Photo: Copyright © 2013 by Matt Martindale – Amore’ DJ Entertainment, Lighting & Decor (All Rights Reserved)
THE MC (Master of Ceremonies)
Most people do not really understand the role of the wedding MC, or falsely believe that because another DJ calls himself a “MC,” that he must be one. As you can tell in “Our Wedding Celebration Philosophy,” we believe it’s far more than just making a couple of announcements like they do and fulfilling the 12 roles of a wedding MC/DJ Entertainer. Yes, it is important to be confident and competent enough to speak in front of a crowd, but we have the skill, education, knowledge, practice and rehearse mic skills. We also know exactly how to organize, then maintain a smooth wedding celebration with hundreds of details concurrently happening in seamless manner.
Your wedding MC/DJ Entertainer, will be assumed to take on several roles beyond just playing wedding music, whether they know it or not. The reality is, your wedding MC/DJ Entertainer is the visible spokesperson for your wedding, the host, and thereby, the person guests assume “responsible” for crafting the comprehensive entertainment experience for them from the moment they arrive, to your last dance. Because of this assumption, your wedding MC/DJ Entertainer is presumed to take on the task of fully organizing, creating, building, then maintaining a wedding’s full sequence of events beyond just music and a few announcements, then seamlessly delivering them in a professional manner that keeps guests engaged, entertained and informed. We acknowledge that responsibility. We gladly accept that responsibility… and the reason why we specifically created our “Wedding Entertainment Design™” process.
So much more is explained about the role of a good wedding MC in “The 12 Roles of a Wedding MC/DJ Entertainer” as well as “The DJ’s Perceived Responsibility.” In essence, as the MC, you are trusting us to serve quite literally as the host of your wedding. The visible face guests look to for guidance, and to manage their every psychological need.
- Their need of acceptance – by being the initial focal point and introduction.
- Their need for information – by being the primary source of information for every activity for the day. In part, because we have chose to make ourselves the intermittent and consistent focal point, as well as the recognized and familiar voice on the microphone.
- Their need for direction – by being the one single person that has started, and will continue, to provide direction for every formality and element of the reception; both visually and verbally.
- Their need for closure – by being the one person that has informed guests of each activity, then providing the notification when it’s completed, as well as when the final activity of the reception has concluded.
Organization is key.
Preparation is crucial.
Timing is everything.
The Amore’ wedding MC/DJ Entertainer has five distinct advantages:
- As a true professional wedding MC, we are accustomed to the responsibilities of every other Colorado wedding professional (photographer, videographer, coordinator, caterer, etc) working at the reception. There is an immediate rapport in ensuring the seamless execution of each job to the overall success of the wedding celebration.
- We realize that as the wedding MC, we are the visible wedding professional to guests, and thereby “perceived” to be the wedding MC/DJ’s responsibility to maintain the sequence of events in a positive and seamless, calm and composed manner – no matter what happens. It is our unique ability to anticipate and deal directly with any problems that arise. This can often be done with ease and without disrupting the flow of the evening or disturbing the newlyweds, family or guests. (for more about this, visit “The DJ’s Perceived Responsibility.”
- As experienced Colorado wedding MCs, we are very familiar with the timing of events, and skilled at coordinating each step and to make any necessary adjustments on the fly with out the appearance of poor planning or being disruptive.
- We have the talent, skill, organization, preparation and “Wedding Entertainment Design™” process to bring every phase of the reception together to create a great wedding celebration environment while taking into account the personalities of the bride and groom, your vision and objectives.
- We use all the abilities mentioned above to add a special touch of class by making the wedding celebration unique and creating an environment where guests are welcome, included, engaged and have fun at your one-of-a-kind event.
Let me ask you, how important is the direction and staging at your reception to create a seamless, smooth flowing wedding celebration?
Critical.
Let’s just consider one common wedding highlight before announcing it’s time for the toast:
Who has checked to make sure the catering staff has all the dishes cleared? (so that the staff isn’t clearing dishes after dinner that could create a visible distraction, as well as the noise of dishes being cleared during the toast)
Who has checked to make sure all the champagne (or special drink) is poured? For which guests? (is it just the bride and groom? The head table? Parent tables? Everyone? Is it “drink in hand” where everyone gets their own drink from the bar?
Who is prepping the best man, and all those speaking on your behalf, before the toast?
Who is showing the best man, and all those speaking on your behalf, how to position and hold the mic?
Who is making sure the bride and groom are in fact ready for the toast and also get a friendly ten minute advance notice?
Who reminds each person toasting or speaking on your behalf to bring their champagne glass up when they toast?
Who makes sure the photographer and videographer are ready to go and also receive the same ten minute advance notice so that if they need to change out a memory card, swap out lenses or get fresh batteries, they have time to do so?
Who asks the photographer and videographer where they specifically would like the both the newlyweds and those toasting where they want them all to stand so they can get the best photograph / video (since natural lighting depending on the time of day from when the reception actually starts).
Who is making sure everything is flowing seamless so that you get to fully enjoy your day stress-free?
We do! Amore’ DJ Entertainment.
No other wedding professional you hire for your wedding can do all of this.
We don’t want you as the bride, frantically trying to organize everybody. Your job is to relax, celebrate and enjoy the day, and let us do what we do best!
THE DJ AND THE MUSIC
Photo: Copyright © 2012 – Photo Used With Permission – Courtesy of Elevate Photography (All Rights Reserved)
Many amateur DJs tend to express at least some experience playing music at house parties, clubs, bars, fraternity or sorority parties, bar/bat mitzvah or school dances. However, playing music at any of these is absolutely nothing like playing music at a wedding. With the previous mentioned events, the people there tend to be the same age and share in similar music tastes. That’s why they are in fact there, because they want to dance to a particular style, genre or era of music.
Reading a crowd and mixing dance music for a wedding reception is very different than a house party, club, bar, college party, bar/bat mitzvah or school dance. Anyone can (and often does) “play” DJ for these.
Weddings are very difficult to do well. A wedding features a wide mix of ages, varying music tastes, personal style, different beliefs, values and cultures. Only through actual wedding experienced can a wedding DJ achieve the need for variety in music tempo, styles, genres, eras and how to read a varying crowd. This can never be done playing a club, bar, school dance, mitzvah or college party can do that. That is why it is so crucial to get a “wedding only” MC/DJ Entertainer for your wedding and never a company that does house parties, clubs, bars, fraternity or sorority parties, bar/bat mitzvah or school dances or worse yet, former or current “radio DJ personalities” who think they can weekend gig your wedding.
Our job is to appeal to as many dancers as possible by playing all styles and genres of familiar dance music. The first key to doing this, is to specifically play tasteful and “family appropriate” songs and shy away from songs that could otherwise stun grandma with that new club song laced with adult content and questionable language. Secondly, to maximize dancing, it’s best to play songs that appeal to the large group as a whole, first, because an experienced wedding MC/DJ Entertainer understands that everyone is most passionate about “their style” of music. A song that is number one on the charts now might be familiar to a few younger guests, but probably isn’t at all to the older guests. However, if we delay playing that until a little later, then the older guests will likely stay longer on the dance floor because they welcome, valued and included. This is intentionally done by strategically mixing sets of 2 to 4 songs from a given style, genre or era of music, then changing into another style that is similar enough to keep those already dancing on the floor, as well as attract new dancers. Knowing and reading this diversity based on the current energy on the dance floor is the key to great reception entertainment! An experienced wedding MC/DJ can read the crowd and play great music while simultaneously minding the newlyweds’ specific song requests and blending in guests’ requests factoring in the array of ages, styles, genres and musical eras. It’s the inexperienced guys like the club, bar, school dance, mitzvah, college party or on air “radio DJ personalities” that play more than about 5 or 6 songs of one style in a row leaving the easy way to “force” guests to leave because guests feel they don’t matter and are being ignored.
We have an extensive knowledge and experience of all genres, styles and eras of music. Our love of music basically starts with an authentic love and appreciation of all music, a large selection of types of music, as well as a working knowledge of music, from popular fox trots and waltzes, jazz, ethnic, oldies and country to the latest club hits.
Feel free to browse our music library. Chances are we have just about anything you are looking for.
In case you are wondering, even though our music library obviously has tens of thousands of songs we’ll bring to every wedding celebration, here are the top 200 most requested wedding songs played at receptions all across America the last twelve months. Yes, these are frequently requested and played at local weddings too.
Can a DJ be a good MC?
Generally speaking, other DJs are decent at music and can utter a few announcements, but often lack the confidence to inspire and motive their audience in the way necessary for great wedding entertainment. They just aren’t organized. They don’t understand their role as a wedding MC/DJ Entertainer and what it truly takes to do this well.
We can.
The truth is, there are very few of us in the State that can equally serves as the wedding MC and DJ at the same time with equal skill and equal success. In reality, it is our “Wedding Entertainment Design”™ process and the thorough manner in which we prepare, practice and polish for our weddings allow for this to happen.
Photo: Copyright © 2013 by Matt Martindale – Amore’ DJ Entertainment, Lighting & Decor (All Rights Reserved)
Let’s chat more!
I’d love to hear about your wedding and get you an exact price quote for your own unique wedding.
To check the availability of your wedding date and to request an appointment with Matt for a price quote to create your very own smooth flowing, memorable and amazingly fun wedding.
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