I just had one of my best dance party’s this past Saturday night. All dance party’s that I do are great I feel, but there are sometimes ones that are “over the top” great. This particular one was one of those, and it happened to have every one of these things below. This rarely happens, but when it does it allows for an unforgettable dance party. Here are some things that will help a wedding DJ have an over the top dance party…

1. Alcohol. Do not underestimate the power of alcohol in lowering guests’ inhibitions. It is a DJ’s friend, no doubt.

2. Young people. The amount of 20-40 years can help a dance party take it up to the next level. It’s not that 40-80 year olds can’t dance, but in my experience those under 40 are willing to be out on the dance floor for a longer amount of time and are willing to dance to different genres and not just their favorites.

3. Nice weather. The weather was gorgeous. People were in a good mood. Conversely I’ve done weddings when it was down pouring and that can put people in a partying mood as well.

4. Clients didn’t limit me by putting too many “do-not play” songs on their list. It allowed me to do what I do best, which is choose and mix songs.

5. Night time vs day time. This wedding was at night. Not always, but usually night time weddings can allow people to drink more (again, alcohol…) and then dance more because of it. Also, if the room is dark certain people will dance more than if it was light out and everyone can see them.

6. Mixing songs. I’ve gotten very good at this and at this particular wedding I was on top of my game I thought.

7. Lighting. Again, this is something I’ve been practicing a lot with, and your DJ needs to know how to use incorporate dance lights. It can be just as important as what music is being played.

8. Large spaces vs small spaces. This was a small space, which can tend to lend itself to a better dance party. Sometimes the smaller the space, the more people will gather together and it will be a more intimate environment. If you event space is larger you will lose guest to outdoor games, the bar, dessert stations, etc.

9. Number of guests. Over 100 guests will allow for a busier dance floor. It’s not that under 100 guests won’t still be great, but this blog post is about the over the top dance parties. Most of those have more people at them. The more people you have, sometimes the more energy your DJ can work off of.

10. Knowing how to “wrap it up”. I call the last 15-20 minutes of the night, “wrapping the wedding up in a bow”. That is to say, how do you end the night and make people feel satisfied? You do so by knowing what songs bring this out in people…that’s a blog post for another time!

Again, all wedding dance parties can and should be great! But sometimes the ones that are standouts happen to have many or all of these things working for them.

The post Top 10 things that help a wedding DJ be successful appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

NH Wedding DJs | Maine Wedding DJs | Boston Wedding DJs

Being one of the leading NH wedding djs for the past ten-plus years, lighting has become an integral service for my discerning clients, though I use it sparingly as it can have both an intended positive affect and an unintended negative affect if used incorrectly.

Currently I supply two “LED light trees” with 4 lights on each (so 8 total on stage, similar to one of the pictured here) which typically set up on either side of my speakers.  I control these lights to be off, throw a splash of color on the ceiling during dinner, fade in and out from color to color during slow dances, or to go to the beat of the music.  The latter is used especially for modern music.  I use my judgement throughout the night as to which I think works best for the moment.

In addition, most of my clients choose my “uplighting” package.  Using the absolute highest quality I could find, my uplighting is controlled remotely at my table and is battery operated, so no wires to clutter up your room.

Uplighting is used to enhance certain points in your room or tent by lighting from the ground up, creating an architectural effect and with a color that will match the rest of your color scheme for your wedding.  You can choose whatever color you want to use.  We can also control the brightness/dimness throughout the evening.

I also control this lighting in other ways during the dance party to bring the room to life!

The post Lights and more lights! appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

What my possible clients think I do:  Bring some speakers and play music. Most want me to avoid line dances and country music.  Total time they think they are hiring me for….approximately 6 hours.  Also, do you provide a cordless mic?  Yes, I do.  But here is what I actually do.  A minimum of 14 hours, and sometimes up to 24 hours total:

1.  Spend approximately 1-2 hours trying to answer any questions through emails and phone calls

2.  Drive to an in-person meeting, sometimes in the Seacoast area of NH, sometimes at the event site where the wedding will take place.  Approximate time spent, 1-2 hours.

3.  Type up a contract, email to client.  10 minutes.

4.  Send client what they will need to provide to me at their final meeting, update an excel song list filled with tons of songs that will help them get ideas, and send that file.  10 minutes.

5.  Answer any emails or phone calls until the final meeting.

6.  Sometimes, create a custom edit for a 1st dance song (for instance)…for example “Ryan, we want the 1st 2 minutes of the song, but then we want the next verse taken out, and then the song to continue at 3:05”.  This can’t be done unless you are skilled audio engineer (someone who also records music for a living), which I am thankful I am.  20 minutes.

7.  Call up the event site and talk with the wedding coordinator about load-in times and anything else that seems appropriate.  15 minutes.

8.  Make sure my equipment is always in top shape, cables are in order, lights are all working, order new equipment, computer is running great and software is up to date.

9.  Schedule a final meeting, over the phone or in-person.

10.  Have a final meeting.  30 minutes to 1.5 hours

11.  Work on making sure I have all needed special song requests and that their file is in order, usually a few days before the wedding.  30 min to 1 hour

12.  Make sure up lights are fully charged

13.  Pack car.  15 minutes

14.  Drive.  Anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours

15.  Unload.  15 minutes

16.  Set up ceremony if needed.  30 minutes

17.  Set up reception equipment.  45 minutes

18.  Talk with the wedding coordinator and meet all other vendors including the photo booth vendor, photographer, videographer, etc, and discuss the time-line

19.  Work the contract hours, usually between 5-7 hours

20.  Have the best dance party anyone has ever been to.  Priceless.

21.  Be kind to guests, even the ones not being kind to me.  Be kind to the wedding coordinators, even the ones not being kind to me.

22.  Pack up.  45 minutes

23.  Load car and drive home.  10-minutes to 3 hours

24.  Send a thank you

The post Wedding DJ. What do I do? appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

New Hampshire Wedding DJ and Boston DJ “awards”

Ever see other wedding DJ web-sites and they are littered with sayings and logos such as:

“Best of The Knot Weddings 3 years in a row”

“Wedding wire – Best of in NH Wedding DJ category”, “Bride’s choice” awards

And so on and so on…

Well, here is the secret.  They are all a rouse.  I have been in the wedding industry for over 10 years now, after owning a large planning and design firm, so I am intimately familiar with advertising within.  Advertisers will do anything to win over a vendors advertising dollar, and many times hand out “awards” such as these, when really the DJ or wedding vendor may have just gotten a certain number of reviews (positive or negative) on the advertisers web-site so they then reach out them with this ploy of giving them an “award” and then asking for dollars soon thereafter.  Don’t be sucked in to these awards when making your decision on who to call, as they say nothing really about the person or company that is being awarded it.

Picking a DJ or band should be based on your communication with them, an in-person or over the phone meeting, their overall professionalism within these communications, and maybe a recommendation from another vendor, event site, or past client.

I actually do zero advertising and still work all year round.  I do this by being great at what I do, acting professional, having competitive pricing, and keeping positive relationships with event sites and vendors.

Reach out and email me!  I tend to book up quickly for the months of April through November, usually 6-12 months in advance.

The post Why I have no DJ “awards”! appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

New Hampshire Wedding DJ | Boston Wedding DJ

One of my favorite places to work is the Turner Hill Country Club.  The wedding coordinator, Carol, is great to work with and is easy-going.  And the catering staff is always friendly and helpful.  And even though I’m a New Hampshire Wedding DJ, I always get treated with open arms.

This wedding took place on March 21, 2015.  Like most weddings there, this one was non-stop dancing from 9:15 until 11:30pm!!!

I actually performed piano for their ceremony and took care of their special requests by playing “Married Life” and “Such Great Heights”.  The ceremony room is really stunning in this old 20th century mansion.

They also rented my up-lighting package, which really gives this room a beautiful feel.

Here’s a few pics to show you!  Small space and small dance floor equals people dancing close and lots of fun!

The post New Hampshire Wedding DJ at Turner Hill Country Club appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

New Hampshire Wedding DJs | Maine Wedding DJs | Boston Wedding DJs

Hopefully my current web site shows that I am one of those NH wedding DJs for discerning clients, but just in case…I had this banner made to make sure everyone understands! Here’s my guarantee to you:

No Cheese

I’m not cheesy. I don’t talk cheesy. I actually don’t even eat cheese!

No Tux

Again, tuxes on DJs are cheesy and make it look like he or she should be serving you a surf and turf rather than someone who is supposed to be hip and fun.

No line dancing

You WILL NOT get line dances from me, unless you specifically ask for some. BUT, once in a while I’ll recognize that a crowd is really going to go for the “Cupid Shuffle” if I play it. And then it works (some crowds actually enjoy certain songs like..it’s my job to know which ones). That’s my job; to know when to play something and when to hit the delete button.

No air guitars/blow up props

Do I need to comment…

No disco balls

I have great LED lights. Your wedding will NOT feel like an 8th grade dance.

The post New Hampshire wedding djs and the “say no to bad DJs” guarantee! appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

NH Wedding DJs | Maine Wedding DJs | Boston Wedding DJs

As one of the most experienced NH wedding djs around, most of my couples don’t care too much about what music gets played during cocktail hour, but the ones that do usually ask for background jazz of some kind. Feel free to email me a specific song list, or if you are interested in seeing what sounds best (in my opinion!) read some of the artists below.

(With Vocals)

• Diana Krall
• Michael Buble
• Jamie Cullum
• Tony Bennett
• Frank Sinatra
• Dean Martin
• Sammy Davis Jr
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Ray Charles

(Without Vocals)

• Oscar Peterson
• Miles Davis/John Coltrane
• Dave Brubeck
• Stan Getz

The post Hiring a NH wedding dj and having a jazz based cocktail hour appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

Boston Wedding DJ | NH Wedding DJ

I get asked this question a lot…”We’ve picked our first dance, but we think it’s too long. Can you shorten it or fade out at a certain time?” The answer is yes, of course! Most first dances for my weddings average between 2 minutes 30 seconds and 4 minutes long. If you are uncomfortable with it being the length of your particular song just tell me when you want me to fade it out.  No one will be the wiser! A good thing to keep in mind is fading it out at the end of a verse or, better yet, a chorus of the song as it will sound more naturally like an ending.

As a versatile Boston wedding dj for years, I’ve also been asked to cut out a portion of a song, in the middle let’s say, because of something that the couple didn’t like. Maybe it was a big instrumental feature and they didn’t want it. I can do that as well using my recording software as an audio engineer. Just let me know the time of the song you want cut and I’ll make it happen.

The post When hiring a Boston wedding dj and you need to make your first dance song shorter appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.

NH Wedding DJs | Maine Wedding DJs | Boston Wedding DJs

As one of the leading NH wedding djs, I wanted to answer a commonly asked question. It usually goes like this…”My fiance is from the country of ____, and we want some specific songs from that style/region. If we give you the titles can you play them for us at the time we want them?”
The short answer; yes. The longer answer; it depends on the songs. If i don’t already have them in my collection, can’t find them from the DJ community, can’t find them on iTunes or Amazon then I will ask the client if they have the songs in their collection. If they do, they can provide them to me by email, CD, or memory stick, whichever is easiest. Once I have them they are then loaded into my software and we are good to go.

It’s that simple!

The post NH Wedding DJs gets asked to customize your songlist for international wedding couples appeared first on DJ Ryan Parker.