Enjoy These Quick Wedding Facts

Bring comfortable dancing shoes to the reception!

How Much Does a Wedding DJ Cost?

Wedding entertainment averages less than 5% of the cost of the entire wedding, yet no other vendor will have a bigger impact on your reception than your wedding entertainment. Pick a wedding DJ or band that you can depend on and is entertaining!

So, how much is your wedding DJ going to cost? This depends on how comfortable you are with your DJ’s experience, equipment, personality, lighting, and attention to detail. You should try unique things because your wedding is far from ordinary. This does not mean you need to break the bank with wedding DJ prices, but see what options are really worth the cost. The typical wedding DJ cost will vary between $900-$2000. In the short term, the price you pay for your wedding DJ will definitely be a factor in your budget.

80% of the success of your wedding is based on the entertainment. If you want to have a great time, you should hire a DJ or band that knows how to run a good party! My recommendation is to stay far, far away from the cheapest, and when you look for and interview potential DJs, look for someone whom you can trust and whose company you can enjoy at your wedding reception.

On average, bridesmaids will spend an average of $1,385 at your wedding, according to Main Street.

• Nearly 6,200 couples wed every day in the United States.
• Average age of the bride is 27
• Average age of the groom in 29
• Average engagement time is 17 months
• The average wedding budget is $28,000
• Wedding rings for the bride and groom average approximately $6,200
• The bride’s family has traditionally been responsible for covering the wedding costs. Today, however, this is becoming less and less common. Sorry newlyweds!
• The wedding gift registry industry is a $19 billion per year business!
• Honeymoons are $8 billion per year! That means that the average honeymoon budget is $3,680
• 91% of couples register for wedding gifts
• Couples receive gifts from 200 guests on average
• Guests spend more on the newlyweds than the newlyweds spends on their guests ($70 – $100)!

Bridesmaids – The bridesmaids pay for their own gowns, share the responsibility for the shower, contribute to bride’s gift from all bridesmaids, and attend the rehearsal and dinner.

Best Man – He walks down the aisle with the maid/matron of honor and stands next to the groom during the ceremony. He holds the bride’s ring until the officiant asks for it and he signs the marriage certificate as a legal witness. At the reception, he proposes the first toast to the bride and groom.

Groomsmen – These friends or relatives of the groom walk with the bridesmaids down the aisle. They pay for their own attire rental.

Maid/Matron of Honor – Before the wedding, she helps with addressing the invitations and plans the bridal shower. On the big day, the maid or matron of honor helps the bride get ready, adjusts her train and veil during the ceremony, holds the groom’s ring and the bride’s bouquet, and signs the marriage certificate as a witness.

Ring Bearer – He carries the ring pillow down the aisle. He can walk with the flower girl or after her.

Ushers – These gentlemen lead all the guests to their seats and unroll the aisle runner before the processional. You should have one usher for every 50 guests.

Bouquet – For ancient Greeks and Romans, the bouquet was a pungent mix of garlic and herbs or grains. The garlic was supposed to ward off evil spirits and the herbs or grains were to insure a fruitful union. In ancient Poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride’s bouquet kept her temper sweet.

Wedding Cake – Romans broke a cake over the bride’s head for fertility. Other cultures dropped wheat, flour, or cake on the bride’s head and then ate the crumbs for good luck. The British baked dry crackers, and every guest took one home after the wedding. In medieval times, the bride and groom would try to kiss over the piled up cakes that the guests brought. Eventually, all the cakes were brought together and covered with frosting, hence the tiered wedding cake.

Wedding Dress – Traditionally, brides did not wear white wedding gowns. Through the 18th century, most brides just wore their best dresses to their wedding. Red was a favorite during the European Middle Ages. A blue dress meant constancy while a green dress symbolized youth. Queen Victoria started the Western world’s white wedding dress trend in 1840.

First Kiss – Many cultures believed that the newlywed couple exchanged spirits with their breath and part of their souls were exchanged during the first kiss.

Honeymoon – A long time ago, a groom would take his bride far away so her family couldn’t find them. They would stay for one lunar phase and drank a honey wine, believed to be an aphrodisiac. This is the origin of “honeymoon.” These days, the bride goes willingly!

Tying the Knot – This expression comes from an Irish and Celtic tradition where the bride and groom’s hands were bound together at their betrothal (or marriage).

Wedding Rings – The wedding ring has traditionally been worn on the third finger of the left hand because it was believed that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart. The third finger of the left hand has become the customary wedding-ring finger for all English-speaking cultures.

Throwing Rice – Rice is a symbol of prosperity by Hindus and Chinese and has been for a long time. Tossing rice then was a way to give the bride and groom fertility. Rice tossing is being replaced today because it is very harmful to birds, and birdseed tossing, bubble blowing, or sparklers are now more common.

Veil – Mystique and romance has surrounded the veil for more than one thousand years. Originally, the veil is thought to have been used to hide the bride from abductors, just as the similar dress of her bridesmaids was meant to do. But a more romantic interpretation evolved later which believed that concealment (as the bride’s face beneath a veil) rendered what was hidden more valuable. Another early interpretation of the veil was that it symbolized youth and virginity.

Wedding DJ – It is a good idea to make sure the wedding DJ who you hire is professional and he or she has similar music styles as you. Once you have selected your DJ, he should sit down with you and go over your whole wedding reception’s events. (i.e. first dance, bouquet toss, garter throw, best man toast, etc.) Your wedding DJ is much more than background and dance music. He is the one person with the power (the microphone). He is the one who motivates and moves your guests and keeps your wedding ceremony and/or wedding reception moving smoothly.

Budget Tip – Saturday night is the most common and most expensive time to hold your wedding reception and the hardest night to find everything you want available. To save money and frustration, consider a Friday or Sunday or Saturday afternoon or a week night. Morning and afternoon weddings also call for lighter fare, so you’ll be able to save on the menu as well.

Tips – Most gratuities will be included in the fees, but it is customary to tip some of the following professionals who helped to make your day special. The following is a list for proper tipping protocol:

* Clergy Member – usually a $10 and up donation
* Wedding DJ, Photographer – 15%
* Caterers – 15%
* Maitre D‘ – 15%

Wedding Ceremony – A wedding ceremony can be held anywhere from your local church to a park, lake, or back yard. The number of guests that you invite will affect the cost of your wedding reception. The type of ceremony, from religious to contemporary to traditional, will also have an impact on the cost. To save money, consider having an officiant preform your ceremony at your wedding reception site so you can avoid paying an additional location fee.

Rehearsal Dinner – The groom’s parents traditionally host the rehearsal dinner, but depending on your situation, you may want to host or be involved in the planning of your wedding rehearsal dinner. To save money here, there is no reason why you couldn’t host a lunch or rehearsal party in one of your parents’ homes, and save on restaurant cost. In fact, a home is quite often intimate and pleasant for a small to medium size group.

Wedding Flowers – You will purchase more flowers for your wedding than most any other occasion in your life. In addition to the bridal bouquet, you will need the following:

• Bouquets for bridal attendants
• Boutonniere for groom
• Boutonniere for ushers and fathers
• Corsages for mothers
• Flowers to decorate the church
• Centerpieces for reception
• Bouquet and flower petals for flower girl
• Additional floral decorations for buffet tables & cake

Money Saving Tips

• Choose flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding
• Use loosely cut flowers in vases rather than sculpted centerpieces
• Order more wedding invitations than you think you will need in case there are last minute invites or you forget someone. The few extra dollars could save you a lot of money and a lot of your precious time.
• Put your place cards in alphabetical order and not by table number so your guests can find them easier.
• Seat children close to the dance floor so they can get up and dance.
• Seat the older guests at tables away from the speakers.
• If there will be lots of children at your wedding, don’t be afraid to have a kids only dance towards the end of dinner.
• Don’t forget to arrange for help after the reception. You will have lots of gifts to load and plenty of other last-minute things to do.