Southampton Wedding DJ Archives

Liv and Stu’s WOW Wedding at The Dancing Man Brewery

26th June 2019/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Olivia and Stuart’s WOW wedding at The Dancing Man Brewery really was a day to remember. Liv and Stu chose The Dancing Man Brewery in Southampton for their wedding reception in December last year. It’s a stunning, historic, landmark building on Southampton’s waterfront known to some as The Wool House.

I originally met Stu at Hamwic Speakers (Toastmasters International) and I was honoured when he asked me about playing a part at his wedding. To be asked by a fellow speaker to act as the master of ceremonies was a little daunting but I really was delighted. We got together three times to talk about their vision and possible options we could incorporate.

Their wedding was in Winchester with extra guests joining for the reception. Following their arrival, I organised a receiving line so everyone had the chance to say hello to the newlyweds. Then everyone was seated for the wedding breakfast. We had a quiz for everyone with questions like “What did Stuart not wrap that lead to a very heated argument?” and “What is their combined height in feet and inches?”.

This was followed by the speeches. Stu’s speech hit all the right notes and he had prepared a very funny presentation I projected onto the big screen for him. The screen was also used later for the Selfie Wizard and many guests added their photos to the display.

More guests join for the evening party and more pictures were added to the display. They shared their first dance to “The Best Of My Love” a seventies disco classic by The Emotions with Earth Wind & Fire and followed it up with “Dancing Shoes” by The Arctic Monkeys!

Liv & Stu’s Testimonial

We chose Paul for our wedding last year and can’t recommend him highly enough!

We knew we needed a DJ and toyed with the idea of having a master of ceremonies as well. With Paul you get both and so much more. Going the extra mile is a bit of a cliché but that’s truly what he did, from coordinating with the venue/groom’s party etc but also with his continuous helpful support from the day we first discussed the wedding to the days following the wedding.

One very nice little touch was receiving Paul’s own photos of the night (well photos that our guests send to him via his app) the following day after the wedding. As the photos from the professionals took a few more days to materialise it was great to relive the night so soon afterwards helping stave off the post wedding blues that little bit longer!

Paul was also very knowledgeable and competent on the music front, offering great advice about what to play and what not to play (something that didn’t occur to us). There was never an empty moment on the dance floor, which was a testament to Paul’s knowledge, our great taste in music 😉 and the great venue.

All in all, both us and our guests had a fantastic day and Paul most certainly played a pivotal part in making that happen.

It really was a lovely day. I’m so glad to have shared these special hours with Liv, Stu, their family and friends.

Things have been fairly manic for all of us since the wedding. Receiving their testimonial last month brought back so many great memories.

The Dancing Man Brewery

Finally, I can’t praise Mandy and her team at The Dancing Man Brewery highly enough. The standard of service provided was brilliant, and the food and drink were excellent. If you are looking for a venue to host your wedding in Southampton you must look at The Dancing Man. CLICK HERE to find out more about holding your Wedding at The Dancing Man Brewery.

Here’s The Thing!

11th July 2017/0 Comments/in Soap Box, Uncategorised/by Paul

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.

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

10th July 2017/0 Comments/in Real Weddings, Uncategorised/by Paul

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!

More Hampshire Wedding Suppliers Awards Stuff

7th December 2016/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

This is probably the last post about the recent Hampshire Wedding Awards, for a while at least 😉

Thank you to everybody for all your kind messages. It feels very strange every time I see someone new who congratulates me!

Following on from my post featuring all the winners at Hampshire Wedding Suppliers Awards (CLICK HERE TO VIEW)

The sponsors of the event included …
(please click on the names to go to their websites)

County Wedding Magazines

The Photo Rooms

Pegasus Disco

Mari’z Events and Wedding

HampshireWeddingApp

A&D Mobile Bars

The host for the evening was Paul Kinvig from Aspirin Business Sloutions

The Hampshire Wedding Awards were organised and promoted by
South Coast Events

Winner Best DJ and Contribution To The Wedding Industry!

26th November 2016/0 Comments/in News/by Paul

Last Friday was the first ever Hampshire Wedding Suppliers Awards. The Ceremony was held at The Grand Harbour Hotel in the centre of Southampton. I was the winner Best DJ and Contribution To The Wedding Industry categories!

To enter the various categories you had to submit two client testimonials and a testimonial for a colleague. One and again I would like to thank Hannah & Dan, Gemma & Brian and Antony from Lightbox Studios for their support (CLICK ON THEIR NAMES to see the reviews). These, along with my answers to various questions were then judged “blind” by a panel of industry experts. More details about the process can be found CLICK HERE.

Looking back to the Awards Evening, a week ago, it’s all a bit of a blur. So I asked the organisers if they had any of the notes used by the Host Paul Kinvig from his script and they got back to me with these …

One judge said about the winner ~ “This experienced company is clearly doing something right. Keep it up! ~ The Winner Best DJ is The Party DJ!”

Contribution to the Wedding Industry:

It hadn’t even occurred to me that I might be in contention to win a second award, so I was amazed when I heard …

This award is judged on not only how you support the wedding industry but also how you convey that in your application. This company provided the most comprehensive answer by far. The winner of the Contribution to the Wedding Industry Award goes to The Party DJ!

As I said, the evening was all a bit of a blur, I listed all the winners in a previous post CLICK HERE. I had my wonderful wife, Ce, and our children Amy and Joe with me on a table of friends so it was a very special night for me. To be the Winner Best DJ and Contribution To The Wedding Industry was amazing!

I’m On A Mission To Stamp Out Boring Weddings

9th November 2016/0 Comments/in Wedding TV/by Paul

I’m On A Mission To Stamp Out Boring Weddings

If you regularly read this blog you may be aware that I joined Toastmasters International earlier this year. I go to the Hamwic Speakers group meetings at Tauntons College in Southampton. I’d recommend Toastmasters International to anyone who wants to improve their speaking skills, it’s a very supportive organisation. There are T.I. groups all over the World, so there’s bound to be one in fairly close proximity to you. If you’d like to find out more feel free to contact me directly (paul@thepartydj.co.uk) or click here to go to their website.

Yesterday I gave my second talk and it was all about my mission to stamp out boring weddings. I had to speak for between 5 and 7 minutes. The notes for this speech were …
“The speaker is to present a talk that is organised in a manner that leads the audience to a clearly defined goal.”
Ce suggested that I should consider videoing it, so here it is! I’ve edited in a few pictures to make it more interesting.

“I’m On A Mission To Stamp Out Boring Weddings” basically covers why I think the spark is missing from some modern weddings and how I use my “WOW Weddings” formula to create something more personal and unique. Of course “My Mission” also includes improving and developing my skills and T.I. is just one of the ways I try and do this.

Antony on me! A testimonial from a professional colleague.

27th September 2016/0 Comments/in Real Weddings/by Paul

“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.

How Much Should You Pay For A Wedding DJ

27th April 2016/0 Comments/in Wedding Tips/by Paul

How Much Should You Pay For A Wedding DJ ~ How long is a piece of string?

How much is anything to do with a wedding – why does everything seem to cost more than a similar item for another event?
You could buy your wedding dress from Primark, you could do your own catering with food from supermarket saver lines …
But this is your wedding day, you want to remember it for all the right reasons – it should reflect the love and care that has gone to bringing everything together for this one day in a lifetime.

So in almost every service and item you buy you will have to decide what you think is a wise investment. Please don’t think that just because something is expensive it’s the best, check it out, there are people out there who will try and rip you off – always look for proof that what you are paying is a fair price.

There are DJ’s at all kinds of prices. In the DJ industry there is a type of DJ referred to as a Sid – a £60 Sid – now anyone can call themselves a DJ and that’s probably why Sid’s exist – they have some kind of equipment and some music and they want to have a go – and nothing can stop them.

You could even get a friend who DJ’s to do it for you free – just make sure he has the required insurances and that he is going to play what you and your family are going to dance to and doesn’t just cater for himself and his friends – keep music varied to appeal to all generations.

The important thing is that you find someone you like and who would be right for your wedding

I’m an experienced, professional wedding DJ – it’s what I do for a living, I love it and I continue to train and develop my skills because I want to be the best I can. I usually supply the music for the whole day and not just the evening party.

I’ve set out to provide a top service for my couples – I only do one wedding in a weekend and spend about 40 hours in preparation for each booking and then often over 14 hours on site on the actual day – so up to two weeks work goes into each wedding – and my prices reflect that commitment.

Make sure they can do what they say they can – look at their testimonials and talk to their previous clients
Make sure they have any insurances required – most venues require public liability insurance and require suppliers to have a portable appliance test certificate (PLI & PAT)
Make sure you like them – you really want to spend the day with good people who understand you.

Buying budget items or paying below the average price may be your thing but do you want your wedding day to feel like a bargain?

So, how much should YOU spend on a DJ – it’s totally up to you just make sure you get what you want and don’t let someone who calls themselves a DJ ruin your big day.

Here are some more of my previous videos that may help you (just click on the pink links) …
Promise video ~ Why I can Make My Promise
My Promise ~ Your Guarantee
What If Nobody Dances At Our Wedding
ABC/123 Episode 9 ~ Choosing Your Suppliers

New Forest Weddings

ABC/123 Episode 20 Wedding Breakfast Ice Breakers

6th April 2016/0 Comments/in ABC/123 Video Tips, Wedding Tips/by Paul

Welcome to ABC/123 Episode 20 Wedding Breakfast Ice Breakers. Last week I posted about planning your Wedding Breakfast and three very basic ideas that I believe can help you make your meal more personal so that your guests feel more connected. To see that video PLEASE CLICK HERE.

For me, that’s the key to creating an amazing wedding day – make sure everybody feels connected. These are the people you’ve chosen to share the biggest party you may ever throw, so make sure they feel you really care about them. So giving a “welcome”, saying ‘grace” and playing background music that reflects who you are and creates the atmosphere you want are great places to start.

The simple ice breakers in this weeks video will help break down any apprehensions your guests might have. You are going to show them that this is a celebration and that the party has already begun so they should relax and have fun.

A simple Wedding Quiz ~ I suggest 20 questions about you (you can see examples of this in my “Real Weddings” booklet.

Pearls of Wisdom cards are another favourite of mine. Simple cards with various sentences that your guests can finish – for example “To have a long and happy marriage I would …” and “The One thing never to say is …”

Photo challenges ~ getting your guests to take photos on their phones and cameras with a list of suggested topics, or the Bride and Bridegroom going around the room taking selfies with each table.

All three of these will get people talking and having fun – even if they’ve never met the other guests at their table before.

Next time I’m going to take a look at the speeches – including who traditionally speaks, what they say, and in what order – and don’t panic, there really is nothing to worry about!

Don’t forget to check out all the videos in this series and if you have any questions or other things you’d like me to cover in the ABC/123 series Thanks for watching episode 20 Wedding Breakfast Ice Breakers.

Spring Wedding Fayers

16th March 2016/0 Comments/in News/by Paul

After a short break it’s now time for the Spring Wedding Fayers starting this Sunday at Southampton’s Grand Harbour Hotel

Ce and I will be there between 11am and 3:30pm with plenty of great information for couples planning their wedding day. You’ll be able to pick up one of our “amazing” wedding tip fortune teller thingy’s and register for a free copy of “Your WOW Wedding”!

The great thing about wedding fayers is that couples get the chance to actually meet suppliers and get free advice. One of the frustrations we have is that visitors often don’t stop and talk to us and I know the other exhibitors feel the same. Maybe the couples already have that particular service covered but often they just look like “rabbits caught in the headlights” which is a real shame because there is so much advice and knowledge on hand from the various suppliers.

We’ll be at quite a few Spring Wedding Fayers over the coming weeks including …
10th April Hampshire Wedding Festival which is being held at The New Forest Showground, New Park, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7QH
17th April Elmers Court South Baddesley Road, Leamington, Hampshire SO41 5ZB
24th April Lainstone House Sparsholt, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2LT

AND, just so you know …
there is a lot of other things happening right now! Since the ProMobile Conference I’ve been really busy putting new stuff together for the website, the WOW Guy project and all kinds of other things. It’s exciting (well to me anyway) and I’ll be posting more about this very soon.

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