The Party Hosts

As well as trading as The Party DJ I’m also very proud to be part of The Party Hosts with Alan and Gary. The Party Hosts came about because the three of us are great friends, share values, had all trained with Mark and Rebecca Ferrell among others, and live fairly close to each other. We originally got together to offer back-up for our clients in the event of something unforseen happening to any of us just prior to a booking. We then decided it might be a good plan to develop a brand that we could market and build together.

It’s now about a year since we got together and things are really starting to take off. Yesterday we launched our Wedding Entertainment Show – our weekly video tips on planning your wedding from an entertainment perspective.

We also started The Party Hosts blog here The Party Hosts

This weekend will also see the start of another of our Party Hosts projects … but we’ll tell you about that next week, when we should have some pictures.

Finally, for now, we have also been entered for the 2014 Wedding industry Awards

It’s still happening …

I had a phone call last Saturday lunchtime from someone needing a DJ for a wedding the same evening.  It appears the call was from an agent who had taken the booking at a very respectable local venue.

I’m not sure what the clients were paying for the disco but I was told by the agent “there’s only £180 in it”.  The call came in while I was on my way to drop Joe, our son, back at Uni in Loughborough and our day was planned out already. I declined the booking but did text the caller back an hour later to make sure the booking was covered – it was, thank goodness.  

So why do I feel the need to share this here …

As I indicated I don’t know the full story – how much the couple were actually paying, why the original DJ wasn’t available, or how much was being taken by the agent as their fee. I just think it’s sad this happens so often and that couples don’t seek out entertainers who they can trust to deliver on their wedding day.  I’ve never let a client down and, in the event of a major personal disaster and I can’t make a booking I have a long list of colleagues I can call on to step in and take over.  This isn’t necessarily about how much a DJ charges, it’s about how much you can trust your DJ.

 

Meghann & Chris ~ Winchester Guildhall ~ 9th March 2013

I always knew Meghann and Chris’ wedding was going to be a special day from the first time we met. As we all know the weather this year so far hasn’t been very kind to us, but yet again everything just came right when it needed to.

The ceremony took place at 3:30 in the King Charles Hall at Winchester Guildhall and when Meghann entered with Peter her dad to Take That’s ‘Greatest Day’ the sun was streaming through the windows.

Following their ceremony we adjourned to the Wintonian Room for drinks and canapes with a trip out to the gardens next door for photos.

Their wedding breakfast was served back in the King Charles Hall which was transformed into a wonderful dining area. I have to say the team at Winchester Guildhall, managed by Helen, were excellent and were very helpful at all times, as were the caterers Beales Gourmet Caterers managed by Mahmoud. Everything really was lovely.

The evening party started with a very special First Dance. Meghann, with the help of friend Matt, had recorded her own version of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ as can be heard on my video below. Next Meghann had a dance with her dad Peter and then Chris danced with his mum Kim, and it was great to see them all so relaxed sharing special moments together.

We had a lot of fun throughout the evening, we played ‘Getting To Know You’ with the newlyweds, Megahnn threw her bouquet and the dance floor was busy all night. Meghann and Chris had a “Don’t You Dare” list of songs which included Gangnam Style but they relented on that particular track under enormous pressure from their guests. There was even a bit of 5-6-7-8 action!

At about midnight everybody joined Meghann and Chris on the dance floor one last time for the final few songs and then friends and family formed a guard of honour to see them off to The Wanted’s ‘Glad You Came’ – what a great day!

If you are looking for a wedding venue in Winchester I can thoroughly recommend the Guildhall – if you have any questions please ask me. paul@thepartydj.co.uk

Here’s the video I cobbled together – please remember these are just for fun – I know I’m a useless videographer!

Ceremony Music

Another of the services I offer is providing the music for the wedding ceremony. Great production of the music for your ceremony can set the tone for the whole day. Before I returned to DJ’ing I’d actually been asked by several friends to play their ceremony music for them at their weddings ~ it was a really nerve-racking thing to do, I was pushing buttons on machines that I didn’t know and although I managed it was far from ideal.

Many venues provide a sound system, usually a domestic portable cd player or iPod doc, and usually expect you to provide the music to play and the person to control it for you. Is this the right way to start the most important ceremony in your life?

Here’s a document one of my colleagues, DJ Terry Lewis, developed. I’ve adapted it slightly and I hope it will give you food for thought.

Here’s a picture another colleague took at a local hotel recently.
You can see a small domestic CD player has been provided

Here’s our system at New Place last Saturday, set up discreetly at the rear of the room using professional sound equipment ~
Pioneer DDJ S1
MacBook Pro
Bose Compact speaker system

For more information about ceremony music please get in touch email paul@thepartydj.co.uk or call 023 8086 1715 or 07973 617 153

The Swan Alton Wedding Fair.

Yesterday my colleague Gary and I were at The Swan Hotel wedding fair in Alton. It was great to meet the lovely couples who attended and also catch up with some new suppliers. Gary and I were both suffering from lack of sleep from working the previous night … well actually we were both finished after midnight so we were actually working earlier the same day – and Gary was in Essex!

The Swan offers some great value-for-money packages and is well worth considering if you are looking for a venue that provides great service on a budget. They do have packages that include an evening DJ but you can replace that element with other services and book your own entertainment.

The Swan is licensed to hold Civil Ceremonies, so you can have your whole day there. CLICK HERE for more information about Weddings at The Swan, or call Harriet on 01420 83777.

Among the other exhibitors we met were …
The Farnham Boutique who had some absolutely gorgeous wedding gowns on display
The Short Film Company who as usual were blowing people away with their amazing Big Brother style inflatable diary room.
and Impress Your Guests who offer a wide range of services including venue dressing,chair covers, candy buffet and fingerprint trees.

Sunday 30th ~ FREE Wedding Fair in Alton

I’ll be there with Gary spreading the word about Party Hosts!

Sammy & Sam’s Wonderful White Horse Reception

Sammy and Sam got married in Winchester Guildhall, just across the road from the bus station where Sam first set eyes on the girl of his dreams ~ there’s more to that story, but it’s not for me to share 😉

For their reception they chose The White Horse Hotel in the centre of Romsey, and what a great choice – a fabulous setting with great service and attention to detail. The White Horse has been a coaching Inn for over 600 years – for more information CLICK HERE

The wedding party arrived to brilliant sunshine and a drinks reception in the courtyard and the smiles never stopped.

Here’s a quick video I’ve put together from my snaps on the day – please remember I’m not a photographer or a videographer, this is just for fun.

Check out some fabulous photo’s by Sammy and Sam’s photographer – the brilliant Glen Jevon ~ see some proper pictures from Glen HERE.
Find out more about Glen HERE

and one more dodgy snap from me of the lovely Sammy and Sam.

Another FREE Wedding Fair!

In my last post I offered free tickets for the Southampton Guildhall Wedding fair on Thursday 27th September, well here’s another FREE Wedding Fair I’ll be at.

Jen & Martin’s Wedding (2)

I first met Jen and Martin at a wedding fair way back in April 2010. Over a year later they contacted me and I went to their place for a chat and they booked me to play at their reception which finally happened last month ~ 28 months after that first chat.

They actually got married in 2010 but wanted to renew their vows and have a big party for their family and friends, so that’s what they did on a beautiful Summer’s day at Marwell. I was booked to provide the evening entertainment which was held in the marquee at the rear of the hall in the walled garden, it’s a lovely setting right in the centre of the zoo – you may well have walked past it not realising it was even there.

It was a great evening with many special moments including a dance-off, an “In The Night Garden” dance for Jen and Martin’s lovely daughter Jasmine, a dance for Nana, and Jen seeing her Dad dance for the first time in her life!

Here’s a video I cobbled together from clips and photo’s I snapped on the night ~ as always please remember I’m not a photographer or a videographer and this is something I just try and do if I have time, it’s not a service I supply or charge for, it’s just a bit of fun.

Here’s one last picture of a fabulous couple … and their very happy DJ

With Military Precision ~ revisited

Back at the end of April I posted about a wedding I did CLICK HERE

Here are some pictures the Bride sent me recently, thanks Jenny!