We try to do the best job we can at each and every wedding we perform at. But when we get the thank you’s after, the grandmas complimenting on our music (even though we threw in a few current songs she didn’t know) and the e-mails in the following weeks, that always puts a smile on our face.

Dear Festival Sounds-
Kurt and I just wanted to tell you thank you for doing such a great job at our wedding last weekend!  We appreciate that you kept us moving along with our events of the evening but not in a pushy manner.  We couldn’t be more pleased with the music selection and your friendly demeanor.  We will be excited to refer our friends and family to you if they are ever in need of a wonderful DJ.  Thanks again!
-Trichele & Kurt

Let us know if we can do the same for your next event!

At Festival Sounds we pride ourselves at being the biggest and best DJ company in Southern Utah, and you can imagine that during the busy spring wedding season, we see a lot of different weddings and different styles. As of June 18th, we have performed at 46 weddings, and 40 races, dances and parties.

That is 86 events so far this year!

So needless to say, we need to have a great staff of DJs and professionals to handle that kind of business. Currently we have 6 DJs, and a combined experience of 78 years of great events. In fact our average Dj experience is 13 years. That is a lot of weddings. I know I for example have performed at over 1000 weddings, and I have seen it all. Here are some weddings that we have performed at this year. All beautiful and individual in their own ways. From elegant weddings to unique weddings these are the highlights:

Southern Utah Wedding Magazine Free Wedding Giveaway -

Wedding in a Pecan Orchard

Wedding at Lichfield Ponds in Toquerville

Wedding in Backyard at the Cope residence in St. George

Ceremony at Entrada

Wedding at Green Valley Spa – Yes I met Jon Lovitz!

Washington City Cotton Days 2011

Wedding at Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane

Wedding at Sun River, St. George

Finish Line for the Midnight 5K

Wedding in Boulder, NV

Wedding in Zion Mountain Ranch – The Barn at Zion Mountain

Disco Dance at Dixie State College

And this is just a few of the events that we have performed at. If you want your next event to be like any of these let us show you how you can do it!

Entrada Wedding

As I write this blog post, it is sunny and almost 60 degrees outside here in St. George. We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and to be involved in such great wedding receptions. Most weddings here in Southern Utah take place in the spring and fall. Our two busiest months of the year are May and October. Why you ask, because the weather is PERFECT for outdoor ceremonies and receptions. There are lots of choices for outdoor events here too, from Golf Clubs Entrada and the Ledges, to smaller venues like Austoria and The Alumni House at DSC. You can find great places to have your wedding all over St. George, but if you really want to go all the way, head 1 hour East to Zion. Outdoor venues are everywhere here. The Switchback, and the Cliffrose are great venues here. But if you really want the ultimate wedding experience head a little farther through the park to The Barn at Zion Mountain. Here you will find a little piece of Utah’s history ready to transport you to another time and the ultimate place for a wedding ceremony and reception.

You can find any of these great outdoor venues at these links:

Entrada at Snow Canyon
The Ledges
Austoria
Stephen Wade Alumni House
Switchback Grill
Cliffrose
The Barn at Zion Mountain

Festival Sounds is proud to announce that we are the official DJ and MC for all St. George Races and Washington City Races for the 2011 year. For all you big runners, triathletes, and athletes out there, you will be happy to know that not only is the music going to be great this year, but the announcements over the PA will be loud and clear all year long. After a few very successful events last year, The St. George Leisure Services Department has given Festival Sounds the contract for all events this year, and hopefully for years to come.

So far we have done the St. George Half Marathon, SHAC Triathlon, Lake to Lake relay and many other successful events, some of which that require multiple setups at the start, finish and sometimes in-between. If you are putting together a race in Southern Utah and need a great professional sound system and announcer, we can provide you with everything. We now even have a system that allows us to transmit our signal up to 1 mile for satellite systems with the same music and announcements.

So get in shape and try one of St. George Races events, you (and your health) will be glad you did!

1. Fridays and Saturdays are not as busy.

I’m sure you are planning on getting married on a Saturday, as most people are, but did you know that you can usually negotiate better rates with wedding vendors on Weekdays or Sundays? It may not always work out for you to do this, but a wedding can probably cost hundreds if not thousands less if it is held on a weekday vs. a Saturday.

2. Keep your wedding to 4-5 hours.

I know when you are planning your wedding reception you think that the night should go on forever, but in reality, even when people plan to go late, it rarely does. There is only so much I as the Dj can do to keep you and your gusts from getting tired. There are exceptions, such as destination weddings and some others that can make it longer, but don’t try and make your event longer than it needs to be. A good event is always a timely event!

3. If you have a ceremony, have it in the same place as your reception.

Ceremonies are always an extra expense, and if you have one try and have it in the same place as where you having your reception. This will save you money on sound, and microphne ( I have to charge extra because I would have to set up a second sound system) and it will also save you money on chairs and set up/take down.

4. Ditch the receiving Line!

Do you really need to spend 2 hours waiting in a line so your guests can meet you and your entire wedding party? If so, then by all means have the line, but I’m willing to bet your guests would be much happier if they could sit in their seats and have you and your partner go around from table to table and say hi. This is mostly a Utah tradition, and I don’t see it anywhere else, but receiving lines are actually a DJ’s worst nightmare. As a DJ, I can’t really do anything until the line is over. and since your guests are NEVER arriving on time, the line can last for hours. So keep your guests from getting bored and make your whole reception more comfortable for everyone and ditch the line, you’ll be happy you did!

Well, another year has passed us by. January and February are is generally our busiest months for wedding bookings. In 2010 We had another great year with 140 events, and 57 weddings.

We hope to hear from you in 2011 for all your wedding, dance or event needs.

Since then, I have run in 4 more and this year Festival Sounds is proud to be a sponsor of the marathon. Really all this means is that we are providing a sound system for the finish line in exchange for some entries into the race. We have actually provided sound systems for the city of St. George Races on multiple occasions. The Midnight 5k, Snow Canyon Half Marathon, and Skim Board ing Competition to name a few.

Races and Events like this are hard to provide sound for since there are TONS of people and a lot going on, but Festival Sounds prides itself on providing a quality sound system for your event. So if you are planning any race, marathon, triathlon, or just a 5k, let us know and we would be happy to help with your sound system needs. Also, if you are planning on training for the 2011 marathon, Good Luck, and may the course not be as hot as it was this year!

I’ve been a DJ and Master of Ceremonies for over 19 Years now, and have worked in both Los Angeles and Utah. I started young and learned pretty much everything I needed to know about the DJ Profession on my own.

I remember the first Event that I did clearly.

It was a small wedding for some friends, and I imagine it was also the first time the parents of the bride had ever planned a wedding (as is often the case).

I was new to the business and they were new to the experience. I remember there being times that I was thinking to myself, wow I wonder who’s responsibility was it to make sure that didn’t come out the way it did; you know, to make it flow better or come out better. It certainly wasn’t my responsibility, I’m the DJ… Right? I mean I had all the music they asked for and they provided me with a CD for all their dances. Why is it taking soo long to do the toast? What time will the cake needs to be cut? What do you mean I have to do announcements, I’m Just the DJ I’m not supposed to do that? Oh, you wanted the radio edited version? Oops…

A few of these things you learn by trial and error, which is scary, especially since most people spend a whole lot of money on an event.

The things that you don’t learn by trial and error, you have to learn by taking the role of leadership and being the person RESPONSIBLE for making sure that everything comes out flawless.

See, MOST DJ’s assume that their sole responsibility is to make sure that they have the correct music and make the correct announcements at the right times…

Are they right in assuming that?

I know a lot of my competition, or who try to classify themselves as my direct competition, are reading this and thinking, yes… that’s all our responsibility… the rest is left up to the bride and groom, parents of the bride and groom, or quinceanera, or the coordinator, if they had it in their budget to hire one.

Well, let’s just assume that they did not hire a coordinator, as most events that I do DO NOT have one, or the parents of the bride and groom, or party planner, do not know the ins and outs of planning and running their event, as is OFTEN the case…

Then what?

As the DJ, do you just allow those awkward moments to happen? Like when you announce that the bride and groom are ready to do their first dance, and they are no where to be found? you announce the Father daughter dance and Dad is in the Restroom? SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE LET HIM KNOW… right?

Well, as I stated before, some things you learn by trial and error, and others you have to take the RESPONSIBILITY ahead of time to make sure that those awkward moments do not happen.

What if just before you announced the bride and groom’s first dance, you went up and told them, in these exact words, or similar words…

We are just about to do your first dance, I need you to stand next to the dance floor, and as soon as this song is over, I am going to get everyone’s attention and announce your first dance…

As soon as, you get the bride and groom next to the dance floor, what if you went one step further and let the father of the bride and mother of the groom know that as soon as the bride and groom are done with their dance, that you, as the DJ, would like for them to be standing next to the dance floor because their special dance with their daughter or son is coming up…

Would you not avoid that void, that awkwardness, that moment where everyone is saying, oh… he’s in the rest room…

Even if there is a coordinator present, who’s job is it to make sure you don’t make an announcement at the wrong time?

The way I see it, it’s falls under the entertainer’s responsibility that HE does not look bad.

So Here are my top 10 Responsibilities that I think the DJ should make his:

1. Make Sure that he has the correct version of the songs for the Traditional Dances, Cake Cutting, Bouquet & Garter Toss, Grand Introductions, and any other highlighted events. And that he has them in order on his computer or burned off in order on a CD.
2. Learn all the names of the people that he has to introduce. There nothing worse than having your name mispronounced or said unclear.
3. Get EVERYTHING prepared in advance! Learn the Itinerary so that you can make sure that you stay on time.
4. Look ahead of what the worse case scenario is, and do everything possible to avoid it. The example of getting the bride and groom near the dance floor, or back at their seats is a perfect example. What about the cake cutting, toasting, bouquet and garter toss, etc. What can you as the DJ do to make sure the worse case scenario does not happen.
5. Have an Introductory Speech to welcome guests and a Farewell Speech to wish the guests and guest of honor farewell.
6. Have Radio Edited Versions of all the popular and top hits.
7. Have a clean, presentable area. Hide all cables, get rid of cluttered mess, etc.
8. Love your Clients, Do everything possible to ensure that the bride and groom or the quinceanera has the most amazing time of their life. This may seem like it should not belong on this list, but how can you care about your client, and then go off to other DJ’s and call them Bridezillas and ungrateful… I will never understand that. If a person is ungrateful or pissed off, it’s because they are not getting the service they paid for.
9. Have a Positive attitude, 100% of the time, even when nobody is looking. (Or you think nobody is looking)
10. Have fun, enjoy yourself, how can your client’s guests have fun if you are sitting down the whole night, and not dancing or cracking a smile at all.

So these are the ten Responsibilities I would say, that you as a DJ, or Entertainer should assume, always.

As you can tell, most of them have nothing to do with music. Music is the easiest part of the Job, In my opinion. Mixing Music does take some practice and knowledge, but nothing will kill the party more than guests, feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or even that they don’t know what’s going on. Not Bad Mixing, Not bad music selection (in the sense of going from one genre to the next, inappropriately), Not playing the music too low, Etc.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY if you are going to make announcements over the microphone, make sure that everyone can hear you and understand you. Some DJ’s have this muffled voice that nobody can understand. It sounds as if their equipment has static or their microphone is malfunctioning. Or buy a name brand microphone that works good.

So if you are a DJ and would like to improve his events, these are some guidelines to follow that will take your performance to a whole other level. If you are a bride looking to book a DJ, then now you have slight idea of what to expect from a GOOD DJ that will make sure everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, not just the things the DJ thinks are important.. flows smoothly.

Happy Planning and just know that all of us at Festival Sounds have the experience to make your event PERFECT!

There are a few thing you can do to minimize the impact of such experiences. The most important thing is to have some sort of back-up plan. It doesn’t have to be great, or expensive, but a plan of attack in case of inclement weather is always appropriate. Even a tent can help! Both Forevermore Events and Superior Party Rentals can help with that. Tents can also help with the sun, so they are a good thing to have either way.

Now some venues already have built in alternate locations, so check with your coordinator or location manager to see what they can do (or have done) in the event your location becomes unusable.

The good news is you probably won’t have to use it, but you never know. Out of the 1000′s of weddings I’ve been to, less than 5% of them had a problem, but wouldn’t you rather be ready just in case?

Now we at Festival Sounds are always happy to help in any way. We have lots of good ideas and ways to make sure your day is perfect, so don’t hesitate to ask.