Eight Fresh Looks

The Magic of Music The top five things

music should do for your wedding event

BY DIANA LOSCIALE

MUSIC IS ALWAYS IN ' ITED T O TH E \'(' EDDING. Fro m the brida l shower 1'0 rhe ceremony to the receptio n pOSt- p :lrl)', music 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 club, a DJ. or all of the above.

It is the backgro und, the foreground, and the CTHcrta inment during a da y tha i focuses on the Bride and G room. And whether the groom likes jazz and the bride loves CQ Ulllr}', music has a way of ma king everything and eve ryo ne co rne together.

Tune in 10 the fOp (1\'C things wedding music sho uld do fo r the special event.

1 ) MATCH THE MOOD TO THE MOMENT Cert a in ly n Ot j u St (or the receptio n, m usic k icks lip as soon as t he b r ide sa ys " yes " to t he pro posa l. It's at the sho wers, the bac helo rcn c parries and rehea rsal d inner (al t houg h may we suggest a void ing rhe big band blowo ut (Co ll tll1l1 ed 0 11 page 156)

Music (Coft t illlled fro11'1 page 100)

pa rt y the night befo re the wed d ing? )

D uring t he ceremo ny, most churches will allow religious or class ical music. However, advised Ellen Gu tie rrez. at Bride's Visio n, " If rhe ceremony is NOT in the church, rhe sky 's the limit. The music can be a nything, and brides and grooms have g reat ideas . We o ften d isc liss w here favorite musica l pieces will fi t in ." O ne co uple chose

bluegrass fo r their ceremo ny at M isso u ri

Bota nica l Gardens, t hen chose a b ig wed­di ng ba nd fo r their reception .

TIP: Fo r t he p re- receptio n cockta il ho ur, aga in "sma ll " might ru le, fo r co ntras t,

because once th rough rhe doors inro rhe d in ing and dancing a rea, the guests likely will be rocked by rhe bigge r sound o f a band or DJ .

2) BE TH E RIGHT A MOUNT OF SOUND FOR THE RI GHT PLACE Typica lly it doesn't matter to the OJ or t he

band i f there 50 or 500 guests, other than in tcrms of the sound system. Mo re people means mo re sound eq uipmenr needed, 1O

be hea rd evenly. And where Ughring and sraging a rc concerned, musicia ns must k no w the venue. Lig hting, like music, is

tra nsfo rmationa l. DJ-cenrric T KO , who has tens of

thousands of songs in irs stud io, has played wedd ing evenrs o f a ll sizes, fro m the Misso uri Athletic C lub, Windo ws o ff Washingro n, and the Fox Theat re to sma ll clubs, ha lls and outdoor rura l arcas where ha lf the (Ow n is invited a nd hun­

dreds show up. T he OJ needs to know the space he's go ing to fil l.

Tim Calli han , musician and man­ager of Spectrum Ba nd , di shes o n eus­

' tom wedd ings: "They' re fun. T hey' re ~u ;l i que. " He desc ribed playing at a barn on a bri de's fami ly'S horse farm where the reception was hosted. " It was 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 stage, so we figured ou t the elect rica l needs. Playing the Coronado, the Renaissance Grand, the Crowne Plaza, the upsca le venues is alwa ys great, toO, and we know wha t to expect, but we 're a lso hap py to do the c'usro m ven­ues . .. and can come up with an y logist ical ideas." TI P: The B&G should do their homewo rk scoping out bands, DJs, qua rtets and vocalists, just as the musicians do their venue homework.

3) MAKE PEOPLE MOVE! M elissa O rtba ls and Corey Rentfrow included a line a t the bottom of their weddi ng recept ion ca rd that read " M usic suggestions? Let uS know!" and then left space for guests to penci l in fave so ngs. Dur ing the reception many of those song requests were played . And because of tha t, people thronged OntO the dance

floor. And that is exacrl y what Melissa and Corey wanted ro happen. Dancing means fun. Fun mea ns memorable.

Chris Schake at TKO noted that a OJ will typica ll y play 15-17 songs an hour, so if the "dance" aspect of the weddi ng lasts two to three hours, that's on ly 45-50 songs. "Usually, everyone wants a full dance fl oor and 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 played, consider whether those songs will get people danci ng, if that's the goal. The pros work with lists, but they a lso know songs 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 smaller audience, their musical differences show. You have to be really skilled at reading (he audi­ence and know what will get them lip and dancing. If they on ly like big band or swi ng, you bette r have a lot o f those songs." Also, don't discount cross-over count ry. "There's something abo ut those ly rics," he said. TIP: Even if the B&G's families a ren't big on danci ng, they have a great time w;](ching a great band IOJ because it is enrertain.in g.

4) BE "WOW" W ITHOUT S1 EALING THE SHOW It '~; not about the band; it's about the B~{G. And engaging the B&G and their falllily members endea rs the music ians to the audience.

The music helps gu ide the event. Hired profess ionals, whether OJ or ba nd leader, transi tion the event from welcome to inrroductions to toast. "Transit ions a re key to the event because the mood and atmosphere can go south if people a re si t­ting and wa iting. We help keep the nigh t go ing, n Scha ke said. Good OJs a re trained, a rti culate, and even show guests, like the best man giv ing the toas t, how to use the microphone. "The B&G se( the mood, the music follows that, and everything else fa ll s into place."

Ca ll ihan to ld about a bridal couple who wo rked for weeks on choreographing 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 the bride a t the end. They worked out a signal. The br ide wou ld wink at over the groom's shoulder when they were about to fi nish the dance with a "dip" a t which point the ba nd should fi ni sh. Would it work ? Ir did: she winked, the couple headed into the ir final sweep across the fl oor, the band was with them,

and ended perfecrly, dip-to-last-nore. "That's the kind of a challenge a good band can take on," he said. TIP : Remember there are no rules , no required ga rter toSS , no required songs. T he B&G organize wi th the OJ or band to incl ude those "transi tions" as they go a long. The pros are savvy and have a ltern ate ideas. Ca ll ihan likes an "anni­versa ry da nce" rather than a bouquet toss. Again, it gets people out on the dance floor, and the longest marr ied coup le re mai ning on the floor at the end

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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 the duration of th e event and the size of the crowd, which, as mentio ned, relates to the siz.e of the sou nd system, light ing and stagi ng. Hiring a profess io nal band wil l cos t approxi mately $1,800 and up, with the same facto rs weighing in ro affec( price. What keeps the pros performing at wed -

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Music

dings? A dancing crowd , and the kudos from coup les and their families at rhe day's end. TIP: Shop and get references. Meet rhe band or DJ. check thei r web site, and lis­ten to their music. Those perfo rmers who may no r be suitable (o r any olle of seve ral reasons (schedule, price, size!), ma y rec­o mmend o ther bands and Illusicia n-ro­musician or Dj-ro-Dj references are good.

Remember tha t a p rofessiona l DJ isn't playing li ve music, but he has a thousand hits up hi s s leeve, can read the crowd, a nd knows what will get people da ncing. A profess io nal ba nd oHers t ha t " live " experience, focuses on songs with sta ying power and allo ws (or clIsto mizing and sponranei ry.

For those on the fence about DJ-or­band, conside r both! After a ll, the bril­liam wedding is a set of moving pa rt s a nd music (its in eve rywhere. Celebrate. Get music . •

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

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 Kisses 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