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The Party Hosts

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Studiorouge Commercial

As well as trading as The Party DJ I’m also very proud to be part of The Party Hosts with Alan and Gary. The Party Hosts came about because the three of us are great friends, share values, had all trained with Mark and Rebecca Ferrell among others, and live fairly close to each other. We originally got together to offer back-up for our clients in the event of something unforseen happening to any of us just prior to a booking. We then decided it might be a good plan to develop a brand that we could market and build together.

It’s now about a year since we got together and things are really starting to take off. Yesterday we launched our Wedding Entertainment Show – our weekly video tips on planning your wedding from an entertainment perspective.

We also started The Party Hosts blog here The Party Hosts

This weekend will also see the start of another of our Party Hosts projects … but we’ll tell you about that next week, when we should have some pictures.

Finally, for now, we have also been entered for the 2014 Wedding industry Awards
Wedding DJ Hampshire

Studiorouge Commercial

I could tell you …

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… but then I’d have to kill you!

So what did really happen on Tuesday?
Well I can tell you it took “place” here…

Hill Place Wedding

I had several roles to play, including this one …

DJ at Hill Place

We had a lot of fun …

Wedding at Hill Place

… but I never got to meet Buttercup!

It’s still happening …

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I had a phone call last Saturday lunchtime from someone needing a DJ for a wedding the same evening.  It appears the call was from an agent who had taken the booking at a very respectable local venue.

I’m not sure what the clients were paying for the disco but I was told by the agent “there’s only £180 in it”.  The call came in while I was on my way to drop Joe, our son, back at Uni in Loughborough and our day was planned out already. I declined the booking but did text the caller back an hour later to make sure the booking was covered – it was, thank goodness.  

So why do I feel the need to share this here …

As I indicated I don’t know the full story – how much the couple were actually paying, why the original DJ wasn’t available, or how much was being taken by the agent as their fee. I just think it’s sad this happens so often and that couples don’t seek out entertainers who they can trust to deliver on their wedding day.  I’ve never let a client down and, in the event of a major personal disaster and I can’t make a booking I have a long list of colleagues I can call on to step in and take over.  This isn’t necessarily about how much a DJ charges, it’s about how much you can trust your DJ.

 

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The weekend starts here …

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Thursday evening
I’m just off to meet a new couple for a chat about their wedding day – fingers crossed!

Friday Evening
I’m doing a 175th Birthday Party ~ it’s a joint party for three lovely ladies ~ it’s going to be a blast.

Saturday
This is another interesting one, Alan, Gary and I are doing a special lighting install for an event on Sunday ~ a chance to get creative.

Sunday
It’s the Hampshire Wedding Show at Southampton University Ce and I will be there and we’re looking forward to seeing lots of our favourite suppliers and meeting lots of new couples planning their special day.

The 1st 100 brides through the door will get a luxury goodie bags, completely FREE!
There’s a FREE copy of the latest Eternity Bridal Magazine for every bride attending.
Plus it’s FREE entry for everyone
… so come and say hello!

and then …
It’s off to London first thing on Monday with Alan and Gary for a day of social media training.

I think I’ll have a rest on Tuesday 🙂

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Chilworth Manor Wedding

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D&I day

This was actually my first New Years Eve wedding and my first visit to the Chilworth Manor since I returned to DJ’ing just over 3 years ago. I provided music for the ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast and evening party as well as acting as host on behalf of the Bride and Bridegroom. Chilworth Manor is a lovely venue and the team were very attentive and helpful at all times. I’d certainly recommend having a chat with Chenine on 023 8076 7333 or email her on weddings@chilworth-manor.co.uk if you’d like your wedding close to Southampton. CLICK HERE for more information about Chilworth Manor.

The Lord Selborne Suite had been dressed by my friends from Balloonique and looked lovely, they had covered the drapes, added a twinkling backdrop to the top table and a starlit canopy to the ceiling. I added some uplighters to the columns for the day and my usual up-lighters and booth for the evening. CLICK HERE for more about Balloonique.

It was a lovely day and I hope to post more once the Bride and Bridegroom return from their honeymoon.

D&I Eve

Woodlands Lodge Hotel

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Woodlands Lodge

Here’s another one of my reviews that I’ve posted recently on the For Better For Worse website’s venue pages …

Situated a few miles out of Southampton, just off the A35 and easily reached from the M27, The Woodlands Lodge Hotel is brilliantly located for couples who want a New Forest Wedding.

I’m a DJ and Master of Ceremonies/Wedding Host, so I get to visit dozens of venues across the region and gain a unique behind-the-scenes insight and The Woodlands Lodge is among the most friendly hotels I’ve visited. Imogene and her team have created a really welcoming atmosphere that only a privately owned/run hotel could hope to achieve.

The venue has two rooms licensed for civil ceremonies and offer various options to accommodate different couples’ requirements for their wedding breakfast and evening reception.

If you are looking for a venue where you’ll feel at home, valued and relaxed I suggest you drop in for a chat with Imogene.

Woodlands Lodge Wedding Disco

Here’s a couple of pictures from a year ago today (10th December 2011) of my last wedding at The Woodlands Lodge for Matt & Kirsten’s Wedding.

Woodlands Lodge Wedding DJ

For more information about weddings at The Woodlands Lodge CLICK HERE.

You can download their current Wedding Brochure HERE Or you could just pick up the phone and give Imogene a call on 023 8029 2257.

Woodlands Lodge Wedding Brochure

Mood Lighting

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Maybe you’ve heard it called uplighting, maybe you’ve never heard of it before, but mood lighting is very popular and is the basis of my current light show. Basically we just use lights to throw colours up the wall to create the atmosphere. Usually the evening starts with the lights on one colour, for example the wedding theme colour, and then once the party gets going they all start to flash or change colour in a display.

Here are a couple fo pictures from last Saturday’s wedding at New Place

This first picture shows the room as it was seen by the guests when they were invited in for the evening party. The colour I used matched the sashes on the chair covers. Please note the booth on the right of the picture – that is my play-out stand, no nasty big pile of boxes, all very tidy and complimentary to the decor in the room.

In this picture you can see the lights on the wall had all gone to a lighter blue green at the moment the picture was taken. If you look back through my posts here and check out my website you will see pictures with lots of different colours.

This can be taken to much greater lengths and whole rooms can be lit in this way. If you’d like to know more just let me know 🙂

What A Great Weekend!

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Saturday was Sarah and Tim’s wedding at New Place. I’ll post properly about this later, but for now I just want to say it really was a lovely day.

For the first time Ce, my wife, came along to help and we arrived at the venue at about 11am to set up for the ceremony and were on site until 4pm Sunday when the wedding fair finished! From the moment we arrived everyone on the team at New Place was really helpful and their attention to detail and customer service was exceptional.

We stayed overnight as we had a table at the wedding fair on Sunday and had breakfast with the wedding guests in the morning – again, it was top notch.

If you are looking for a venue New Place is well worth a visit.
CLICK HERE for more information about weddings at New Place.

Georgina’s Wedding Blog ~ She’s Back!

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You may remember earlier this year I posted some YouTube vidz from comedy writer and actress Anna Morris as her Bride to be Georgina. I think the wedding was originally supposed to be in August and things went quiet about that time, but now she’s back!

See the first four HERE

Five, six and seven are HERE

My Last Wedding Fair Of 2012

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Sorry, I’ve been a bit quiet this week … man-flu 🙁

I’ve also been very busy preparing for this weeks wedding at the fabulous DeVere New Place, which coincidentally is the venue for our last wedding fair of 2012 on Sunday.

The event is staged by our friends Paul and Karen from PMN Wedding Fairs. Doors open between 11:30am and 4pm and Ce and I will be in the Arden Suite so please come and say hello!