Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Planning a wedding during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Most brides and grooms don’t know where to start when planning their wedding in the midst of a pandemic but they want to get married sooner instead of later.
When you start planning and are reaching out to vendors you will have to ask them a few questions before you consider them for your wedding.
1. What’s your cancellation policy if we need to move or cancel our wedding?
2. How much is your deposit and is it transferrable to a new date if we have to move our date?
3. What policy does your company have while working around guests? Are they required to wear masks?
4. Does your location require that our guests will have to wear masks?
5. Is there a limit on how many people we can have for our guest count?
6. Our you O.K. with some of our guests or us not wearing masks?
7. What if we move the date and you’re not available for the date what happens with our deposit?
Most of the time most companies have a non-refundable deposit if you have to move or change your date but some companies will let you move the deposit over to the new date. If you have to all out cancel you may lose your deposit which some can be in the Thousands of dollars especially for a caterer or location.
I suggest not paying in full unless you book within that person’s policy to pay in full. With the pandemic a lot of vendors are unable to give a refund as they are trying to keep their business going and have multiple events cancelling or being moved to a different date, but some may be able to move the funds to a new date if you decide to move and some companies may have a rescheduling fee.
Some locations will require you and your guests to wear a mask in the public areas but not the reception area and some others are very lenient and leave them as a preference for guests which is mostly the case.
Most of the weddings we have done in the pandemic normally all of the vendors are wearing masks and the caterers usually wear masks and gloves while handling food. If you prefer everyone wear masks you may have your DJ if he is O.K. with enforcing people to do this and you would have to let the staff at your selected location be aware that you would like this enforced as well. I would also make guests aware of this policy as some people will not want to wear them. You may also provide them as well or have them as a favor with your names on them.
Be aware of locations that limit your guest count to a certain number before you decide to book your location as some are 50 or less of what they limit it to while other locations are higher depending on your area.
Lastly before you book your vendors ask them if they are unavailable if they change your date what would they do. Sometimes there is nothing they can do so you may either had to find a date all of your vendors are available or figure out if you will be losing your deposit or if you will still get a credit that you may either transfer or use for a later date. Some good companies will do this for you.
Hopefully this helps with planning or possibly moving your wedding in the new Covid-19.
We at Elegant Entertainment wish everyone to be safe and look forward to someday this being over to get back to normal times.
Stay safe and best wishes on planning your day!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What can I do to save money on my wedding in today's economy?
Lets start out with saying there are a few components to a successful Wedding, A nice place to have your wedding, good Food, great Entertainment and a great Video or Photographer for long lasting memories. Everything else you may be able to cut corners on.
1. The Location- instead of the most elaborate location you may find that some Golf Resorts or even some community centers have excellent accomodations and if you hire a good caterer you will not have a huge overhead with a more elaborate place and sometimes work out better for pictures.
2. Disc Jockey- Find a good DJ preferrably one that has the experience of coordinating events for you and does detailed planning of your event requests and music selections. This is the person that will be making sure everything flows for you during your event. You don't have to go with the most expensive DJ, always check references especially do an online search to see what other people are saying about a particular company. I definitely would not go with the cheapest either as this area is a crucial part of your event, but I would definitley go with a DJ that does it full time.
3. Flowers- are a beautiful way to accent your Wedding and you may decide to just have a boquet and flowers for your bridesmaids instead of every table. This may save some money and not break your budget.
4. Photogaphy or Video- you may decide to have both, this is where you will have to decided if you are happy with just one or the other. A lot of times people cut out video and wish they would of had it later. You may find a company that has discounts like a DJ and Video or a Photo and Video. It is always good to make sure you are hiring a professional unless you know one of your family memebers that you can trust to take pictures or do video for you, the only thing is they are there for your wedding and it is not their normal job and may definitley miss some important parts of your event that you would like to remember.
5. Buffet or Sitdown- a lot of times buffet turns out to be much more cost effective and guests are usually happier with being able to serve themselves.
6. Wedding Dress- this is usually one of the areas that is hard to cut corners on because it usually involves trying the right one on, but if you have the courage there are many resale wedding dress shops as well as Ebay and Amazon that have wedding dresses for sale and if they don't fit you can always go to a taylor or seamstress that will alter the dress to your specifications which a lot of times can work out much cheaper than buying the expensive ones you may find.
7. Open bar- If you are at a place that allows you to bring your own in that may be a very cost effective way to go, if you decide on a location where you cannot you may be able to have open bar for a select period of time which a lot of the time works out much cheaper. You may also have just Beer, Wine and softdrinks and anything else there would be a cost involved and is very cost effective as well.
8. Makeup- Hire a person that does Makeup and hair. Most of this time this will actually save money in the longrun, they normally will have their own supplies as well as do a professional job on the bride as well as the bridesmaids, this can be money well spent as they also save you time, headache and it works out to about the same amount you would spend on supplies and items that you would need to do it yourself.
9. Party Favors- This can be one of the biggest pitfalls that people that are getting married overpay for. I have found that you can find inexpensive favors on Ebay or Amazon and get them engraved or stenciled for a very minimal cost, you may be able to have the favors and have printed cards attached to whatever it is you decide on. A very cost effective ways to save money.
10. Cake- a lot of times someone's grandmother is an excellent chef and is an unknown resource you may have and most of the times they are excited to do this for you, there is also an option of your local grocery store or bakery may have wedding cakes they will make at a very inexpensive price, but the downfall is they may have to be picked up and delivered by one of the guests or you, but it may be worth the savings you receive.
These 10 items I have mentioned are some of the most important parts of a successful wedding and it may be hard to cut corners on some items, the most important things not to cut corners on are the things you will remember such as the entertainment if you and your guests had a great time at your wedding, the food, if everyone was leaving early because the food was inedible and your precious memories of your big day afterwards, the Photography and or Video.
1. The Location- instead of the most elaborate location you may find that some Golf Resorts or even some community centers have excellent accomodations and if you hire a good caterer you will not have a huge overhead with a more elaborate place and sometimes work out better for pictures.
2. Disc Jockey- Find a good DJ preferrably one that has the experience of coordinating events for you and does detailed planning of your event requests and music selections. This is the person that will be making sure everything flows for you during your event. You don't have to go with the most expensive DJ, always check references especially do an online search to see what other people are saying about a particular company. I definitely would not go with the cheapest either as this area is a crucial part of your event, but I would definitley go with a DJ that does it full time.
3. Flowers- are a beautiful way to accent your Wedding and you may decide to just have a boquet and flowers for your bridesmaids instead of every table. This may save some money and not break your budget.
4. Photogaphy or Video- you may decide to have both, this is where you will have to decided if you are happy with just one or the other. A lot of times people cut out video and wish they would of had it later. You may find a company that has discounts like a DJ and Video or a Photo and Video. It is always good to make sure you are hiring a professional unless you know one of your family memebers that you can trust to take pictures or do video for you, the only thing is they are there for your wedding and it is not their normal job and may definitley miss some important parts of your event that you would like to remember.
5. Buffet or Sitdown- a lot of times buffet turns out to be much more cost effective and guests are usually happier with being able to serve themselves.
6. Wedding Dress- this is usually one of the areas that is hard to cut corners on because it usually involves trying the right one on, but if you have the courage there are many resale wedding dress shops as well as Ebay and Amazon that have wedding dresses for sale and if they don't fit you can always go to a taylor or seamstress that will alter the dress to your specifications which a lot of times can work out much cheaper than buying the expensive ones you may find.
7. Open bar- If you are at a place that allows you to bring your own in that may be a very cost effective way to go, if you decide on a location where you cannot you may be able to have open bar for a select period of time which a lot of the time works out much cheaper. You may also have just Beer, Wine and softdrinks and anything else there would be a cost involved and is very cost effective as well.
8. Makeup- Hire a person that does Makeup and hair. Most of this time this will actually save money in the longrun, they normally will have their own supplies as well as do a professional job on the bride as well as the bridesmaids, this can be money well spent as they also save you time, headache and it works out to about the same amount you would spend on supplies and items that you would need to do it yourself.
9. Party Favors- This can be one of the biggest pitfalls that people that are getting married overpay for. I have found that you can find inexpensive favors on Ebay or Amazon and get them engraved or stenciled for a very minimal cost, you may be able to have the favors and have printed cards attached to whatever it is you decide on. A very cost effective ways to save money.
10. Cake- a lot of times someone's grandmother is an excellent chef and is an unknown resource you may have and most of the times they are excited to do this for you, there is also an option of your local grocery store or bakery may have wedding cakes they will make at a very inexpensive price, but the downfall is they may have to be picked up and delivered by one of the guests or you, but it may be worth the savings you receive.
These 10 items I have mentioned are some of the most important parts of a successful wedding and it may be hard to cut corners on some items, the most important things not to cut corners on are the things you will remember such as the entertainment if you and your guests had a great time at your wedding, the food, if everyone was leaving early because the food was inedible and your precious memories of your big day afterwards, the Photography and or Video.
Monday, March 8, 2010
How much should I pay for a DJ and how do I know if I'm getting someone good.
It is a tough process in finding a DJ. Below I will give you some tips at finding not only someone that is good, but someone who is cost effective for your budget needs.
The most common questions I always get is why are some DJ's a lot more expensive than others? Well the truth is there is really no standard cost for a DJ you may pay anywhere from $100 to $2000 dollars for a DJ, but finding a good DJ in the lower budget category is a challenge as well as a risk that sometimes people are willing to take in an ailing economy. Some of the DJ's will be excellent have another job and DJ for part time money, but you have to be careful that the DJ you hire has someone to back them up if they get sick or their equipment fails or if they are only using a hard-drive or Ipod for their music collection and it breaks down you may be looking at a wedding or party in silence if they have no back-up. Some people will go with a DJ because he or she has the lowest price only to find out that they are a run of the mill DJ company that employs random DJ's with little or no experience with a Wedding or Event. These companies will promise you the moon and the stars only to find out the DJ didn't show up for the event or was so bad they ruined the event. Most DJ's in the higher category are pretty good, but I have heard horror stories as well about DJ's that were expensive, so it's all in the research you do in finding that perfect fit for your event.
To get the best DJ and the best price for an experienced professional here are a few ways to accomplish your goal.
1. Make sure you always are able to meet with the DJ that will personally be doing your event, this is very important or if you are unable to meet with your DJ, see if there is any online Video's of them in action, speaking, getting people motivated, having a good time in the video as well as talking with them personally.
2. Refernces, Reviews, Testimonials from Past Client and Other Vendors, one of the second most important. This one has to be researched online as well to make sure that they atleast have a 90% good rating out there. I say 90% because no one can make 100% of the people happy all the time and sometimes I have come across DJ's writing good reviews for themselves to make themselves look better. So I would suggest also talking to a couple of actual people they did events for in junction with the reviews, so you have more than just a review online. Also look at the date of the reviews, if they are all on the same day, odds are they weren't posted by the actual client, unless they sent out emails on the same day for people to post reviews but in many events unlikely that this is the case. Really do your homework online to find every review you can by typing in the company name and location to see what's out there and if they are legit. You can try the BBB if you are unable to find any info, they may be brand new or changed company names.
3. An excellent sign of professionalism is when a company gets back to you the same day or atleast within 24 hours. If it takes them longer 48 hours to get back to you, normally not a good sign.
4. Always ask the hard questions, will you be my personal DJ, how many years experience do you have, are you insured very important if someone gets hurt at an event or there is some unforseen accident, do you have back-up equipment and a backup DJ in the event you are unable to do our event, can I call atleast 3 of your references, Do you have any video's of yourself in action,
Will you have back up music if your Laptop fails, can we meet with you more than once to go over our event information, what are your hours of availability incase I need to make a change to my event.
5. Find out what type of equipment they will be using. You don't want someone showing up to your event with an Ipod and a home stereo surround system. As long as they have equipment brand names like, Crown, Yamaha, Bose, Mackie, Denon, American DJ, JBL, Numark, Gemini and others, odds are they have sufficient equipment for your event.
6. Don't get sold on equipment, some DJ's will have great equipment and sell you on how great it sounds but they may be a terrible DJ. It's all about seeing them in action, feeling comfortable with your DJ, getting references and asking the hard questions.
7. DJ Scare Tactics A lot of DJ's go for scare tacticts, such as you may lose your date if you don't book with me right now. I always hated using scare tactics to get business, I always felt if they like what I have to offer than they will book with me and if I do get a request for their same date I will give them the courtesy of letting them know someone else has requested their date. I just find scare tactics very unprofessional.
8. Always go with a DJ that uses a contract. This protects not only them but you as well. It is always good to have something in writing.
9. See if the DJ company has a website, preferrably online planning forms, this many times makes it easier to plan your event and is usually the sign of a professional and music lists of what they will have on hand to help in the planning of your event.
10.Lastly, you want to have options with your DJ company, such as having choices of the DJ being very interactive or laid back, having additional DJ or not, having other options to offer such as lighting or other services. Always feel comfortable with your DJ and I can't stress enough the importance of References, Reviews and Testimonials.
I hope this helps in finding the Perfect DJ for your Event and if you need a DJ in Orlando or the Central Florida area you can always contact myself DJ Joe at 407-414-6239 or our website at http://www.elegantentertainment.org
The most common questions I always get is why are some DJ's a lot more expensive than others? Well the truth is there is really no standard cost for a DJ you may pay anywhere from $100 to $2000 dollars for a DJ, but finding a good DJ in the lower budget category is a challenge as well as a risk that sometimes people are willing to take in an ailing economy. Some of the DJ's will be excellent have another job and DJ for part time money, but you have to be careful that the DJ you hire has someone to back them up if they get sick or their equipment fails or if they are only using a hard-drive or Ipod for their music collection and it breaks down you may be looking at a wedding or party in silence if they have no back-up. Some people will go with a DJ because he or she has the lowest price only to find out that they are a run of the mill DJ company that employs random DJ's with little or no experience with a Wedding or Event. These companies will promise you the moon and the stars only to find out the DJ didn't show up for the event or was so bad they ruined the event. Most DJ's in the higher category are pretty good, but I have heard horror stories as well about DJ's that were expensive, so it's all in the research you do in finding that perfect fit for your event.
To get the best DJ and the best price for an experienced professional here are a few ways to accomplish your goal.
1. Make sure you always are able to meet with the DJ that will personally be doing your event, this is very important or if you are unable to meet with your DJ, see if there is any online Video's of them in action, speaking, getting people motivated, having a good time in the video as well as talking with them personally.
2. Refernces, Reviews, Testimonials from Past Client and Other Vendors, one of the second most important. This one has to be researched online as well to make sure that they atleast have a 90% good rating out there. I say 90% because no one can make 100% of the people happy all the time and sometimes I have come across DJ's writing good reviews for themselves to make themselves look better. So I would suggest also talking to a couple of actual people they did events for in junction with the reviews, so you have more than just a review online. Also look at the date of the reviews, if they are all on the same day, odds are they weren't posted by the actual client, unless they sent out emails on the same day for people to post reviews but in many events unlikely that this is the case. Really do your homework online to find every review you can by typing in the company name and location to see what's out there and if they are legit. You can try the BBB if you are unable to find any info, they may be brand new or changed company names.
3. An excellent sign of professionalism is when a company gets back to you the same day or atleast within 24 hours. If it takes them longer 48 hours to get back to you, normally not a good sign.
4. Always ask the hard questions, will you be my personal DJ, how many years experience do you have, are you insured very important if someone gets hurt at an event or there is some unforseen accident, do you have back-up equipment and a backup DJ in the event you are unable to do our event, can I call atleast 3 of your references, Do you have any video's of yourself in action,
Will you have back up music if your Laptop fails, can we meet with you more than once to go over our event information, what are your hours of availability incase I need to make a change to my event.
5. Find out what type of equipment they will be using. You don't want someone showing up to your event with an Ipod and a home stereo surround system. As long as they have equipment brand names like, Crown, Yamaha, Bose, Mackie, Denon, American DJ, JBL, Numark, Gemini and others, odds are they have sufficient equipment for your event.
6. Don't get sold on equipment, some DJ's will have great equipment and sell you on how great it sounds but they may be a terrible DJ. It's all about seeing them in action, feeling comfortable with your DJ, getting references and asking the hard questions.
7. DJ Scare Tactics A lot of DJ's go for scare tacticts, such as you may lose your date if you don't book with me right now. I always hated using scare tactics to get business, I always felt if they like what I have to offer than they will book with me and if I do get a request for their same date I will give them the courtesy of letting them know someone else has requested their date. I just find scare tactics very unprofessional.
8. Always go with a DJ that uses a contract. This protects not only them but you as well. It is always good to have something in writing.
9. See if the DJ company has a website, preferrably online planning forms, this many times makes it easier to plan your event and is usually the sign of a professional and music lists of what they will have on hand to help in the planning of your event.
10.Lastly, you want to have options with your DJ company, such as having choices of the DJ being very interactive or laid back, having additional DJ or not, having other options to offer such as lighting or other services. Always feel comfortable with your DJ and I can't stress enough the importance of References, Reviews and Testimonials.
I hope this helps in finding the Perfect DJ for your Event and if you need a DJ in Orlando or the Central Florida area you can always contact myself DJ Joe at 407-414-6239 or our website at http://www.elegantentertainment.org
Friday, February 26, 2010
Harmony Golf Preserve is a great location to have a wedding
Harmony Golf Preserve has to be on Elegant Entertainments top 10 Wedding Locations. It has beautiful places to have a wedding ceremony, wildlife, lakes and golf. They also have an excellent reception site that has been completely renovated, with an excellent staff and great food. Please check out the Video of wonderful couple that has recently had their wedding at Harmony. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lcmSr0PCk
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Funniest Wedding Video's Ever
Please share with us your Funny Wedding Video's. I came across this one below of a bride who threw the perfect boquet toss to one of her bridesmaids, absolutely hilarious. You can view the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9-pHaP4ugM
We would love to see some really funny Wedding Moments or some great stories as well, please share them with us at Elegant Entertainment Orlando.
We would love to see some really funny Wedding Moments or some great stories as well, please share them with us at Elegant Entertainment Orlando.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Elegant Entertainment DJ and Video Orlando Reviews
Elegant Entertainment would love to hear from you. Please post a review on our blog and let us know how we did.
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