Northern California Wedding Show | Choosing a Ceremony Time

Planning your wedding involves many moving parts, including creating a timeline for your day to capture all of the details.  One crucial detail is choosing your ceremony start time, which will dictate what time you need to be ready, photography start time, transportation schedules, dinner start time and most importantly - how many hours you get to dance!

Photo courtesy of be authentic photography

Before you have set your ceremony time, be sure to speak with your photo and video teams and your wedding planner to make sure that everything aligns with the coverage you have booked.  Another big question you will be asked is if you will see eachother before the ceremony which is referred to as the first look.  

A Sample Wedding Outline - 4 pm Ceremony 

Now that you've seen a sample, you can discuss with your event team on what time would be best to start your ceremony.  Consider lighting, hair and make-up along with your photo timeline and the rest will fall into place.  Keep in mind that with any timeline, things will be flexible.  Other than getting you down the aisle and starting dinner on time, the rest will flow around you as your event team ensures that you are having the best day ever!

Butte County Weddings | Choosing A DJ For Your Wedding

An iPod is not a DJ.  There we said it.  Despite articles telling you how to save money and any hints that you have heard to cut a DJ out of the budget; read on about hiring a DJ. 

Uplighting, Monogram and Dance Floor - The Wedding DJ

If you have been to a wedding as a guest recently, chances are you remember certain aspects more than others.  For some guests the food and beverage options are what sets a wedding apart from others, but for many it is the music and whether the DJ kept them dancing all night long.  

Engaging a group of 150 to 200 people is not simply pressing play on a list of songs, it is understanding the ebb and flow of an event and the momentum that builds throughout the order of events.  For example after dinner time when guests have been sitting and having conversations at their table for the past hour or so, a DJ will need to be able to get the guest's attention for the formal dances, cake cutting etc and hold their attention until the open dancing starts.  There is a distinctive ability to emcee a wedding with minimal announcements on the microphone.  This isn't bingo, its a wedding! 

So when you are planning your wedding and envisioning your reception, think about your preferences on how a DJ would handle requests by your guests to hear songs.  Should these be collected with your RSVP's or are guests okay to request songs at the DJ booth?  

Aside from the dancing, a DJ is an integral piece on keeping things going smoothly according to the timeline.  So having an experienced DJ work closely with your wedding planner, photographer and caterer will make a big difference when assuring that the wedding party is announced right before lids are pulled on the buffet and ready to serve.  A DJ can also help facilitate group photos and instructions by making clear announcements - your photographer will appreciate this!

What should you expect to pay for a DJ? This varies due to the location of your wedding (if ceremony and reception are at different locations) and options that each company offers such as lighting, dance floor rentals, monograms etc.  Locally, one DJ company may be unlimited hours with your ceremony and reception package, while others have a standard set of hours and then you can add additional hours if needed.  Be sure to check out our DJ page for links to local professional DJ companies!