This wedding was basically an explosion of happy people, pretty, flowers, and laughter.  I wanted to get something blogged yesterday, but my monitor broke and I just got a new one in so I’m only unleashing a few images. (With many more to come this week.)  I also loved getting to work with some of my favorite wedding vendors.  Many many thanks to Elmwood Gardens, La Tee Da Flowers, CMB DJs, JMH Pro Video, & Weddings AtoZ Bridal Boutique.

Here is one image from the wedding, their Mug Machine, & their Rock the Frock session.  Enjoy.

Part 2 of our 25 tips on planning your wedding comes from none other than Casey Brown, owner of CMB DJs.  Here he is in action as well as a few tips he gave on why having a DJ is a good idea for your wedding.

Here are 5 ways that a good DJ can make your wedding better.

1. Announcements.
Having a DJ that can announce the toast, cake cutting, and the occasional lost set of keys, and be heard and understood is a huge plus. The person on the microphone has to be able to cut through all the chatter and get everyone’s attention.

2. Mixing music that suits your guests.
A good DJ can look at any group and sum up a play list that fits. And he can only do this if he/she is familiar with many genres of music and it’s era. (Adult Contemporary, Pop, country, hip hop, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s)

3. Quality equipment.
While it doesn’t necessarily make a better DJ, quality equipment can provide a better experience and service that not only sounds good, but looks good. A “rats nest” of wires on the DJ table or around the Dj’s setup tends to take away from the nice  center pieces, cakes, and linens that make up your reception decor. Especially in smaller rooms.

4. Be prepared.
Having an outline of the order of events for your reception and any special songs that go with those events will allow your reception to run much more smoothly. If the DJ has a digital setup, making “folder” in his DJ program with all special songs for the reception, or putting all special songs on a single CD and having them ready for use ensures all those important songs are accounted for and ready to play on cue.

5. Knowing the wedding etiquette.
You can’t take a karaoke jock from a bar, and expect them to know how to pull off an elegant and fun wedding reception. This is how that could turn out. ((insert blog link to that couple taking for ever to load the first dance and mother son dance.)) You will want a DJ that has wedding experience and references. When the budget needs to be cut one of the first things they think of is the DJ entertainment.  Because all the DJ does is play music right? By getting a cousin to man the iPod, or a friend that has a big music collection, you stand to lose many if not all of the tips mentioned here. If you’re on a small budget, try to budget more for the services that really affect your wedding, and cut some smaller things that may not be quite as important.

CMB DJs
http://cmbdjs.com/
903.724.3192

I love these rewind posts.  It’s amazing to me that these images happened a year ago.  Many of them are still fresh in my mind and I feel like I took them 3 months ago.

Happy 1 year to Lindsey & Justin, Mindy & Dustin, and Davi & Jonathan.

Bridal shows are fun.  They are 8 hours of wedding planning overload.  One of my favorite things is when I get to bring The Mug machine to a show.  I had a blast meeting new brides this past weekend, but I also love getting to see all my wedding vendor friends.  I ran a few of them through the machine and here are the results as well as some contact info.

Jeff Heimer | http://jmhpro.com | 903.312.8289

Amy & Bethany of We Vow Now | wevownow.com/ | (903) 232-1700

Rhonda (left) does hair & make-up (haircutter1004@yahoo.com) | Eva Sealey (right) heads up Centaur Arabian Farms.  A great new venue near Tyler.

Scott from Corazon Catering in tyler had tasty snacks for everyone.

All American Rental out of Tyler also had some of their product to show off.

Casey Brown of CMB DJs & Tyler Uplights

Tiffany The Travel Girl can help you plan for after the wedding. :)

D’Anne of the ever so tasty Designs by D’Anne was also there with her cakes.

I love a wedding with tons of details.  They are cool to look at, they are a way of really stamping your personality onto your day, and they are fun to shoot.  And let’s face it, your wedding day is really all about me and making it more fun for me to be there. :)

Here are SOME of the many many little things Heather & Rusty did to make their wedding their own.

Designs by D’Anne did an incredible job on these cakes.  Not that I ate a few slices or anything ;)

Instead of a pillow, Heather had her ring bearer walk down holding this little tin.