"There are three categories of DJ's," says Sam Avellone, owner of SJA & Associates. "The weekend warrior, who shows up in his Polo shirt and khakis with a folding card table and a home stereo system. The showman, who draws focus from the bride and groom with props, talking puppets, and wigs, dancing on the tables. And the seasoned professional, the formal but fun wedding MC's who understand their role at the reception, who show up appropriately dressed, and who have professional sound equipment." This last category is not in this business to make a few extra bucks on the weekend, this is their profession and they take it seriously. But the most serious concern of the professional DJ's at SJA is that your wedding reception be the event you hoped and planned for, and that every guest, from Grandma to the youngest niece have fun. Because let's face it, no one leaves a wedding reception saying "Those Hors d'oeuvres really ruined the whole affair", but they'll sure think it if the entertainment is obtrusive, or inappropriate, too loud, or too focused on the DJ.
SJA & Associates takes all measures to make sure that won't happen at your reception. When you are ready to book your date with Mr. Avellone, or one of the 12 other crews, you will have an extensive pre-planning meeting where you will discuss not only music choices, but the timing and flow of the entire evening from introductions (complete with proper name pronunciations) through the Father/Daughter dance, cake cutting, garter tossing, ethnic dances, and the pure party get down. All of the above are planned out to the letter of your specification, so that SJA DJ's can execute a flawless evening for you and your guests.
Your wishes are planned and a schedule printed out (for the DJ to reference during the proceedings) that includes everything you've discussed during your pre-planning session. You create ahead of time a list of songs that fall into one of the A,B,C or D lists. A - Must play: the songs that have meaning for you and your mate, that transport you, move you, have memories for you. B - Additional Requests: The "we like these too" list. C - Do not play unless requested: you aren't crazy for the Macarena, but if Uncle Bob must have it, they can play it. And D - Do not play under any circumstances: If they play the chicken dance you'll leap from the balcony in a rustle of silk taffeta. "The 'D' list is just as important as the 'A' list" says Avellone. You can understand why. All the lists are handled with aplomb. "Our DJ's will never say "No" to a guest. If they request a song from the 'D' list, they will be told, "there are other priorities ahead of this, but we'll get to it if we can." They will never say, "The bride and groom don't want that song played", which would only lead to a disgruntled guest making a b-line for the head table. SJA wants to make sure the bride and groom are never forced to be involved in the execution of the entertainment, that is after they've made their preferences known, well before the big night.
Sam Avellone has been in this business for 25 years. He has pages upon pages of recommendations from happy couples readily available. When you book SJA for your reception you are assured of a professional, experienced and tasteful Disc Jockey and Master of Ceremonies. All DJ's are between the ages of 28-45, which means no 18 year old "wanna be" DJ's. They come with a music library of over 100,000 titles of every type of music from big band, to current hits, and they provide continuous music and atmosphere with no breaks during the entire reception.
As for cost, well, it's one of the smallest checks you'll write for the entire evening. But top quality doesn't come a basement prices. Rates range on average between $800-$1500. But the moment you want to scrimp, ask yourself this, would you rather have one less rose in the centerpieces or a DJ in a clown suit making fun of your mother-in-law over a loudspeaker? If the latter has some appeal for you, you might need to ask yourself some other questions, not having to do with reception entertainment at all.
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