The Great Music Company

a weblog about weddings and event planning

There are a couple of things I need to address that have come to my attention.  This wedding season I received phone calls from two brides on the Thursday before their wedding day to say their DJ cancelled on them and they were left hanging looking for a dependable DJ for their wedding reception that’s just two days away.  This particular company is a national DJ company  that does the bookings for Syracuse.  They will flower you with gifts, candy, and DVD’s and give you a CHEAP RATE.  Remember the saying “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.  I was glad to help them out and find a DJ, but my heart went out to them, because they felt betrayed by this company.  Also their have been two instances that I am aware of, with another company, where the bride and groom have been meeting with their DJ right up to the week before and then had a bomb dropped on them and say they have to go in for surgery and have to meet an entirely different DJ, that would be fine, that’s what a backup DJ is for, if it were true.  When in actuality they were playing somewhere else and never went in for surgery.  This makes me angry because it makes our profession look bad. 

I can’t stress this enough, ask your banquet manager who they have seen and who is easy to work with, do they come to the planning meetings at the venue and are they punctual for the meetings.  Do they come early enough to set up before the first guest arrives?  You should be able to find a good recomondation if you ask about companies.   They know first hand, they see the entertainment all of the time.  Another great source is your photographer (DJs should work close with them), they will know also. Take notes and compare information when meeting with DJ companies, do they say “We are the ONLY company that has the lighting and sound system to handle your wedding.  Do they show you brochures of other companies and say “This company only offers this, but we offer this and more”, who can fit everything they do in one brochure?  Many companies do have a lot to offer but don’t put it all in one brochure.  If a DJ is forcing you to sign a contract or trying to keep you there so you do sign, “BE LEARY!  Let them know you are meeting with other companies and will be making a decision soon.  Keep all your meetings you have scheduled, then make a decision between them all. Ask them how long have they been in business in Central New York, what organizations do they belong to?  If you see icons on websites that when you go to click on them they go know where, beware, either they were kicked out or didn’t renew.

Spend a little extra time booking your DJ.  Does he or she speak clearly.  Remember if you are having trouble understanding them, so will your guests.  Ask questions, experienced DJs will have the answers you are looking for.  Hope this was helpful.  Happy Planning everyone.

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by Teesh
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From time to time we need to donate our services for some great organizations, the American Red Cross is one of them. Even though it was a very busy day for our company, we found a way to help this orgaization. Our employees stepped up to the plate and we made it work. We should be thinking of others and give of ourselves. The event was held at Barbagallo’s, and they donated their facility for the banquet. Debbie Vansike who runs the local Red Cross Chapter was very inspirational to the all the volunteers who dedicate their time and energy traveling all over the state delivering blood to those who need it. There were a lot of tears and stories that truly humbled you. The keynote speaker was a mother-in-law who’s daughter-in-law was in a very bad car accident and was seven months pregnant. She lost a lot of blood. But because of the American Red Cross coming through she is still alive. The doctors said it was a miracle. She said the Red Cross was the miracle. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room and her daughter-in law got a standing ovation from the everyone including the staff at Barbagallo’s. We all lead very busy lives and sometimes feel we don’t have time, when in reality we do. Please give blood and save lives! Thank you to the American Red Cross!

Posted on April 27th, 2008 by Teesh
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Another great event for the Malloy family this past weekend at the Double Tree. Congratulations to Michael & Jennifer. Everything looked beautiful. We really enjoyed seeing everyone again. I am glad Bill is doing well after surgery on his knee. What a trooper, trying to dance at his niece’s wedding. We had a great time. Thank you Jim and Mary. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of your daughter’s wedding. Your hospitality at your house with making dinner for me was very thoughtful. I had a lot of fun visiting with Jennifer and Michael discussing the details of their ceremony and the reception. Keep in touch and hope to see you again soon.

Letitia

Posted on April 21st, 2008 by Teesh
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Our company had the privilege of being a part of The Heart Walk on April 19, 2008 at Long Branch Park. Skip Clark asked our company to help participate in this event with covering sound all over the park. The day started at 6:30 a.m. and everyone was geared up for the Heart Walk. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Becky from B104.7 did an excellent job with the announcing and thanking those who crossed the finish line. The American Heart Association is truly dedicated to helping others live a healthy life.

Posted on April 21st, 2008 by Teesh
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After a long winter season with just a handful of weddings, what a way to get into the 2008 Wedding Season this past weekend. Congratulations to Evan & Amy Lipton. We could have played all night. The guests were so energized. Everyone including the Bride & Groom, were singing along. As soon as the Father-daughter & Mother-son dance were done after dinner, the dance floor was packed the whole night. We played 50’s & 60’s during Cocktail & Dinner hour that was specifically requested by the Bride & Groom. “Chantilly Lace”, “Twist”, “Great Balls of Fire” to name a few. The music during those first 2 hours helped to give them a buzz for the dancing later on.

The Bride & Groom wanted a fun reception and of coarse knew their family & guests would be into the music, so they incorporated it into their wedding day. Everyone left the reception with a great feeling and said they never danced so much in their lives!

This idea may not work for all wedding receptions. You know who is coming to your reception. So, if you are picking out your music and want a lot of dancing, you want to make sure the music is age appropriate for the majority of your guests.

Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Letitia
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Some couples choose to shock their guests with some great dance moves. It’s always wonderful when the bride and groom have fun like this when the focus is on them. It breaks the ice and loosens up your guests to have a fun reception. We’ll update with more videos as soon as we find them. We saved the best for last. Read more…

Posted on April 12th, 2008 by Teesh
Filed under: Weddings | 2 Comments »

Great Music Company along with Skip Clark Entertainment, flew to LasVegas in February for the annual Mobile Disc Jockey Conference. We met with so many Mobile Disc Jockeys from all over the country, New Zealand, and Canada.

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Drax from Arizona who is the President of the American Disc Jockey Association. We have been a member of this organization since 2004. It was nice to finally meet him in person.

Peter Merry from California who wrote a very exciting book for Brides & Grooms called “The Best Wedding Reception Ever”. It has a lot of great tips for the planning process and also when and who to pick for your vendors.

Randy Bartlett, another great guy gave a seminar on becoming a better host and director. He is a great speaker and we enjoyed listening to him. We purchased some of his DVDs for our company to expand on some of our skills.

Mark Farrell, who was at the Conference was given a plaque for all his great works in traveling all over the country including stopping in Syracuse back in 2002. He talked to the local Disc Jockeys and his purpose was to raise the bar. Being a part of legitimate organizations learning and sharing ideas only helps the DJ profession.

I could go on and on about who we met, we had a great time and learned so much. We also had a chance to see new technology in progress with new equipment coming out. Lighting is getting very high tech now. We purchased some new items and we are very excited for the upcoming wedding season and will be using them.

We are looking forward to participating in the next convention. .

Letitia

Posted on February 16th, 2008 by Letitia
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I want to thank PWV personally for all they did to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital with the Bridal Show and their website. This cause is very close to my heart. My sister had Cystic Fibrosis and had to be in the hospital a lot as a child and it felt like home to her. We look at our lives and complain about the little things and they have very big hearts and hardly complain. We can learn a lot from them. If you spend anytime in the hospital with the children you get a feeling that you want to help them be comfortable. I’m glad our company helped to sponcer this great cause with the Bridal Show.

If you are interested in donating you can go to the pwv website at www.pwvsyracuse.com and purchase T-Shirts. All proceeds go to the hospital.

Thank you to all the Brides and Grooms for coming to the show. It was a great time.

Letitia

Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Letitia
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