Last year in this blog back on June 30th 2009 I posted a photo of a groomsman who entertained everyone with his spot on vocals. At last Fridays reception the same guy was there again. Only this time he wasn't a groomsman but rather he was a guest. Without missing a beat he took over again at the end of the night. He's a one man party and the people eat him up. I love this guy.

One of these photos was from last years reception and the other was from last Friday night.

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

I love it when a bride has the option to really let the bouquet fly. Here's a reception I DJed at the beautiful Renaissance Mansion in downtown Omaha. The bride (Junith) was able to throw her bouquet from the outdoor balcony. Without the limitation of a ceiling Junith really let the bouquet fly. It's kind of hard to see but you can see the bouquet about 10 feet above the bride. It's that little white spec to the upper right of the window.

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

Just DJed another wedding reception Friday night in downtown Omaha. This is actually a place that my company DJs at a lot. Fits up to about 100 guests and there are three floors available for the events. Most weddings will utilize all three floors for guests seating. The main floor is where you'll find the bar, buffet, and cake. The lower level is where the DJ sets up.
Can you name the venue?

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

I will admit that this weeks edition of name that venue is pretty challenging. The was from a wedding reception that I DJed last Saturday. It is one of those locations that I've been to a million times and I always seem to have great gigs there. The room was divided in half. One half was set up for the wedding ceremony and the other half was set up for the reception.

Here are 2 hints:

1) Venue is in downtown Omaha
2) It's in a hotel

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

A few years ago someone in the wedding biz told me that the video slide shows shown at wedding would run its course within a year. Well here we are five years later and they are still as popular as ever. This is a picture from the wedding I djed last Saturday.
FYI - To have the most impact with your slide show follow these 3 pieces of advice:

1) Always test it with the projector in advance to ensure everything works.
2) Mix in some fun music with the slide show (it makes it more fun to watch)
3) Keep it to under 12 minutes in length. Any long and people start losing interest.

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

As an Omaha Nebraska wedding DJ I see all kinds of cool centerpieces at the receptions. For years I have seen centerpieces similar to this one. I will admit that they are very eye catching. My question... How is it that these top heavy centerpieces never fall over. You'd think that will all the commotion that can happen once the party at the reception starts that these things would start toppling over but they never do. Amazing!

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

Just DJed Saturday night here in Omaha and had a blast. Towards the beginning of the evening I snapped this photo of the dance floor. Can you name the Venue? Hint: There is a beautiful outdoor area included in the rental. This weeks winner will receive a set of used pipe cleaners. Good luck!

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

Last Saturday I had the honor of being the DJ for both and outdoor wedding ceremony and the indoor reception in Omaha Nebraska. After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife the bride (Paula) wanted me to play "Forever" by Chris Brown. I thought it was a cool idea for an exit song and I was shocked when it turned into an all out dance. The bride and groom and their wedding party danced up and down the isle for the entire song. It was a riot! Congrats Paula and Rich.

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

Last Saturday I DJed a fun reception in Kansas City. I really liked the facility and the staff was awesome. I love it when wedding vendors work together and everything comes together. The facility was beautifully decorated and was absolutely the perfect setting for a wedding reception. Props to the bride and groom and the Emiline Ballroom.

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

Nothing like a family brewed beverage to toast the Bride and Groom. This was a photo from my gig last Saturday. Everyone was treated to the family brewed "Polish Pop". As a DJ I love watching family traditions. This was a really fun night and I just want to wish my Bride and Groom Maxine and Jeff a wonderful life together.

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

How fun would it be to decorate cakes. With all the cake posts that I make here in my blog i've never commented on the actual process of doing the decorating. Some of the cakes I see are just fantastic and I can't imagine the time that went into them. My good friend from Omaha Pastry is Dorothy Thompson. She does some incredible stuff. Here's a grooms cake in the shape of a record player. I'm sure some of the younger guests at the reception had no idea what they were looking at.

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

Here's a cool Vikings grooms cake. Football grooms cakes seem to be very popular and I keep waiting for my team to show up on one of these cakes. Dallas Cowboy Grooms where are you? I am still waiting for a Cowboys grooms cake. One of these days I guess.

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

Something you never see anymore is the Stroll. The Stroll was a popular line dance in the 1950's and has faded a bit through the years. Every now and again my dance crowd will ask for it. For some of the younger folks they may not know what to do right away but they catch on quickly and will usually ask me to play it again. So the guys line up on one side and the girls on the other. They face each other and the man an woman on the end of the line meet in the middle and stroll down the isle. It's always a blast!

LONG LIVE THE STROLL

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

During last Saturday's event we jumped into the photo booth with the Bride and her friend for this photo. We actually set 2 records this weekend with the photo booth rental.
The first was the record for the most amount of people in the booth at one time. We had 13 adults cram in for the record.
The second record was for the amount of photos taken. Average number of photo strips is about 125 per event. At this event we hit 190. Wow!

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

Last Saturday nights wedding reception had a huge cake and it proved to be a very popular attraction. Believe it or not most of the cake was gone by the end of the night. What is it about cake that people find so exciting. At one point the line for cake at this reception was 30 people deep. People sure do like cake.

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

Okay... I use the word serenade loosly but I've got to give the groomsman props as they serenaded the bride (Patty) 8 days ago at the reception I DJed. They all hung in there for the entire song and Patty was gracious enough to take it all in. By the way... years ago the groomsmen singing to the bride was common place. I don't see it much anymore and that's a shame. It's always a very fun part of the night and is just another way to remind the Bride of how special she is.

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

One of the goals of a Wedding DJ is get the Bridesmaids dancing. We figure that if the Bridesmaids are having fun that part of our job has been successful. The reception I DJed on Friday night was fantastic. The bridesmaids were all over the dance floor for most of the night. It's always nice when a bride see's here friends having a good time. By the way... my Bride and Groom were Angie and Cole and they were great fun.

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

Well here we go... Another grooms cake in the style of a Nintendo gaming system. I love these groom cakes lately. It seems the trend is to be as creative as possible. Attention: Have fun with your grooms cake. Find out what the groom loves and model a cake after it. It's fun and the guest's love it. Plus it gives your cake decorator a chance to really be creative.

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

I love it when people ask me what my favorite color is. Since the day I can remember (and I am not sure why) my favorite color has always been YELLOW. Imagine my excitement when the candy table at last weeks wedding reception was yellow themed. WOW! Yes I get excited about yellow candy. Although I refrained from indulging in the candy I was surprised to find out that the Gumball looking things in the middle were actually Malted Milk Balls.

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

As you all know I love to check out the grooms cake at all of the receptions I DJ. Here is the groom cake from last Saturdays wedding reception. Very cool!

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

For mobile DJ's we are one of the first to see the wedding party arrive at the reception. The way they arrive is always fun to see. I've seen everything from formal stretch limos, the hum-v limo, the VIP Party Bus, Ollie the Trolley, horse & carriage, hotel transport buses, and converted school buses. Over the last month I have DJed 4 receptions now that have used the Jone-Z party bus. At last Saturdays reception I snapped a shot of the bus and also got a great photo of the Bride (Patty) and the Groom (Dustin) stepping out of the bus. What a blast!

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

Let me say that a wedding DJ's worst situation is when nobody is dancing. Reality is that any mobile DJ will tell you that an empty dance floor will happen from time to time. And then... there a receptions where every song we play is eaten up by the guests. They just can't seem to get enough and we as DJ's can do no wrong. This picture is from the reception I DJed on Saturday night. This was the last song I played and as you can see the dance floor was packed. I could not think of a better way to have the bride and groom wrap up their reception. They will always remember that their evening ended with a full dance floor. Ultimately... that's what you want.

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

Here's a place in Omaha that is great for any kind of social event. This was the set-up right before the last reception I DJed there. The bar is in the upper left hand corner. This venue offers full service bar and catering. I love the layout of this room and it has plenty of space for anything you want to do. Also has a big open dance floor. Can you name the venue? Today's winner receives a huge pat on the back from the first person you see. Good luck!

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

Okay... so this has been on youtube for a while now but it is worth taking another look. I just talked with an upcoming bride who said she did not want to spend the money for a wedding DJ. She said she had an IPOD with all of her favorite music that she was going to play over the venues house speaker system during the reception.
I will admit that currently the music I play at receptions comes off of an IPOD. They are convenient and reliable. With that said, they can never replace a professional announcer and reception motivator.
Even though this video is painful to watch it is a great reminder of how you should be careful when cutting corners. Just my 2 cents!

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

Today's name that venue is a bit of a challange. Two weeks ago I DJed a wedding at this location. Take a look and see if you can figure it out. Good luck and today's lucky winner will receive and beautiful pleather grooming sponge.

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

Welcome to another round of "Name that Venue". Today's venue is located in Omaha. I took this picture from the stage looking out over the dance floor. Over the years I have DJed at the place a bajillion times. Good luck and the right guess gets a free genuine, leather-like, imitation vinyl trim, lens cap carrying case. Good luck!

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

Some may say that I'm getting desperate for blog posts but I say Nay Nay! At last weeks reception I wondered what all the hub-bub was over by the cake table. It seemed they couldn't keep the punch bowl full fast enough. So I trot over and took this photo. Turns out the punch bowl for cool refreshing treat of orange sherbet and 7up. I actually tried some and it was very tasty. For a cool party idea try this one. And for the adult gatherings spiking it with something may an adventure. I'm just not sure what you'd spike it with.

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

You know it's been a while since I have actually used one of my CD players at any of the events I have DJed. Now it's all computers, ipods, and other types of mp3 players. I always bring my disc players with me just in case someone brings a CD for me to play. At a recent reception I was discussing this with the photographer and he came up with a great reason to keep my CD players. Open CD tray and you've got an instant cake shelf. Brilliant!

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

I took this shot during the dinner at a recent wedding reception I was DJing in Omaha, Nebraska. Can you guess the name of this venue based on this photo? It has been around for a long... long time and is one of my favorite places to DJ.

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

I honestly thought this trend of showing slide shows at weddings would have ran its course by now. Actually it's quite the contrary. More and more people are doing it and it has almost become a "traditional" staple for wedding receptions. These slide shows are easy to create and almost anyone can do them on their own. This photo was taken at the Scoular Ballroom during a reception I DJed.

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

I was driving down 156th and Harrison heading out to DJ a Wedding Reception last weekend when suddenly this beautiful rainbow appeared. I took this photo with my cell phone and it hardly does the moment justice. I really wished that I had a wide angle lens because this rainbow was perfect and went from one side to the other. It just goes to prove that sometime life really can be sunshine & rainbows.

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

The latest edition of our OmahaBrides.com web show is out and I want to thank Jeremy Johnson for sitting down with me for this interview. Jeremy is a great wedding photographer and give some great tips and insight to Brides looking to hire their wedding photographer.

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

This is from a reception I just DJed at the Millard Social Hall. These trees were covered in wish cards that guests could fill out and drop in the box. Some guests even put money in the wish card envelopes. This was the first time I had ever seen wish cards and I thought it was a creative idea. For the Bride and Groom those wish cards will be fun to look at in 10 years.

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

Recently I have been experimenting with up-lighting at some of the weddings I have DJed. Here is some simple up-lighting I used behind the cake table. I thought it really made a difference. We have not gone full blown yet but a lot of DJ companies have been finding extra ways to make money and offering up-lighting around the reception venue is one of them. And why not? This effect is easy to do and really can have a dramatic appearance when placed properly.


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

As silly as this sounds I am always very eager to see the Groom's cake every week at the receptions I DJ. Over the years I've seen some pretty creative stuff. Props to all the cake makers in Omaha who have managed to pull off some pretty impressive designs. Here's a cake from the Wedding I DJed on Saturday night. Can you guess what the grooms favorite snack is?

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

Just did a wedding Friday night where the Bride was a Husker fan and the Groom was a Hawkeye Fan. So why not have your cakes go to battle. So not only did they have their standard wedding cake but they also had a Hawkeye Grooms cake and a Huskers Bride cake. Now that's a lot of cake. Just for the record more people at the Husker cake than the Hawkeye cake. I don't really know what that means.

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

We just recently provided our Photo Booth services for an after Prom party. What a riot! I am very happy to say that out of all the different things available to the students during the party that the Photo Booth was the most popular attraction. During the 5 hour event we never had a break in the action and over 300 photo strips were printed. Happy prom season everyone.

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

The Bride & Groom dance is one of the most important parts of the reception. For the most part I always see a very typical slow dance between the bride and groom but every now and again I see a very tasteful dance they have choreographed. This always makes the dance a lot more enjoyable to watch and I always appreciate the effort the bride and groom have put in. In this photo from a recent reception the bride and groom had a beautifully coordinated waltz and it was a really unique and tasteful way for them to get things started on the dance floor.

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

Last Saturday's wedding was awesome. The groom was the head coach of a local youth baseball team and 7 of his players served as the ushers. This photo is of the grooms cake. It was a fun night and you could tell the kids really loved there coach. Congratulations to R.J. and Jami on their marriage and good luck.

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

After last weeks reception was over I took this photo before the clean up started. Considering that there were only four guys sitting at this table I'm certain none of them were feeling any pain when they left. I just hope they had rides home. I not clear why but there is something very "manly" about the beer can pyramid.

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

I took this photo at the last reception I was the DJ for. Before anyone arrived I snapped this shot of the head table. I thought it was really cool how the bride and groom had gift packages on all of the chairs of their wedding party members. The contents of the bags included such things at beer steins for the groomsmen and comfortable shoes for the bridesmaids. This was a great reception and was held at Legacy Hall in Omaha.

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

For those that read this blog you are aware that when I am out DJing weddings I am always looking for anything fun and interesting to blog about. At Friday nights wedding I noticed these Bride and Groom toasting glasses over by the cake. I found it very cute that the glasses were dressed in a Wedding Dress and Tux.

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

I wasn't sure what the groom was doing last Saturday when he approached the groom cake. I actually thought for a moment that he was going to bury his face in it but it turned out it was just for a quick pose. If you looked at any of my past blogs you will see I post grooms cake pictures from time to time. There are lots of wedding coming up this year so I hope to get lots more. When I see a grooms cake that is unique I will be sure to post it.

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

..and not for the reasons you'd think. Based on the title of this blog post you might assume the bride had a terrible experience but it was quite the opposite. During the "panel of brides" meeting that I facilitated Samantha (pictured above) came to tears when asked what her favorite part of the wedding planning had been.
She explained that in the process of looking for her dress the sales lady had treated her like her own daughter. She had taken the time to make sure Samantha got everything she wanted and was very excited for her. It just is another reminder that as a wedding vendor myself its easy to look at a bride as just another customer. To all those in business don't forget to show your customers some excitement, enthusiasm, compassion and genuine interest and in the end you will get more than a sale.

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

Every year the Midwest Bridal Association puts together its "panel of brides". This years panel was absolutely terrific. I had the honor of facilitating the questions and answers between the many wedding vendors who attended and the brides who were on the panel.
These meetings are critical for the local wedding vendors to learn about how a bride goes about planning and making her buying decisions. It was an enlightening conversation and I want to thank all the brides for there candor and participation.

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

Getting up in front of a huge crowd to give a toast at a wedding can be very nerve racking. One way to cool the nerves is to have a little fun when giving the toast. Last Saturday the Matron of Honor did a top 10 craziest moments with the bride. It was very funny yet classy at the same time. So my advice to those nervous about giving a toast is to relax yourself and the guests by having fun with it.

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