This gallery contains 38 photos.
Matthew & Christina Wedding
Gallery
Tag Archives: simple wedding
Fun Rhode Island Wedding at Nauvoo Grill Club
This past Saturday we performed as DJ and MC for a fun Rhode Island Wedding at The Nauvoo Grill Club in Fair Haven, New Jersey. If you have never been there, you are in for a treat! It was our first time as DJ and MC at Nauvoo Grill Club and they did a fantastic job. If you are looking for an excellent venue for your Wedding or Party, I invite you to explore their website and look around. They have great atmosphere, a cool upper deck, awesome food and a professional, but laid back staff. We DJ many Weddings and Parties in the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania area and we were very impressed.
The Bride and Groom themselves must have put great thought into their choice of venue for their Wedding, because they were equally laid back, simple and great to work with. It fit them perfectly and it was such a nice, simple and elegant Wedding. The Bride looked fabulous and so did the Groom for that matter. Their friends and family had a great time and enjoyed everything. The music for the Cocktail Hour consisted mostly of soft Modern and Classic Rock with some new Top 40 mixed-in to make sure everybody was happy.
Fun Rhode Island Wedding DJ at Nauvoo Grill Club
When most guests were finished with the quality buffet, a woman who identified herself as, “A sixty-two year old lady who wants to dance and party!”, came up and asked requested us to play some Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez to get the dancing started. Five minutes later the dance floor was packed and stayed that way till the end! We played DJ Music for dancing for young and old, mixing Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley with Neyo, Jackson 5 and Bruce Springsteen, the latter being the Groom’s request.
It is so satisfying as a Rhode Island Wedding DJ to participate in such an excellent Wedding with the Bride, Groom and their guests. It was so much fun with no cheesy music or elements, a great simple and elegant Wedding on the Jersey Shore, less than three blocks from water.
DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ
973.908.8147
Save on Wedding Music – Cut Wedding Music Costs | Wedding Planning, Ideas & Etiquette | Bridal Guide Magazine
How to Save on Wedding Music
It is always fun to see yourself quoted in articles for a magazine like Bridal Guide. This is a great blog on saving money on Wedding Music. Let me know what you think of the various ideas for Wedding Music!
How To Save on Wedding Music By: Sharon Naylor
From first dance to last call — budget-friendly ways to entertain your guests in high style.
Great entertainment can really make your wedding unforgettable. A fabulous DJ or a live band keeps your dance floor packed and the energy up. Those ultra-special moments like your first dances and your cake-cutting become even more special with a stellar introduction. And surprise live performances are sure to wow your crowd.
Entertainment can be one of the most expensive parts of the wedding budget, however, and it’s not always the easiest place to cut corners. But fear not, there’s definitely wiggle room when it comes to number crunching — and we’re here to give you the scoop. Plus, get wedding song recommendations here!
Photo Credit: Kathryn Krueger Photography
The Number-One Question: DJ Vs. Band
You’ve always heard that DJs are less expensive than live bands. After all, there’s only one person to hire and feed, so that has to be less, right? Not always. According to the American Disc Jockey Association, rates can soar to $5,000 and beyond for top-tier master-blasters. But yes, in most cases, DJs can be less expensive than bands since there are fewer people to book and feed.
And yet: “Think about the experience you want to have at your wedding,” says planner Courtney Hammons of A Magical Affair in Brentwood, Tennessee. You may be aiming for the energy that fills the room when a live band plays hit songs. Or it may be that you really prefer the original artists’ renditions of songs, as played by a DJ. You may want the festive look of a nine-piece orchestra, versus the tech-heavy presence of a deejay.
And of course, you might be among the many couples that choose both. They’ll have a band play for the dinner hour and the start of the reception, then have a DJ step in and rev up the energy with club music. And—surprise—this can save money. Read on to see how.
Typical Costs
- DJ: $525 to $1,400
- Live band: $1,200 to $3,000-plus
- Specialty musicians, soloists and ensembles: $400 to $1,000-plus
These are national averages. Depending on your reception entertainment choices, such as a 12-piece orchestra, you could be looking at prices double these, if not more.
*Source: industry survey site costofwedding.com.
Budget Basics
Professional entertainment will cost less during the off-peak months of October through March, and at non-peak times such as a Sunday wedding, a Saturday afternoon wedding or on a Friday, with prices dipping 20 to 40 percent or more for these less in-demand times.
Avoid booking for too few hours. Andy Kushner of Andy Kushner Entertainment in Rockville, Maryland says, “Four hours is the standard length, and anything else will go too quickly.” Overtime fees can be very expensive, often hundreds of dollars.
Booking a DJ and band to split the time can add up to less. Michael Swerdloff, AKA DJ Mystical Michael of the New York tri-state area says, “I have performed in between the band’s sets and then did the last hours of the reception, which can save 25 to 75 percent over hiring a band for the whole event.”
Ask your wedding planner and additional wedding vendors for recommendations. Katherine Stimson, entertainment specialist with Suman Entertainment Group in Miami says that some vendors offer package deals among “friends” in their vendor circle, saving you 10 to 20 percent.
Ask your entertainer if you can get a discount for paying your entire fee in advance. Some experts will give you 5 to 10 percent off a package price if you pay everything up front.
Ask about specialty discounts. DJ Mystical Michael granted a 50 percent discount to a military couple, and reports that he often gives a discount for last-minute planners just to book the date.
Check entertainers’ social media sites for discounts, says Gregg Hollman of Ambient DJ Service in Princeton, New Jersey. These special online offers will typically save you 10 to 15 percent.
Get more out of your dj by having him take a break during the dinner hour, says Kushner. “Then negotiate for him to play non-stop during the dancing hours.”
Choose a one-man dj operation, rather than paying for a two- or three-member team. This can save you 15 to 25 percent depending on the agency, says Swerdloff.
Look for multi-tasking band members who play more than one instrument to get even more bang for your buck. See if one of your reception band’s musicians will also play at your ceremony, and negotiate a percentage off what it would cost to book a separate musical act.
Don’t be afraid to go big: “It’s always best to negotiate with an established entertainment company rather than go to a lesser-known agency,” Kushner says. Larger agencies often have a greater ability to meet your budget needs.
Save By Going Off The Beaten Track
“Check with local colleges’ music departments to find student musicians who need the credits and additional live experience, and may not charge anything,” says Hammons. (Do give them a nice gratuity after the show.) Some students do charge, but far less. Mark Kingsdorf, director of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants in Philadelphia agrees, saying that music school student entertainment can cost one-third less than pro musicians.
Hammons also suggests checking with your church’s musical director, who can suggest excellent pianists and other musicians they use during services, who you can hire for 30 to 40 percent less than the prevailing professional rates.
Professional entertainment companies keep a roster of specialty musicians and dancers, who you may be able to add onto your music package for a 10 percent discount.
Look to venues like Irish pubs or Indian restaurants for specialty entertainment options such as fiddlers, step- or belly dancers. Hammons says she has found stellar entertainers through local restaurant owners, saving her clients 40 to 60 percent.
Contact local cultural associations to book singers, musicians and dance troupes for 25 to 50 percent less than the going professional rates. This is a great way to add global flair to your reception. If you hear a great musician at a local club or coffee shop, always ask if he or she does weddings. These artists often charge a low per-hour rate that can save you hundreds of dollars. Bonus: you already know their sound, which may be perfect for your cocktail-hour music, if not your ceremony.
Hot Tip: Many DJs and bands offer specialty lighting effects as part of their package; often their basic lighting accents are gratis, with customized lighting for an added fee. Ask if you can use non-custom effects such as light projected in a snowflake pattern on your dance floor at no charge—rather than commission lighting effects with your names.
via Save on Wedding Music – Cut Wedding Music Costs | Wedding Planning, Ideas & Etiquette | Bridal Guide Magazine. by Sharon Naylor
What do you think of the mopey-saving ideas for Wedding Music?
Was this article helpful for Wedding Music planning?
Ask about my Rhode Island Wedding DJ & Rhode Island Party DJ Guarantee!
Vitamin String Quartet
I was first turned-on to Vitamin String Quartet when the older sister of a Bride was helping me prepare for her sister’s wedding and requested that four of the Vitamin String Quartet’s songs were to be played during the ceremony, “God Only Knows”, “Don’t Stop Believin'”, Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Clocks”.
Vitamin String Quartet Sweet Child O’ Mine
Vitamin String Quartet - Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns and Roses Cover)
I did some research on Vitamin String Quartet and began to explore Vitamin String Quartet library. It turns out they have over fifty albums with the majority of them as tributes to an artist or band exclusively. Vitamin String Quartet music has been featured on Dancing With The Stars several times and an episode of The Vampire Diaries included three of their tunes.
Vitamin String Quartet Rolling In The Deep Adele
Vitamin String Quartet - Rolling In The Deep
Vitamin String Quartet is a group of musicians in the Los Angeles area that record string arranged covers of Rock and Pop music to offer listeners, “Vitamin String Quartet is about applying rock n’ roll attitude to classical technique,” says Tom Tally, a violist and arranger who has performed on and produced over fifty Vitamin String Quartet albums. They do use non-string instruments occasionally.
I find Vitamin String Quartet covers often very original and unique with passion and clarity. I enjoy Vitamin String Quartet Music while driving on road trips as well as dancing. As a professional DJ, Vitamin String Quartet are an excellent resource for music for ceremonies, cocktails hours and special circumstances that a Rock audience will appreciate in a setting that harder music is not properly suited.
Vitamin String Quartet Under The Bridge Red Hot Chili Peppers Mp3
Vitamin String Quartet - Under The Bridge
“Remember the scene in This Is Spinal Tap where singer David St. Hubbins mulls his prospects after the breakup of his heavy metal band? ”I’ve always wanted to do a collection of my acoustic numbers with the London Philharmonic,” he sighs. For nearly six years, Vitamin Records has tapped that same symphonic spine with its String Quartet Tribute series, which takes rock music and puts it through an orchestral filter. Aimed at collectors, completists, and fans open to reworkings of their favorite songs, the Vitamin catalog includes 140 classically gassed homages to every three-chord wonder from Metallica to the Darkness. ”I like the tribute to us,” says Nickelback guitarist Chad Kroeger. ”When your music is taken to a different place, it’s an honor.” EW.com
Peter Gabriel The Book of Love
I think Peter Gabriel The Book of Love is an amazing song! It blew me away the first time I heard it and still gives me chills all these years later!
Peter Gabriel has been one of my favorite artists since I was a teenager listening to Genesis and my appreciation grew with every solo album he released. It is rare to find artists who can write lyrics and music the way he can that have spanned such a wide spectrum of musical styles and intentions. Strange to think he was a hard-core Progressive Rock writer and performer with Genesis and experimented with rhythms from around the world as a solo artist. Later, he composed the soundtrack to the film The Last Temptation of Christ titled Passion, one of the albums that inspires me the greatest past and present. “It Is Accomplished” feels like an entire soundtrack in one song! Then came Peter Gabriel The Book of Love.
He has written songs of freedom and advocacy like “Biko” that some say was the impetus for Live Aid., as well as featured in The Amnesty International Tour. I remember being overcome with emotion when watching the ending live in TV with the whole crowd totally engaged as each band member left the stage.
His sense of textures and rhythms continue to move me and as a dancer and someone who experiments with movement, find his work incredibly easy to facilitate lyrical and textural dance creativity.
I chose this You Tube of Peter Gabriel The Book of Love for its creative use of love and romance without losing the lush feeling that Gabriel captures in this song. For me, the lyrics in Greek, which I cannot read, somehow added to the effect.
Peter Gabriel The Book of Love Music Video
Enjoy!
DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ
As a special treat if you have never heard the song “Solsbury Hill” before. He wrote this about the leap of faith to leave the band Genesis and fly on his own.
Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight
It occurred to me recently at a wedding that I have not added many slow songs to the list of music videos reviewed. This, Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight, was the song I was playing when it hit me and figured that would be a great place to start. I know it is more fun and ‘sexier’ to only include the fast and hot songs but Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight and many other great artists have recorded such a wealth of outstanding classic slow songs for the professional Wedding DJ.
More than any other artist, I grew-up listening to Frank Sinatra. I felt like he was a member of the family at times. His records were always on or close to the record player waiting to be played. Old Blue Eyes as he was called, would sing to us about love and life in the New Jersey/New York City region. I cannot count the number of times I heard my father and other friends and family members arguing over when they saw Sinatra and who he was with. His legendary connections, whether true or false, were part of the Sinatra lore. After all, he was a Jersey Boy from Hoboken.
He learned to sing by ear and never learned how to read music. At age eight he would illegally sing standing on the bar for tips to help his family pay their bills. His success peaked in the late 40’s and early 50’s. His acting career helped him to regain fame in the 60’s and was notorious for hanging with the Rat Pack, his friends Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, which originally centered around Humphrey Bogart. Sinatra, Martin and Davis were the three ‘core members’. They all starred in the original film, Oceans Eleven.
Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight Music Video
I smile every time I am co-creating a professional Wedding DJ playlist for an event and the planner asks me to play Sinatra, especially Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight.
John Hiatt Have A Little Faith
John Hiatt Have A Little Faith has been featured in the films Benny & Joon, Phenomenon, Love Happens, Look Who’s Talking and My Best Friend’s Girl. John Hiatt Have A Little Faith has been covered by many artists including Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton, Chaka Kahn and my favorite, Van Morrison. Jewel’s version is the one featured in Phenomenon.
Really this is just a beautiful song- the lyrics, the melody and intensity. It certainly carries a message we all can appreciate.
John Hiatt Have A Little Faith Lyrics
When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me
And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
And when your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darling, from a whisper start
And have a little faith in me
And when your back’s against the wall
Just turn around and you, you will see
I will catch you, I will catch your fall
Just have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
‘Cause I’ve been loving you, for such a long, long time
Expecting nothing in return
Just for you to have a little faith in me
You see time, time is our friend
‘Cause for us, there is no end
And all you gotta do, is have a little faith in me
I will hold you up, I will hold you up
And your love, gives me strength enough to
Have a little faith in me
Hey hey
All you gotta do for me girl
Is have a little faith in me
John Hiatt Have A Little Faith Music Video
Jon and Nikki Wedding
Gallery
This gallery contains 33 photos.
DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ Some Photo Credits to Anna Rozenblat Photography
