Chicago Wedding Times – May, 2022

Test Your Pop Music Quotient

Here’s this month’s quiz:

Who is the only singer to be featured in three James Bond movies?

  • Sheena Easton
  • Rita Coolidge
  • Shirley Bassey
  • Lulu

Bon Jovi had a #1 hit with this song in 1987:

  • Pour Some Sugar on Me
  • Thunderstruck
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady
  • Livin’ on a Prayer

Emma Bunton was part of which popular girl group?

  • Spice Girls
  • Destiny’s Child
  • Bangles
  • En Vogue

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher are part of which band?

  • Soundgarden
  • Oasis
  • Pearl Jam
  • Creed

Which singer starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in “9 to 5?”

  • Madonna
  • Olivia Newton-John
  • Dolly Parton
  • Sarah Brightman

Bono is the lead singer of which band?

  • AC/DC
  • The Who
  • Beck
  • U2

The country artist who wrote the pop hit “Joy to the World (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog)” also wrote one of these songs. Which one?

  • Della and the Dealer
  • I Will Always Love You
  • Whiskey River
  • Ring of Fire

What was Vanilla Ice’s biggest hit?

  • Ice, Ice Baby
  • Ice to the Max
  • Ice Time
  • Play That Funky Music

Which artist had hit records in six different decades?

  • Cher
  • Michael Jackson
  • Elvis Presley
  • Beatles

Which singer or band is NOT among the top three best-selling artists of all time?

  • Beatles
  • Michael Jackson
  • Elvis Presley
  • Madonna

We’ll have the answers at the end of this newsletter.

A Great Wedding Is More Than Just a Meal

This may be the best advice you’ll ever get, if you’re looking for a truly epic wedding reception. Think with your feet, not with your stomach! Here’s why.

Think of the last wedding reception you attended. Quick! What did you eat for dinner? If your meal isn’t burned into your memory forever, the bride and groom wasted a lot of money on their food. And so will you, if you’re not careful.

As professional DJs for more than 50 years, we’ve encountered lots — no, make that LOTS — of couples who spent practically their entire budget on the wedding dinner — from $15,000 and up — and then had to cut back drastically on everything else, just to keep from going broke.

By the time they get to hiring a DJ, they’re suddenly “on a tight budget,” and looking only for a DJ whose prices are as close to zero as possible. Some of those couples have been kind enough to share their experiences with us. Every couple — EVERY couple — regretted short-changing their entertainment. 

Their bargain basement DJ performed like a bargain basement DJ; within 30 minutes after dinner, the dance floor was empty, and remained empty for the rest of the night. The guests went home early, writing off the reception as just another boring dinner. But that doesn’t have to happen to you.

You don’t need to order top-of-the-line entrees or top-shelf liquor for your guests. It’s wise to resist your venue or caterer’s sales pitch to buy the best of everything, leaving you with no budget for anything else. Skip the wedding favors, too, unless they’re some kind of inexpensive snack.

A simple chicken dinner, or even a buffet, will be just as popular; and you’ll have enough money left for a DJ who actually knows how to ignite your dance floor. Your guests will really remember the great time they had — or put differently, the great party the two of you threw!

Real Chicago Wedding – May 14, 2022

Margaret and Gabe Salinas were married on a perfect spring day at Naperville’s CityGate Grille. After a beautiful outdoor ceremony, the party moved to CityGate’s spacious patio for cocktails, then indoors for dinner and dancing. The evening’s soundscape was provided by Fourth Estate Audio.

Great Wedding Advice from Our Newlyweds

Chances are, this is your first wedding; and you don’t have any experience putting on a party of this magnitude. Instead of basing your important planning decisions on slick sales pitches, why not listen to couples who have just gone through it, and learned what worked and what didn’t?

Smart Money

  • A great gown will make you feel like a queen. 
  • A limo from the church or temple to your reception will give you some valuable quiet time together before the madness of your reception begins.
  • A professional DJ will guide your reception seamlessly, with a great soundtrack, a busy dance floor, and no awkward pauses.
  • A venue that knows how to plan successful weddings, from catering to decorations, will take the pressure off you to think of everything yourself. 

 Dumb Money

  • We’re not saying you should avoid spending money on these things. Just understand that they are luxuries, and they don’t make much of a lasting impact on your guests. Spend wisely, and don’t go overboard.
  • Flowers die, the day after the wedding, and most people will forget your color scheme within a week. 
  • Invitations can be elaborate or simple, but very few people are going to save and frame your invitation.
  • Favors are typically left on the dinner table, or taken home and tossed into a forgotten drawer.

What We Did Right

  • “We let friends and relatives help us with our planning.”
  • “We created a separate email account for our wedding, so all the junk mail wouldn’t clutter up our personal accounts.”
  • “We mingled during the cocktail hour, so we didn’t miss anyone when the dancing started.” 
  • “We did our homework and hired a great photographer.”
  • “We ate a big lunch, so we didn’t go hungry when everyone wanted to talk to us during dinner hour.” 
  • “We planned specific times to get away from our guests for awhile and just be together.”

What We Did Wrong

  • “We didn’t have an open bar. BIG mistake!” 
  • “We waited too long to ask the venue to crank up the A/C; and it was too hot to dance.” 
  • “I drank too much.” 
  • “I spent the whole evening second-guessing my vendors, and micro-managing the reception until I was exhausted.” 
  • “I had no Plan B for rain, so our outdoor ceremony was a disaster.”

Great news! You’ve just learned from other people’s mistakes, and it didn’t cost you a dime. Happy planning!

Okay, here are the answers to our music quiz:

  1. Shirley Bassey sang the themes in three James Bond movies. 
  2. Bon Jovi rocked the world with “Livin on a Prayer.”
  3. Emma Bunton was “Baby Spice” in the Spice Girls.
  4. The Gallagher brothers are the core of Oasis.
  5. Dolly Parton appeared in “9 to 5.” She also wrote and recorded the theme song.
  6. Bono is the front man for U2.
  7. Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy to the World,” and his own country hit “Della and the Dealer.”
  8. Vanilla Ice’s biggest hit was “Ice Ice Baby.”
  9. Cher had hit records in six decades, starting with the 60’s.
  10. Madonna is not one of the three top-selling artists; but she’s number four. 

To learn more about professional Chicago DJ entertainment and lighting by Fourth Estate Audio

Jay Congdon
President