DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY June Gould (DJ June Cecilia) from SGDJ Weddings in Cardiff (www.sgdjweddings.com) shares her top tips on choosing a DJ for your nuptials… It’s a great idea to start looking for a DJ as soon as you have your wedding date. Once you’ve decided on a venue, this can influence the length of entertainment that you require. If you’re looking for a DJ, you will find many professionals who can look after your whole day, from the ceremony through the end of the night. Any supplier coming into a public venue will be expected to have public liability insurance and PAT-tested equipment. This is basic; don’t book a supplier who doesn’t have it. Check out suppliers’ websites, social media pages, and listings to find reviews, photos, videos, and sound clips. If you’re booking a DJ, ensure you can identify who the DJ that will be at your wedding is. It’s your big day, and unless an emergency arises, you should be able to speak to or meet the person you’re expecting to bring the fun to your wedding. Sometimes on social media, I see requests for a DJ that go something like ‘we only want someone to play music for a couple of hours’ or ‘we have a band, so we don’t need much time’. Something worth noting is that a DJ will set up before the band and play after they finish, and can often be the glue that holds the night together. I was talking to a drummer of a band recently who said he often had people saying, ‘If you just play for an hour, will it cost me less?’ To which he replied, ‘playing is the fun part. Travelling, setting up, organising everything, packing down, maintaining kits and clothing, and making repairs are what you pay for’. Regardless of performance time, your entertainers will have had to book a whole evening away from their families, maybe missing their own events to make yours. Expect to pay for what you get. Remember to enjoy the day and evening! It’s time to let your hair down. Some brides change dresses for the evening party to allow them freedom of movement and to feel cooler. Either way, it’s up to you! Get some requests in ahead of time, and allow your DJ to read the room. SAY ‘I DO’ The team at Craig Y Nos Castle (www.craigynoscastleweddings.com) shares their top tips to help you find your dream venue… Set yourself a realistic budget and compare everything you plan against it. Your wedding reception is likely to cost twice as much as you first imagined. Elect a friend or family member as ‘bookkeeper’ to keep a shopping list with a running total of the costs as you add each new item to your list. That way, you are free to either increase your budget to fit your developing shopping list or to reduce your shopping list to fit your budget. When selecting your venue, consider the number of guests the venue can hold for a sit-down meal; is it enough for the number of people you want to have at your wedding breakfast? Check with your venue to see what their licensing hours are and what time the bar opens for your guests. Catering facilities and kitchens always merit inspection for basic cleanliness, yet few brides and grooms ever ask to see beyond the public reception rooms. How can your guests’ accommodation requirements be satisfied, either at the venue or locally? Do inspect the accommodations and convey to your guests the standards and styles of rooms available. One venue, two venues, or three? You can have three separate venues: a venue for the wedding ceremony, a venue for the reception, and a venue for the evening do. Should you aim to have everything under one roof? It is simpler to have the entire wedding at one venue. This certainly applies to civil weddings. Having both the wedding breakfast and the evening at the same venue avoids splitting the party up halfway through the day and having to organise getting people from one venue to another. What are the available dates? Consider what is more important to you: the date or the venue. To increase your choice, choose early. If you have no idea where to choose, consult friends and relatives who have been married within the last year or two. Where did they hold their reception? What did they think of their venue? What did they find to be the advantages and disadvantages of the venue they chose? www.ourbeautifuladventure.co.uk David Barrett Photography 54
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