Hire a Wedding DJ with my 7 easy but unconventional steps.

Use my article “Hire a Wedding DJ in 7 easy steps” to find the best dj for your wedding!!

This year I’ve had over 30 calls for the same date, September 15th!! I’ve referred every good wedding dj I know. I can only imagine how difficult it is for brides when they make call after call to find that all of the good wedding disc jockeys have been booked.

If you’re reading this, I don’t want you to be like the 9/15 clients that called too late. I want you to hire your wedding dj in plenty of time and not have to worry.

I’m a veteran Boston dj. After over 25 years in business, I’ve decided to give away insider secrets and tricks to hiring a wedding dj. In the article, I teach you how to create your “Wedding DJ Master List”. We’ll then use tools like the review section on  Wedding Wire & the chat boards on the Knot. We aren’t going to use those tools in the regular way though. I’m going to show you ways to use them to get you the information to separate the good djs from the bad.

When you reach step 7 you’ll be sitting down with the best wedding dj candidates for your wedding and they’ll all be competing for your business. Please take the time to read my article you won’t regret it!!

Best,

Greg Hodges

One of my all time favorite weddings, possibly in the top 10. That’s saying a lot considering I’ve played over 2000 weddings over the past 25 years. It was awesome from start to finish!!

I’ll fill in the details later but wanted to get some pics up online first. Here’s a quote from the bride & groom:

“Greg Hodges, at 5 Star Events, is the most talented DJ I have ever come across. My husband and I literally picked our wedding date based upon the availability of 3 components: the venue, the church, and most importantly….DJ GREG HODGES. Greg was the DJ at my sister’s wedding, and he did such a fabulous job that we had to have him DJ our wedding. He exceeded all expectations we had for a perfect night of music. He allowed us to work with him and voice our preferences of music styles throughout the night. He also provided the music for our cocktail hour which was a hit- a total mix of laid back favorites every generation can appreciate. He knew when to play oldies but goodies, when to play slow songs, and when to turn it up a notch and play more recent hits…the entire night was orchestrated perfectly. I saw people dance all night long that hate to dance…he was that good!! Greg is also very professional, patient, and a joy to be around. He is by far the most talented DJ I have ever met and I highly recommend him to anyone who wants a fun wedding filled with happy guests and tons of dancing. We have calls and emails every day saying it was the best wedding they have ever attended. So thank you Greg!! ~Missy and Paul”

I’m going to have to deflate my head a little after that testimonial. But while I’m “riding high” I have to pass on one more bit of praise I got that night. At the end of the event, the event coordinator from the hotel came up to shake my hand. He was smiling from ear to ear, and told me that after 10 years of working at the hotel, he’s seen lots of great bands and djs. He went on to say that I was the best he had ever seen. Maybe he says that to all the djs but it did make me feel good.

I was sitting on the beach of my vaction spot when I first learned of the pending Hurricane Danny. The news hardly effected the other vacationers but my situation was different. In two days I was scheduled to play music at an outdoor wedding that was in the path of this potentialy devistating weather system.

To further complicate matters, I had several obstacles between me and my event. First, I had to travel 220 miles. Without traffic, Google Maps projected a 4 hours & 4 minute drive. My wedding was also on Cape Cod which meant my trek would include a trip over the Bourne Bridge. On summer weekends, that bridge can have traffic backups of up to 15 miles, and could add an hour or more of drive-time. To make matters worse, Senator Kennedy’s funeral Mass was scheduled for Saturday. A motorcade of dignitaries, security, and funeral attendees could easily add up to hours of lost time.

My only sensible option was to leave early. So instead of travelling with the rest of my group. I packed and headed home Friday afternoon. I arrived without incident and was able to get a good night sleep. This allowed an early morning start and the end result was that I was at my event 4 hours before it started, relaxed, rested and ready for my clients event. 4 hours might sound a bit extreme, but what if I had done things differently? Any number of things could have happened that might have caused me to be late, rather than early.

You might be surprised to hear this but I have recently had conversations with 2 different wedding videographers. Both arrived to church ceremonies late. One, because he didn’t allow enough time for traffic, the other because he had the wrong address for the church. Both, in my opinion, were non-chalant about their mishaps. One thought it was sufficient to stay an extra half hour at the reception to make up for lost time.

Luckily, on Saturday, all of the vendors involved in my wedding acted responsibly. The photographer was on location extremely early. The venue, The Brookside Club of Bourne, went over and above to accomodate for the inclimate weather. They managed to find an alternate location for the ceremony which was originally set to take place in a tented area on the property. Although the tent offered protection from the rain, the grass below was saturated and had puddles of standing water. Thinking ahead, the staff moved the seating and flower arrangements to a covered, enclosed deck – possible catastrophe avoided.

Aside from some guests getting a little wet from the car to the venue, the ceremony & reception were a complete success!! And once the party started it continued with a lively dance floor, packed with dancers, right through to the very last song, and ended with big thank-yous from the bride & groom.

So what’s the message in this story, make sure you find the right vendors for your special day. Look for professionals that you think will go the extra mile, if needed. Ask for client testimonials. These will back up a willingness to help when called upon. Have your vendors detail what happens if they are unable to make your event. And ask if they have travel plans prior to your big day. Either way, get emergency contact numbers and keep them on hand.

What an awesome day!! Yesterday, I got to work with Amy & Nick and an amazing cast of wedding specialists, including many boston wedding group members (www.bostonweddinggroup.com). The outcome, a phenomenally fun, cocktail wedding reception.

I was recommend to the bride and groom by Alexis O’Meara Eliopoulos (owner of Unique Weddings By Alexis, www.weddingsbyalexis.com). Her clients were planning their reception from Chicago and the music, and my online system for picking it out, was one of their main reasons for hiring me. I have an enormous music library (over 100,000 songs) that can be browsed over the web. With a click of a button any song can be added to the appropriate must or must not play lists. Another big selling point for them was that I don’t put any restrictions or limitations on what they select. It’s my job to take their selection and make a great reception.

Amy & Nick must have spent hours preparing their playlist. They selected 120 songs, about 8 hours worth of their favorites. They also had a format less common for receptions. They stayed away from most of the typical “wedding cheese” and instead picked music that they and their friends would choose to listen, when not at a wedding. This does not always work as the guest list normally includes family and friends of all ages. Their group was the exception to that rule and included mainly friends all in their 20′s & 30′s. Another blessing – they especially said “absolutely no” to any song that might have a coordinated dance that goes along with it. They do get tiring after a while.

Another fun thing that they did was to break their reception up into segments of musical genres. The first hour was what they described as happy, light rock. It had more of a modern rock feel and included artists like the Counting Crows & Sister Hazel. Hour two included 80′s favorites like Mr. Roboto by Styx & I’ll Tumble 4 Ya by Culture Club, basically stuff from the early days of MTV. Next we moved into their favorite category, 80′s rock. This hour included some of their all-time favorites from Posion, Motley Crue, GnR as well as some classics by Lynard Skynard & Aerosmith. To continue with the hair bands theme, Amy & Nick cut the cake (provided by Cakes for Occasions, www.cakes4occasions.com) to Cherry Pie by Warrant. Hour 4 was kind of a mashup of more of their favorites and requests from the guests. Their was even a very popular country set that started with Devil Went Down to Georgia, followed by Toby Keith, the Zac Brown Band & Kid Rock’s crossover hit – All Summer Long. We wrapped it all up with a final hour of more contemporary stuff, like Lady Gaga, Beyonce’ and even some hip hop. One thing that stood out was that the dance floor was hopping from the very beginning ’till the very last song.

My favorite vendors & friends from the Boston Wedding Group included:

• Unique Weddings By Alexis
• Catering by Domenic & Anthony
• Wedding Tresses
• Gordon’s Fine Wine
• Cakes For Occasions
• Rockport Art Association

Although I don’t come in contact with everyone hired on the wedding day, some of my favorite memories included:

• The meal provided to me by Domenic & Anthony’s chef. It was one of my favorite wedding meals ever!! My plate included the most delicious small cuts of fillet smothered in mashed potatoes. The wild mushroom ravioli & crab cakes were also “out of this world”.
• I loved the extra attention I always get from Alexis & her team (www.weddingsbyalexis.com). It seems as though someone was always checking in with me to see if I needed or wanted anything. They were always quick to bring water, soda, coffee and dinner. I never get that level of service from any other event planner. Imagine the attention the bride, groom & their guests get!!
• After my amazing meal, I was served a slice of the Cakes for Occasions, delicious cake. It had what I think was a layer of key lime filing/frosting inside that was just yummy.
• Lastly, Alise from the Rockport Art Association was just terrific to work with. When I arrived, she dropped what she was doing to show me the space. She made sure that I had everything I needed to set up and was never far away if I had questions. It’s warm, welcoming & talented members that make my job so much fun!!

I thought it might be fun to catalog my 5 favorite things about some of the weddings i do. It’s going to be tough with Mike & Becky’s wedding because this wedding was AWESOME!!!

Where do I start? First Mike and Becky were two of the best people to work with. They were easy going, gave me plenty of input about what they liked yet didn’t have unrealistic expectations. When they prepared their music list, they thought of everyone in the room, and that made it easy to rock their guests socks off!! There was Dancing, Dancing & more Dancing.

Next, I love their song choice for wedding party introductions. The song had a reggae, beachy feel, perfect for a reception at Barker Tavern which is seconds away from Scituate Harbor. The song, “Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti & Spearhead can be heard here:

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Third, I got to work with one of my all-time favorite photographers (and people). Her name is Kristin Young and trust me when I say this, here work is amazing!! Back in the late 90′s Kristin & I shared office space and I got to see her work every day – it covered my wall space. I miss those days. If you want to find more about her, visit www.kristinyoungphotography.com. She’s based on Cape Cod but will travel, especially if you’re planning a destination wedding.

Fourth, I felt back home at the Barker Tavern. Although I don’t play there as much as I used to, It’s still one of my favorite places to work.The acoustics, layout, staff, food, & view are all spectacular. It was nice to see some familiar faces their too. Judy ran the event & Moe & Buddy were serving up drinks. The weddings there are always phenomenal!!

Fifth, my youngest brother Dave, was a guest at the wedding. He’s good friends with Mike and Becky and many of the people that attended – he must have brought half the guests to introduce me. Of course I want all my weddings to be great but I felt some added pressure knowing his rep was riding on my performance. Thankfully the dance floor was packed from beginning to end and his rep wasn’t tarnished!! I was happy to find out that everyone was talking about how much fun they had.

Pics from Diana & Davids White Cliffs Country Club reception. I brought my camera along and snapped some pics before the dancing started indoors. For this slideshow I uploaded music and for some reason it takes an extra 15-20 seconds to open – sorry. It’s a work in progress.

Uplighting Pics from the Red Lion Inn in Cohasset, MA. My Creative Uplighting provides wireless LED uplights & Monograms for Weddings & other special events. Visit creativeuplighting.com) for more info.

Here’s the Canoe Club Ballroom of W.Bridgewater showcasing my company’s (www.creativeuplighting.com) special event lighting. Using our wireless LED technology, we can light the table from underneath and behind, all without wires and ugly tape. As you can see we can change the fixtures to a multitude of colors all by a wireless remote control.

Special thanks to Tim & Kristy Briggs of Video Visions Forever, Doug Bradshaw of Bradshaw Photography & Stacy Merola of the Canoe Club Ballroom for help with this project.

On May 30th, I provided the music and uplighting for Jillian & Joe’s wedding reception at the Neighborhood Club of Quincy. To help capture the lighting I brought along my good friend Doug Bradshaw of Bradshaw photography. Thanks Doug for the great images!!

Thanks to Lynne Valeri for this wonderful video!! I worked with Lynne & Leah of videodesign films for the first time on 5/2 at Meg & Joe’s Omni Parker House wedding. What a pleasure it was! 

Lynne was everything a dj would want in a videographer. She was helpful, attentive & unobtrusive. And now, after seeing her work, I can see that she is also very talented.

I also got to work with some old friends in the business. Alexis of Unique Weddings by Alexis,, Meg’s event planner, was on track of even the smallest of details. Nancy Gould captured the day on film in a way that only she can. For proof, see here: http://nancygould.com/meg-and-joe-omni-parker-house-boston-ma. Lastly, Joselin Green of the Omni Parker House couldn’t have been accommodating. Even with the “tricky” dj load-in at the Omni, because of Joselin it was a pleasurable experience.