 |
|
 |
The Soundtrack of Reception Memories Today’s bridal couple is looking for fresh and innovative ideas to make their wedding day unique and special. Many look to their florist for that special design. Others focus in on that one-of-a-kind, unconventional venue to set the right mood. While still others, turn to their caterer to ‘cook up’ an elegant or exotic meal. The bottom line for all couples-to-be is this: to find creatively unique ways to make their wedding day special that will be burned and etched into the hearts and minds of family and friends. Now more than ever couples are discovering that the type of entertainment that they choose can and often will write their special day into history. Throughout the centuries many great songs have been written with the vast majority of them revolving around the human emotion of love. It is also written that the greatest emotion we possess is that of love. Every bride and groom’s story of love is like a snowflake, no two are ever alike. When great love songs are combined with a couple’s unique story of love, a reception can be crafted with memories that will last a lifetime. Traditionally at wedding receptions, the music has been just that, the music. In many cases today music is still “just the music”. Some of the more polished entertainers are beginning to realize the impact that they can personally have on the outcome of a wedding reception and are working with couples to make their special day fun, unique, and memorable forever. Each and every couple has a great love story that needs to be told. Through the many years of working with couples we’ve always had a curiosity in what brought these two completely different individuals together and what exactly was the “ah-ha” moment that led them to spend the rest of their lives together. We’ve heard stories from blind dates, to chance meetings, to a couple who met while she drove the ‘paddy wagon’ and he was the arresting officer padding down an obnoxious drunk while she laughed at him! While spending time with our clients learning about their love story, we also record conversations with them and use the actual audio clips during their love story presentation because some things can only be told by the bridal couple themselves. We use clips from songs and movies to help tell their story as well as to add emotion and humor. Through interviews and building relationships with our couples, we are able to create memories at their reception that incorporates the couples individual tastes and personalities. The memories begin by writing a love story about the wedding couple that contains approximately 90% truth and 10% creative embellishment for entertainment purposes. Truly no one at the reception with the exception of the bride and groom knows what brought that day to reality. We tell the story of the couple from when and where they were born, met, fell in love, and ultimately proposed. This is all presented to their family and friends just before the couple takes their first steps as a newly wedded husband and wife during their first dance. Every couple has special thoughts and emotions about their beloved. These can be captured and placed into their first dance song by the use of custom recordings. These thoughts and sentiments can be placed throughout the first song making it truly their own. Sometimes when the audio of the vows are available from the videographer or some other source, they can also be ‘laid down’ in the first song. Even if they are not available the day of the wedding they can be pre-recorded. This is a very nice touch especially if they are writing their own vows. Custom recordings do not end there. They can also be used for the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances. Every father looks forward from the time she is born to a dance with his ‘little girl’ on her wedding day. Just the same, every ‘little girl’ has something special to say to her ‘daddy’. These sentiments can also be captured in a recording as only she can say it. We also take sentiments from the groom for his mother as well as possibly doing some recording from the parents to the bride and groom. Some couples have a child that will be dancing with their mom or dad at the wedding. We can record sentiments from the child and place them into a selected song to help them express their feelings. There are no limits to what can be done with custom recordings. More and more couples also live ‘away from home’ so not all loved ones are able to make it to the wedding for whatever reason. We can set up a Best Wishes Phone Line so that loved ones can give a few words of inspiration and congratulations. Not all memories are achieved by the use of technology. Some can be found in the wisdom of one or more couples who have been married for many years. We use the Anniversary dance to ‘discover’ which couple in attendance has been married the longest. Couples who have been married for many years have the best wisdom to share with newlyweds. We like to remind people attending the reception that not only are we celebrating the wedding of the bride and groom; we are celebrating the institution of love and marriage itself. With a little help of the bride and groom, during our consultations, we can find out with some certainty just who the ‘anniversary couple’ will be. We will then attempt to find out ‘covertly’ what their special first dance song was and play that for them to dance with the newlyweds. If we can not find out what that special song was, we find an appropriate song from year that they were wed. When we visit with couples, many of them talk about how early grandma and grandpa will leave. We are finding that the more we focus on the true meaning of marriage and love, the longer they will stay. Many think that they leave a reception early simply because they are old and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many times it is simply because they are not involved. Many married couples relive their own wedding memories at the wedding of their children and/or grandchildren. We also make contact with parents and others in the bridal party to find out if there are any special requests for the wedding day. There may be a presentation that the parents may like to make to the newlyweds. The bride and groom may have some relationships from school or other social areas from which valuable information can obtained. Bridal party introductions can also be a lot of fun. We can custom write introductions about each groomsman and bridesmaid. Each of them played a critical role in the life of the newlyweds so why not give them the recognition that they deserve? They long for their five minutes of fame after spending a small fortune on their attire. We can also set these introductions to music and movie clips. Every little bit makes a difference that creates a lifelong memory. At the end of the evening, we can create a big send off for the newlyweds. We play a song that relates to their family and friends gathered around them to help send these newlyweds out to start their new life together. Again, using recordings captured during various times, including the toasts, sentiments can be expressed as they leave. In the end, using the right entertainment can make all the difference between ‘just music’ to ‘memories that last a lifetime’. Not every DJ is an entertainer, there is a difference. While the flowers, decorations, food, cake, and venue may be forgotten by most they will remember the special moments and the good times that they had at a reception where a true entertainer has performed. Joe & Kristie Martin are owners of Celebration Entertainment of Kansas City, a husband/wife entertainment team. Joe is the current 2003/2007 Vice President of the Kansas City Chapter of the American Disc Jockey Association. Joe & Kristie are available to speak to groups of wedding professionals about their services as well as travel for wedding receptions. They can be contacted at 913-706-8546 or by email at thedj@kcweddingdj.com
|
