20091010 Brendan and Stephanie

Stephanie  is a professional event planner. There was a table or two of guests who are professional event planners. No pressure. None at all.

It was posh. It was fun. Bridgewater Country Club did a great job. There was a bagpiper for the cocktail hour on the deck. Emily Gage was in charge of photography. Debbie Graves who I haven’t worked with in ages, was in charge of video.

This is Martha Ellen, a friend of Bride/Event Planner Stephanie and the P Diddy of day of coordination. She was great! She did a great job. I would hire her.

20090725 Daniel & Kelly

This is part one of my Dentist’s of Monroe County travelogue.

Daniel and Kelly live in Bloomington. Bloomington is a destination for a lot of bride’s in search of an outdoor venue. Over all the places to have a wedding day in their neck of the woods, they choose Avon Gardens in Avon, Indiana. I have to agree on their thinking here.

It’s really an amazing place. The owners and staff are amazing. The location is amazing. The overall vibe is a perfect antidote for wedding day jitters and nerves.

Lois Talley was in charge of photography.

An amazing collection of friends and family gathered to celebrate the day. It was awesome. (please donate synonyms to “awesome” to indyprodj at gmail.com)

20090516 Jennifer and Matt

I met Jennifer a few years ago.  She helps out with the Noble Evening in the Garden event.  I also met her mom and dad and Matt’s mom and dad at the Noble evening in the garden.

Jennifer won a complete wedding package in the charity auction from Jon Bruce Entertainment.

The reception was awesome.  Crystal Catering’s The Fountains rolled out the red carpet. They did an excellent job.

Tamara Ehrgott was in charge of photography and a treat to meet.

Jon Bruce, man of letters. DJ/MC/BGS

I just finished my last final for Summer Session I. Nine credit hours. DONE! Spring Semester, I took 15 hours. It has been a busy 6 months.

I am now officially a college graduate! I am a Bachelor of General Studies!

You can call me Jon Bruce BGS.

I can’t believe I waited this long to get it done.

For perspective sake, as a DJ, I am probably in the top 5% by education level. It may be higher than that. I will have to call somebody and figure out the actual breakdown.

As a client, do you ever think to ask about education for your entertainment? Most of my clients are some college, college, post graduate degree holders. May I should start handing out a C.V…

My biggest gripe about this business is differentiating the service I provide from the super special DJ guy who never bothered to finish High School and is still living in his parents basement.

You might notice the asymmetry when Mr. Cheap DJ shows up in jeans with a couple of buddies for your black tie event. It couldn’t hurt to ask before hand and clearly establish you expectations.

and no… Black Tie, doesn’t mean Black blue jeans, a buttoned down shirt, with a vest and a clip on tie.

Jennifer may save you some heartache on your wedding day.

I got an inquiry from a Bride on Thursday inquiring about pricing and availability for an up coming wedding.

I went to reply and noticed she had sent her inquiry email out to SEVEN DJs all at the same time. In the interest of keeping the playing field open, I hit reply to all.

Here are the results I got.

One DJ replied to my email.
Four are probably familiar with me and chalked it up to Jon Bruce being Jon Bruce.
THREE were RETURNED TO SENDER!
-All three don’t have an active web page.
-Two of those don’t have let their domain names lapse.

Usually this means that on your wedding day, if the phones not ringing its your DJ calling. Take a minute and call or email your DJ today and make sure the number still works. The American Disc Jockey Association has an emergency DJ hotline for no shows on your wedding day. 888-723-5776.

When you book a DJ….

1. Get a contract in writing.
2. Meet the actual person who will be performing at your event. (And get a guarantee in that written contract).
3. Remember experience counts for something. I have had the same phone number for 14 years.

My email and indyprodj.com are coming up on their 10th anniversary.

What about your DJ?