Twenty Is Plenty, My Promise Your Guarantee

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This post isn’t about speed limits outside schools…
I recently changed my guarantee because I’ve decided twenty is plenty.

About a year ago I introduced “My Promise’ which is your guarantee of the best service possible. Nobody offers a guarantee that comes close to matching mine – well nobody I’ve seen in this country, and if you know differently please let me know.

In my original promise I said “I will do no more than 30 weddings a year and I won’t be DJ’ing anywhere for 48 hours before your wedding so I can be totally focused, fresh and ready to give your big day the attention to detail and love it deserves” but I’ve now reduced that number because twenty is plenty for me and I really want to make each one personal.

I love what I do and I am in the fortunate position of working for couples who value what I can do for them and pay me accordingly. This means I only take bookings that I absolutely want to do for couples I really want to work with.

I also occasionally DJ for regular parties, especially for clients or families who have previously booked me for a wedding, but again it has to fit with my diary and not impact on a forthcoming wedding date.

Please understand, although I offer numerous options that I’m adding to all the time, every wedding is unique. Every couple want different things, face different challenges, love different music, so my focus is on understanding them and helping them create a unique experience for their family and friends. I don’t just do the same thing, the same way, every time. Each wedding takes at least 40 hours of planning and then usually around 15 hours on the day, everything has to be right and that’s what my promise sets out to achieve.

CLICK HERE to see the My Promise Your Guarantee page

If you are interested in booking me please get in touch for a no-obligation, no-pressuure chat because now I only work for twenty couples a year because, for me, twenty is plenty.

Twenty is plenty

Congratulations on your engagement

Get creative at YOUR Wedding – Shaun’s Conscience a week later!

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So what’s happened with Shaun’s Conscience a week later and how can YOU get creative at your wedding? If you have no idea what I’m talking about look at the previous entries on my Blog (CLICK HERE).

One week ago at 3pm on Friday 7th July, Shaun’s Conscience (a video I shot at Emma and Shaun’s wedding in 2014) was featured on the LAD Bible page on FaceBook. Here we are a week later and the video has been seen 4,218,155 times!

get creative at your wedding

Shaun’s Conscience has also prompted thousands of comments – almost four and a half thousand so far – some have been damming, others full of praise.

It’s had over 23,000 likes, over 7,000 Haha’s and over 700 loves and it’s been shared 7,425 times in just seven days / one week!

Shaun’s Conscience may or not be for you and your guests but it proves the power of the “Your WOW Wedding” philosophy that I promote where I encourage you to Weave yourselves into your wedding, get Others involved and explain Why you made those choices. If you’d like to know more take a look at the bookcase on my website – CLICK HERE.

I’d really encourage you to get creative at your wedding and I’d be happy to give you advice even if you don’t book me to play at your big day. Email me NOW paul@thepartydj.co.uk

Congratulations on your engagement

Here’s The Thing!

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Here’s the thing, if you have a thought someone’s probably had the same thought before! Very few things are original, especially in this day and age when social media means ideas spread across the globe in minutes. A case in point is the ‘Shaun’s Conscience’ video (CLICK HERE) which has now been viewed over FOUR MILLION times via the LADbible FaceBook page in just a few days. There are probably people making their own versions as I type this!

This means ideas can be copied and frequently dumbed down in the process. I’ll be honest, I’ve seen things on FaceBook, in on-line articles and various magazines and books that I’ve adopted and adapted to create my version. A good case in point is the “shoe game” which featured in another FaceBook video which went viral last week also achieving millions of views. I’ve been offering my version of the shoe game which I call “Getting To Know You” for about 7 years, in fact here’s Kim and Ian on their big day ~ 18th September 2010.

Every now and then I get a call or email from another local DJ like this one …
“A bit cheeky I know but next weeks bride has been to a recent wedding hosted by yourself and now want’s me to do a “Mr and Mrs” for her wedding! Can you give me any tips or some questions and I have not a clue where to start?”
… and I usually help and send out a rough guide. BUT, here’s the thing, I’ve spent a long time developing what I do and I’ve been on numerous training courses that have helped me develop the skills that make moments like this really work. Does that make me the best DJ … no! But what I do is thought through, it’s not just thrown together.

Another skill that I’m asked to help other DJ’s with is mixing. I was very lucky to learn how to mix in the early eighties on vinyl, I was taught by my friend and colleague Stevie Q. For me it’s been a bit like riding a bike and I’ve taken the principles Steve taught me and transferred them from vinyl to CD and now digital DJing. I’m happy to run through the basics with colleagues but real skill comes from practice and hours of performance.

Here's the thing

So, here’s the thing, I have a unique set of skills developed over a lifetime, I continue to spend time and money on improving my skills and learning new ones. I’m happy to help others when they ask but they have to put the work in if they really want to improve.

Why Shaun’s Conscience Was Shaun’s Conscience

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I wanted to follow up on yesterdays post and explain why Shaun’s Conscience was Shaun’s Conscience.

Every couple are different and so every wedding should be different.

Back in 2014 when Shaun and Emma asked me to be their wedding DJ and MC I asked them if they had any ideas they wanted to explore and perhaps develop – that’s how Shaun’s Conscience was born. I had shown them a few video clips and told them about things I had done with other couples but I wanted to find out what THEY wanted to do.

As I said in yesterdays post (CLICK HERE) it was Shaun’s idea, I just helped him make it happen. Since then I’ve shown the clip at my ‘Creating Your WOW Wedding’ events and shared it with a few people always explaining the context and how we put it together.

In our FaceBook messages setting this up for LADbible, Shaun asked “have you seen anyone else do it yet or am I still unique?” – trust me Shaun’s unique (he’s one of the funniest guys I know!) but what I wanted to stress in this post is that, although I showed the clip to other people, I only shared it to demonstrate what could be done with a bit of imagination – never to repeat the formula with anyone else. Other couples have come up with their own ideas have been inspired by ‘Shaun’s Conscience’ but nobody has ever asked “can I do that?”.

Now this video is “out there” I guess it will be copied which is fair enough, I just hope whoever does it creates something that is relevant to them and not just a straight copy. Shaun’s conscience was Shaun’s idea and relevant to Emma, their families and friends, that’s why Shaun’s Conscience Was Shaun’s Conscience!

The internet is a great place for information and ideas but don’t just find things and copy them, create something special, something relevant, something WOW!

Over 4,000,000 views in under 2 days

Over 3,500,000 views in under 2 days for my ‘Shaun’s Conscience’ video!

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Over 3,500,000 views in under 2 days for my ‘Shaun’s Conscience’ video clip from 3 years ago – that’s the power of the internet!

On Friday morning just after nine I got a FaceBook message from Shaun, one of my Bridegrooms from 2014. “I want to send off my wedding speach to LADbible. They are very interested in showing it but they need permission from the person whos camera it is”.

The video in question was from Shaun and Emma’s wedding and I show it at my ‘Creating Your WOW Wedding” evenings, in fact I had shown it on Thursday evening at the Gray Manor evening! Ce and I were having a day off and a trip to the beach with my sister-in-law and her husband but I still managed to provide the required permissions and electronic signatures to get things moving. It was published (CLICK HERE) at 3pm and by 6pm on Friday the video had already been viewed over One Million times! ‘Shaun’s Conscience’ had gone viral!

The idea for this was all Shaun’s (actually I think it was his friend Jason’s, but that’s another story). When I met with Emma and Shaun he told me he had a number of ideas for his speech that he wanted to explore and I said I would do everything I could to help him. I did advise him to make it “Disney safe” but he was adamant this was OK and it went down really well.

So with over 3,500,000 views in under 2 days it’s fair to say this video has created a fair amount of interest with thousands of positive and negative comments. I can understand some of the negative comments because it was really written and performed by Shaun for the people in the room, we didn’t get a chance to rehearse it and the quality of my video doesn’t do it justice.

Here’s my original version (and yes that is me at the beginning)

I’ll be posting about this again tomorrow, please check back and read that post.

Meanwhile, I wonder if I’ll ever get over 3,500,000 views in under 2 days for one of my video clips again?

Creating Your WOW Wedding at Gray Manor Tonight!

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Hampshire Wedding DJ

Ahead of tonights “Creating Your WOW Wedding at Gray Manor” presentation, here’s the article form last weekends edition of the Hampshire Independent – CLICK HERE to see the on-line version of the paper.

On Thursday 6th July award winning wedding expert, MC and DJ Paul Taylor will be presenting a special evening for couples planning their wedding.

During the event Paul will explain what happens at a typical wedding and how you can make the most of every moment to make sure you, your family and friends have a great day.

Paul says “I’m on a mission to stamp out boring weddings and I’ll be sharing tips on things like how to set the tone for your wedding day before you even enter the ceremony, sharing your Love Story and how to make sure the dance floor is packed the whole night.”

‘Creating Your WOW Wedding’ is being held at Gray Manor Hotel, just off the A303, in Choldreton SP4 0EG, doors open at 7pm and the event starts at 7:30.

Paul adds: “Although people see my main function at a wedding as a DJ, I do much more than that. I’m part of a new breed of DJ in the UK that fulfils a much bigger role as a ‘Party Host’ – from organising ceremony music, being master of ceremonies and providing your evening entertainment – I’ll do al the things a normal DJ would with a touch of magic to add some sparkle and ‘WOW’ moments to your day.”

“On Thursday 6th July 2017 I’m hosting a FREE evening event where you can find out all about how you can make sure your wedding becomes a ‘WOW Wedding’. In just over 2 hours I’ll be able to help you to add touches of detail most don’t even think about, and give you ideas you won’t have heard before.”

“I host these events as part of my mission to raise the standard of weddings in this country, and don’t use them as a way to try and sell you my services. As you’ll see when you join me, I enjoy sharing this information and in doing so I know a small number of people will want to come and work with me on their wedding, which means I don’t need to do anything for you but provide good information you can put into place for your own wedding.”

“You won’t be bored – nor do you have to worry about a load of unnecessary ice breakers and unwanted participation, although we call it the WOW Wedding Workshop – and I welcome questions during the course of the evening, you won’t need to do anything but listen to the ideas I’ll share with you.”

“When you attend I’ll also provide you with information to take away I normally only share with my clients. The event venue offers plenty of free parking. We’ll be sat in comfy seats for the night, and it’s a very relaxed event where I’ll present you with some of the ideas I’ve used in helping my clients create their own ‘WOW Weddings’.”

“Many of these ideas you can easily add to your wedding without any extra cost, or stress.”

“At the end of the evening you’ll leave with a clear plan on how you can make sure your wedding becomes the ‘WOW Wedding’ you deserve, as well as copies of my planning books to help you turn those ideas into action.”

There is usually a fee for these events but Gray Manor are supporting this one so it’s FREE for you and your partner, you can even bring along your close friends or parents to help get the most from the evening.

If you’d like to attend Creating Your WOW Wedding at Gray Manor this evening just text Paul on 07973 617153 to reserve your place – there’s even a free glass of fizz and some nibbles!

Creating Your WOW Wedding at Gray Manor

Congratulations on your engagement

Win £100 Off Your Hampshire Wedding DJ Entertainment

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Would you like to know how to win £100 off Your Hampshire Wedding DJ Entertainment?

On page 10 of last weekends edition of The Hampshire Independent and page 14 of the Mid Hampshire Observer you’ll find full details of Thursday evenings “Creating Your WOW Wedding” event at Gray Manor Hotel and a few pages further on you’ll find a competition to win £100 off a wedding booking with me.

The Independent and the Mid Hampshire Observer are free-sheets distributed to homes and also available to pick up from various shops and leisure facilities – however there is also an on-line edition, so you can still enter without the actual paper. CLICK HERE to go to the on-line version of The Hampshire Independent and go to page 14.

Someone’s got to win £100 Off Your Hampshire Wedding DJ Entertainment and it could be YOU!                                     
It’s a good old-fashioned “answers on a postcard” competition and you need to get your answers in to the paper by this Friday.

Anyway, Thursday is going to be great fun and very informative so please join us if you can. This one is absolutely FREE to attend and there’s even a glass of fizz on arrival and some snacks.

Find out how to put the principles set out in my “Your WOW Wedding” booklet into action this Thursday 6th July (tomorrow) at Gray Manor Hotel

Hampshire Wedding DJ Entertainment

Over 4,000,000 views in under 2 days

Another busy week for this award winning DJ

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It’s been another busy week.

Last Saturday it was Alex and Hannah’s wedding (as mentioned in the previous blog post) at Norton Park I arrived just after 10am to set up and left at 2am on Sunday morning- 16 hours onsite and I loved every minute (except when one of my flight case lids slammed down on my thumb – but I didn’t break anything!).

Another busy week for award winning dj

On Sunday we went to see Ricky Gervais at the Mayflower. It was a very good show, we hadn’t seen him live before and he really didn’t disappoint. Before the show we were delighted to bump into Rachel and Ed who got married last year at Ampfield Golf Club, it was lovely to catch up with them. (In other news this week the Hampshire Wedding Group confirmed their next wedding fair at Ampfield will be on Sunday 1st October – full details to follow).

Monday it was time to ‘sharpen the sword’ with some more training. This time it was off to Reading for the day with 16 of my colleagues. It was good to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. It’s just a shame more DJ’s don’t take advantage of these opportunities – if YOU are a DJ reading this and want help to find good training please email me.

Hampshire DJ of the year

Tuesday afternoon I visited one of my couples to talk about their plans for their forthcoming wedding at the beautiful Master Builder’s Hotel at Bucklers Hard. In the evening it was a social catch up with some of my friends from Toast Masters International.

Wednesday I had a catch up with one of my local advertising contacts and talk about some future campaigns and competitions. You can see the online version of this weeks Hampshire Independent CLICK HERE you’ll see I have an advert in there this week.

Yesterday, Thursday, I went to a wedding ceremony rehearsal in preparation for next Saturday’s wedding – I’m so excited, it’s going to be wonderful. I had to stop on the way home and act like a tourist to take this photo just 8 miles from home!

Hampshire Wedding DJ

There’s been plenty more going on that I won’t bore you with, I just wanted to give you a flavour of my week.

Don’t forget my Creating Your WOW Wedding evening on Thursday 6th July!

Coming up … another busy week, because that’s the brilliant life I have 😀

September weddings

Alone With The In-Laws

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Alone With The In-Laws, this is something I put together for this weeks “Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After” newsletter that I wanted to share here too. This weeks newsletter also includes my favourite track from the last year and advice on how to get a grip on how your wedding should feel. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list just email paul@thepartydj.co.uk

I LOVE Gogglebox – there I’ve said it! The families crack me up and it often throws up programmes that we then track down on the iPlayer or the relevant On Demand service from whatever channel it was on.  I know it’s a crazy idea that watching other people watching television should be classed as entertainment – but I love it.

This weekend they featured a show I’d seen trails for and meant to watch out for, but I never got around to putting it on the planner … it was called “Alone with the In-Laws”.

“Alone with the In-Laws” featured the Reverend Kate Botley ,who is no stranger to the TV screen as she has been a regular on Gogglebox, with couple Chris and Stacey. The basic idea is that Chris and Stacey spend time alone with their in-laws to be to see how their own marriage might function.

Obviously it’s been made for TV so there are moments designed to hook you in but I really enjoyed it and it was fascinating to watch how the couple bonded with their in-laws to be.

CLICK HERE to view the programme (if this link does’t work then it’s probably because it’s expired)

If you’re about to make that big commitment with your partner the BBC would love to hear from you CLICK HERE to find out more!. Maybe you’ll be feature in a future episode of “Alone With The In-Laws”!

Think Tank, Derek, Milton Keynes … what does it all mean?

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Think Tank, Derek, Milton Keynes … what does it all mean?


Thanks to Eddie Short (Editor of ProMobile magazine)for this picture which almost makes me look slim!

This time last week was day two of the Think Tank with Derek Pengelly in Milton Keynes. About 50 DJ’s gathered across two days to share their thoughts on the DJ Industry and share ideas. I was one of the DJ’s who’d been invited to speak and share their story.

Avid readers of this blog will know that I spoke at a similar event in Glasgow earlier this year and I was delighted when Derek, the organiser, invited me to do it again.

I first met Derek in February 2011 when I attended an event he ran in Reading. That was a day that changed my life, Derek spoke about finding a direction for my business and how to plan the marketing. It was also the day I met my colleagues Alan Marshall and Stephen Davies who have both helped me on my journey. Derek has run many similar events over recent years and has helped hundreds of DJ’s move their businesses forward – this was announced as Derek’s final event so it was a great honour to speak alongside Derek and many of the DJ’s who he has helped. Although Derek is no longer organising training events he continues to offer a mentoring service and I’m hoping he will continue to speak as a guest at future events.

Derek has also written several books including “Wedding Day Secrets” which I also helped with behind the scenes. The full title is “Wedding Day Secrets – things the industry would prefer Brides didn’t know” and the book talks about the way the “Wedding Industry” treats weddings as an income stream where profit is King and what’s best for the couple isn’t always what’s given priority. Click on the title above if you’d like to know more or email me.

Myself with Alan, Derek, Gary and the book at a “social event” in November 2013 😉

The other speakers were my colleagues Brian Mole, Fabio Capozzi, Martin Keogh, Pete Hawkins, Stephen John Davies, Harry Kilb, Mark Parker, Ian Forest, Euan Bass, Terry Lewis, and Tony Winyard.

It was wonderful to share the Think Tank – I wish I’d had more time and energy to talk to everyone but like many of the attendees I was working Friday and Saturday nights and then only grabbed 4 hours sleep before heading to MK’s, I was running on empty a times.

As for Milton Keynes, I didn’t see much of it but the Hilton was OK and the company was excellent.

Think Tank, Derek, Milton Keynes … what does it all mean? Well it was the end of an era, but hopefully it means a few more DJ’s are thinking about how they can improve and offer their clients a better service. Here’s one of the “Take Aways” I shared with the group.