I love wedding toasts. Whether given by the best man, maid of honor, parents or whoever the toasts are always fun to listen to. You can always tell when someone has put a lot of time and prep into their toast and you can also tell when they are very off the cuff and impromtu. Either way toasts come in all varieties.
As a Wedding DJ in Omaha, Nebraska I get Best Men all the time who will ask me what they should say right before they make their toast. My advice is to come up with a brief and tasteful story you can tell that gives an example of your bond. Then just speak from the heart and always compliment the Bride.

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

Attention Omaha Friends: Can you name this venue?

For time saving and convenience many Brides and Grooms will choose to have their Wedding Ceremony at the same venue the reception will be taking place. This can be a very practical idea and many venues can accommodate brides and grooms who want to use their venues as their ceremony sites as well.
This is a photo of one of those venues. This is the backroom of the venue that can easily be made into a ceremony site. It is separate from the main room and this venue also has and outdoor deck for ceremonies as well.

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

Last Friday was the big grand opening meeting for the new HyVee store in Council Bluffs. The store officially opens to the public this week and let me tell you that the store is beautiful. Bandstand Music ran the sound for the folks that spoke at the meeting including the CEO. HyVee has been great to Bandstand Music and I just wanted to thank them for their support. Good luck to all of those in the new store. HyVee is a great company to work for and I'm sure everyone is going to be tremendously successful.

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

Last Fridays wedding reception that I DJed in Omaha was a blast. Instead of me playing typical background music they had a jazz trio for 2 hours during cocktails and dinner. From "fly me to the moon" to "cheek to cheek" they covered all the classics and were a pleasure to listen to. They are known as the Kevin Pike Trio. If you are looking to add a nice touch to your next event I couldn't recommend these guys enough. You can contact Kevin at:

Phone: 402-618-2662
Website: http://www.kpikemusic.com/jazz.html
email: kevin@kpikemusic.com

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

Did you know that a Mobile Wedding DJ's worst nightmare is an empty dance floor. Honestly... as a DJ, I can't think of anything worse when the dancing at a wedding begins. Recently on my Facebook page I asked my Facebook friends what song they would play to get a wedding reception dance kicked off. The responses were all over the map. For years I struggled with this. The bottom line is that if you want people to start dancing right away don't play a fast song. You've got to get em' out there with something easy and slow.
I always dedicate the first dance song of the night to the bride and groom and all the couples who have come to celebrate their special day. For years I've been doing this and it never fails to fill the dance floor. This picture is from the reception I DJed tonight and it was the first song of the evening. The song I always play is "Can't help falling in love" by Elvis. What's great about this photo is that you can see the bride and groom right in the center. They will always remember that their reception started with a full dance floor. Awesome!

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

I remember the first wedding reception I djed back in 1987. I was working for another company at the time and I remember proudly hanging my disco ball before the gig while at the same time grinning about how cheesy the disco ball effect was. Well twenty three years later I (along with thousands of other DJ's) still proudly hang my disco ball for every gig. This is a photo from the wedding a DJed last night. I've got a full dance floor and I'm pretty sure the reason for that is because of my shiny disco ball. I still get a kick out of how fascinated the kids are with the disco ball. It's not uncommon to see a young child just standing there staring at it.

Interesting fact: In 1991 I was driving in my truck on interstate 80 coming back from a gig at Iowa Western. After hitting a bump I looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see my disco ball go flying out of the back of my truck and proceed to follow me down the interstate. Shards of glass were flying everywhere and the disco ball eventually rolled into the ditch. I never slowed down but did say a quick prayer for my disco ball. It is probably still laying in that ditch. If you find it you can keep it. It's somewhere over by Mall of the Bluffs.

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com

One of the things I love about DJing wedding receptions at the Millard Plaza Ballroom is that everything has its place. In other words the layout of the room works great for wedding receptions. Here is a photo I took last Saturday night at the Millard Plaza Ballroom of the cake. I love how the cake is set up under the canopy with lights surrounding it. The set up just makes the whole cake cutting experience come alive. A big "well done" goes to Dee over at the Millard Plaza Ballroom.

Steve Bergeron
www.bandstandmusic.com
www.bandstandmusic.blogspot.com
www.weddingreceptionsecretsrevealed.com