“Antony on me!” is the second of three posts featuring recent testimonials in support of my nomination for The Hampshire Wedding Awards.
This review is from Antony Burdett-Clark of Lightbox Studios.
Antony was the photographer at one of the first weddings I did on my return to DJ’ing a few years back and we’ve done a fair few together since. He is an absolute joy to work alongside, and creates a relaxed, fun atmosphere which he captures brilliant with his photography. Here’s what Antony had to say about me …
“Picture your stereotypical Wedding DJ… Now scrap that image completely. Paul Taylor is far from your average DJ.
Most DJ’s rock up whilst the Wedding Breakfast and Speeches are being finished, ready to set up their gear as soon as guests are out of the way, with the first meaningful part of their responsibilities being to play the Bride & Groom’s First Dance “…if I’ve got it!”.
They’ll play a ‘fun’ mixture of music they think people will like, throw on a few laser lights that resemble an over-enthusiastic S.W.A.T. Team, and for the most part of the evening, the dance-floor will remain empty, except for a few kids doing knee-slides and Granny having ‘a little bop’ with the Bride or Groom.”
“On any given wedding day. by the time DJ Average is jumping in the car to head to the venue, Paul Taylor has already been working hard for several hours for his Wedding couple.
In fact, weeks of preparations, including several meetings with the couple, designed to build a relationship and trust, and to learn about the Bride and Groom almost intimately, have been undertaken to make sure that the wedding party isn’t just a bit of music and dancing, but it’s a full-scale celebration for everyone, with the couple at the heart of every aspect of his role.
All of Paul’s celebrations could almost be called an immersive experience, from ‘getting to know’ the Bride and Groom, fun quizzes to help break the ice amongst guests during the wedding breakfast, and just from his ridiculously ‘at-ease’ nature, beaming smile and warm personality, he can keep even the feistiest wedding party or the most challenging of circumstances completely under control. You can’t ever accuse Paul of being unprepared, even including props and inflatables for the evening party, not that his packed dancefloors need any more encouragement!”
“From a personal point of view, working alongside Paul is an absolute dream. As a photographer, I have to keep to tight schedules and fit in a lot in a short space of time, so having someone like Paul in his role of Master of Ceremonies means that I know what’s happening and when, and everything runs like clockwork. We’ve worked on more than a few weddings together, and not one has seen a problem that couldn’t be quickly solved by Paul.”
“I immediately recommended Paul to my brother when he was preparing to get married 3 years ago, along with various other suppliers that I knew, from photographers to florists.
I was delighted when I heard that Paul would be there, and as expected, Paul’s ‘laid-back but in total control’ style won everybody over, and the compliments just kept on coming all day and night from many of my friends and relatives who were there.
Even finding an obscure backing track to an old 60’s comedy song for a (badly rehearsed) song about ‘My Brother’ was no challenge for Paul, and it was greatly appreciated.
After the wedding, reflecting on everything, both Dads (who’d paid for most if it!) agreed that “The best money we spent on the whole wedding was having Paul there. He was superb”. After the effort, stress and emotion of a wedding, this is the ultimate testimony to how good someone is at their job.”
“Paul is always the first person I recommend to every one of my wedding couples, and whilst he continues to do this job that he clearly loves and enjoys with such enthusiasm, and especially as he’s the best in the business, I always will”
Weddings in Hampshire
Thanks Antony for your kind words, it’s always a pleasure to work together and I can’t wait for the next time!
All the pictures on this blog were taken by Antony at Aimee and Matt’s wedding back in 2013. It’s amazing how my enquiries come in – click here for another blog post relating to Aimee and Matt’s wedding. Aimee posted this on her FaceBook page the morning after her wedding …
“Our DJ and photographer were … well … more than we ever expected. You both made our day truly fabulous, unique and absolutely perfect for us. You will remain special people in our hearts leaving us with the best memories of our life!”
For more about Antony and Lightbox Studios CLICK HERE.
You can see more testimonials from my professional colleagues at the bottom of this page (click here) If you need a photographer, a cake maker, florist, venue, whatever, I’ll do my best to help you find one even if you chose someone else to be your DJ.
