Peter: It can. Especially if they decide to spend too little money on their entertainment. In my experience, entertainment is the one component of the wedding reception that will make that function a really memorable, fun event, or an event that everyone is ready to leave early from because things are not going too well. I paint the picture this way: If you were to walk into a beautiful tent reception, and you saw the white linens on the chairs with the bows in silver tied around the backs, the place settings all perfect with the silverware polished, the cake decorated with all the flowers on it, and the centerpieces looking just as beautiful as you can imagine. And in the center of this beautiful tent reception, you see a large tent pole, and it’s colored bright orange with surf stickers. That center tent pole is the entertainment at the function. And if the entertainment does not match the environment you spent all this time and money and effort and emotion creating, then what you’re going to have is an orange tent pole with surf stickers on it. I’ve seen that personally. I’ve watched a DJ walk right out onto the middle of the crowd to introduce the bride’s father and step father at a very, very formal wedding reception. He held out the microphone and said, “Who wants it?” That’s how he introduced these two very important men to do a toast at this bride’s wedding. We never knew as guests, which one was her dad or her step father. We never knew what their names were. He did not match their event. So it’s becoming more and more apparent to people, that when it comes to hiring entertainment for their function, it’s a good idea to put aside a good amount of your budget to make sure you’re going to get somebody with the talent. and the skill, and the personality, to deliver the event that matches what you’re looking for. And it’s become my belief that anywhere from 10 to 15 to even 20% of your budget is a good amount to set aside for your entertainment. Because, in surveys that we’ve done, we’ve found that clients are saying 80% or more of the success of their reception was riding on the entertainment that they chose. As a matter of fact, in the St. Louis Bride and Groom Magazine, in the summer/fall of 2003, there’s an article tilted, “Survey Says, After the Vows.” It’s on page 108 if anybody would like to look it up. It says, “During wedding planning, brides say their highest priority is their attire followed by the reception site, with reception entertainment among the least of their priorities. But, within one week after the reception, 78% of brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority.” I think that number is really, really high. I think the reason why that number is so high and that so many people are recognizing afterwards that the entertainment was important, is because DJs primarily, but also the magazines and the books, are telling them to just hire music.
KLOU: You know, and as I think about it, when you look back to some of the parties you’ve attended, you don’t remember a whole lot of what happened. You know, the menu, or what the decorations looked like. But, you remember if you had a good time or not.
Peter: Well, as a matter of fact in that same article, it says, when asked, 81% of the guests said the thing they remember most about a wedding was the entertainment. If they have a great time, they leave raving about how much fun they had. If the entertainment was very, very inadequate, they leave complaining about how poor the entertainment was. That’s the number one factor that will determine whether the guests will be raving about it for years to come, or whether or not they’re going to be hoping they don’t get stuck at a wedding with that entertainer ever again.
KLOU: You know, it’s kind of funny because, that’s what I was thinking. If they’re going to spend, I don’t know, say in round figures about $20,000 that day, and you hire poor entertainment, and your guests leave an hour and half, two hours early, you start amortizing that money, you just lost a whole bunch of money, because you didn’t invest enough money in your entertainment.
Peter: That’s absolutely correct. And our experience has shown us that the person who’s in charge of guiding and directing the flow of the event, making it fun for all the guests all the way through, not just when it’s time to dance, is the person who’s going to make sure the majority of your guests stay an enjoy your celebration with you. Whether the party ends early with a big send-off, or whether it goes late into the wee hours of the night, making a great party last and making it fun for everybody is the job that’s primarily on the shoulders of the entertainment that you choose. If you’re going with DJ entertainment, and you decide to save some money and get somebody who’s a little cheaper, you could wind up getting somebody who’s going to make your guests start hitting the road a lot sooner than you want. That will cost you more than you spent on that entertainer. That’s something I’d regret seeing anybody making a mistake doing.
KLOU: Should a client look at equipment, or even consider equipment when they’re looking at a potential DJ?
Peter: The person who thinks a DJ’s equipment is the most important aspect is typically the mobile DJ. And that’s kind of funny, but it’s true. The equipment that a DJ brings to the event is one of several tools he or she uses to provide great service. But, if you try to find a DJ based just on equipment, you can find all the best gear, you can find all the best equipment, you can even find the best music list in the world, but if the person doesn’t have the talent and skill to make the party happen, all those tools won’t matter a hill of beans towards making a great party. Just like when you go to look for a contractor to build your house, you want to find somebody with references, who’s done a good, reliable job, and created great products, such as a nice house or a nice addition to a house. You don’t want to find somebody who’s got a great list of tools. The tools are what he uses to provide his service, and the same way, a DJ’s gear, his music, and everything else are tools that he uses to provide his service. What you want to verify is his talent along with quality, and level of the service that he provides. You can bring in the most skilled DJ in the world and give him some of the worst tools, and I guarantee you he’ll still make it a great party. But, you can give all the best tools to someone who has no skill or no talent whatsoever and that party will still tank.
KLOU: I guess you just want the end result. You just want a good party.
Peter: If you want the event to be fun, the number one component that’s going to make it fun, is the entertainment.
KLOU: Well Peter Merry, thanks for spending some time with us.
Content from DJ Larry Green http://www.myrtlebeachdj.com
