A wedding dress for under $300???

Lets face it, these days a lot of people are on a budget.  Second marriages, job loss and inflation have a lot of people cutting back.  This isn't for everyone, but if the budget is tight...

What if you could find a dress for under $300?

One of the websites I frequent regularly sells wedding dresses.  I'm not a fashionista by any means, but they look like a lot of the dresses I see at weddings every week.

I don't know about the quality or sizes, but I do know these are very inexpensive.  I've purchased some electronic gadgets from them and the quality is usually pretty good on their products.  The shipping time varies from less than a week to 3 weeks depending on where it's coming from.  You'll most likely need to hire a local tailor to do any alterations so factor that into the cost.

If you do order one from them, please let me know what you think.  Good luck and I hope this helps some of you!

Here's the link:

http://www.meritline.com/newsearch.aspx?subcategory=Dresses+for+Her%3EWedding+Dresses&SearchTerm=wedding+dress

The DJ Guy is the Best in Howell!

The DJ Guy is the winner of the 2011 Best of Howell

Award by the US Commerce Association!

Call us now for all your entertainment needs!

The DJ Guy specializes in:

Weddings, Birthdays, Karaoke, Anniversaries, School Events and Dances,

Corporate Events, Bar/Bat mitzvahs, Athletic and Pageant Competitions,

Games Show Nights, Bar Nights and much more!

From Weddings to the Holidays...

The 2011 wedding season is over and it's time to shift into the Holiday Spirit. This past November was the busiest I've ever had. Not one weekend went by without a wedding, birthday, anniversary or reunion.

Now that we're into December, it's time to cue up the Christmas songs and spread a little Holiday cheer. This weekend I'm kicking it off with two Holiday parties. If you or a company you know or work for is looking to have a Holiday party, give me a call and I'll be happy to get them a quote. Karaoke is available for all events too!

Need a Videographer?

Last week, I had the privilege of working with an amazing videographer. Normally, I wouldn't suggest a videographer unless you didn't have a good friend with a video camera, as hiring one can be a big expense.

Craig Butler of Freakin' Awesome Photography and Videography did the impossible... He took video from the entire day's events (the bride's makeup and hairdresser, the guys waking up and trying to get ready in one small house, the ride to the ceremony, the photo shoot all around various Detroit landmarks and finally the grand entrance at the hall). Then some how, he edited this down into a brilliant high quality production during dinner and played the 8 minute feature (complete with music) on a big screen right after dinner!!!

Video editing is very time consuming and can take days to do, what he some how put together in just 45 minutes. If you want an emotional, funny and moving short film to play at your reception, give Craig a call or check out his website.

Craig Butler 734-560-3115 www.craigdavidbutler.com

Need to see his work? Here's what I saw... (that's me announcing them, but I don't think his mic picked up the sound that well)

Chris & Amber - Wedding Video Same Day Edit - Andiamo Warren, St. James Michigan from Craig David Butler on Vimeo.

Halloween Party!

Come on out to Bennigans in Howell on Friday, Oct 28th for another great Halloween Party.  The fun starts at 9 PM and goes until 2 AM.  There will be food and drink specials all night long ($2 drafts I believe).  There's also a costume contest with prizes!  This year, it's all indoors (no tent), but there will be a hardwood dance floor (and no tables or chairs) in the section I normally DJ in every Thursday night.

Hope to see some familiar faces that night!

Zurecki Wedding - a reunion of sorts and a total blast!

So last year, when an old friend from my days of going to the club and DJing at various clubs in Detroit and Ann Arbor approached me about doing his wedding, I was not only excited, but honored that he picked me.  Jason (or JZ as we all called him), is good friends with several of the DJs that used to work at the clubs.  As it turns out, there were several of them in attendance at the wedding and even a few in the bridal party.

I don't normally travel out to Shelby Township that often, so I'm not doing a full blown review on the venue.  I will say that it was beautiful, the food was excellent and other than some conflicts with the adolescent valet kids, the services were top notch. The name of the venue is Cherry Creek Golf Club and it's located near 24 mile and Van Dyke.

Jason and his beautiful new wife, Elisa

What a great toast by the "dude of honor"!

First dance: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

Bridal Party Dance: Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

It was good seeing a LOT of old friends.  This is possibly the most fun I've had working a wedding in a LONG time.  Some of the night's songs included: Sisters of Mercy - Temple of Love, Dead Can Dance - The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove, Assemblage 23 - Let Me Be Your Armor, Iris - Annie, Would I Lie To You, Covenant - Dead Stars, Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy's Song and so many more!

Congratulations Jason & Elisa!

Venue Reviews are BACK! - American Spirit Center, Brighton, MI

So you're probably all wondering "what happened to the venue reviews?"  Summer is prime wedding season and just this past weekend I hit a milestone by having three weddings all at the same time.  Myself, DJ Travis and DJ Dizzy (on loan from my friend's DJ company) all had extremely successful wedding receptions.

Today I volunteered my services at a benefit for a 13 year old girl with brain cancer.  More on that in the next blog post.

Needless to say, it's been very busy and I'm finally catching up.  So here it is... The American Spirit Center.

You might think a VFW hall wouldn't be so nice and usually "trashy, not classy" is what comes to mind.  Well, let me tell you... you've never been to The American Spirit Center in Brighton, MI.

From The main entrance, you can tell, this isn't your typical VFW hall.

My wife and I had OUR reception here 5 years ago.  It's gotten even nicer since then!  I was surprised to see some minor updates to aging light fixtures and the obnoxious wall mount TVs (used for bingo) are now covered in boxes that look like wedding presents (a nice way to hide something that isn't going away).

Table and chair decor are up the client.  In this instance, the couple opted for no chair covers and simple table decor. The white box (middle of picture) is a covered TV.

I'm not sure who's doing the catering there now. It used to be C&C Catering, but I'm not convinced this wedding was done by them.  The food was good, but not 5 star.  The staff seemed very attentive and did a good job.  I don't know how the pricing is now, but at the time we booked this hall, it was a STEAL!

Overall, I'd recommend this venue to anyone looking to keep it classy without blowing the budget.

Cancer Fundraiser

Tomorrow, The DJ Guy will be down in Westland at Vision Lanes on Ford Road from 6-11. This is a very special fundraiser to help Alysa, a 14 year old girl with brain cancer.  Please come out and show some support for this family in their time of need!

Click on the image for a larger view

Wedding fun at the American Spirit Center

Michael Jackson never fails to get em going!

I'll post a full review of this venue later this week.

Congrats to Laurie & Paul!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Going Green!

One of the biggest problems with doing karaoke, is that every time I add new songs, I have to print them on paper and add them to multiple catalogs so that guests can view my karaoke library.  Quite often, these books end up outdated and need to be reprinted.  The vast size of my karaoke library means that each time I do this, I use almost TWO reams of paper!  That's nearly 500 pages!  It's a big waste of money, time, paper, toner and the energy used to do it all.  There had to be a better way...

Introducing The DJ Guy's
Online Karaoke Book
(accessible from any smartphone)

The DJ Guy will be rolling out this feature at the end of August.  Books will still be available, but will only be updated once a year and only two books will be available at any given event.  Request cards will have a QR code that will instantly take smartphone users to the Online Karaoke Book.

Just one more reason that NO ONE beats The DJ Guy for quality, features or price!

Happy 4th of July!

Every party needs good music - Even on holidays.

Today, I'm rocking out a 4th of July Anniversary party on the lake.




The DJ Guy can setup anywhere there's power and shelter from the elements.




I hope you all have a safe and fun weekend!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Raftwood Dr,Commerce,United States

Last year, out of 500 plus DJs, The DJ Guy came in at 13th place!  PLEASE tell your friends, neighbors, Facebook buddies... TELL EVERYONE!

Go VOTE for The DJ Guy for Best of Detroit!

Here's the link:
http://ctvr.us/thedjguy

Be sure to share it on your Facebook!

Venue Review - Kensington Court, Ann Arbor, MI

On May 20th, I had the honor of DJing for Ashley & James's wedding reception at Kensington Court.  I've been here quite a few times in the past, but I've never reviewed this venue so I figured this would be a good time to do so.

Located right off of State Street and I94 in Ann Arbor, it's an easy location for guests to find and perfect for out of state guests needing a place to stay.

If you've ever been to a wedding reception at a hotel before, then you already know what Kensington Court looks like.  It's a little nicer than most, but still very much the same in the ball room.  The decor is nice and and the room looks elegant.

The food is usually very good here, but where they really shine is when they have a cheesecake dessert bar and also their phenomenal coffee bar with all the bells and whistles.  The staff is friendly and very efficient at attending to guest's needs.

Congrats to Steven & Stephanie!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellers, Saline, MI

The weekend of bad potatoes...

This past weekend was pretty busy.  Thursday was another great night at Bennigan's in Howell.  If you live in Livingston County and you don't already know, I DJ every Thursday from 9-1 for their dollar beer night.  Friday morning I left early for Tappan Middle School's (Ann Arbor) graduation day celebration.  It was pouring down rain and the festivities had to be moved indoors, but I think everyone had a good time regardless.

After the school function, I was off to Canton for Terri and Keith's wedding.  Unfortunately, the rain forced their outdoor wedding indoors.  Their reception was at Summit on the Park in Canton, MI.  The Venue was very nice and the staff were both friendly and professional.  The food was very good with one exception... the potatoes were way over cooked.  Keith (the groom) is in a band called Spy Radio and they played a great set for one hour of the evening.

Saturday came and it was time for a barn wedding.  The Ellis Barn in Oakland County had never hosted a wedding until Saturday.  Sarah & Dennis' wedding was both simple and beautiful.  The unique location created a memorable day for all.  The caterer provided a pig roast with all the sides you'd expect... mac n cheese, baked beans, salad and... potatoes that were pretty much raw and uncooked.  Regardless of the food, both the ceremony (I did the music for it) and the reception were great!

Venue Review - Crystal Gardens

A few of you have been wondering... where are the reviews?  Well, here's another one for you.  This time it's Crystal Gardens in Howell.  I do 6-10 events here a year.  As it is close to home, I'd like to do more here, but they have an odd way of recommending vendors - it's about about who pays to advertise with them.  You've already heard me complain about bridal shows being nothing more than a sales rally.  Needless to say, I'm not listed as one of their "preferred" vendors because I don't do their bridal show.

Crystal Gardens at night

Regardless of politics, I have to say, Crystal Gardens staff is one of the most professional I've ever worked with.  There are always plenty of staff members to take care of all your needs.  When food is served buffet style, the food NEVER runs out.  Someone is always there to replenish the pans before they're empty.  The food is always good and pending what entrée choices were made, it could even be worthy of a five star restaurant.  The hall is elegantly decorated, well kept and always clean.

If you're planning your wedding here I do have some tips for you...

> Make sure you book the hall for the full amount of time you'd like to stay.  While I don't have a problem playing longer (hourly rates apply), they won't extend the time for you at the end of the night.

> The food ranges from good to incredible.  Most caterers will allow a time for a tasting, I don't know if they offer this, but you should ask.

> The corner room with the corner DJ booth may look nice, but it doesn't accommodate a very large reception.  Keep that in mind when booking.

This is the corner room setup for the wedding ceremony.

The view from the corner DJ booth.  It's difficult for guests to make requests in this room.

Because the dance floor is in the center of the room, there isn't a good way to keep the sound aimed strictly at the dance floor.  This can make it hard for non-dancing guests to talk later in the evening.  In other rooms, the dance floor is at one end of the room.

While price may be a factor, Crystal Gardens does a VERY nice job and your guests won't be disappointed. Just keep in mind you CAN pick your own DJ!

Your day, starring... YOU!

Have you thought about doing a slide show but just don't have the equipment, time or experience to pull it all together?

The DJ Guy offers a FULL slide show package!  Simply send your images on a CD (numbered as 001.jpg, 002.jpg and so on).  I'll put together a slide show, provide the screen and projector and run the slide show either as a one time showing done to the music of your choice OR as a continuous looped showing done during cocktail hour while guests are arriving.

When the slide show is done, the DVD will be yours to keep!

If you're interested in adding a slide show to your reception, simply email me at ed@thedjguy.info

There's a New DJ in Town!

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately.  I recently took a few weekends off as my wife and I had a baby girl.  She was born on April 29th.  Here are some pictures... one from the hospital and one from her photo shoot.

And by the way, if you ever need baby pictures, contact Jennifer Hosking.  She is EXCELLENT with kids and does the best work.  Unfortunately, she doesn't do wedding photography.

Here's her link: http://www.jenniferhoskingphotography.com/

The Sad Times We Live In...

Unfortunately, this is the truth we live with today.  People are desperate and they'll steal from anyone.  Please ask your bridal party and parents to keep an eye on your gifts and cards throughout the night.  You never know when something like this might happen.

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/wayne_county/man-crashes-wedding,-tries-to-steal-wishing-well

Happy Easter!

Today I've got a little Easter Egg for all the brides planning their big day.  I saw this on Yahoo and had to share it with all of you.  It's an article on how to prevent fashion disasters on your wedding day.

The original story and text can be found here:
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/the-thread/how-to-prevent-wedding-day-disasters-2474840/

Hope you all have a great day and happy planning!

Lighting sets the mood...

I mentioned last week that I had added some new lighting and I promised some video from an actual event.  Well, here it is.  This was taken at Crystal Gardens last Saturday.  As you can see, the new lights are much more vibrant an the effects are great!

Venue Review - Chemung Hills Golf Club

While it has great potential and a mostly classy look, Chemung Hills is starting to show it's age.  Some minor repairs and attention to detail could easily make this the perfect spot for weddings.  For now, it's a little rough on the edges.

What you can't see in these pictures is the chipped up pillars and the hole in the wall by the dance floor.  Minor things, but it definitely detracts from the classy venue this once was.  Regardless, it didn't stop the guests from having a great time on the dance floor!

EDIT 2015: This venue has REALLY turned around.  The food is

 GREAT! Everything looks clean and is in good shape!

The food was decent, but the service was quite an eye-opener.  The caterers asked me to release the tables to the buffet, which I had no problem doing, but they waited almost 20 minutes to tell me this!  Typically, it is the responsibility of the caterer to release tables as THEY know when the food is ready and THEY know when to hold up to replenish empty pans.  I have done this before at small outdoor parties to help out when the caterer is a bit under staffed, but never in a hall with 6 or 7 servers just standing around.  It just seemed very unprofessional on their part.

Lastly, I'm going to finish by saying I REALLY hope they can turn it around as I like the layout, location and atmosphere at Chemung Hills.  It's only 5 minutes from home and has a lot of potential.

Is Your DJ "Livin On A Prayer"???

Chances are, if you've been to a wedding recently and the DJ was using CDs or even worse: RECORDS, it's because he or she just doesn't care about their clients, it's all about the money for them.  It's sad to say, but far too many DJs don't invest in their own business.  Over time, equipment becomes outdated, damaged and worn out.  If it isn't replaced, there's a good chance it could stop working or act up at your event!

The DJ Guy is CONSTANTLY upgrading, adding and improving equipment.  Just this week we made the switch to ALL LED lighting!  The final lights (our colored flood lights) were replaced with LEDs.  They're more energy efficient, the colors are more vibrant, there are more colors and LEDs don't burn out like regular light bulbs.  This also allowed a smaller, less obtrusive lighting setup.  The entire lighting system is also wireless as well, so we can plug in anywhere there's power and turn various effects on and off from the other side of the room.

While it may not look like much, the effect is really incredible for the size.  Below are two short sample videos.  The first with just the lights hitting the wall, the second is with fog for effect.

 

I've had couples ask what type of lights I use in the past and what they look like.  I'll post some event video in the weeks to come so that everyone can see what they look like in a wedding reception setting.

Venue Review - The English Inn

A few weeks ago, I did a wedding at The English Inn.  I've been there before, a few years back, but I don't do too many events in Eaton Rapids (about 15 minutes south of Lansing).  The property is ideal for ceremonies and pictures.  Unfortunately, the weather was a little on the cold side when I was there.

The inside of the hall was beautifully decorated and the food was very good.

I don't really know of anything else in the Eaton Rapids area, but I wouldn't hesitate to check out The English Inn if you're looking to have a wedding in that area.