Worst Wedding Photographer Ever???

Proof that having a professional with experience and personal references is extremely important:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Bride-And-Gloom-Couple-Receive-Woefully-Inadequate-Wedding-Photos/Article/200910115400512

Cheap DJs vs. Professional DJs

It seems these days everyone has a friend that is in a band or is a DJ. Picking up an instrument or a set of CD players is not difficult at all; in-fact many rental companies out there can supply you with Professional level gear at a very reasonable price. But when that person offers their "services" for your wedding, you should take cautious steps to avoid potential disaster.

Music is something everyone can enjoy. And with the advent of the iPod, people are making their own playlists or mixes every day. Anyone can put two songs together and call it a mix, but some people go so far as to call themselves DJ's without knowing what it really means to acquire a master level of knowledge of a genre of music. This is very similar to live musicians as well. Learning an instrument and mastering an instrument are two very different things.

For most musicians, it takes years of practice just to know their instrument well enough to be confident at playing many types of music. Then it take years longer to learn to intricacies of the different genres and styles out there. DJ's also have to learn their equipment and techniques involved; some even say that a DJ's equipment is no different than any musician's instrument.

Eventually, when that DJ or musician becomes talented enough, they may make a leap and try and earn a living using their talents. Such a person should be referred to as a Professional Musician or DJ because of their devotion to their craft. The title Professional carries with it an expectation of higher quality than would otherwise be attainable from just anyone off the street. Because these Professionals have to put their livelihood on the line, it naturally weeds out the best from the worst.

Furthermore, at special events like weddings, your DJ needs to be talented in more realms than just music. They need to be comfortable with public speaking, as well as event management. These things do not come easily, and is very akin to a Professional Musician learning a new style of music. It takes hard work and dedication; but with a DJ, that time is spent learning from others and experiencing failure first hand. At your wedding, you don't want just someone who brings the right equipment, you want someone who knows how to use it and how to make your event a success.

As part of the stress in planning a wedding, you have to manage a budget of more money than you're used to, plan an event that is probably the largest in your life, and have to ensure all of your family and friends enjoy themselves. Most of us crumble under this pressure, but to make it easier we hire Professional Vendors: Photographers, Caterers, Bakers, Decorators, Florists, and Musicians...sometimes even a DJ. And most of these Professionals charge a lot more money than you expect when starting your wedding planning. This is where the draw to the cheapest vendors becomes the highest.

There is a saying in the Wedding business, and in life, that is: You get what you pay for. On average, you get a lower service from those who charge less, and a higher service from those who charge more. I want to point out that I'm using the word service and not thing. We all know you can compare prices at different stores for the same thing and the one with the lowest price usually wins out. But a service is something that is very difficult to measure in terms of cost, because life experiences shape these Professionals and are often invaluable to their expertise.

This translates into choosing your vendors and knowing about them before you even meet them. Getting prices from different companies is good to determine how much a service costs, but you will find extremely low and high prices. Be very cautious of a vendor that doesn't have the experience or the references to supplement their low prices.

DJ's often get overlooked as one of THE most important factors at a wedding, because they control the flow, the feel, and often act as host to the wedding. Not to mention all the meticulous details involved at a wedding that a truly Professional Wedding DJ would be able to assist with.

Cheap DJ's, or the infamous friend who volunteers their services as your DJ, without enough experience and knowledge can actually ruin your wedding and potentially your relationship with them. You don't want to remember your wedding day by how your friends screwed up everyone's names for the Grand Entrance, or how no dancing was able to happen because everything ran so far behind.

On your big day, you want to remember how easy everything flowed, how you got to do exactly what you wanted to do , how fun the dancing was, and how everyone had a great time. This is where a Professional Wedding DJ shines, and where a few hundred dollars difference can lead to a lifetime of great memories...as opposed to the alternative.

How to Choose a Great Wedding DJ

We recently read a statistic that said 80% of Brides and Grooms as planning their wedding without the aid of a professional wedding coordinator. And because for many couples this is their first time planning a wedding, their priorities or expectations or budgets may be unrealistic. Since our main service is providing quality Wedding DJs, let's go through a checklist of what truly makes a great Wedding DJ and answer some questions you may not have considered (excerpts taken from Bridaltips.com):

Is the DJ familiar with your wedding venue?
Elite Entertainment has been around for nearly 15 years here in the San Jose, Bay Area, and have attended wedding in nearly every facility around. This is not to say we have been everywhere, but in the event we haven't, we do make sure to put aside time for a site inspection and meet with the coordinator at that facility.

Who will be your actual DJ spinning discs at your wedding?
Before reserving our services, it is our goal to setup a meeting with you and a DJ that would be a good fit for your wedding based on some important factors that we will discuss with you on initial contact. This way you are confident in their services and know you will have a true professional handling your most precious day.

What about wedding DJ overtime, and other unexpected or hidden fees?
We charge $100/hour for overtime. Our prices are all-inclusive of tax, travel, 1 hour early setup, equipment, and the DJ in professional attire. There is no price difference among the DJs.

What attire will your wedding disc jockey wear at your wedding?
Your DJ should be in Professional attire (Suit) or a Tuxedo. However, some couples have a more casual atmosphere at their reception, so we are always willing to dress down.

How many years experience does this wedding DJ have? Will they play CD's you provide?
All of our DJs have a range of experience, but we all specialize in weddings and have been trained by a Certified Wedding Consultant. This training and experience gives us the tools to work with any situation that may come up. Also, we will work with any music you would like to provide, however it is requested we receive it in advance to ensure the music plays correctly (sometimes CDs that are provided the day of the event have scratches on them and it can ruin the experience, especially if the song is rather important [i.e. First Dance or Bride's Processional]).

Where will your wedding DJ setup? Is there a dance floor?
This is a question we usually let our clients answer for us. We prefer to be located near the dance floor so we have a better idea of the volume level of our music. We do not provide dance floors, but we can assist in providing many referrals for the different items you may need at your wedding.

Will your wedding disc jockey need to be fed at your wedding?
Adding one more meal at your wedding can be rather expensive (sometimes $150-$200). It would be nice if you provided your DJ with a mean, but it is by no means an obligation. We would rather you went with a Professional DJ than some cheaper DJ that required a meal.

Does your wedding DJ have a request form for you to fill out?
Yes. It is mentioned on our webpage something about our Wedding Coordination Worksheet. This is a tool that we provide our couples that includes a sample timeline, song lists, and information you'll need to fill out to help your DJ in ensuring everything is correct for your big day. This is just the skeleton on information the DJ will need, but we'll make sure to review everything with you prior to your big day.

Does your wedding DJ do corporate functions also?
Yes. We are very versatile in our talents and can handle events of any size and demand.

What problems has the DJ encountered at weddings and how did they solve them?
Every DJ has had their own experiences with different situations, but one we all do to solve those issues is remain calm, organized, and do whatever we are capable of doing to ensure the problem gets resolved or dealt with.

Are you insured or belong to any professional organizations like A.D.J.A?
Yes and Yes. We carry a $2 Million liability insurance policy that most venues require for the vendors attending. We have been part of the American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) for many years now, but also belong to organizations like the Association for Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC), By Recommendation ONLY (BRo), and many others. Click here for details.

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Hopefully this questionaire has helped and answered questions you were already thinking of before choosing your DJ. We would love to meet with you and discuss how we custom tailor our services to your wedding experience. Please contact us for more information or if you have more questions. All the best!

iPod vs. Wedding

I know the iPod concept is one of those things that many couples focusing slimming their budget are examining. As a consumer, it is a great idea that you can customize your music to tailor your event to EXACTLY what you want. You do lose quite a few things: Announcements, Coordination, and the feeling of relaxation on your big day. But don't take our word for it, watch this video:

Introducing DJ Robey

This week's spotlight focuses on Elite's Event Manager: DJ Robey. He has a wealth of experience and talent musically and vocally. After meeting him, you may even ask yourself if he is actually the announcer for the San Jose Sharks. His broad appeal and fun attitude makes Robey one of the easiest guys to approach and have a good time with.

Robey started out his career in music as a nomad. As a freshman in college, he wasn't sure what path he wanted to take, so a track in Communications was where he started. After some theatre and radio classes, Robey found his home behind the mixing console. He eventually made his way to a party where he was given the opportunity to put his mixing talents to use. From here, he was hooked.

Robey DJ'd a few parties before he made his way into the club scene. And for a brief time, he was known as the #1 DJ in Ridgecrest, CA. From this, he was able to make his way into radio as a voice talent for 102.7 KSSI.

After a few years of club and radio work, Robey finally made his way to being the mobile DJ he is today. Whether it is weddings, school dances, or corporate parties, Robey has done it all and loves to do as much as he can for his clients.

As a master of interaction, Robey is one of the guys that is able to keep people smiling all night long. The stereotypical DJ loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and as most DJ's do, Robey knows that your event is more than just the music and what the DJ has to say. He'll make sure everyone hears him, enjoys and understands what he has to say, and then can return to enjoying your event.

As a manager at Elite Entertainment, Robey is always open to questions about your upcoming event or what services we can provide. He has personally attended and performed at more than 1000 events and knows what really works.

Robey is usually available to meet anytime during the week for appointments, and I guarantee when you meet him, you'll love his charm and personality.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know more about DJ Robey, please leave any questions or comments below.

Introducing DJ Turner

This week we are spotlighting one of our youngest DJ's. He's been DJ'ing for 6 years and has built a reputation of being able to appeal to all age groups, regardless of music or age difference.

At a very young age, Turner was exposed to a large variety of music. Classical, Motown, Jazz, Pop: All these things could be heard on a regular basis around his home. As he grew older, his interest in playing music grew, as he learned the piano and saxophone. Through Middle and High School, music played a key role in his social life, as he was involved in the marching band, pep band, and jazz bands.

Toward the end of his High School career, Turner decided that the choir would be another great musical outlet. This is where he developed his voice into the mellow, mid-bass tone it is today. He loves to sing-along to standards, but he never enjoyed those school performances.

With this solid base in music, Turner entered college with a bit of an obsession that was welcomed by his newly joined fraternity, Omega Phi Alpha. Though only a freshman, the fraternity assigned him to play the music for a party that the usual DJ was unavailable for. As Turner played with the CD players, he quickly picked up all the nuances and features of how to mix music, and in no time he had the party jumping'.

This new-found talent then festered into an interest into what a DJ truly is, and where its roots began. Not content with being a simply button pusher, Turner explored the world of Vinyl, but was not interested in repurchasing his collection on a fading medium. This is where his love of all things digital, and the authenticity of controlling music with Vinyl collided. His collection of music is stored and filed digitally, but he can still smoothly transition and mix between songs with the elegance of vinyl.

Needless to say, Turner was a bit of a music fiend. Growing up the 80's and 90's, he was exposed to a host of music no one had heard before: Rap, R&B, Grunge, Old School Hip Hop, New Wave, etc. With these influences, and the newly created Compact Disc (CD), Turner started a collection of music that has today grown to over 10,000 songs.

Turner's manner is not overbearing, nor is it submissive. He's a social person, but doesn't yearn for the spotlight and all that attention. For any event, he will make sure everything has its place and its all organized appropriately. He's very open to new ideas, but will let you know when he's seen an ideal fail in the past, and what might work to make it better. He is very flexible, easy going, but will make sure any event runs the way the client wants or how the event permits.

He has received glowing reviews from 16th Birthday Parties to 25th Wedding Anniversaries. The clients frequently comment on how his personality fit right in with the group, how accommodating and professional he was, and how he kept the event flowing smoothly.

We hope you've enjoyed this insight into DJ Turner's background. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below.

Elite Entertainment joins the 21st Century

So for some that don't know who we are, Elite Entertainment is a group of Professional DJs specializing in weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and holiday parties. We have 14 very talented gentlemen who are more than willing to work with our clients to make sure their event runs as smoothly as possible. We have a combined experience of over 100 years, and we use our experiences to make sure that your event is a complete success.

As part of this blog, we will be holding highlights of our different DJs and the technologies we implement so you have a better idea of what kind of company we truly are.