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The Deal Is Too Good To Be True

How many times did your father tell you when you were a child – “if it sounds too good, it’s probably not true”.    This rings true when shopping for entertainment at your wedding or next corporate event.  Many less-than-reputable companies in the area will try and offer you a deal that just is too good.  Buyer beware.

If they tell you that they are going to photograph your wedding FREE.   Take a hard look at the equipment that they will be using for photography.  Is it a point and shoot camera?  Is a professional camera (with back-up) and external professional flash?   Look at recent events that they have photographed.  There are photos and then there are GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS.    There is a DJ down in CT that boasts that they take 100’s of candid photographs at your reception and post them on-line for you and your guests FREE.  The problem is that  99% of the photos are useless  – they are poorly lit, out of focus, and framed incorrectly.  The real question is  – who is paying attention to DJing while they are taking 100’s of photos?

We will take about a dozen photographs (most prior to guest arrival) for use on our blog, but we never would walk away from our DJ console in the middle of your dance with your father so that we can climb a set of stairs to get a better shot of you on the dance floor.  What if something goes wrong?  Your DJ is not even anywhere near his equipment.  This is just plain irresponsible.

The same goes for offering FREE VIDEOGRAPHY.  Again, who is pacing the event and acting as your Master of Ceremony if they are too busy with the video camera in their face?  Something just isn’t right here.   One of my DJs went to Ireland the other year for a good friend’s wedding as a guest.  His friend hired this guy as their DJ – he also was their photographer and videographer.  That guy ran back and forth taking pictures, lining up the video camera and mixing songs.  He did not do anyone of those jobs well and it clearly showed.  What a disaster.

There are other DJs that bring in plasma screen TVs (sometimes as many as 4!) and place them on this huge contraption with their business logo displayed – can you say UGLY!   I’ve never seen this on shows like “Platinum Weddings” or “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera”.  It’s just tacky.   On these shows, their lighting budget can sometimes EXCEED $10,000.   Lighting is a time consuming and expensive endeavor.  (We just expanded our lighting services and had to purchase $2,000 just in cabling – that doesn’t even count the ACTUAL lighting cost).  So, if your DJ is offering it for FREE – it must not be worth much and must pale in comparison to what lighting should look like.

Most of the time when we are providing music and microphones for your outdoor wedding ceremony and DJ for your reception, we will bring an assistant just to help us through the logistics of having multiple setups.  (we would never tear down your ceremony system and rush inside to setup the same gear for your reception – we want everything to flow smoothly)    When we provide both DJ and event lighting –again, there is someone there who is responsible for lighting so that your DJ can concentrate on his job as your Master of Ceremony.

With bridal show season almost upon us – beware of DJ’s offering too many services without charging for them – if it’s free, it’s probably not worth much.     Remember your father’s words – take a serious look at what you are getting before you sign anything.  Ask to see actual photographs of equipment, recent events or events at your venue.  If their website looks like they have not updated it in 10 years – just walk away.   Happy wedding planning!

www.robalberti.com or request further information and we can check our availability and put together a formal quote for you. CONTACT US NOW FOR FREE INFORMATION .