Edmonton Wedding DJs

January 24, 2010

Bridal Fantasy 2010 at the Edmonton Northlands Agricom.

Video Highlights of the day.

There is a lot to say about Bridal Fantasy this year as there were a few surprises.

    

Most noticeably was the decrease in attendance of the exhibitors as it was clear to me that there were less vendors this year compared to last.  Add-in the fact two major vendors were missing from Bridal Fantasy goes to show either those exhibitors have not been happy with the results from the show or how the show is run.  I have not spoken with River City Rentals or Elegant Touches but I do know that they both were in Bridal Fair 2 weeks prior but did not participate in this show.

    

It is hard to say if attendance numbers were as strong this year over last year as no numbers have been currently released.  Most vendors I spoke with seemed to be happy with the show and felt the numbers were down slightly but no one was positive about that.  Most exhibitors were a bit nervous going into the show as Bridal Fair on had one half the attendance they had in 2009.

    

The other big challenge to Bridal Fantasy this year was the Agricom itself.  With the renovations that have been taking place now for almost 2 years this venue has become disliked by both attendees and the public as you have to walk a great distance just to get to the main doors from the parking lot and another long haul down a long hallway to get to the exhibition halls.   Add-in the fact that you had to pay $12 for parking and $20 to get in the door I am surprised anyone came to the show at all.

I must say that there were some very well done booths this year and people put allot of thought into making the most of the day.

    

This was the 5th time I have been to Bridal Fantasy and I was again disappointed with the fashion show.  For what seems like 5 years in a row the Derk’s have used the same stage back drop/theme and even worse to me was the show producers used the exact same music.  The fashion show truly lacked anything new and exciting and with such a changing world that we currently live in it was disappointing that there was no new energy brought to this part of the event.

    

The BIG challenge I noticed this year was at the show a few companies pulling what is known as Bait and Switch.  One DJ company inparticular took what is normally a $600 DJ package (at best) they then marked it up to $1195 and created a show special were they discounted the price by 50%.  I can personally tell you that even their $600 package is not worth $600 not to mention $1200.  As a DJ for almost 10 years I was shocked by this companies approach to marketing.  If you consider a good DJ package to included 2 speakers on stands and a laptop with no lighting run by a DJ that may or may not have ever done a wedding before a good deal then you definitely got what you paid for.  All I can say is make sure your do your homework before you book any of your major vendors and never book anything the day of a wedding show.  Go home after the show and do a little more research online to make you hire the right companies for what most people consider one of the most important days of their lives.

    

I have never personally been an exhibitor in this or any show but have helped out a number of vendors/exhibitors over the years with their booth and what has always frustrated me the most is the end of the day when the mad rush occurs as everyone is trying to get done and their booths taken down as fast as possible.  The Derk’s and Heidi really need to lay down the law with GES (the company that provides the tradeshow equipment for the show) and have them not lift a finger for one hour after the show ends to allow the vendors that paid at least $1400 to attend the show have the right-a-way when clearing the building.  The staff of GES were so inconsiderate that they began to roll up the carpet while there were still guests in the room and some of them with baby strollers.  This was very disappointing to see and I was impressed that a few exhibitors, raised shit (excuse my French) and had GES stop this work immediately.

All-in-all it was a good day and as a lot of competitors are very friendly with each other so it was a chance to visit and say hello to some great people that work in the Edmonton Wedding market.

List of Show Exibitors

A Beautiful Day - Planning & Decorating

A Chair to Remember - Planning & Decorating

ABC Weddings – Planning & Decorating

Artistic Creations Photography and Design – Photography and Videography

Avenue – Publications/Media

Beauti Control – Health & Beauty

Bed Bath and Beyond – Retail

Best Buds Flower Co. – Florists

Best Western Cedar Park Inn and Westwood – Wedding Venue

Bliss Wedding Consultants – Planning & Decorating

Bloom N’ Memories – Florists

Blue Sky Limos – Limo Services

Bridal Debut – Bridal Fashions

Browns Photography – Photography and Videography

Cakes by Janna – Cakes & Sweets

Coast Edmonton Plaza – Wedding Venue Location

Coral’s Design – Florisit

Crystal’s Bridal - Bridal Fashions

d’Lish – Catering Company

Derks – Men’s Formal Wear

Electrik Lemon Hair and Body Studio – Health & Beauty

Elegant Events – Planning & Decorating

Erik Hornung Photography – Photography and Videography

Fantasyland Hotel – Wedding Venue

Final Touch – Planning & Decorating

Flowers In The Park – Florist

Gemini – Bridal Fashions

Graham and Lane Florist - Flowers

Hilton Garden InnWest Edmonton – Wedding Venue

Holiday Inn Convention Centre – Wedding Location

In Motion Style Group – Health & Beauty

Infinite Event Services – Planning & Decorating

Instant Memories – Photography and Videography

Isagenix – Health & Beauty

Karisma Resorts – Wedding Travel

Kelly Redinger Studios – Photography and Videography

La Piazza Dasee – Florist

Mary Kay – Health & Beauty

Moby Disc DJ – Edmonton DJ for Special Events

Moores Clothing For Men – Men’s Formal Wear

Nickibeans – Cakes & Sweets

Notables – Stationery and Invitations

Photsmiths – Photography and Videography)

Picture That Photography – Photography and Videography

Pioneer Meadows Golf Course – Wedding Venue

Piotr & Megan Photography – Photography and Videography

PoGirl Productions – Photography and Videography

Sandals – Destination Lane

Sears – Retail

Shandro Photo – Photography and Videography

Sharaton 4 Points – Wedding Venue

Special Event Rentals – Planning & Decorations

Stella & Dot Jewelry – Bridal Fashions

Strathcona String Quartet – Entertainment/Musicians

Sweet Beginnings – Planning & Decorations

Table Charm – Retail

The Bay and Home Outfitters – Retail

The Bounce – Publications/Media/Radio Station

The Bridal House – Bridal Fashions

The Islands of the Bahamas – Destination Lane

The Last Detail – Planning & Decorations

The Papertree – Stationery

The Tuxedo House – Men’s Wear

The Westin Edmonton – Wedding Venue

To Be In Pictures – Photography and Videography

Transat Holidays – Destination Location

U Weight Loss Clinic – Health & Beauty

Uniglobe Geo Travel – Travel

Vigor Media – Photography and Videography

Weddingbells – Publications/Media/Magazine

Wedlux – Publications/Media

Whimsical Cake Studio – Cakes & Sweets

Yukon Brewing Company – Grooms Room

January 4, 2010 – Edmonton Disc Jockey for a Holiday Party for both Boston Pizzas in St. Albert

It was great to be back with a great group of people for their annual holiday event. Last year Nash and Rob asked me to DJ their joint Christmas party at the Platinum Club/Gold Dust Casino and it was a rockin’ good time. We were not able to go back to the Platinum Club because it is being renovated and made smaller and no longer can hold more than 100 people.

So this year they moved the function to the St. Albert Royal Canadian Legion. It had been years since the last time I was here and to be honest I could not even remember where it was located. It is a very nice room with a easy load in for equipment with no stairs and only about 40 feet from the front door was the room I was playing in.

Boston Pizza shut down their locations early on a Monday so that everyone could attend the event. Everyone started showing up at around 7 pm and we were in for a good time.

Nash and Rob were there to greet their staff as the came in and everyone was very well dressed and in great spirits. The fun things about doing a function like this is the staff. As they work in the hospitality industry and deal with people all the time most of them have very out going personalities which makes for am ore interesting evening. I have been an Edmonton DJ for so long that sometimes one forgets how much fun it can be to be a disc jockey. Allot of people remembered me from last year and were very friendly which makes for a better evening for me.

Dinner was served around 8 PM and it was a very simple yet very good buffet. Even tough there were not tons of items the ones that were there were very well made and there were a number of people that went back for seconds. The only thing I would have liked to have seen would have been a better section of deserts.

Dinner was followed with door prizes and Tyler took over the MCing duties and he is hilarious. He has a great personality and can really think on his feet. I think he could make a great DJ someday if he wanted to.

The dance then followed and all I can say is wow. Right from the first song the dance floor was full almost the whole night long. We even had a couple of people sing a karaoke songs. It is often easier to DJ a function like this as you have a narrow age range and therefore a narrow list of songs they generally want to dance too. There were lots of requests and lots of dancing and everyone had a good time, and if you didn’t it was your own fault. I sure hope to be back next year.

Please see the attached video for so highlights of the evening.

Edmonton Bridal Fair 2010 at the Shaw Conference Centre

Simply put Bridal Fair is a wedding trade show where brides and grooms can come to one location to see a large number of local vendors in the Edmonton area. With over 90 vendors in one location this can be a good place to come and meet some decent service providers.

As an Edmonton DJ I have never participated in a bride trade show. As a small operator in the Edmonton market, where I mainly work by myself and use 2 other highly qualified DJs when needed I do not see the attraction to a bridal show. From a DJ stand point I do not understand how anyone can simply go to bridal show and base their decision on booking a DJ on who has the prettiest booth. DJing is so much more than just showing up and playing songs from a predetermined list, it is about helping to create an environment where you and your guests want to be and stay there all night long.

The dance portion of your wedding night is generally 4 hours in length and often people do not place enough emphasis on this part of the night. Often the difference between a cookie cutter approach to DJing and hire a professional that has more equipment than 2 speakers and a laptop and can all be carried in a Firefly is about 200 – 400 dollars. Sure that can be allot of money but in the big scheme of things and a typical wedding costing about $19,274 (according to Weddingbells.ca) that really isn’t. I often have people come up to me at a wedding and say “I wish we had hired someone like you for our wedding” and I simply ask them “what did you pay for your DJ?” and often the reply is $600 – $700. I simple say “unfortunately you got what you paid for”.

I recommend that people think about what it would cost to hire a Bobcat operator to work for them on a Saturday for about 6 – 8 hours. Well I can tell you that is costs about $125/hr with an operator. So if you had hired someone for 6 hours that would work out to be $750. I can personally tell you that my equipment and music are worth more than a Bobcat, trailer and truck to pull both of those and it takes a lot more personality to be a DJ than running a Bobcat.

What I really am getting at is you need to do you homework when it comes to your big day. Be sure to place the right amount of emphasis on the the things your consider important. I always say to my brides and grooms to focus on the things that they remember from the functions that they have attended.

It was clear that some of the exhibitors went all out for this event. Joe at River City Rentals created what had to be one best looking booth at the entire show. He created a room within a room and setup a head table with guest tables so people could get a real feel for how a room could look. They even went as far as to hang a chandelier from the ceiling to create the look and feel of a banquet room.

One of the highlights of the day was the fashion show. Lots of dresses and lots of tux’s made for a very well attend fashion show. Seeing what styles and colours that will be in fashion this year is what everyone was wanting to know.

From the exhibitors I spoke with following the show they stated that Bridal Fair 2009 had over 900 bride in attendance and the 2010 show had about 450. With such a significant decrease in the number of attendees some vendors are already questioning the high cost of being in the show is worth the expense.

Please see the attached video of some highlights of vendors and the fashion show.

List of Show Exibitors

A Beautiful Day - Planning & Decorating

A Chair to Remember - Planning & Decorating

ABC Weddings – Planning & Decorating

Artistic Creations Photography and Design – Photography and Videography

Avenue – Publications/Media

Beauti Control – Health & Beauty

Bed Bath and Beyond – Retail

Best Buds Flower Co. – Florists

Best Western Cedar Park Inn and Westwood – Wedding Venue

Bliss Wedding Consultants – Planning & Decorating

Bloom N’ Memories – Florists

Blue Sky Limos – Limo Services

Bridal Debut – Bridal Fashions

Browns Photography – Photography and Videography

Cakes by Janna – Cakes & Sweets

Coast Edmonton Plaza – Wedding Venue Location

Coral’s Design – Florisit

Crystal’s Bridal - Bridal Fashions

d’Lish – Catering Company

Derks – Men’s Formal Wear

Electrik Lemon Hair and Body Studio – Health & Beauty

Elegant Events – Planning & Decorating

Elegant Touches – Planning & Decorating

Erik Hornung Photography – Photography and Videography

Fantasyland Hotel – Wedding Venue

Final Touch – Planning & Decorating

Flowers In The Park – Florist

Gemini – Bridal Fashions

Graham and Lane Florist - Flowers

Hilton Garden InnWest Edmonton – Wedding Venue

Holiday Inn Convention Centre – Wedding Location

In Motion Style Group – Health & Beauty

Infinite Event Services – Planning & Decorating

Instant Memories – Photography and Videography

Isagenix – Health & Beauty

Karisma Resorts – Wedding Travel

Kelly Redinger Studios – Photography and Videography

La Piazza Dasee – Florist

Mary Kay – Health & Beauty

Moby Disc DJ – Edmonton DJ for Special Events

Moores Clothing For Men – Men’s Formal Wear

Nickibeans – Cakes & Sweets

Notables – Stationery and Invitations

Photsmiths – Photography and Videography)

Picture That Photography – Photography and Videography

Pioneer Meadows Golf Course – Wedding Venue

Piotr & Megan Photography – Photography and Videography

PoGirl Productions – Photography and Videography

River City Event Rentals – Planning & Decororations

Sandals – Destination Lane

Sears – Retail

Shandro Photo – Photography and Videography

Sharaton 4 Points – Wedding Venue

Special Event Rentals – Planning & Decorations

Stella & Dot Jewelry – Bridal Fashions

Strathcona String Quartet – Entertainment/Musicians

Sweet Beginnings – Planning & Decorations

Table Charm – Retail

The Bay and Home Outfitters – Retail

The Bounce – Publications/Media/Radio Station

The Bridal House – Bridal Fashions

The Islands of the Bahamas – Destination Lane

The Last Detail – Planning & Decorations

The Papertree – Stationery

The Tuxedo House – Men’s Wear

The Westin Edmonton – Wedding Venue

To Be In Pictures – Photography and Videography

Transat Holidays – Destination Location

U Weight Loss Clinic – Health & Beauty

Uniglobe Geo Travel – Travel

Vigor Media – Photography and Videography

Weddingbells – Publications/Media/Magazine

Wedlux – Publications/Media

Whimsical Cake Studio – Cakes & Sweets

Yukon Brewing Company – Grooms Room

December 11, 2009 – Edmonton Disc Jockey for Davis & Company

It has been 2 years since the last time I was with my friends at Davis and Company and boy it was good to be back.  The weather outside was frightful and inside it was delightful with great food and friends coming together to celebrate everyone’s favorite time of the year.

The Hotel MacDonald is the most beautiful venue in Edmonton at the best of times; and this time of the year takes it too a whole other level.  The Christmas decorations are so well done and really add to the look of the hotel.  So much so that people were taking pictures of each other in the lobby in front of the great tree and reindeer.

      

As an Edmonton DJ it is always great to DJ at the MacDonald Hotel and tonight was as good as always.  Over the years I have gotten to know some of the staff and on this night a couple of people were there that I have gotten to know.  A special thanks to Chris for his unequalled service and helpfulness.  He treated me like a guests rather than the hired help and that says a lot about him and the MacDonald Hotel.  If other venues could understand this it would server them well as I have customers that call me and ask what is a good venue to hold a function at and I always mention the Mac.

     

Dinner was served just about 7:30PM, which was a little late, because of the poor road conditions making people run late getting to the location.  Dinner was, simply put, amazing and I could not have had another bite as I over did it.  It was great to sit a relax and enjoy a great meal and my dinner guests were great to visit with and we had a great conversation over dinner.

After dinner we had a couple of quick speeches and the highlight of the night was 2 things.  1st was the slideshow and video presentation that the interns put together.  There were a few slides shown on the screen that were doctored in Photoshop that had everyone laughing as the interns made jokes about the office staff. 

     

The video presentation followed the slideshow and that was a spoof in the TV show “the Office” and boy was it funny. It must have taken days to put that together and was one of the best presentations I have ever seen and all I can say was the bar has been set high and will be hard to beat.

         

The 2nd thing was the “Family Feud Game” where 2 teams were picked and competed against each other to answer a few fun questions about the staff and partners based on how well they new each other.  This was very well done and the MC did a great job of preparing the game in advance.  I will be sure to recommend this to other companies in the future.

The dance got started about 10:00 and it was just like old times.  Since I had been with this group before and had a good understanding as to what they liked and that was a good starting point and we were able to hit the ground running.  There were lots of requests and everyone just seemed to cut loose a little and have some fun and relax, something we all need to do once and a while.  What I love about the Hotel MacDonald is the atmosphere in this room.  With a great look and feel and add in great lighting control you can really set the tone for an inviting dance floor where people will want to be.

Please see the attached video for some highlights of the day from “Edmonton DJ” 

 

December 19, 2009 – Edmonton Christmas Party for WIKA Instruments Edmonton

It is great to back with WIKA again this year to do their Christmas party.  They are a great group of people that like to have fun.  In order to elevate a party to a higher level we decided last year that we would add in a couple of games to make things a little more interesting.  Corporate functions can be a bit of a challenge as the employees bring a spouse or guest and since they don’t really know anyone they can feel a little out of place.

My goal is to add in some activities that help to break the ice and get everyone to relax a little more so they intern enjoy themselves and stay a little longer.

 

Last year we decided to play “golf”.  Simply put everyone that comes get a chance to go golfing and every time you sink a putt (best of 3) you get entered into a separate draw then everyone else.  It went over very well last year and everyone lined up to play and it was great fun as everyone cheered and sometimes booed for the person putting.  We decided to leave the golfing in this year and see what happens.  The funny thing is that I think that it was better this year than last year and that is because people knew how it worked and it was so much fun as people that never really golf came up and gave it a try and when they sunk a putt everyone cheered and it was ton of fun.

For dinner we played a game to pick the table order. Santa Bingo is a fun game that is more luck then skill but is better then simply picking number out of a hat.  The fun part was the ribbing people where giving me as we did the game as there was a lot of banter which turned out to be a lot of fun.

Dinner was very well done at the Radisson Inn.  The Radisson is a really nice venue to hold a function at, but is one of the hardest venues to get equipment into and out of.  Also, with the dance floor at the opposite end of the room from the entrance to the room make it even a longer distance for an Edmonton DJ to have to move their gear. Also, the room is quite nice but is in need to painting and a little T.L.C. to keep it current and maintained.

After dinner we played 2 quick rounds of “Name that Tune” and this was great fun as everyone was involved and engaged making it a lot easier to do.  I had a volunteer run my computer which really sped up the game and me running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

The highlight of the night was when myself and 2 managers and the president of the company performed a rewritten version of “Kenny Rogers – the Gambler”.  We did a rehearsal before dinner and that went off without a hitch and we had an almost flawless performance but we all had a little bit of the nerves.  I think the 4 of us had more fun doing this then everyone watching.  I think it is great to see management step outside the box and have a some fun.  I hope we can talk everyone into doing this again next year.

We finally started the dance about 9:30 and we had people on the dance floor the whole night thru.  It was the ladies that really got the ball rolling with some line dances and top 40.  We mixed in a few slow songs, as anyone can dance to a slow song and by 12AM we had a good core group of people left and I played their requests and we had a great time.

Please see the attached video of some highlights of the day from Edmonton Disc Jockey.