5 Tips to Plan a Successful Outdoor Wedding

1. Keep the bugs off

What comes with warm weather? Mosquitoes and other annoying bugs of course… How do you keep your new dress or fitted suit from smelling like bug spray? How about Mosquito bands found on Amazon, Walmart, and other department stores. At your event, put them next to the place card table or on the guest tables as a courtesy. Other ways to avoid bugs is to create a barrier of citronella candles around the perimeter of your reception. Your guests will be glad you did!

2. Don't be the noisy neighbor

We all want a wild party but that will never happen if you get shut down by your city/town or village. Prevent this from happening by either inviting your neighbors (or at least letting them know about the event), starting the day early and ending music at 10pm, or more preferred, get a noise permit to go longer through your city hall.

3. Rain, rain, go away…

Are you ready for rain? If not, it is a good idea to come up with a plan. This can include but not limited to a large tent on reserve at your local rental shop (make sure you order sides for the tent for blowing rain), or a indoor location works well too. It also makes for some great wedding party photos if you get umbrellas like the pic!

4. Brrrrr it’s cold out here!

Cold fronts are something you should also be prepared for when considering any outdoor event. In Chicago, we have had 85 degrees and sunny one day, and 55 degrees and rainy the next. It is important to be prepared and a tent with sides and indoor heaters is a great way to accomplish that. The sides on your tent will really come in handy when it gets cooler out.

5. No power, no party

What do we mean by this? You want to make sure your DJ has sufficient power. It may also help if you are having a backyard wedding to show your DJ where there breaker box is at your home so he can take action if action is needed. We have done events where we shared an outdoor outlet with a popcorn maker and had fuses blow over and over again. This is a rude awakening to a packed dance floor. What we recommend is either using a generator or running power on it’s own circuit inside the house or venue. This will cause less stress and more fun when you are with your guests on the dance floor!

Questions You Should Ask Your DJ, Before You Book

What are questions to ask your wedding dj?

With most of our couples having their first wedding, there are a lot of unknowns on what to ask entertainment. Here are some things that we’d like to share with you to make sure that you are getting the best quality DJ you could want for your big day. Below are a list of questions that you should consider asking your DJ before you sign any papers. It is best to ask the questions in person to be able to read facial expressions, confidence level, and overall speaking skills. All of which are important in finding the right DJ along with the answer to the question being asked. Additional to the questions is the Amp Event Professionals answer below in Italic font. Don’t forget to read reviews (from a 3rd party site) of the companies you maybe looking at! We hope these simple questions help you in finding the right DJ for your wedding, don’t forget to contact us! Keep in mind there are many other questions to ask, these are just a few to get you started.

1. How much time will be needed for you to setup your equipment prior to our cocktail hour/reception/ceremony start time on our wedding date?

Our Answer: We need a minimum of 1.5 hours but 2 hours is suggested for DJ services. If ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception are in different locations, more time maybe needed. We at Amp Event Professionals contact the banquet hall prior to the wedding to go over what works for them and the package you booked with the hall.

2. Will the DJ we meet with in our meeting be our DJ for the reception on our wedding date?

Our Answer: Absolutely, at Amp we would hate to waste your time and cause you stress on your big day so you meet the DJ you will have at your wedding. As a backup however, we do have other DJs with the same 5 star experience as the one you meet with just in case something were to happen. Our goal is to ultimately make your day worry and as stress free as possible.

3. Do you take requests? Can we submit a playlist prior to the wedding of songs we would like played?

Our Answer: Of course we take requests! Not only do we play the music you want to hear from your Online Client Login but we also take the requests from your guests at the wedding! In your Online Client Login (Included with all of our packages) we provide you with over 50,000 songs to choose from as well as a Must Playlist, Play If Possible List, and Do Not Playlist. If your guests requests something on your Do Not Playlist we won’t play it and we will refrain from giving them the thought that we will not play the song. The last thing we want to do is have them come up to you and bug you about a song you don’t want played on your special day!

4. Do you take breaks? Will you need a dinner?

Our Answer: No. Breaks are not taken unless specified by the client. Amp provides continuous music unless an announcement is being made on the microphone. A hot dinner is greatly appreciated as we spend hours setting up and prepping before your reception as well as tearing down after.

5. How will you be dressed at our wedding?

Our Answer: We focus on professionalism in every event environment. Your DJ will never come in jeans, shorts, t-shirt or gym shoes, not even to setup for the reception. We wear dress slacks, dress shoes, and polo for setup; and suit to match your wedding colors with a tie and/or dress shirt.

6. Is there a service agreement or contact included to lock in our date? How is payment made?

Our Answer: Absolutely! After sitting down with your DJ and going over the packages we will give you a few days to go over details with your fiance. After making your decision we will send you a service agreement via email in white you will need to sign and send back to us via email or mail. Along with the agreement you will need to mail a check or give us your credit card/Paypal information in which we will charge the deposit amount. For Credit Card and Paypal a service fee may apply. The balance is due the day of your event but can be made in payments if necessary. Deposits are non-refundable.

7. Are you insured?

Our Answer: We are 100% insured giving you the safety you would want from a professional company. We are covered by 1,000,000 in liability insurance. We strive to provide the finest entertainment and at the same time ensure the safety of you and your guests.

8. Where do your packages start with pricing? Can we combine services?

Our Answer: Our packages start at $1500 and may include other services. Our packages are setup to save you money on multiple services booked such as DJ, Photo Booth, Event Lighting, Day of Wedding Planner Services and much more! Save hundreds today by contacting us today!

Erin and Nathan’s Royal Barrington Wedding

The Setup

Erin and Nathan along side the Amp team decided that the best package for their needs was the Select Package with ceremony, since their ceremony and reception was at Makray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington IL. The couple also wanted to dress up the room with uplighting and add extra fun with the GoSnap Walking Photo Kiosk.

Erin and Nathan shared the same wedding date as the much talked about “Royal Wedding” on May 19th, 2018. This lovely couple had their very personalized ceremony officiated by Rev. Phil Landers of “I Do Weddings”, who was a pleasure for AMP to work with. Rev. Phil provided the DJ with a detailed ceremony timeline for us to follow along so we wouldn’t miss a single detail.

After the ceremony was over, the guests made their way up to a room filled with blush pink uplighting creating a romantic feel the couple was looking for. Before the couple made their way to the reception room to join their guests, they took a group photo with the guests on the balcony overlooking the beautiful golf course at Makray. The photos were taken by our favorite photographers Conrad and Liz of Something Blue Photography Design

Introductions were engaging to bring the focus back onto the couple as they made their grand entrance into the ballroom to enjoy dinner, after toasts were made by Erin’s father Pat, Michael, the best man, and Kelly, the maid of honor.

After dinner, the guests got to enjoy watching Erin and Nathan do “The Newlywed Game”, where Ken the DJ, asks the couple questions to see how well they know each other before starting their first dances.

Dancing is always guaranteed with Amp and this wedding was no exception. The guests danced from the first song until the last song of the night, which was a surprise given by Ken Murphy. This finale song is Ken’s signature trademark that always has the couple and guests talking after the reception had concluded.

Post reception, Ken donated Erin and Nathan’s leftover flowers to Cedar Lake Assisted Living located in Lake Zurich. The seniors were very thankful for the gift from this amazing couple!

Click the video below to see Erin and Nathan’s review

Photos brought to you by Something Blue Photography and the GoSnap Photo Booth by Amp Event Professionals.

Vendors who helped make this day a success

Makray Memorial Golf Club

www.makraygolf.com/weddings

Something Blue Photography

www.somethingblue-design.com

Rev. Phil Landers “I Do Weddings”

www.idoweddings.net

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