DJ or Band For Your Big Day?

There are a handful of things that people say are most memorable about a wedding. Those things are the food, the drinks, and the music. The food and drinks are generally covered when you decide on your reception venue; however, the music is found outside of that. The music of a wedding is generally what keeps your guests interactive, having a good time, and also increases the chance of them staying longer. I know for me personally, I want everyone to stay and have a great time until the night is over but in reality I know that is not going to happen. What I also know is that I have control over the music we choose and hopefully that music choice is widely accepted; I want the dance floor to be packed all night!

When looking into music options, I think that it is first important to take a look at the makeup of your guest list. For example, having a mixed crowd of ages versus a relatively older or younger age may steer your decision making process. But what is also crucial to remember is that you and your fiancé will want to make a music decision based on what you will want to be dancing to and enjoying all night.

Let me walk you through my experience… So my family background has strong Italian roots. I grew up listing to traditional Italian music and loving every second of it. To this day, there are certain songs that just put a big smile on my face and warm my heart. In my wedding, I wanted to be sure to incorporate this. This could be done either by having a DJ play those songs or having a band sing them. Most of the weddings in my family have had live bands and those bands also sung the Italian music. There is something about live, traditional music that just gets to me and takes me back. So, I decided that in that sense, I would prefer a live band to sing the songs instead of a DJ just playing the songs off of a cd; much more entertaining in my eyes!

The Italian music is not going to be playing all night, in the grand scheme of things I would only like a few songs played after dinner to get the night started (maybe one or two later throughout the night). So I also needed to consider the rest of the night. I have been to wedding where only oldies were played and maybe a few top forty songs. For some people, they love that. But for me personally, I like a good mix of everything. With some bands, you are restricted to song selections based on what songs the band knows how to play whereas with a DJ the options are endless as long as the song can be downloaded. So this can be very limiting depending on which route you take or which bands you have as options.

Bringing it back to my original point about looking at your guest list… mine personally has a great mix. We have a large crowd with a great overall mix of ages. Therefore, I wanted to accommodate them all the best that I could. A live band plays music but in addition to that, the band is something to watch and be entertained by; especially when we are talking about a 7-piece band. With a DJ, there is generally only one person in charge of the music so there is not too much to look at. On one end, a DJ does not steal the attention away from the bride and groom but on the other end I had to ask myself if the DJ would not please some of the older crowd.

With taking all of this into consideration, we came to a decision to hire a live band for our wedding reception. Overall, the live band we decided to go with plays a mix of all types of music including the traditional Italian music that I like and they are also something to watch and be entertained by (given that they are an 8-piece band). With this, it is my hope that all of our guests have a great time and also that my fiancé have a blast. I am one that loves to dance the night away at weddings, so with the good music it is my plan to do the same on my big day.

My situation may be different from others given that I wanted Italian music incorporated, but my biggest recommendation is while you are trying to pick a band or a DJ that works best for your guests, also make sure that what you decide on is something that is fitting to you and your better half, as well. After all, the day is about you two!

Were there other specifics that you took into consideration when you were deciding on the entertainment for your big day? So many options!! Xoxo BreAnna

Finding Your Photographer

So, from the view of a bride-to-be there are a handful of things that are crucial to me. At the top of my list – the photographer. I have been told by many people that my wedding day is going to fly by in the blink of an eye. I want to be able to look back on beautiful pictures to feel back in the moments of that big day. I want to be able to show my future children and grandchildren pictures from my wedding, too. I anticipate that I will look back on my wedding pictures time and time again. When I do look back, I want to remember how beautiful the day was and more importantly, feel like the day was captured perfectly.

When I first started looking into photographers I was very overwhelmed. I realized how different each and every photographer is. Things such as the style of their shoots to how they edit their photos make such a big difference and each photographer really does have their own taste and vision. I realized that I needed to decided what was important to my fiancé and I (but mostly me because let’s be honest, he was not all too concerned about the intricacy of picking out a photographer).

So I first started thinking about what style is most “me” or will best capture the wedding day. Since we are not having the ceremony or the reception outdoors or anything, I wanted to stay away from a more rustic photographer. I quickly decided that it was important that the photographer captured effortless moments in an elegant arrangement. By arrangement, I mean the angles and such that are used with their photography techniques. In addition, editing was a big thing for me. I came across quite a few photographers who I felt used a bit too much editing where the pictures did not seem real; I did not want this.

Oh!... and asking some friends for their photographer recommendations is a great start too!

Okay, so I know this all may sound a bit over the top, but I just wanted to make sure that our wedding is captured best with our taste and persona’s. The last thing I wanted was to look back on pictures and not be happy with them.

 

In the end, after a few weeks of some thorough searching, we made our decision. We went with a photographer who is very passionate about what she does, who does not edit and take the life out of personal pictures, and one who captures elegant moments. We actually had our engagement shoot not too long ago and that really set the tone. I am so happy with how those pictures turned out that I just had to share one with you (below)!

Just a little side note in case you ever start going crazy with planning - at the end of the day, I know that all of these little details are not what’s important. So remember to continuously stop and take a breath during wedding planning. The sole reason for everything is because you are going to be marrying the love of your life. While I am enjoying the little details of planning, in all reality all I want is to make that promise before God and to my future husband.

I know that you will find the perfect photographer and you will be happy with your decision. Best wishes for continuous happy planning! Xoxo BreAnna