But don’t all DJ’s do this?

Wouldn’t it be nice if they did? You could just hire the cheapest one out there! The reality is there are few true professionals who approach your wedding with the care and attention needed (I typically need 30 to 40 hours to prepare for each of my client’s weddings). So be sure to check out the DJ Questions section, print them out and use them.

Now, onto the services!

“Perfection Requires Planning”

At Last Dance Entertainment, I always take to the time to meet with you at least two or three times in advance, to help you plan out every detail of your wedding reception. When all the decisions have been made, you can look forward to enjoying your reception while I take care of all the details.

I have a wealth of ideas and suggestions for you to choose from that will help you custom design every detail of your reception to fit your personality, tastes, dreams and desires. I will ask you a lot of questions and gather as much information as I can. The more I know about your expectations, the better I can fulfill them. Also, the information I will gather from you about your family and your guests, will help me to connect with them and play music that will make them feel included as well.  Although I call myself an Orange County wedding DJ, I am happy to meet my clients anywhere in the southern California area.

Finally, the planning meetings also allow us time to get to know each other on a more personal level. I recognize that you are entrusting the success of your entire investment in your reception to me! I don’t take this responsibility lightly, but I am willing to take it, because I am very committed to offering the best quality of service possible.

I prefer to think of my clients as much more than just my employers. I like to think of them as my friends.

“Who will be the Director?”

I also believe in coordinating each and every detail of your wedding reception with the catering staff, photographer and videographer so that everything flows smoothly. Who better to do this than the one person who helped you put together your agenda?

Why, I do, of course!

I’ve heard it said that, “Your wedding reception is the Love Boat and your Disc Jockey is the Captain.” That is actually a very good analogy, because your reception is not a food driven event or even a photo driven event. Those components are vital and necessary, but the entertainment is the driving force that guides you and your guests through the entire function. So, the person you decide to put in charge of steering your “Love Boat” should be a “Captain” with entertainment experience. The caterers are pros at serving the meal and serving out the cake and the photographer and the videographer have made getting just the right shot into an art form, but they typically have little entertainment experience.

I’ve noticed that when even the smallest detail is forgotten, it can bring your reception to a screeching halt. When that “stall” occurs, your guests will all look to the Disc Jockey for guidance, direction, or more often than not, for someone to blame. So, I have taken it upon myself to personally coordinate and double check every detail at your reception. I also make sure your parents and your wedding party members are properly informed about upcoming events that require their presence and/or attention.

Even though I offer reception direction services which can commonly be confused the role of a coordinator, I prefer to call myself a “Wedding Event Director” because my focus is on directing the flow of your reception from the entertainment perspective. Wedding consultants and coordinators who help with the decorations and selecting the right wedding dress are fulfilling the role of Wedding Producers. Their services can be extremely helpful, but are not to be confused with the role of a Wedding Event Director.

Does this mean I won’t work with your coordinator? Not at all. If you have a coordinator for your reception, I will work with the coordinator and all of your wedding vendors as a team to make sure everything goes exactly as you have planned. However, most of my clients don’t usually hire a professional coordinator for their reception, because they have come to trust my skill and expertise. If you would like to see my direction checklist featuring all of the details I actually manage behind the scenes, I will be happy to share that with you at our first appointment.

“The Entertainment Facet”

This is the ability to read the crowd and play just the right music at just the right time to motivate your guests out of their seats and onto the dance floor. This entails finding the format and style of music from your requests and those of your guests, and then mixing them all together in such a way as to keep the dance floor full, while pleasing all age groups and varied tastes throughout your reception. This skill is definitely rare and extremely crucial if you want your guests to have a rip roaring time when the dancing starts.

I never have to beg or cajole your guests out onto the dance floor. There are specific things I do that not only fill the dance floor, but keep it full as well. But I also believe that the entertainment begins from the moment you arrive at your reception. I have created a vast collection of unique ideas that are designed specifically to help your guests feel involved in your reception while getting them into a party mood.

Here is a video that shows how much fun the guests are having WAY before the dancing even starts!

My long list of entertainment experience includes: DJing For TV Shows, Hosting For TV Shows, Comedic Writing, Talk Radio, Voice Over, Acting, Stand-Up Comedy, Public Speaking, Teaching, Vocal Performance (as the lead singer in Opeus). Whether you want your guests to laugh, dance or cry tears of joy, I have the capability, the experience, and the skill to make it all happen.

“Your Spokesperson”

I believe that the skills required to be an excellent Master of Ceremonies are extremely vital to the success of your reception.

Have you ever been to a wedding reception and you missed the cake cutting because nobody announced it properly? Have you ever seen someone try to give a speech with a soft voice or a nervous tremble? Can you believe that the number one fear in America is … public speaking? It’s true! Finding a person who can speak clearly, eloquently and confidently in front of a crowd is not an easy task.

Your guests need to be kept informed of every event that is coming up or is about to happen at your reception. When your wedding party is being introduced during the grand entrance, their names need to be pronounced correctly, no matter how unusual their names may be. I even go so far as to introduce each additional person who might be toasting after the Best Man’s toast, because when the Best Man gets done, the crowd usually starts to talk amongst themselves. Then, if the next person toasting is not properly introduced by me first, the crowd will continue to talk at least halfway through the next person’s toast.

Another vital detail is recognizing that whoever is fulfilling the role of Master of Ceremonies at your reception, is also your spokesperson. Everything that person says and the way they say it will have a direct reflection on you from your guest’s point of view. This aspect of my service is one that I take very seriously. It is one of the primary reasons why I believe in multiple face to face meetings with you to plan your wedding reception. The time we spend together will allow me to get to know both of you in such a way that I will be able to confidently represent you whenever I speak on the microphone in front of all of your guests.

I have gone out of my way to continually improve my capabilities and skills as the Master of Ceremonies for wedding receptions. I have years of experience in public speaking. Getting your guest’s attention or making an important announcement that they will understand, requires a direct, clear voice and specially trained speaking skills. If you would like to hear an good example of my vocal skills, you can listen to a track from my audio planning CD, “Planning The Perfect Wedding Reception”. Send me an email to jamesloram@lastdance.net and I’ll get a copy to you right away.

Thanks for taking the time to read about the services I provide!

Review at Project Wedding: http://www.projectwedding.com/vendor/show/last-dance-entertainment