Eight Fresh Looks
The Magic of Music
The top five things
music should do fo r
your wedding event
BY DIANA LOSCIAL E
MUS IC IS ALWAYS IN ' ITED T O TH E \'(' EDD ING. Fro m the bri da l shower 1'0 rhe
ceremony to th e rece ptio n pOSt- p :lrl)', mu sic is there. It ma y show up o n an iPod, as a
stri ng quartet, a IO-piece band , a co ll ege glee cl ub, a DJ. or all of the above.
It is th e backgro und, the foreground , and th e CTHcrta inment durin g a da y tha i
focuses on th e Brid e and G room. And whether th e groom likes jazz and the bride loves
CQ Ulllr}', music has a way of ma king everything and e ve ryo ne co rne togethe r.
T une in 10 the fOp (1\'C things wedding m us ic sho uld do fo r th e s pecial event.
1 ) MATCH THE MOOD TO THE MOMENT
Ce rt a in ly n Ot j u St (or th e recepti o n, m us ic k icks lip as soon as t he b r id e sa ys " yes "
to t he pro posa l. It's at th e sho wers, the bac hel o rcn c parri es and rehea rsal d in ner
(al t houg h may we suggest a voi d ing rhe big band blowo ut
(Co ll tll1l1 ed 0 11 page 156)
Mu sic
(Coft tilllled fro11'1 page 100)
pa rt y the night befo re the wed d in g? )
D uring t he ce remo ny, most ch urches
will all o w reli gio us o r cl ass ical music.
However, advi sed Elle n Gu tie rrez. at Bri de's
Visio n, " If rhe ceremo ny is NOT in t he
ch urch, rhe sky 's the limit. Th e music can
be a n ything, and brides an d groo ms have
g reat ideas . We o fte n d isc liss w he re favorite
mu sica l pieces will fi t in ." O ne co up le chose
blu egrass fo r their ceremo ny at M isso u ri
Bota nica l G ardens, t hen chose a b ig weddi ng ba nd fo r th eir rece ption .
TIP : Fo r t he p re- rece ptio n coc kta il ho ur,
aga in "s ma ll " m ight ru le, fo r co ntras t,
because once th ro ugh rhe doors inro rh e
d in ing and da ncing a rea, the g uests likel y
will be rocked by rh e bigge r sound o f a
band or DJ .
2) BE TH E RIGHT A MOU NT O F
SOUN D FO R THE RI GHT PL ACE
Typica lly it does n't matter to the OJ or t he
band if there 50 o r 500 guests, ot her th an
in tcrms of the so und system. Mo re peo ple
mea ns mo re so und eq uipmenr nee ded, 1O
be hea rd evenly. And w here Ughring and
sraging a rc concern ed, mu sicia ns m ust
k no w th e venu e. Lig hting, like mu sic, is
tra nsfo rm a tiona l.
DJ-cenrric T KO , who has tens of
th o usa nds of so ngs in irs stud io, has
played wed d ing evenrs o f a ll sizes, fr o m
the Misso u ri Athl etic C lub, Wind o ws
o ff Washingro n, and the Fox Th eat re to
sma ll clubs, ha lls a nd o utdoo r rura l arcas
where ha lf th e (Ow n is in vited a nd hun d reds show u p. T he OJ needs to know
th e space he's go ing to fil l.
Tim Ca lli han , musicia n a nd man ager of Spectr um Ba nd , di shes o n eus' tom wedd ings: " Th ey' re fun. T hey' re
~u ;l i que. " He desc ribed pla ying at a barn
o n a bri de's fa mi ly'S ho rse far m wh ere
the reception wa s hosted. " It wa s a steel
p~refab structure, it was all decora ted,
;If you're going to be
specific on the songs
to;,be played, consider whether those
songs will get people
dancing, if that's the
goal. The pros work
with lists, but they
also know songs
that "work."
and it had a st age, so we figur ed ou t the
elect rica l needs. Pla ying the Co ro nado,
the Renaissance G ra nd, the Crowne
Plaza, the upsca le venues is alwa ys g reat,
toO, and we know wha t to expect, but
we 're a lso hap py to d o the c'usro m venues ... and can come up with an y logist ical
ideas."
TI P: The B& G shou ld do their ho mewo rk
scop ing o ut bands, DJs, qua rtets a nd
vocalists, just as the musician s do their
venue homewo rk.
3) MAKE PEO PLE MOV E!
M elissa O rt ba ls and Corey Rentfr o w
inclu ded a line a t the bottom of th eir
weddi ng recept ion ca rd th at read " M usic
suggestions? Let uS know!" and th en left
space for g uests to penci l in fave so ngs .
Dur ing the reception ma ny of th ose so ng
req uests were pla yed . And beca use of
t ha t, peop le t hro nged O ntO t he d a nce
floor. And th at is exacrl y wh at Meli ssa
and Co rey wanted ro happen. Da ncing
means fun. Fu n mea ns memorab le.
Chri s Schake at TKO noted th at
a OJ will typi ca ll y pla y 15- 17 so ngs a n
hour, so if the " dan ce" aspect of the
weddi ng la sts two to three hours, th at's
on ly 45 -50 so ngs. "Usuall y, eve ryone
wants a full dance fl oor a nd people
dance to songs a) they recognize and b)
that are danceable."
• If you' re goi ng to be specific on
the songs to be pla yed, consider whether
th ose songs will get peop le danci ng, if
that's the goal. Th e pros work with lists,
but they a lso kn ow so ngs that " work. "
Small receptions ca n actually be
more cha llenging, noted Ca llihan. " We
did one with 50 guests and you'd think
it was easy but wi th a small er a udience,
their mu sical differen ces show. You have
to be really skilled at readi ng (he audience a nd kn ow what will get th em lip
and danci ng. If th ey on ly like big band
or swi ng, yo u bette r have a lot o f th ose
songs." Also, don't discou nt cross-over
count ry. "Th ere's something abo ut those
ly rics," he said.
TIP: Even if the B&G 's families a ren't
big on danci ng, th ey have a great time
w;](ching a great band IOJ because it is
enrertai n.in g.
and ended perfecrly, dip-to-last-nore.
"That's the kind of a challe nge a good band
can take on," he said.
TIP : Re member there are no rul es, no
required ga rter toSS , no required so ngs.
T he B&G organize wi th th e OJ or band
to incl ude th ose "tran si ti ons" as they
go a lon g. The pros are savvy and have
a lt ern ate ideas. Ca ll ihan likes an "anniversa ry da nce" rat her than a bo uquet
toss. Again, it gets peop le out on t he
dance floor, a nd t he longest marr ied
coup le re mai ning on th e floor at the end
of the dance ge ts t he bouq uet.
S) SHOULD PLAY NICELY WITH
OTHER BUDGET ITEMS
Hiring a OJ may cos t fro m $550 to
$850, depending o n t he duratio n of th e
event and the size of t he crow d, whi ch,
as menti o ned, relates to the siz.e of the
sou nd system, light in g and stagi ng.
H iring a profess io nal band wil l cos t
ap pro xi mat ely $1,800 and up, with the
same facto rs we ighing in ro affec( price.
What keeps the pros performing at wed -
THE NATIONAL
SHR1NE
OFOURLADYOFTHESNOWS
MIS SIONARY OBLATES
OF MARY IMMACULATE
4) BE "WOW" W ITHOUT
S1 EALING THE SHOW
It '~;
not about the band; it's about the
And engagi ng the B&G and their
falllily members endea rs the music ians to
the audience.
The music helps gu ide th e event.
Hired profess iona ls, whether OJ or ba nd
le ader, transi tion the event from welcome
to inrroductions to toast. " Transit ions a re
key to the eve nt because the mood and
atmosphere ca n go so uth if people a re si ttin g an d wa iting. We help keep the nigh t
go ing, n Sc ha ke said. Good OJs a re trained,
a rti cu late, and even show guests, like the
best man giv ing the toas t, how to use the
mi crop hone. " The B&G se ( the mood, the
mu sic follows that, and everything else
fa ll s into pla ce."
Ca ll iha n to ld about a bridal coup le
who wo rk ed for weeks on cho reograp hing
their " first dance." Ir was 3 minutes and 10
seconds long. The band needed to start
and fin ish exacrl y with them, because the
groom was go ing to di p th e bride a t th e
end. They worked out a signal. Th e br id e
wou ld wink at ove r the groom's sho uld er
wh en they were a bout to fi nish the dance
with a " dip " a t which point th e ba nd should
fi ni sh. Would it wo rk ? Ir did: she wink ed,
the coupl e hea ded into the ir final sweep
across the fl oo r, the band was with th em,
B ~{G.
442 S. De Mazenod Dr. , Belleville, IL
CALL SHRINE R ESERVATIONS
618-394-6300 or visit www.snows.org
Music
din gs? A dan cing crowd , and th e kudos
from coup les and th eir families at rhe
Remember th a t a p rofessio na l DJ
is n't playing li ve mus ic, but he ha s a
thousand hits up hi s s leeve, can read the
crowd, a nd knows what will get peo ple
d a nci ng. A profess io nal ba nd oHe rs t ha t
day's end.
TIP: Shop and get references. Meet rhe
band or DJ. chec k thei r web site, and lis-
sta yin g power and all o ws (or clIsto mizing
and sponranei ry.
ten to their mu sic. Those perfo rmers who
may no r be suitabl e (o r any olle o f seve ral
reaso ns (schedul e, price, size!), ma y reco mm end o ther bands and Illu sicia n-romusician or Dj -ro-Dj references are good.
" live " experie nce, foc uses on songs with
For those on the fence about DJ -orband, co ns ide r both! After a ll, the bril-
TOP SONGS ... FOR THE
B&G' S FIRST DANCE
(compiled from TKO, Spectrum
Band and about.com)
Have I Told You Lately
Van Morrison
Just the Way You Are
Billy Joel
liam wedding is a set of movi ng pa rt s
a nd mus ic (its in eve rywh ere. Celebrate.
Get mu sic . •
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Kamakawiwo'ole
It Had To Be You
Frank Sinatra
At Last
Etta James
A Whole New World
Bryson and Belle
Heaven
Bryan Adams
From This Moment
Shania Twain and Bryan White
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Elton John
Endless Love
Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
TOP SONGS ... FOR FATHERDAUGHTER WEDDING
DANCE
Unforgettable
Nat King Cole
Daughters
John Mayer
You Got It
Roy Orbison
Butterfly Ki sses
Bob Carlisle
Sunrise Sunset
from Fiddler on the Roof
What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong
Dance with My Father
Luther Vandross
Hero
Mariah Carey
The Way You Look Tonight
Frank Sinatra
I'll Stand by You
The Pretenders