Keith “K.C.” KoKoruz the owner of the Windy City Wedding show and the Badger State Bridal Expo will be speaking on Monday and Wednesday at the Photo Booth Expo in Las Vegas. Photo Booth Expo is the largest business conference in the world for photo booth company.

This will be the second time that K.C. will be speaking at Photo Booth Expo and we couldn’t be more excited or proud.

Milwaukee is a beaituful city that is rich in architecture and amazing places to take amazing wedding pictures. Here are a few of our favorites. Photo credit to Dennis Felber Photography – Milwaukee Art Museum. Please note some of the locations listed are private. You will want to check with your photographer when planning. 

3rd & 5th Wards  
Atwater Beach
Boerner Botanical Gardens
Bradford Beach 
Brewhouse Inn & Suites
Delafield Fish Hatchery
Doctors Park
Estabrook Beer Garden
Hubbard Park
Kettle Moraine State Forest 
Lake Park
Lakeshore State Park
Lion’s Den
McKinley Marina
McKinley Pier
Miller Park
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Athletic Club Rooftop
Milwaukee Swing Park
Minooka Park 
Pritzlaff Rooftop
Richfield Nature Park
Riverwalk – Rock Bottom
Riverwalk – Water Buffalo
South Shore Park
The Iron Horse Hotel
Trimborn Farm
Turner Hall Ballroom
Veterans Park
Wisconsin Club

In today’s day and age musical tastes are all over the place. One Saturday a dj will have 10 songs that “Bride A” will dance like a maniac. The following Saturday a dj will have those same 10 songs on “Bride B’s” Do Not Play List.  Neither one of the brides are right nor wrong when it comes to their musical selections. It is simply their vision of their wedding day.

Now that we have determined that music is simply a choice, let’s talk about trust. The average song is 3 minutes in length. Some are longer and some a shorter. Some djs beat mix in and out of songs cutting the song a bit shorter however the average song is 3 minutes in length. When a couple hands their dj a list with 150 songs on it, they either don’t truly trust the dj or they simply haven’t thought about how long playing 150 songs will take. 150 songs at 3 minutes per song will take 7 ½ hours to complete. An average wedding in the Chicagoland area is only 5 ½ – 6 hours. Please also consider that your guests may have a few requests and the dj should be allowed to use their experience and expertise to keep your dance floor packed with songs you may not have thought of.

Now let’s talk about your wedding day.

When you discuss music with your dj, they should have a very clear DO NOT PLAY section on their planner. You are the client and the dj will do what you want however you are also the host so consider what your guests will enjoy dancing to in-spite of some of your personal tastes. Be specific. I recently interviewed a dj and here was one of his stories about a client’s request list. “I met with a wonderful couple today. The bride told me she wanted no songs from the 70’s and the 80’s. As we continued to talking the couple expressed that they wanted Commodores, Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Boyz to Men, Chicago, Journey, Al Green, and Barry White. I stopped the conversation and pointed out to her that all of those artists had their largest success as artists with songs put out in the 70’s and 80’s. After pointing that out, we were able to drill down and get some specific groups and artists that she didn’t care for.” This is a very common conversation so you need to be specific.

The average length of open dancing at a Chicago wedding is 2 ½ – 3 hours long. 15 requests will already be 45 minutes of music which comes out to 1/3 of the evening. A good dj should be able to adhere to your do not play list, hit your 15 favorites, take guests requests, and use their discretion to keep your dance floor packed. There is of course some give and take but we have found that this is a realistic way for each client to put their own style into their wedding while trusting their dj to entertain their guests and keep the dance floor packed. This also excludes any specific cocktail or dinner music styles or requests.

Another trend is asking your guests to supply one of their favorite songs on their response card. While this may seem like a cute idea, do you want your guests to program your wedding day? What if one of their requests is on their Do Not Play list? The average wedding has 140 guests in attendance which means that approximately 70 response cards came in. That is now 70 requests as well as your specific requests. You have now given the dj hours and hours of requests. Is playing these requests the priority or is celebrating with your guests dancing all night because you hired a great dj the priority?

If you feel the need to supply your dj with tons and tons of requests, you have to ask yourself if you truly trust this person or company with your wedding day.

PANTONE 18-3838 ULTRA VIOLET, PANTONE® COLOR OF THE YEAR 2018.

“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.” – Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.

You can expect to see this shade of purple being used in ads, fashions, home accents, etc in 2018. 

In today’s uncertain economic times everyone is looking to save money where ever they can. Substituting the entertainment with an IPod has been a media hot spot this year, so let’s consider the possibilities. Let’s start by stating the obvious about both.                

The IPod argument

There is no question that a bride and groom can rent a quality sound system at a reasonable rate, have it delivered or have a friend bring it to the reception and set it up with play lists all programmed on it with folders designed for cocktails, dinner, program in their 1st dance, the father daughter dance, and their favorite party songs to dance to. You need to consider the amount of time creating these folders are going to take and if you have the access to an extensive music library or the cost of downloading these songs off of the internet. The cost of renting a sound system is probably about $200-$300 on average nationally. The costs of adding music to your IPod obviously will vary.

The Dj argument

A dj comes completely self contained and already has all of the music, a quality sound system, and years of experience behind him or her. The average cost of a quality dj nationally can range from $800 to $3,000 dollars. Median price is probably $1,200.00.                

The defining difference:

Timing, experience, and enrollment in the moment is the difference and in my personal and professional opinion, the defining difference and a deal breaker to consider. A professional dj with a comprehensive music collection knows when to play what song, and in doing so creates the mood and the energy level appropriate for that moment. They know how to push the crowd musically and verbally to keep that dance floor packed by using their years of experience and training. Now let’s talk about enrollment. My goal as a master of ceremonies is to not just make an announcement about the evening’s activities but to truly enroll the guests into the moment. This comes from years of experience, training, having a creative mind, and a true desire to make each bride’s wedding day memorable, elegant and fun.                

A friend will most likely announce the father daughter dance like this. “And now we would like to invite Karen and her father to dance the daddy daughter dance. “This is a simple and clear announcement. I personally would ask the bride and her dad a few questions in advance to learn a bit about them and their relationship and my introduction to that same dance would sound more like this. “On November 9, 1970, life in the KoKoruz house would change as they knew it forever with the arrival of our bride Karen Kathleen KoKoruz to her proud parents Steve and Christine. She was delivered into their lives at 1:20 p.m. at St Mary’s Hospital and weighed 7lbs 6 ounces. The doctor presented Karen to her dad for the very first time. He knew that in the blink of any eye those little tiny fingers that he was holding for the first would later be turned over to the man that she would like to spend the rest of her life with. Today that day has come so please join me in a warm proud round of applause as Karen and her dad share their special father daughter dance.”                

I hope that as you read this you got a few goose bumps, perhaps even got a bit emotional as you thought about that special dance with your dad, and most importantly realized that an IPod can never make you or your guests feel that way