Repost of an Andy Ebon article that I found particularly interesting.

Andy hit it on the head with this piece.

Buying "the" Dress, sets the emotional pace for booking all of the brides wedding needs.

I have never watched "Say Yes to the dress" but I am going to now.

Read below and also find a link to more of Andy's postings.

Start of Andys Article:

No buying decision in the wedding planning process is more emotional than buying a dress. For most brides, it can become a microcosm of the entire wedding planning process.
Regardless of what type of wedding business you work in, watching this program will provide some valuable lessons, from various perspectives.
The past weekend, I plunked myself down on the couch and watched a couple of episodes of Say Yes To The Dress, back to back. Like all “reality shows” there is a staged quality to it, but after a while, the participants forget the presence of cameras and give real world reactions.
It is interesting to watch the frustration of sales personnel as brides are often unclear about what they want. Seeing a dress in a magazine is different than putting one on. The facial reaction of family and friends often gums up the selling process. Sometimes the bride likes what she’s trying on, but the crinkled nose of her mother tells a different story. Other times, mom is in tears with joy, and the bride is emotionless at the her reflection in the mirror.
Selling dynamics change dramatically when you are selling to more than one person. A wedding a couple have their own dynamics. A committee of family and friends is a certified nightmare.
And, as always, it often underscores the lack of understanding of budget. Quite often what the bride expresses as her ‘budget’ is not consistent with what she envisions. Closing that gap is tough.
That aside, I noticed some selling issues after only a short time viewing the episodes. When one is selling the same product or service to the same category of client (bride), it is easy to slide into cliches, a canned series of questions, perceived insincerity or any combination thereof.
For instance:
• Tell me about your fiancee…
• Do you LOVE this dress?
• You look FABULOUS
• The dress looks AMAZING on you
• The dress looks PERFECT on you
• Can you picture yourself in this dress, walking down the aisle?
It’s easy to see when a sales person is completely thrown out of her game. When asked about her wedding, one bride said she would really prefer to elope. Spending huge amounts of money seemed like a big waste to her.
To me, that was refreshing. However, to a sales person, it set off all kinds of red flags. The bride was there under the duress of her mother.
The selling process should be a noble one. Helping a customer move through choices to make a decision that she is happy with, can afford, and ultimately is solid. A certain amount of buyer’s remorse can always rear its ugly head. However, if the salesperson has really helped the client, buy, rather than sold the dress to her, then a happy result is more likely.
I recommend viewing a few full episodes of the show, for the full effect. On the TLC website, you can find many video clips from show episodes.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Find more of Andy at http://www.weddingmarketing.com

I am going to try and post more often. Blogging takes more than I thought. I am a work in progress and so is my blog. :)

Check out our new video at www.antrdj.com and onour youtube channel www.youtube.com/antrdj

Wedding Officiant AND a DJ? How does that work?

I had a wedding this last weekend and it was a blast.

I got to preside as Officiant over the Marriage Ceremony of Crystal and Davie Bushong. It was at a truly beautiful location Crawfords Barn in the Rancho Cordova/Sacramento area. It is a barn in a residential neighborhood with a surrounding park. We had over 200 guests and the wooded natural beauty of the location lent its hand to make for quite a good memory for the bride and groom!

We also were able to provide DJ services for the reception immediately following the Ceremony. During dinner the Photographer asked me how it is that I am the Officiant and the DJ at the wedding.
I pointed out that I bring an associate DJ, in this case Dennis Boswell to help with the ceremony and reception music. This allows me to be free to do my duties as an Officiant and when the time comes I take the lead as DJ for the Reception. Having an associate DJ at the wedding allows me to train my DJ's to work a reception the way I want it to be done.
My DJ's train with me for about a year and then they usually are able to DJ a reception on their own.

Being the DJ and Officiant is HARD work. There is so much planning that goes into the back end of a wedding Ceremony AND reception. I find that a average 5 hour booking takes up about 20 hours of my time in preparation and implementation. Most people thing a DJ just shows up and plays some music and gets to leave.

I love my job it allows me to meet great couples and help them start off their married lives together the right way. The fun way! What better job could there be?
A true professional is going to do a LOT of planning to make sure the bride and groom have a great night, A Night to Remember!

Give me a call to see how we can make your wedding or special event everything you want it to be!

Check out our Youtube channel for recommendations from recent weddings.
Become a fan on Facebook too, while you are at it!

Be careful who you hire for your wedding.

We recently did a wedding for a couple at the Red Lion Hotel. The engaged couple had issues of time management of their own to deal with. But to compound their issues they hired a Photographer who forgot he was just ONE part of many to make up the couples wedding day.

The photographer who will remain nameless, so I do not get sued for some stupid reason,
1) Did not communicate with ANY of the other vendors, got in the coordinators' face about the timeline(which he was screwing up royally),
2) Made a nuisance of himself to the wait staff.

3) HE actually was drinking on the job, from the Free Champagne Punch bowl since the bar was a cash bar!

4) Was giving minors punch from the Alcoholic Champagne Punch bowl, and when asked to stop gave attitude to the red Lion staff

5) On more than one occasion Photographer Staff took the liberty to touch the DJ Equipment, even after told not to, MANY times!



This guy made a once in a lifetime event so hard to be a success.

Instead of focusing our energies on entertaining the Bride, Groom and guests we were busy putting out "fires" this unprofessional "professional" photographer was lighting all night.

If you want a great wedding hire sacramento professionals who are highly recommended by people who have actually worked with the vendor. Whether it is a Sacramento DJ or Officiant like A Night to Remember, or an Elegant Photographer for your wedding. Make sure they willplay nice with the other integral pieces of your wedding!

Get references from other vendors willing to put thier name on the line for the vendor in question!!