You do not need an oversized budget to have an impressive wedding celebration! It begins with your entertainment, but it also is about the décor you choose. This fun little centerpiece idea was from a wedding I performed at in the fall of 2011 at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, KY.

I was first introduced to Scott and Nicole when she contacted me through my website. We setup a meeting to discuss their January 2011 wedding date. Through the course of our meeting, I knew this was going to be a very fun couple. Scott and Nicole had many ideas on how to make their wedding experience truly a memorable celebration.  Scott and Nicole met through Yahoo Messenger. After their first date, it was only a matter of time before they became head over heels in love with each other and instantly became inseparable. Together Scott, Nicole, and I shared ideas of how to bring their personal style into their wedding reception. We designed a wedding celebration around them that was truly unique and had moments for the guests to be actively involved while centering around the love Scott and Nicole share.  Their wedding colors were red and white with a black accent, an appropriate choice seeing how her family is originally from Indiana, (although she is not a IU fan)…so I provided uplighting to match their wedding colors. This was a late afternoon wedding reception that took place at Fasig-Tipton. Debbie, J.D. and their staff always do a fine job in accommodating their guests, and are a pleasure to work with.    As the guests began to enter the room they enjoyed a mixture of fun upbeat selections and some holiday songs chosen by Scott and Nicole. Fun pictures of the two of them played on screens throughout the room as their guests anxiously awaited their arrival. The tables were named after Scott and Nicole’s favorite songs. So guests were seated at tables “Wipeout”, “Day-O”, and “Viva Las Vegas” just to name a few. Scott is a huge Star Wars fan and actually owns several light sabers which we incorporated into their grand entrance with the help of Nicole as a way to surprise Scott. This video was sent to me through a guest’s digicam as Scott and Nicole entered the room. As you can see Scott’s expression says it all as he was completely shocked and it helped to set the tone for a fun and memorable wedding celebration. From their Grand Entrance I introduced the wedding party using sound clips from movies to really personalize this moment for their wedding party. After introductions, Scott and Nicole welcomed their guests and then proceeded to enjoy dinner with 150 of their closest family and friends.  I should mention that Scott has severe stage fright. When I handed him the microphone he only said two words the entire evening “Hello, Everybody!” which sent the crowd into waves of laughter. Little did Scott, Nicole or the guests know about the other surprises taking place throughout the evening.  We began with gift presentations to Scott and Nicole from each other. Nicole surprises Scott with her gift to him… I had to keep Nicole distracted with Scott's gift to her. For weeks Nicole had been asking Scott to fix her Bicycle… so he surprised Nicole with a brand new one which he rode into the room and onto the dance floor. However, the biggest surprise came from Scott’s parents when they presented him with an unexpected surprise gift… This sent the crowd into waves of laughter again and we proceeded to dismiss dinner by the table names mentioned earlier. Whenever the guest heard their table song played, that was their queue to visit the buffet. We then sprung the next surprise on their guests as Nicole’s father Don gave a speech using the theme from Star Trek. He changed the words in the opening scene and adapted them to Scott and Nicole that was very clever on his part. Don is holding up the Vulcan V sign for live long and prosper. We finished the toasting and then cut the cake to “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You” by James Taylor. The dance floor was cleared and we then played a version of musical chairs with the guests. This was a scavenger hunt in which we asked for several items which the participants had to find located from the guests throughout the room. This was a great way to get people relaxed and having fun right before the formal dances took place. As you can see these ladies were very excited to be holding men’s belts. After the game was over, the dance floor was cleared and Nicole’s father Don escorted his daughter to the dance floor to share a waltz to “Embrace of the Father and Bride” by Shaun Loughrey. Nicole recorded a special message that I edited into their dance song that really made this moment even more special for the two of them. Don escorted his daughter Nicole off the floor and Scott escorted his mother Phyllis to the floor as he dedicated “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses for them to dance to. As the song ended they shared a warm embrace as he escorted her back to her seat and then returned to the dance floor. Don escorted Nicole back to the floor and then handed her away one last time to her new husband Scott. As Scott and Nicole were left standing on the floor, I surprised them with their very own love story as their guests went through a roller coaster of emotions before receiving their second standing ovation of the night. Their guests were then surprised again as Scott and Nicole professed their love for one another through their very first dance song “To Make You Feel My Love” by Garth Brooks as their engagement photos was shown on a projection screen.  After the song ended several of their friends rushed up to them and gave them the biggest hug. What a truly unforgettable moment!  We then performed a couples dance, and then at the end of the song… Nicole chose to present her bouquet to the couple that had been together the longest, and topped off by the garter surprise. Scott removed Nicole’s garter and presented it to the guy who needed it the most which again drew waves of laughter from the crowd. We then kicked off our open dancing.  The party continued until late. The night was filled with a mixture of well known party music and continued as Nicole did a surprise dance routine with her instructor from Arthur Murray. Everyone seemed to have a GREAT time!  You know that it’s a great night of partying and celebrating for a beautiful couple when you have pictures like this to prove how much fun people had. A special thank you to Rob Mould Photography for providing these photographs. Thanks Scott and Nicole for a wonderful wedding celebration!

I get emails from couples from time to time, but I always enjoy hearing when couples are doing well. I received this email from one of my couples whom I performed for over two years ago and would like to share it with you. Carrie and Brian - Lexington, KY Wedding from 2009. Daniel, I realized that Brian and I never sent you an endorsement to use (if you wanted) for the awesome job you did at our wedding! If you ever have a future client or prospective client that wants to speak with someone regarding their experience with you as their wedding DJ please feel free to give them my email address or pass along my phone number. I cannot promise to be great about answering the phone right away but I will certainly be happy to call back anyone who leaves me a message. :) Please feel free to use the following in any capacity you wish. Thank you! Hope you are doing well!! Carrie and Brian Tippins Brian and I got married August 8, 2009, since that time we have moved out of state but still see family and friends quite often. We STILL have people come up to us and comment on how awesome our reception was- especially Daniel! Our reception was SO much fun, I still think we had the best reception of anyone we have seen since (or before for that matter)! Daniel did an amazing job in providing activities and music for each and every person, everyone, even my 90 year old Grandmother was up dancing and playing games. I think my favorite was the scavenger hunt- I highly recommend it! Over two years later I still enjoy watching our wedding video just to relive the fun we had at the reception. Daniel did a slide show for us during the father-daughter dance and during our first dance, there was also a slide show of pictures of us as a couple, our engagement pictures, and pictures of us individually as babies, children and teenagers. Thank you so much Daniel, I have been recommending you to everyone! Even trying to convince friends in New York to go to Kentucky to get married!! -Carrie and Brian Tippins  I am so humbled and honored to read things like this. To believe their wedding is still being talked about over two years later is very humbling. When I receive letters like these, it makes me want to give all of my clients this same experience. If you are still deciding on your entertainer for your wedding day, please contact me. I would love to sit down with you and discuss your vision for your wedding celebration. Thank you Carrie and Brian for an awesome celebration!