How about this, have you ever gotten a checkup by a veterinarian? Docs and Vets are both medically trained.

When you plan your wedding, don’t you want the best? All-in-one packages, combo DJ/photographer/officiant, venues that provide flowers,officiants,DJs, etc, are all examples of settling for something a little less.

I’m a good photographer of sorts. I can even cook a good dinner at home. But I’m a great DJ. Specifically, I’m a great wedding DJ. Sometimes I get asked to do other types of parties, but I specialize in weddings.  I know the songs that will make your guests jump to the dance floor. I know which songs shouldn’t be heard at a wedding. I know how to match your tastes in music to your crowd.  You’ll hear the songs you love, and your guests will also hear the songs they love. The end result is a fun reception, no stress, and great memories. Your guests won’t leave the reception saying ‘can you believe the DJ did that?’

When you have the opportunity to choose each of your vendors, you have the opportunity to find someone who meshes with you, who won’t be an aggravation to work with, and who will exceed your expectations.

Visit my website (http://www.fanningflams.com) and drop me a line.  Let’s get planning..

Traditional uplighting used PAR cans and gels.  Think of a spotlight in the can mounted on a board facing up. On top of that can is placed a color plastic or gel, creating a column of colored light. PAR cans are very inexpensive (really just a bulb in a can) and have been around for years. In uplighting, they provide a very cheap solution. Unfortunately, PAR cans get hot and can burn curious guests (are kids coming to your wedding?). Also, the combination of heat and plastic sometimes emits an odor near the can.

LED lighting utilizes LEDs (duh), so instead of having light come from a single source, light comes from 50-150 LEDs all working together.  Most stop lights are really more than 3 lights (red, yellow and green), but are a collection of LEDs (you can see them if you look closely).

Along with cool operation and very low power consumption, LEDs can be made in different colors. Combine red, green and blue LEDs into a single fixture, and you have the ability to create almost any color. More importantly, connect that LED fixture to an intelligent controller, and you have the ability to change colors, fade between colors, and vary the intensity. Traditional PAR cans make it nearly impossible to light your room with purple for dinner, blue for slow dancing, and red/orange for your bouquet and garter toss. Also, most controllers can also “listen” to the music and vary the colors based on the tempo of each song.

Let’s talk about uplighting for your wedding reception or next party!

At almost every wedding, the DJ is also responsible for music during dinner. I think the bride, mother of the bride, etc should have a lot of say in what’s being played for their guests. I’ve had requests for many things that just didn’t seem like great music for dinner. Aren’t people eating and talking during this time?

Call me old-fashioned, but great dinner music fills the air with pleasantness, without dominating the room, and without being a distraction. Often the songs chosen are built around great love themes, sung by classic artists. Instrumental arrangements can also be warm and enjoyable during dinner.

Here’s my list of favorite dinner music selections:

• R N R – Rick Braun/Richard Elliot
• Groove On – Eric Darius
• Nothin’ But Trouble – Charlie Hunter
• Just Around the Corner – Eric Marienthal
• Brazil Chill – Bob Baldwin
• Georgia Peach – Acoustic Alchemy
• Teaneck – Nancy Wilson with Cannonball Adderley
• I Still Get Jealous – Harry Connick, Jr.
• Bellavia – Chuck Mangione
• Angela Smiled – W.G. Snuffy Waldren & Snuffy
• Fly me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
• Come Dance with Me – Diana Krall
• Let’s Fall in Love – Diana Krall
• La Rosa Negra – Ottmar Liebert
• Beyond the Sea – Bobby Darin
• Alright, Okay, You Win – Tony Bennett with Diana Krall
• Something’s Gotta Give – Sammy Davis, Jr.
• Moondance – Michael Bublé
• The Summer Wind – Frank Sinatra
• Titter Pipes – Tommy Newsom
• Uptown Swagger – Eric Darius
• Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Hodges & Septet

And the list can go on and on. 22 songs (from this list) is about 80 minutes of music, and plenty to get you through most any dinner.

Have a wonderful dance party, but enjoy the ambiance at dinner as well.

What’s this got to do with a wedding?

Let me set the stage.

It’s 94 degrees with 75% humidity. I’m walking around in shorts and a tee-shirt, constantly flapping the shirt to generate a little air flow and cool off.  Shade is helpful, but you can’t escape the temperature and humidity in the shade.

It’s an old plantation, so all of the roads are really just sandy dirt paths that have been there for 100′s of year. Getting the dust stirred up happens.

The plantation has appeared in many movies, including The Notebook and North & South. It’s picturesque entry through 200+ year old live oak trees with hanging spanish moss is breathtaking. If you can dream up a southern wedding with sweeping views, then you’re probably dreaming about Boone Hall Plantation.

I can imagine there are many weddings booked at Boone Hall Plantation.  There was one yesterday afternoon, complete with a beautiful bride, bridesmaids in royal blue, and gentlemen in classic seersucker suits. It really was the quintessential southern wedding.

With all of that beauty, planning, live musicians for the ceremony, amazing views and photo opportunities, what do you think the guests will remember the most?

Probably the 200 yard walk on the dirt road from the parking lot to the wedding/reception area while wearing appropriate wedding attire (suits and cocktail dresses) in a 94 degree/75% humidity day.

Could this have been solved? I don’t know. I would’ve investigated an air conditioned limo/bus to carry people back and forth.  Even a carriage drawn by horses would’ve been appropriate, fun for the guests, and much better than the walk.

I wasn’t working the wedding (I’m on vacation), and I’m glad I didn’t have the sweaty, cranky guests at the reception. Please, do your guests a favor and think about their day too, and how pleasant/unpleasant you are making it.

The really big shows seem to be a “cattle-call” of sorts.  I don’t know how any bride can spend a day (or even two) at a megashow, visiting 40 DJ booths, 100+ photographers, etc, and make any sense of it.  In the handful of big, big shows I’ve participated in, it seems the great majority of the “leads” are really just looking for a great deal.  I’m not against someone looking for a great deal, and I’ll work to stay within someone’s budget, but do you really want to put your reception into the hands of the cheapest available DJ you could find?

I know there are many good DJs in the valley.  I’ve met quite a few of them.  Some of the best I know are also, like me, recommended by Thee Wedding Warehouse.  Kathy and her staff do weddings, 100′s of weddings every year. I think they’ve seen it all, so to speak.

On September 24th, Kathy and Thee Wedding Warehouse is holding a wedding show of its own. What makes this different? To participate requires more than money. You can’t just put down $$$ and get a table.  As a matter of fact, our only expense is to help cover the cost of the rentals (tent, table, power, etc). The only vendors you’ll meet at this show are the ones invited by Kathy and Thee Wedding Warehouse to participate.  In other words, it’s a show with 3-6 quality vendors of each category (DJ, catering, photography, etc).  I feel honored to be a part of Kathy’s network.

If you want to meet vendors that are known for their quality of work, come out on 9/24 for the day.  I’ll be there, as well as other great DJs in the valley.  Pick any one of us and I will personally guarantee you’ll have a great reception.

Did I mention there are some great giveaways that day too?

Dancing at wedding receptions can do more than just shake up the crowd with the latest dance craze. Sure, everyone wants to dance to Dynamite by Taio Cruz, or J Lo’s On The Floor, or even DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love by Usher and show off their latest, greatest, ‘you’re gonna wish you were my boyfriend’ moves. Even the more ‘pop’ artists like Katy Perry or Ke$ha can pull you out of your seat and make you want to do things that you should be doing in a dark room.

Sooner or later, though, you’re gonna be married and be faced with taking your wife to a wedding reception.  Trust me, she wants to SLOW dance with you.

Why?

It’s simple. In addition to that booty-rattling fall-to-the-floor exhibition already mentioned, dancing is a memory maker. Songs have lyrics, lyrics tell stories, stories are about memories, or at least memories you wish you had.  It’s the ultimate purpose of music (imho), to make an emotional connection.

Your wife just witnessed a beautiful ceremony. She remembers that first kiss from you, the time you proposed, and your own first dance.  As those memories come rushing in, the LAST thing she wants to do is sit at a table and watch you scratch your beer gut and complain about how you’re missing some game.

Guys, weddings are the ultimate ‘warm-up’ act for you and your wife. You can make your evening just as special as the bride and grooms evening (if you know what I mean) by just taking advantage of the situation. Ask her to dance until she’s tired of dancing.  Make sure you dance every slow dance and hold her like it was the first time.  Trust me, she’ll go home with a twinkle in her eye, and will put one in your eye before the night is over.

So where does the DJ fit into this? Since music is about either making new memories or reliving old ones, DJs at weddings need to play a variety of music.  My experience tells me everyone wants to dance to the same songs they heard at their senior prom. I know it sounds corny, but that was a pivotal time in most people’s lives, and that music is forever etched on the heart of your first love, probably in high school. For me (unfortunately, sorta) that means disco.  I know, disco. But if you are from the disco era like I am, then you are not far from Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get it On (1973), or even Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers 1965 remake of a 1955 song, as a B-side no less).

Do me a favor.  When you’re at your next wedding reception, and one of those “golden oldies” comes on (even if that golden age is disco), just remember this post, and how the DJ is in the business of returning loved ones to their perfect memories.

And don’t forget to grab your honey, hold her tight, and relive some of your best memories as well.

P.S. If you are planning a wedding, give me a shout out and let me help you make memories. FanningFlames.com

Catherine Middleton (as she was known prior to the wedding) walked into Westminster Abbey to the tune of “I Was Glad” as it was arranged by Sir Hubert Parry in 1902.

What? No “here comes the bride”?  Not even a good rendition of Pachebel’s Canon in D? Those two songs are commonly used and have a lot of history.

“Here Comes the Bride” or the “Wedding March” is from the 1850 opera Lohengrin written by Wagner, a german composer. In the opera, the song comes after the ceremony as the bride and groom leave the reception, as it were. Many religions oppose this particular song. Wagner was known as an anti-Semite so you’ll rarely hear this piece at a jewish wedding. Likewise, since Wagner’s operas often included pagan worship, the Lutheran church typically opposes it.

Pachelbel’s Canon in D was most likely written in 1694 for a wedding that Pachelbel actually attended where one of his music pupils, who was also the older brother of Johann Sebastian Bach, was married. I don’t typically recommend writing your own wedding music, but if you’re Pachelbel, go for it.

So where does “I Was Glad” fit into the musical history of weddings? The text of the song comes from the Book of Common Prayer in 1662, and contains verses from Psalm 122. Parry’s rendition from 1902 was used at the coronation of King Edward VII, and later used for other coronation ceremonies. For the prince and princess, this is essentially music from their family history, that history being the kings and queens of England.

What were they glad about? “I Was Glad” refers to the response you have when entering the House of the Lord. It’s an absolutely beautiful sentiment for any wedding, even if it’s not a royal wedding. Here is the text:

1. I was glad when they said unto me : We will go into the house of the Lord.
2. Our feet shall stand in thy gates : O Jerusalem.
3. Jerusalem is built as a city : that is at unity in itself.
4. For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord : to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
5. For there is the seat of judgement : even the seat of the house of David.
6. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee.
7. Peace be within thy walls : and plenteousness within thy palaces.
8. For my brethren and companions’ sakes : I will wish thee prosperity.
9. Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God : I will seek to do thee good.

Say what?!?!

I’ve participated in some fun weddings, and had the crowd hopping in a big way, but never have I seen a fight break out on the dance floor. Weddings are supposed to be classy, and by classy, I mean no fighting.

As the story goes, several guys (not gentlemen, obviously) were dancing in a provocative manner with the bride, and the groom took offense to it. I guess things just escalated at that point and when the police arrived there were 30 people fighting on the dance floor.  Somehow the bride was furious and decided to take on a police officer by kicking him (yes, in the wrong place).

As a result, I’m providing my list of things to do to prevent a fight at your wedding:

• Don’t invite people who fight
• It’s okay for the bar to be limited, your friends will not think less of you
• Have your wedding at a professional facility, not in your back yard (hotels would’ve had staff to minimize any physical activity before 30 of your guests were involved)
• Don’t invite people who fight (did I mention that one before?)

As you can tell from this photo, the bride likely got roughed up a bit too.  It’s unfortunate that she had multiple photographers at her wedding – the one taking pictures of the ceremony, and the police department that took this picture.

If I take a look at Billboard’s Hot 100, I see the usual names.  There are a few more country artists than I would’ve guessed in the top 30, but the top 10 are pretty predictable. It seems Katy Perry’s style of pop-rock is replicated several times, maybe signaling the end of the hard hip-hop a la “shake your money maker” style dance tunes?

If you had to pick the next up and coming dance phenomenon, what would you pick?

Shazam is a cool little app you can put on just about any “smartphone” device.  It listens to whatever sound it can (using the built-in microphone, hence the “smartphone” part) and compares what it hears to a vast library of music.  Finding a match, it shows you the artist, title, album art, and of course links so you can buy the music (usually through iTunes or Amazon).

How do it know?

Many years ago music was recorded in an analog environment.  Everything was mixed and put down on some type of tape.  Over time, those tapes became smaller and smaller, ending up with cassettes that gave you very portable music.

Then the digital age gave us CDs (compact discs).  CDs do it differently.  All of the music is stored in a digital format (think 1′s and 0′s and computers).  CD players read those 1′s and 0′s and convert them back into music (just like your computer is reading the 1′s and 0′s of this article and converting them into letters, etc).  The end result is a music format that doesn’t degrade over time.  Remember when you played your albums over and over as a kid, and before long they started sounding scratchy, etc?  That degradation was eliminated with digital music.  It either plays, or it doesn’t. Scratches on CDs don’t sound like scratches, they just prevent the reader from interpreting the 1′s and 0′s and therefore stop playing (we’ve all had a CD that wouldn’t play because of a scratch).

What’s this got to do with Shazam? A friend of mine suggested that Shazam works by transmitting whatever it hears into a large room of music experts.  They identify the music and type in the answer, which gets transmitted back to you. Of course that would work at some level, and it would actually work whether the music was digital or analog (you could hear a live band playing a song and figure out what the song is).  But that’s not how Shazam works.

Shazam listens to the music and converts it back to its original digital format.  Since it’s just 1′s and 0′s (I’m simplifying a bit) all it has to do is pattern match those 1′s and 0′s back to a library of digital music.  If it finds a match, then it knows the artist, album, title, etc. Letting Shazam listen to a live performance, even if it’s the original band at a concert, it won’t match the digital signature of the recording in the library.

In the same way a microphone and speaker just do the opposite of each other, you can take an analog signal (what you hear) and turn it back into a digital signal.  It actually happens a lot. Cell phones do the same thing.

If you have a smartphone, and don’t have Shazam, give it a try. It’s a fun way to learn new music without having to always ask someone “what’s that song playing now?”