming 2014

Homecoming Dances can be fun and exciting for both chaperones and students. The event requires lighting, good sound and lots of energy. Visit www.mrke.biz for more information.

Room Transformation Sable Oaks South Portland Maine

M.R.K.Entertainment and DJ Michael took on the Sable Oaks Marriott  for a room transformation. This wedding took place in October of 2014. A classic Italian wedding, we assisted with the process of adding a good dose of purple.

This wedding is an example of our Gold Package. This package is our most popular. We give couples the most popular services like:

Custom DJ Mixes
Spot Lighting 1st Dances
Uplighting
Monograms
Pin Spotting
and Much, Much More.

Call us today to book your date and transform your venue. Don't worry if your venue is plain, we'll make it magical. M.R.K.Entertainment is Maine's Wedding Specialist. 

Adding Lighting will make the difference!

The knot did a great job at highlighting the importance of lighitng a venue. Why waste all that time and money, if your guest can't see what you've spent it on?

How to Light a Wedding!

15 Fun Ways to Light Up Your Wedding

Lisa Turner of California wrote a great blog post highlighting 15 Fun Ways to Light Up Your Wedding.

She has clearly done her homework and she list the most popular options for lighting. Her collection of photos are great and show some of "Big Impact" options available in the wedding industry.

There are many was to light a venue. Most commonly, couples will use house lighting, primarily consisting of wall sconces, chandeliers or recessed lighting. This is a minimal look and very clean. These lights can always be used throughout your event to add to or take away a desired look. Consider a different approach. Consider the entrance, patio, cocktail location, church, dinning room and of course the dance floor. 

The cost of lighting is not as much as most think. The trick to saving and getting a BIG look, is to find fixtures that can multipurpose. This way, with each moment of your event, the mood or ambiance can change to indicate a change in guest expectation. reinvesting into low cost addons such as candles, led strings, lanterns can accentuate those specail areas like a cake table, head table, gift table or even a center peice. 

Change your centerpiece to a stunning focal point.
Photo Credit: Stevie Ramos Photography

Consider addressing some look outside to indicate to your guest, this event will be like no other. A great DJ and lighting technician can make sure the lighting and music compliment one another. Think about the holidays; Christmas, Hunaka, Helloween. These days have a look that elicites a feeling and sets the mood for the day. Guest entering a blank room with plain lighting says what?

Set the mood and welcome your guest!

Imagine walking through the enterence above and entering the venue below. The blue lighting and tree lit pathway is welcoming and calming. Walking into the dinning area, sets the romantic mood and will encourage your guest to sit, eat and enjoy themselves. This two looks (depending on the size of the venue) would start around $400.00 Adding more trees, uplights and such would increase the cost. Compared to the cost of linens, chair, table and ties would easily cost $50-$200 a table! Keep the linens simple, save the money and reinvest in the overal look because with each light, every table feels the impact.

Lighting plants is a great way to highlight the venue.
Photo Credit: Amanda Marie Photography

Ask your DJ if they can help you create looks like these. Visit the 15 Fun Ways to Light Up Your Wedding and see what one bride put together for her event. If your DJ cannot help with lighting, visit M.R.K.Entertainment for Southern Maine Wedding DJ and Lighting Services. Our advice is always free, whether you book with us or not. 

Why Worry About Lighting?

In recent days, I've been asked by many brides, "Why should I worry about lighting?" Often over looked and at the same time, the fasting growing trend in Wedding "Looks" is the use of lighting effects to change the ambiance and mood. I will reply something like, "Do you want your venue looking exactly original or like the 50+ wedding prior to yours?" Using lighting, you can make a wedding event look entirely different from one hour to another. Unlike physical decorations, (paper, balloons, globes, fabric), once they are placed, you're stuck with that one look.

Lighting gives a client the ability to change the venue in a moments notice based upon desired looks. Moving between white and blue or pink is common, while quickly changing through a rainbow of effects will change an elegant mood to a raging party without upsetting the mature guest. Can you imagine painting the room in lights that complement the thousands of dollars you spent on gowns, suits and more. Why let the static and plain lights make your venue look okay, when it could look AMAZING!
Yes, you can just have a couple of disco lights, but this can also reek havoc on your wedding photos! In recent conversation with a local photographer, Stacia, she replied,
"DJ's who don't understand the process of a wedding and the lighting needs of the photographer can easily ruin many or most of the photographs by placing random gobos and lights on the faces of wedding party members during the most important moments."

With experince and knowledge, a good DJ will Program custom lighting shows to meet you vision and accompany the needs of other vendors like the photographer, videographer and caterer. The experience a of lighting technician will give you looks like no other, while protecting your images and memories that are being recorded.
Some couples express concern with the cost of lighting when they see the dramatic changes that are accessible once lighting is installed. Actually, Lighting is the MOST cost effective choice for decorating  choice, the least expensive. Seeing the images on this post, you would think these affects cost thousands. Actually, you're looking at a fraction of that price. Prices begin a few hundred and can climb into the thousands, depending on the venue size. If there are multiple rooms, halls, landings, and such, then there will be added cost. For most weddings and proms, the cost is on the lower end because most of these events have 150-250 people and simple locations. Consult with DJ Michael for more information about the cost of adding this feature to your event.
"How is lighting the most cost effective?" Have you ever priced the cost of decorations? Even then, you're not going to purchase one color or a couple table cloths. Venues WILL fine you if you use tape, nails, screws or damage the facility in any way. Pay a few fines and you'll be wishing you had lighting. Lighting does not affect the venue rules or regulations in anyway. Lighting is placed at strategic locations and secured with special fasteners. You won't need a variety of fabrics, or paper goods. Your DJ can assist in creating the color or colors you want in your venue. There is also no trash or cleaning to be done at the end of your event. This is better on our environment and on your wallet. Cleaning fees for linens are not cheap.
Lighting allows you to change, modify and alter the mood of a room quickly or slowly. Have you ever noticed that when it gets dark and quiet, you get sleepy? How do you feel when you see first fallen snow and outside looks pure and white? How about at sunset when you're watching the sun set from a great location and you feel the warms of the orange and yellow rays. See, lighting can make you feel a mood change. The advantage of lighting allows you the opportunity to quickly change the mood of your guest. When lights are carefully placed and cool colors are used, people are quiet and relaxed. When they become red, green and pinks, people become excited. Obviously, strobing lights either make you want to dance or be sick; this is be an option.
Having this control allows you to change how your guest act throughout the evening. When guest sit in the back of the room away from the dance floor, it can be intimidating to walk across the room and into the dance lights. When the room is lit up, they already feel as a part of of the group. Changing the lights will also send visual cues that the party has begun or it's time to grab someone special and hit the floor.
You should worry about lighting. You could save thousands by changing a simple room into an extraordinary venue, without the expensive venue cost. Schedule a consult now for more information!

How to go from Elegant to all out Party!

Planning a wedding reception can be as stressful or more when you consider it requires much more of your guest. During a ceremony, guest will sit quietly and watch. If it’s a Mass, they will sometimes chime in with prayers or traditional movements. When your guest arrive at the reception location, they will find their seats and sometimes socialize (cocktail hour) with family members or friends of the opposite family. Your guest will eat, drink and converse while they wait for your arrival. Upon arrival, they’ll wait until the first dance for the dance floor to officially open. Then you hope that they will engage and dance. This all requires special engagement to encourage your guest to participate in each phase of your event. This requires a skilled and experienced planner, emcee or experienced DJ.

Many couples want interaction and participation throughout the reception. I’ve personally seen where they wedding party had their guest wait over three hours! Yes, tables actually got up and left. Planning to encourage engagement in activities early on in the reception will prepare your guest to become more engaged later in the evening. This can be accomplished in many ways. Some use games, trivia and slide shows. There are many options here that will raise your guest energy early in the evening. When you arrive, they’ll be excited knowing the party is now in full force.

BEFORE

One of the simplest (least expensive) ways of transforming a venue from one tradition to the next is through lighting your venue. Lighting is more than just pretty colors and blinking lights (I actually don’t encourage blinking lights before dancing). Lighting sets a mood. Think about when you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant with candle lit tables versus a cooperate fast food joint with the bright white lighting. You can picture the two and you most likely have a very different feeling. How do you want your guest to feel when they arrive, while they eat or when it is time to dance?

In your venue of choice, it’s doubtful that they will allow you to repaint the walls. They might allow you to drape fabric of color throughout (if it’s fire retardant). You couldn’t run about the room and change it from cocktail to dinner or dinner to dancing. This is where lighting comes to save the day. The cost of lighting is actually cheaper than fabric or paint. It also can be controlled by your DJ or Lighting Technician. Want the walls to be blue for cocktail and pink for dinner; no problem. Want tables individually lit; No problem. Let’s not forget about the dancing.

There are four primary kinds of lighting that are used for wedding receptions. There is a wash light, which is often used to uplight a room. They are LED and can be changed to coincide with your event timeline. There are gobos, often referred to as a monogram. These are steel plates that are cut with your initials and projected on a floor, wall or ceiling. Then there is accent lighting. In theatre, these are referred to as specials. They project beams of light throughout the room. Some move and some are static. The options for accent lighting can be limitless. Finally there is pin spots. Pin spots will put a white (or colored) spot anywhere about the room. They are most commonly used to light a cake table, head table and also individual tables. this allows you to dim the room lights and keep the tables individually lit. Consulting with M.R.K.Entertainment and wedding lighting services, you can learn more about what options are available for your venue.

Don’t expect your guest to make your event work, encourage them by setting the mood for a moment. Start with an elegant lighting scheme to encourage moment and conversation. Have your lighting change to highlight your arrival. Transform the room into a romantic dinning experience. Finally, make the room the dance hall, not just a small section of the floor. Working with knowledgeable entertainment and lighting companies like M.R.K.Entertain, you’ll amaze your guest and lead them through the stages of your event.

AFTER