Although a lot of wedding days may run very similarly, they are all so different in their own way. We always try to predict what a dance floor or guest vibe will be like throughout the night. Many times we are right, sometimes we are taken by surprise.

Weddings bring all loved ones together for such an unforgettable day. New bonds are formed, and love can be found that didn't exist previously. Suffice to say, ANYTHING can happen at a wedding.

Hindsight is always 20/20.


If you have the ability to look for all the good and bad in a relationship, you should do the same with your vendors. An ex may haunt your past for a short while, but a bad vendor for your wedding day is unforgettable.

With only one chance at doing your wedding...hopefully...you got to get it RIGHT.
The more time you put into the details of your wedding day, no matter how small, will elevate it from amazing to unforgettable. Take your time, enjoy every second of it, and turn the stress into creativity.

No matter how much time is put into planning your wedding, curve balls will still fly your way. It is our job as a vendor to make sure that we are there to catch them for you! We have been to hundreds of weddings, so our relationship with a wedding day is vastly different than most. All we want is to share our perspective to provide insight, and give you as much creative control over your big day as possible.

Leaving a review for a business is a powerful thing. Seeing that a business has any reviews is the indicator we all look for initially.


Sharing these experiences we have had with one another will impact if a consumer decides to go with a businesses services. The entire "idea" of good reviews is a very complex matter. Although a business may have "5 stars (89 reviews)", I will go with "4.7 stars (212 reviews)" any day. People are not perfect, a business cannot be as well.

There is only so much you can fit into a wedding day.


You will be limited to the time you can eat, socialize with guests, and relax. In today's episode we discuss what we have found to be worth doing at your wedding, or things we think should be skipped overall. Obviously, we want to do whatever we can to make your day the most enjoyable. We hope our insight will alleviate future headache and help make your wedding day run as smooth as possible.

You have been around them at a party, bar, and/or family event.


No matter what you do, there will always be someone that will make it about them. With being at a wedding nearly every weekend of the year, this is something that is unavoidable for us. Today we share advice on what not to do as a guest to make the wedding day as fun as possible, for EVERYONE!

I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
I wanna really, really, really
Wanna zigazig, ah


Sometimes you know exactly what you want to hear on the dance floor. Our job is to play the songs you don't even know you want to hear. This is the fundamental that divides a good DJ from a great DJ. 2023 has been an absolutely killer wedding season so far, and we cannot get enough of the parties we have been a part of.

When something goes wrong, it is very easy to point fingers at the person who looks the most in charge.


Typically at the weddings we work, that is us! We have control of the room with a microphone, and we help coordinate the wedding day. Plenty of times there are things that are completely out of our hands, and plenty more going on behind the scenes than you think. 99.9% of vendors we work with have one ultimate goal in mind. To have the best wedding day we can possibly imagine. The vendors that work towards that goal as a team create an amazing work day, vendors that look out for themselves.....


Well, someone's gotta take the blame.

We only get one chance at this.


There is a lot of pressure with our work to please, entertain, and make everyone around us happy. We work very hard to make sure that no mistakes are made. If not, we work even harder to make sure we recover from them immediately. What separates a professional from a amateur at this job is how they adapt to the day, and all the curve balls thrown their way.

We are striving for perfection anytime we work a wedding.
All we can do as professionals is offer the advice and words of warning on what to do, and not to do. We want to make sure your dream is achieved with the day going as smoothly as possible, but also realistically. We and vendors along side us are united in the common goal of everyone happiness, and for the day to go as smoothly as possible. As long as you are open to fully putting your trust in the team making your wedding day possible, you will have a a amazing and stress free wedding day.

The energy of your dance floor and overall vibe will depend mostly on two factors.

1. The type of guests you invite

2. The music you pick for your dance floor

Today we cover many things you can do to have a successful dance floor, and a overall amazing party. As certain trends and traditions fade over the years, we try and cater towards what will work well for guests that were invited, while also sticking to the requests that couple has given us

We have dived deep into some things that can either make your wedding day stress free, or that can add stress. Today we cover some of the very specific factors that can impact the success of a dance floor and wedding day. Weather, lighting, venue layout, can all impact how well it goes, and how comfortable people are.

Timing is everything.


A song placed at the exact right moment of the night will bring the dance floor alive. Played at the wrong time, and you have yourself a missed opportunity for success. A huge part of our job as professionals, is playing the music for the moment it fits best in. Amazing sing alongs like "Mr. Brightside" are meant for a crowd that has partied all night, and the night is coming to an end. "Turn down for what" played too early in the night will scare grandma RIGHT away.

We constantly are working on becoming better wedding DJ's.
We obviously will provide what is offered in our DJ service that you book with us, but what about the extra work that we put in? Any opportunity we have to make your wedding day special we will take! Thanks Eric Jaeger for coming on the podcast this week to highlight some of the extremes he has gone to just to make the day even more amazing for a couple. One of the highlights of working with Eric is that he belives in collaboration over competition. When Mike and I were getting this company started, Eric was there to make sure we felt welcome in our community of DJ's. Make sure to check out MB events based out of Crown Point!

In the final season of NBC's Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson creates the company "Very Good Building and Development Co". Amplified Events strives for the exact motto of their business.

We do a very good job.


At the end of the day, that's it! We focus on making our dance floors lively, our MC skills sharp, and communication before the wedding clear and quick. It always surprises us to see DJs that focus on the wrong area. Having a huge speaker setup and giant light bar looks cool, but will it elevate the experience of a party?

Thanks Maycen from Raycroft Recordings for joining us!!!
The life of a videographer has some very stressful moments that can be missed in an instant. From their first kiss at ceremony, to the behind the scenes moments, you have to capture it all! Since most people are not on in front of a camera often, it can be a very new experience. Maycen does a great job at making couples feel comfortable on camera, while also capturing the beauty of their wedding day.

This week we're talking with Natalie Hojnacki. Natalie is the Sales Manager and Coordinator at the Allure on the Lake in Chesterton. We talk about what it's like being a day-of coordinator at one of the top venues in the area.

On your wedding day the best laid plans can go inevitably wrong. Natalie talks about what she and her team do behind the scenes to make sure your day goes smoothly. She shares personal experiences from her history as an industry professional and gives insider advice on the best way to get the most out of your big day.

True to form, on this weeks podcast...things went inevitably wrong with the SD cards on two of our cameras so, unfortunately, we don't have a video feed for this weeks podcast. We apologize for the error, but luckily we still have the audio from our conversation.

This week on the podcast we discuss the concept of wedding themes.

"The Roaring Twenties", "Magic in Vegas", and "Havana Nights" are a few of the wedding themes we've seen and experienced. When couples are planning their weddings, they are looking for ways to make it more unique and to incorpate the elements of things they like. Some couples pick a color scheme, font, or theme. Some couples look to television, films and literature that they enjoy. When it comes to wedding themes, we've seen the best and the worst. It's okay to have a theme, but when you lean so heavily on the theme, it has an effect on the outcome and overall experience of the day. When it comes to themes...a little goes a long way.



We also discuss things that you should avoid when looking to hire DJs, the best time of year to have a wedding, and great wedding gifts and party favors we've received.

The last thing that a couple wants to feel on their wedding day is embarrassed. Parents and bridal party members job on the wedding day is to support and love the couple, not make them feel humiliated. Unfortunately, we have seen this time and time again. Speeches that were planned to be funny, did not work the way they intended. In today episode we also highlight a few examples of how trusting us and planning ahead, will result in a smooth wedding day.

Thank you Trysh Jaeger for joining today's podcast!

https://tryshjaeger.com/

For a lot of industry professionals, the feeling of nervousness, butterflies, jitters, whatever you want to call it, is always present. We believe that when you still have this feeling, you still care. We all want to do the best job possible, and you have to love every part of this job if you want the best. Trysh covers some great advice to new couples planning their wedding, and good do's and dont's for your photography day of.

We can have every part of the equation necessary for a solid wedding night, and it can still go stale. Keeping the energy up during our dance floors is extremely important. There are things that DJs can do to kill the vibe of the night, and there are things that guests/couples can do. We want to make sure that with our song selection, nothing ever gets boring. There are things that you can avoid doing when planning your wedding to avoid energy killers. Too many announcements throughout the dance floor, too many slow songs, speeches that trail off into random stories, etc.

We have had a multitude of horror stories about guests throughout the years, but there truly more positive/wholesome moments than not. The relationship between DJ and crowd is so important, and we want to make sure everyone walks away happy. We try and get everyone on our team, and wanting to be on the dance floor when we kick things off. If we have equal trust when it comes to when and how songs are played, we are in for an amazing party. There is no better feeling than hearing the song you want to hear be mixed in seamlessly, and we love seeing your reaction.

On today's podcast we sit down with Sonia Arkkelin, the owner of White Border Photography. We discuss a recent wedding we did together. Sonia shares how she got started and what she loves about photography. She gives advice for couples who are looking to book a photographer and how important it is to really get to know the professionals you're going to be working with on your wedding day. And once you get to know them, trust the professionals that you've hired to pull off the wedding of your dreams.

Thank you Jon Krus for joining us on today's podcast! We are sad to see Jon go after this wedding season, but are excited for his future of starting his own DJ company! Mike and Jon get into the whacky and fun moments that always come unexpected at weddings. We say it a lot, but this job is unlike any other. We can show up expecting one thing, and be completely blind sided with so many different outcomes. Guests can rip their pants, puppet shows can break out, etc. Basically, anything that could happen probably will. They also discuss some of the wedding tropes/traditions that are dying out with the new generation of married couples coming through. Thanks again Jon for joining us, and we look forward to having more DJ's at our company on the DJ Insider Podcast!

Thanks Steve Vansak with Region Weddings for joining us!


From starting with live music to now behind the lens of a camera, Steve found that photography let him express himself creatively in a different way. His work as a musician opened doors to working in wedding photography which leads him to running Region Weddings today! Mike and Steve dive into the struggles of a wedding day as a DJ and photographer, and also their love and passion for it. The most important thing for Steve's business is that when you hire Region Weddings you are not getting some random person, but you are getting the man who runs it. It is necessary that for every wedding he shoots, the client is getting the highest quality possible.

Thank you Kris Livovich With Sugarfield Flowers for joining us on today's podcast!


We constantly talk about the roles vendors play in keeping the day smooth and organized, but making it all look spectacular and gorgeous? That is something that you want to hire a professional for.


Kris has been working with flowers since she was 19, and has always been a huge part of her life. She works with fresh, real flowers sourced by local farms. The planning and detail that goes in to making this art form has to be unique every time, and having a system/plan to make it happen has to be in place. As Mike likes to say about our DJing, it is an art AND a science. Kris goes above and beyond for her clients, and has even driven at 4am to wholesalers because of a last minute change. Having a professional handle this part of your day takes off so much stress of what could go wrong, and will make your wedding day beautiful!


https://www.instagram.com/sugarfieldflowers/

Thank you Lori Horst from La Petite Fleuriste for joining us today!


Not many people think about how their flowers get from point A to point B, and the struggles they might face along their travel. Not only do florists have to work very hard to make their bouquets and floral combinations look beautiful, but they have to deal with the issues of how they are sourced. From FedEx being problematic, to Ecuadorian farmers not being able to ship roses due to an overthrown government, there are so many challenges that can impact how their job gets done. We constantly talk about how difficult DJing can be, but we do not have external factors completely out of our control that can throw off our work. As Lori says, "I don't care what I have to do, the job is going to get done."

Mike and Chris are back at it again!


We have one chance to get this right. There is so much pressure we put on ourselves because you only have one attempt at your wedding day. The advice we give is to make sure that this can go as seamlessly as possible, and for everyone to have a night that is memorable. Many of us go to multiple weddings throughout our lives, and sometimes we are part of them. Sometimes less is more, especially in the case of event planning. If we give any opportunity for a wedding guests to be bored, we are losing our chance at success. There are too many times where we saw that a wedding was good, but could have been great.

The most ideal wedding scenario is where everything can be prepared ahead of time, is organized, and we have all the tools we need to make it happen. That can change in an instant upon arrival to our job. Flexibility, being proactive, and remaining calm are the defining characteristics that separate professionals from amateurs in this industry. There are so many times where we have contained a storm of nonsense and mistakes, that went unnoticed by all. There are other times where we are being bullied by guests, and sometimes but rarely staff and vendors. The way we react to those situations is the most important, because it shows our true character.

Thanks Jeff Webb for joining us today!


Jeff has been doing standup comedy for years now, and has now joined us in the DJ world. We have learned more and more about how the world of comedy is very similar to DJing a wedding day. We stick to a routine, stay consistent, and strive for an amazing show every single time. The battle of keeping what we do unique and special every weekend is what we are always fighting for. We have talked countless times about our priorities for a wedding day, and the creative control we want to give our couples.


Mike highlights "We want to be a company who prioritizes what the couples want, but have a conversation about how that might impact the party." We obviously want to have a raging dance floor every time we work, but we will fulfill our couples wishes and desires even if that results in people not dancing as much. Our professional experience has given us the insight into what can go right and wrong on a wedding day, and we are more than willing to share our advice. We only get one shot at this, and we want to have the best experience possible.

The way we can get a dance floor to be nonstop, all night long, is by building trust as we go along. If a crowd doesn't feel comfortable being on a dance floor because the DJ's energy is off, they will not want to take the social risk of being out there. When we dance we feel exposed. There are things as DJ's that are in our control and 100% out of our control, but we do everything we can to get everyone at a party on our team. Playing music that people can easily dance and move to, taking requests to the best of our ability, and having a natural transitions between music and energy. We always push to have no interruptions once the party starts. We have said it many times before, "You have to let the party be the party".

Hearing a song at a wedding can invoke nostalgia, bring back memories, and change your mood entirely. We as DJs try and have a balance throughout the night of music that invokes the right feelings at the right time. Playing music during dinner that is relaxing and makes you feel loved is ideal, but we may need something with more energy for the dance floor. Music that is very energetic and dance able may be great for the floor, but may be overwhelming for cocktail hour. Keeping a good flow throughout the night and controlling how people feel with the music we put out there is essential to having a great party.

On today's podcast we are delighted to speak with Julee Kistler. Julee has worked in the wedding industry almost 18 years. Julee has worked in many different levels at wedding venue from server, to manager, she's even done photography. She is currently a Planner / Coordinator at Allure on the Lake. Julee shares from her experience and passion working with couples. It's so important to book professional vendors early in the planning process. It's important to go with your gut. Make sure you are booking someone you can trust with your wedding day. When in doubt trust the coordinators at your venues because they truly have seen it all.

Thanks Nathan Hand with Handprint Media Productions for joining us today!


Shooting video for weddings is such a unique experience because of how candid it is. Unlike a movie set, you get very few opportunities to film the best moments of a wedding day because of the speed at which things take place. Without being able to control what the subjects you are filming do, a videographers professional skill is what is needed to capture these moments. Nathan's priority is making sure their clients feel comfortable. The quality and quantity of equipment isn't necessary information for most couples, so the most important thing for Nathan is making sure that he is the right fit for the job.