DJ Jerry B’s Blog Mostly daytime ramblings

August 29, 2011

Kathy and Paula – Colonial Inn

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 1:18 pm

Kathy and Paula held their private ceremony on Cape Cod at the end of July and wanted to host a post-wedding reception for their family and closest friends at the Colonial Inn in Concord. I was told that as they looked around the room, they couldn’t think of anyone that they didn’t REALLY want to be there.

Okay, so who invited Irene?

Pulling off this incredibly fun reception was a matter of good planning and great timing. As Hurricane Irene was moving her way up the east coast, Kathy and Paula’s friends were making their own travel plans to be there. Many were traveling from the exact areas that were in the path of the hurricane — New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and, I’m sure, one or two others. In my mind, it was a race to stay ahead of the worst conditions. And to tell you the truth, I was impressed by how few guests didn’t make the trip — it’s a testament to how special these people were to this wonderful couple. The celebration wrapped up within hours of when Irene hit Massachusetts.

Planning for Kathy and Paula’s celebration was fun. They had their own taste in fun music, mostly 80′s, but were keen on having me put together a diverse play list so that everyone in attendance could party down. And party they did.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget their official first dance. We started it off as Etta James “At Last” and, just as the guests started to believe that it was going to be a slow romantic dance, we threw in the sound effect of a record scratching and kicked it into high gear with the Pointer Sisters bouncy rendition of “I’m So Excited”. Their wedding party joined them on the dance floor sporting colorful boas. Many of the guests joined in as well.  Have I mentioned how fun it was? I wish I could have captured it on video to share with you.

A special thank you goes out to Arthur, the captain in charge at the Colonial Inn. He and his crew did a great job of keeping everybody comfortable — and he even led the spotlight moment when the brides cut the cake — and he managed to completely engage everyone in the process.

Kathy and Paula were an absolute joy to meet and to work with. They have already been together for 26 years and the special bond that they share is pretty obvious. And I met some of the sweetest, nicest guests as well. My thanks truly do go out to each and every one of them.

 

August 10, 2011

Dawn and Emily – John Carver Inn

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 9:35 am

“And, for the first time as legally wedded spouses, let’s welcome Dawn and Emily, who are celebrating 35 years of friendship and love”…

Dawn and Emily’s wedding was a long time coming, so they definitely wanted it their way. In fact, my role at their celebration at the John Carver Inn was much more geared toward being a host and emcee than that of DJ. Dawn had selected special songs to be played as dedications to many of the friends and family that were in attendance. It was a little different from my normal role, but I have to say that I was happy to be connected to such a deeply committed couple.

Friendship was a very strong recurring theme at Dawn and Emily’s wedding in Plymouth. I was more than just a little impressed with the durability of the relationships that they had both sustained over the years. I had the chance to witness, for the first time, a candle dance. It started off with humor, as every guest in attendance did their best to learn the steps while trying to maintain a circle (and NOT drop their candle.) They did a great job and, when the lights were lowered and the dance was done for real, it was quite touching. The end of the dance calls for every person to place their candle in a box of sand in the center of the circle, all done silently. Very moving.

Here’s to another 35 years together.

 

July 25, 2011

John and Tonja – Blissful Meadows

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 6:23 am

I was extremely flattered when John contacted me earlier this year to be the DJ at his wedding. He had seen my storefront on WeddingWire and started off his inquiry with, “I liked what I read”….

The ceremony and reception were held at Blissful Meadows Golf Club in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. There’s a great area with a gazebo and garden which overlooks the course, tailor made for an outdoor ceremony. That plan became just a little more challenging when the thermometer topped out at 96 degrees. Still, they decided not to move things indoors and I’m happy to report that there was no collateral damage — no one fainted. And, as a result, there was a solidarity among the guests who took it all in stride.

John and Tonja’s road to marriage was a long one, built on beginnings, separation, loss and renewal. I won’t go into the details here, but trust me when I say that it’s a REALLY great love story — the kind of thing that makes me believe in destiny. Borrowing from the toast from Mike, John’s brother and best man, it’s not important what roads it took to arrive; only that the roads converged at the right place and time.

July 11, 2011

De and Brad – Smith Barn

Filed under: Personal,Weddings — Tags: , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 11:51 am

I’m gonna need a little indulgence here — this one is personal…

I’ve written before about the fact that I sometimes end up feeling close to the couples that I work with — call it a great “drawback” to my job. In this case, I was ALREADY close to the bride. De and I met, probably, 20 years ago during my financial services days. We rarely worked at the same location – she was in Boston and I was out in the ‘burbs. But between in-house messaging (e-mail’s predecessor) and company softball games, we became “buds” — I can’t even begin to count the number of times that one or the other of us needed another person to simply  help deal with something. Sometimes work-related, sometimes personal. It didn’t really matter. From my perspective, De was the kind of rock-solid friend that I could always depend on to provide an honest (sometimes brutally honest) view on things. I ended up leaving the company 10 years ago or so and De and I pretty much dropped out of touch.

Then, quite reluctantly, I joined Facebook.

Howard Stern may be the King of All Media, but De is surely the Queen of SOCIAL media. And, just about a year ago, De and I re-connected. Shortly thereafter, she asked if I had any plans for a day in July — she needed a DJ. In her own words, De had been on her last first date.

The actual ceremony took place in April and the reception was planned for the summer. The couple had landed on Smith Barn at Brooksby Farm in Peabody as their location. A very easy to get to, fun venue. The main hall is great, with elevated balconies on either side of the dining/dancing areas. I really enjoyed working with the whole crew there, most notably, Tammy and Michelle, both of whom were on top of everything. And an absolutely outstanding buffet was prepared by Mitch Mitchell’s Affairs Catering.

The reception itself was typical in many ways – a room full of people who were so fully immersed in sharing the celebration. One spotlight moment that I particularly enjoyed was their variation on the “Anniversary Dance.” You’ve undoubtedly seen in the past when married couples are called to the dance floor then slowly eliminated until the couple that has been married the longest is the last one standing. Instead, the bride and groom did their homework and had me call up many couples, each of whom had been married for an impressive number of years. It was fun hearing the building momentum from the crowd as the years climbed, ranging from 45 to 52 years. Collectively, these ten couples had racked up 477 wedding anniversaries. We dedicated “Through the Years” to them and invited others to join them. It was very sweet.

It may seem like I’ve sort of neglected the groom throughout this little tale. Brad is, without a doubt, the quintessential great guy. Brad, if you  happen to read this, I’ll let you in on what I leaned in and whispered to De: “You and Brad? Total no-brainer!” Anyone who knows me at all will recognize that as a ringing endorsement. I can’t think of anyone I would rather see together than the two of you. Continue to take care of each other and I’ll undoubtedly be seeing you both on Facebook.

July 5, 2011

2012 Weddings

Filed under: Advice — Tags: , , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 6:00 am

It’s hard to imagine that, here in the middle of wedding season 2011, I’m going to suggest a call to action for couples who are planning their wedding next year, but that’s precisely what I’m going to do. The reason is very simple.

Availability.

If you were to believe many of the online planning tools, they will suggest that you can get a DJ anywhere from six to twelve months prior to your wedding. And that’s PARTIALLY true if you plan to pull names from a phone book.  But if you are looking to hire a specific DJ (or photographer,  planner or wedding venue) you shouldn’t think that this time frame is safe.

In my own experience, just so far this year, I have turned away 15 to 20 couples who inquired about dates that I already had booked. I’ve been asked many times over the years why I have never pursued the idea of hiring other DJs so that I can take more bookings. For me, it’s very simple. I am a service provider, not a product. Truly “personalized service” is not a marketing ploy. It’s the heart and soul of my business. I do only one wedding on any given date and so do many other independent vendors.

Prime wedding season is from early April though late October. There are only 25 to 30 Saturdays within that time period and those are the dates that book the fastest. If you are planning a Saturday wedding next year, it’s not too early to get your vendors under contract.

 

 

 

June 25, 2011

Maggie and Cindy – Rockport Art Association

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 2:47 pm

A wedding celebration in an art gallery?

Yes.

On a Thursday night?

Yes.

Maggie got in touch with me by phone last year about her wedding. She and Cindy are from Chicago and, after many years together, decided to tie the knot in Massachusetts. It’s always a good sign when initial telephone conversations get into a comfort level right off the bat, so I knew we would have a good working relationship. Those feelings were confirmed when she sent me all of her contact information the same night in an e-mail with the subject line reading “Maggie and Cindy’s Big Gay Gala!” I had to (almost literally) pick myself up off the floor.

Toasts were offered up by Cindy’s sister Karen and Maggie’s brother Mike. Mike’s was especially touching when, after joking about the adventures of growing up with his twin sister, he spoke of his own issues of coming to terms with her realization of her preference. Noting that once he got over his initial feelings, he realized that SHE hadn’t changed. She was still the same wonderful, caring sister she had always been. Knowing that, he understood things better and it was HE who changed. He let us all off the emotional hook when he further observed that, being twins, they had a lot in common and that one of those was that they both liked girls (“Women!” as Maggie corrected him.)

This was a destination wedding in every sense of the word. Every single guest traveled to celebrate with this great couple. Not only were friends there from Chicago, but also Oregon, Colorado, Texas and many other locations. This is why the couple had decided on a Thursday wedding. They wanted to give their guests an opportunity to stay for the weekend to see the Boston area. I watched the guests enter the reception area and each one had the biggest, broadest smile on their face. They were positively beaming, clearly thrilled to have made the trip to celebrate with Maggie and Cindy.

June 20, 2011

Meli and Dave – L’Andana Grill

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , — DJJerryB @ 7:28 pm

Meli and Dave held their very intimate wedding ceremony and reception at L’Andana Grill in Burlington. If you haven’t yet visited L’Andana, you should. The ambiance of the upscale Tuscan restaurant is readily apparent as soon as you walk in the door.

The celebration was an international affair. In one of our pre-wedding consultations, I had commented to the groom that I wanted to practice pronouncing his name correctly so that I would have it right for the introductions. This is something of a personal obsession of mine. Ever been to a wedding and the DJ doesn’t know the names of his clients?   (I have…) In any event, when I voiced my concern over getting his name right, he joked that I shouldn’t worry about it since his own father insists that he (Dave) doesn’t even pronounce it the proper traditional way. In an absolutely brilliant move, not only did Dave provide me with the phonetic spelling for all members of the wedding party, the list was accompanied with an audio recording of the groom pronouncing each name. Aah, technology!

Since this was a small wedding, it was held in the private dining room and, due to size and sound restrictions, we were obligated to use their in-house sound system (I had offered this particular couple a reduced rate since I would not be loading equipment in and out of the venue.)  This was a first for me and, in all candor, it was a bit of a challenge. The sound was fine for the ceremony (voice) and during dinner (low volume). When it was time for dancing, it just wasn’t quite up to par. Fortunately, since I tend to over-prepare, I had taken it upon myself to bring my smaller system. I convinced the event manager that we needed a little boost and was given permission to use my own gear. It ended up saving the dance portion of the evening.

June 13, 2011

Regina and Greg – Hartman’s Herb Farm

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 10:25 am

Regina and I met via a telephone call back in January. She and her husband-to-be had decided on Hartman’s Herb Farm as the venue for their wedding and reception. You can see from the above photo of the bride and her dad, the country setting at Hartman’s is just perfect for a New England wedding. I’ve worked at Hartman’s many times and am gratified to know that the owners there will recommend me to couples who are still searching for their disc jockey. That conversation with the bride was so comfortable that within 5 minutes I think we both knew that we were going to be working together. Of course, that didn’t stop us from talking about her vision of the day, along with my general outlook on things, for the ensuing 90 minutes!

Preparation for the wedding could only be described as a DJ’s dream. The couple had very few demands, considered themselves rookies at such a large production, and were looking for someone who could lend some insight on how to make the day totally theirs. Knowing that their own taste in music would be considered a little outside of mainstream, they wanted me to orchestrate a large portion of the planning for the day. Once she realized that she and Greg could contribute their own ideas in music to be incorporated into dinner hour, Regina provided  a good sized list of some songs and artists that were special to them and many of the friends that would be attending. I’m comfortable in saying that, based on the reaction of everyone, that become the most important component in putting the stamp on the night as being completely and totally unique. This night was truly “theirs.”

It’s not at all uncommon to get attached to the couple that you are working with. With these two, there was something really extraordinary about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I spent time with their families and friends. This was a very tight group — anyone could see that everyone who was there was SUPPOSED to be there. Her mom and dad were beaming all night. His mom was on the dance floor all night long. Brothers, cousins, extended families, close friends and “the gang” all exuded a warmth that was almost addictive. To me, there would be only one word to describe the night:

Perfect.

June 5, 2011

Joe and Deb – Bucksteep Manor

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 9:22 pm

Ever heard of Washington, Massachusetts?

Me neither. At least not until the groom contacted me last year to assist with their wedding at Bucksteep Manor.  This is way, WAY out in western Massachusetts in the heart of the Berkshires and, although my car didn’t like climbing those mountain roads, I was blown away at the location. It must be truly amazing in the fall when the colors change.

The ceremony at the stone chapel at Bucksteep was performed beautifully by Justice of the Peace Susan Pensivy. Joe and Deb had many of their family and friends coming in from New York for the weekend celebration and, thankfully, the area was unaffected by the recent tornadoes. In fact, it was just about perfect.  And it was definitely a fun crowd, very much ready to celebrate.

The layout for the festivities was somewhat unique in that there were three separate locations for the reception. The cocktail hour was at the Manor House, dinner was served outdoors under a tent and dancing took place inside the Carriage Barn. Yours truly got a pretty healthy workout for this one, managing to operate two sound systems in three separate locations. I love what I do, but don’t believe for one minute that a professional DJ is “paid to party”…

The attached photos are courtesy of one of my fellow professionals — Carm D’Amore. Teacher, photographer, and just an all-around good guy. How good a guy? So good that I was able to look past the New York Yankees necktie he was wearing. Carm, thanks again!

April 29, 2011

Erica and Chris – Harrington Farm

Filed under: Weddings — Tags: , , , , , — DJJerryB @ 10:43 am

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to wedding season than being part of Chris and Erica’s wedding. As a wedding DJ, I’m in the very fortunate position of meeting some absolutely great people and these two would rate right at the top of that list. They both exuded absolute warmth and caring, not only to each other, but to everyone they came in contact with. I personally felt at ease from the moment I met them for our first pre-wedding planning session back in December. Both of their families, along with their many friends, were an absolute joy.

They had chosen The Harrington Farm in Princeton, Massachusetts for their ceremony and reception. A raw New England evening couldn’t take away from the cozy feel of the night. One bonus for me was that, for this couple, I was entrusted to providing the music for the ceremony. It was a nice blend of traditional, classical and contemporary. Their friend Josh also performed a very touching rendition of Steven Curtis Chapman’s song, “I Will Be Here.”

Harrington Farm is a beautiful venue located at Wachusett Mountain. A day trip to the area is definitely in my not-too-distant future.  For those of you looking for a quiet, beautiful setting, I would urge you to give it a look.

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