I love a good reception!  Nothing says ‘fun’ at a wedding like when the entire guest list is going nuts on the dance floor!  We just shot a wedding on Saturday, in fact, that had some of the craziest dancing I have seen; for at least a half hour, all the Ukrainians at the wedding were on the dance floor, showing everyone how they do it in Ukraine. It was some of the funnest stuff I have seen at a wedding reception yet!  They say that in Ukraine that can go on for HOURS!  THAT’S what I call a fun reception!  So what is the key to having an outstanding reception that all of your friends will be talking about for months?  I will tell you :)… a killer DJ.  When I imagine The Happy Bride at her wedding reception, she is spending most of it dancing it up with her guests and having the time of her life!

Before Emily and I were in the wedding industry, we were planning our wedding and I (in my ignorance 🙂 really thought a wedding DJ was a waste of money.  So instead on hiring a pro, we just had our brother-in-law, Daniel (who did awesome, by the way!), MC our reception and play off of my iPod (back when iPods were still the bee’s knees).  I thought that if I had a great selection of music picked out, people would just jump on the dance floor and start dancing.  Yeah, I was wrong. 🙂  The only people out on the dance floor were my beautiful wife, me, and about a dozen 5 to 10 year-olds dancing it up to Ke$ha.  I hope you get a visual of the ridiculousness of this in your head; the bride and groom dancing with a bunch of kids because everyone else is not interested 🙂  Emily and I had the worst-planned wedding, which being in the wedding industry now, is super embarrassing to admit.  BUT… we have learned a great deal from our OWN wedding, as well as from all the weddings we have been involved in, so we want to help others not make the same mistakes.

This may ruffle some feathers but bad wedding DJ’s are a dime a dozen.    There are a lot of DJs who get into the wedding industry from other avenues of music, like playing at parties, working the club scene, or even as a hobby.  Too many DJs think that playing music at weddings is all that wedding DJs do, and since most brides don’t know any better, they get hired.  Then, when it’s time for the wedding reception, the DJ who thought that all they needed to do was play music is lost when it comes to running an entire reception because the actual ‘playing’ of music at a wedding reception amounts to about 25% of the job.

In contrast, a good wedding DJ knows that it’s not about the music, it’s about the PEOPLE; a wedding DJ’s responsibility is to read the crowd and create the most enjoyable atmosphere possible.  A GREAT wedding DJ can do more than just keep the party going, they can ‘create’ energy even when a wedding crowd isn’t in the mood to dance.  THAT’s what you want!  A Happy Bride invests in an amazing DJ!

I’m gonna make this short and sweet 🙂  Before booking a DJ, get referrals from someone who is actually IN the wedding industry that you trust.  Then you won’t have to take a gamble on someone you don’t know from atom with such a HUGE part of your wedding day.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good DJ on your wedding day!  I am so concerned with your HAPPINESS on your wedding day and it kills me when I see a beautiful wedding get interrupted by a bad DJ experience.  We are BEYOND picky when it comes to the DJs we recommend to our brides.  We know that our reputation is on the line any time we suggest another vendor to a bride, so we take it very seriously and pride ourselves on only working with the BEST of the BEST!  If you want recommendations from us on good DJs in Arizona, you can email us at andrewjadephoto@gmail.com.

A good DJ is a giant step closer to becoming a Happy Bride on your wedding day!

-A 🙂