Society may have slowed down during the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean everything has to stop – including your dreams of nuptial bliss. Especially now that the pandemic is waning, it’s time to get back to planning one of the most magical moments of your life. Choosing the right venue is paramount to making this happen. But, there are many pieces that must come together to make a location perfect. Today, Black and White Affair DJ Services has a few things you should keep in mind when it’s finally time to decide where to say, “I do.”

Your Budget

Your budget is one of the top considerations, especially if you're a young couple just starting out and will be paying for your wedding on your own. Luckily, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to throw a party everyone will enjoy. For instance, If you don’t have a nice chunk in savings, it might make the most sense to scale back and get married at home.

This money might be best put toward new paint, a gazebo, an outdoor kitchen, a new patio, or other upgrades that will enhance your wedding day as well as your quality of life. Whatever you choose to do, keep itemized receipts so that if you plan to sell your home; your appraisal may not account for upgrades if you can’t justify them.

The Approved Vendor List

Now that you have your budget under control, it’s time to look at venues that fall within it. But, just because it’s affordable on the surface doesn’t mean that it’s right. Some venues require that you use their vendors, meaning the service providers can charge whatever they want.

Location

Location is another key consideration, particularly if you have guests coming from out of town. If you’re planning to get married well outside of the city center, know that there may be fewer hotels available for overnight lodging. According to The Knot, your out-of-town guests are responsible for paying for their own rooms, so try to be budget conscious and choose a location that has plenty of accommodations within half an hour.

Theme

Now for the fun part: choosing a theme. Make sure that your venue is the perfect backdrop for your vision. This might be a fairytale, garden, bohemian, rustic, or modern. If you choose rustic, a metropolitan hotel probably isn’t the right choice. Similarly, if you’re going for a modern look, a barn venue simply won’t have it.

Memorability

You will most definitely remember your wedding day, but if you are shooting for something a bit more unique than a traditional venue, think outside of the box. The Green Wedding Shoes blog acknowledges that there are many amazing places to get married throughout the United States: a treehouse, a towering bridge, an antique store, and a historic basilica are just a few ideas.

Time Availability

The vast majority of us will plan on getting married on a Saturday; it is, after all, the most convenient. But, you might prefer to say your nuptials on a Thursday or Friday evening or Sunday after church. Contact your preferred venue well ahead of time to make sure that you will have the availability that you desire. The same goes for if you plan to hold the reception on-site and party until the wee hours of the morning. The last thing you want is for your wedding coordinator to put the kibosh on the fun at 11 PM.

The People

Choosing a venue is one of the double-edged swords of the planning process. It’s incredibly fun, but also incredibly stressful. Now that the pandemic is mostly behind us, though, it’s time to make your dreams a reality. Hopefully, the tips above can help you make the most of your search. Whatever you choose, congratulations on your upcoming celebration!

Black and White Affair DJ Services focuses on bridging the gap between club dj and the mobile dj experience to provide custom playlists and tons of energy. Call 408-768-4904.

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I have noticed big changes in the wedding format. Long gone is the typical wedding with the standard events. This is a new age and it is the have it your way wedding. Keep in mind that this is one of the biggest events in the bride and groom’s lifetime so they should have the say on what should take place.

Long ago a lot of wedding were done at a church or religious building or courthouse. Now folks are getting married at a venue so the dj can provide sound for the officiant and the ceremony music.

Grand entrance is done 99 percent of the time. Usually the bride and groom and taking photos during cocktail hour then when they are done they are announced. But I have been noticing that bride and grooms are just announcing themselves and occasionally the wedding party.

Money dance is far and few. I have not done many of those of late. Folks are moving away from that. In case you don’t know, the money dance is where the bride and groom dance with guests and guests give donations to the bride and groom. It’s a nice gesture since the bride and groom are busy during the wedding but it gives time to have one on one conversations.

Garter toss and Bouquet toss are not really happening. Most of the weddings I am doing now are smaller thus there can be less single people so a lot of couples have been skipping that.

All and all, the bride and groom can opt to do events or not do them. I never tell them they should do an event since I want them to enjoy what they are doing. Keep in mind, this is the bride and grooms’ party so they can have it their way!

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Sometimes you may think why not have a grand event in your back yard. I have to say most backyards may not be as fancy but if you live in the south county area some folks have more real estate to have a grand event. A few months ago I did a fun quincenera in San Martin. The house had plenty of acres and a nice paver area for the dance floor. Last week, I returned to the house and they now had overhangs to provide needed shade and lights. It gave it a really nice look. The place could consider maybe having more events since its so spacious and there is plenty of parking but that is besides the point.

We had the ceremony as the groom’s dad was the officiant. Five minutes before the ceremony we played the military wake up call to get everyone in their seats. Ceremony was a nice one then it went straight to the cocktail time. There was no grand entrance since bride and groom didn’t leave the area to take pictures and were able to partake in the cocktail hour.

We did the first dance to pantera and there were many parent dances. Then the rest of the night we had open dancing. There were some guest performances with folklorico dancing and grandma and niece had a duet. Then we had a surprise jam session with the groom on his electrical guitar. Truly a very talented family. No two weddings are ever the same.

Party was very nice and they had a party planner that set up chairs and the coolest thing I saw there were was hot taki stand.

Every party is never the same. And of course I had one that was way different when it came to music programing. The night started off with 90s alternative. It’s a rarity that we go that route but there is a lot of good music back then by Alanis Morrisette and Green Day and Sheryl Crow. Then when it was dance time we went Spanish music.

The classic Spanish music I went for the last hour. The crazy thing was the whole night no one requested any songs till the last 10minutes. They did give me an awesome list to work off.  Again no party is ever the same. I see their list and use their list and try to add songs that would feed that vibe.

Timbiriche was the group of the night. Also Intocable was well appreciated. It seemed like these songs were sung by the guests. We did sneak in some modern English dance songs but the songs of the night had to be Spanish.

When it hit 11, we had to stop the music but the guests went back in the house to continue the party. Songs that were getting down to after were Ven Bailalo by Angel Y Khriz, Meneaito by Gaby, La Botella by Mach and Daddy and Atrevete Te Te by Calle 13. These are definitely party songs that can get the party rocking.

Think Black and White Affair for your latin party events.

I would usually do the sound for graduation for Mt. Madonna in Gilroy. I did it 2018 and 2019 then the world was closed for a bit. 2020 and 2021 there were no graduations for the public. This year we were now open and we had a nice graduation celebration in Gilroy. Students invited their guests to come to the celebration.

It was not too hot for this graduation. I brought two 15 inch speakers and it was enough sound for the amphitheater. I used my older 15-inch speakers since they can take a licking and keep on ticking. Even though I had the tanks working for me I had a few more speakers in reserve in my car. Back in 2018 the Gilroy heat took out one of my speakers. Luckily I had another that took its place for the event.

Thirty minutes before the graduation I play the preceremony music while the graduates are getting situated. This time around I went will old school that everyone knows and did something different. I threw in acoustics of songs that everyone knows. I was playing Ed Shereen songs and Rihanna covers.

I like the graduations at Mt Madonna since they have a rose dedication ceremony. The graduates give a rose to someone who was there for them. I play a 3 minutes song, which is plenty of time to find that special someone to give the rose to.

At the end the graduates officially graduate and its party time. I played a festive song and threw in a Spanish banger just to finish things off.

I remember seeing the cost to do the audio for the graduation ranging from 3k to 7k. Some schools have big classes so therefore there are more guests that come to the grand event. Some local school were posting their costs and I was blown away. For me, it was a lot since schools pay thousands of dollars (schools do a lot to raise the money) and do not get to keep the equipment.

There has to be a more economic way to have these services. One thought is since there are so many schools, the district can contract with 2 or 3 big av services to ensure a loyalty discount. 

Another consideration is maybe looking for a local amphitheater.  They are built to carry sound. You could rent audio gear for 300 to 700 dollar to take care of the sound. (Probably need 4 speakers depending how big the school is. I do a local high school and it only requires 2 speakers. 

Another thought is to do it in-house. At this local high school they installed (2) 15 inch speakers and put them on 30 foot poles. Also they installed wireless Shure microphone with a fin to cover more ground. Of course there is cost to install the system and  pay for the system but the past 3 graduations at that school here was 0 cost for audio services. Yes, it’s a smaller school but the idea still works. 

People are having parties now. There has been a lot of inquires to have events. There are homes in the Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Martin area that have huge lots which make it easier to have a successful outdoor function. But there may be a place to throw an event that may not be as big. The houses maybe close together and some cities are strict with noise ordinances. Usually if the city is small then those officers would tend to tell the party to keep it down and give a few warnings. 

How do you have a successful Spanish Latin Party in the Backyard?

Depending on the backyard, you would only need 2 12 inch or 15 inch speakers. They only need to be at least 50 percent in volume. If you are playing Spanish music you will need a level area as a dance floor. Grass or dirt is not a good area to dance but rather cement or a dance floor can be rented. For California, when it comes to Spanish music, I tend to stick with the majority of cumbia music. I usually go with cumbia and throw in some salsa music. It all depends what part of Latin America they are from. I tend to play more banda if they are from Mexico. 

For your Spanish party please be sure to contact Black and White Affair for a party with Latin flavor. 

My typical event is I show up set up my gear and play music. Every once in a while there can be others involved in the entertainment. I have played with a mariachi, or a banda, or just other musicians and or singers. If anything else is involved other than me playing I have to prepare for it. I knew the wife of the birthday boy was getting a samba group to perform at the party. I reached out to the group to make sure I had the music they needed. I had to play them in a certain order right after one another. 

 At the party they were giving toasts and I had to cue the samba team to get ready. 3 dancers came out with a drummer. They brought the energy with them. They danced to about 8 songs then they were interactive with the group the whole time. They brought in guests to do a routine and everyone loved what they saw. They had a contest on who danced the best from the guests. The lead Samaba Dancer took the wireless mic and was leading the new dancers.

It was an awesome show and entertaining. It is one way to spice up a party is to have an interactive dance group lead the entertainment. I can tell the guests enjoyed themselves. They were easy to work with since they were able to share their playlist with me and I was able to cue their dance song for the guests to learn  at the right time. If you look up the group it is called Sambaconmigo. I was very impressed.