By Beth Anne Piehl
Do you really want to look back and tell your kids that your first dance as husband and wife was to "Wind beneath my wings?"
Booking reception entertainment that fits your personality as a couple will help set the tone, from this day forward, as they say. Finding a DJ, performer or ensemble who can offer suggestions or provide classic musical selections will make the day memorable for the right reasons.
"We have a library of more than 20,000 songs," said Stacy Heath, who with her husband, Tom, owns A+ Digital DJs in Boyne City. "We want every wedding to be different, because every wedding is different.
There's so much great music out there. We love it when people say, ‘Oh I haven't heard that song in a while."
For a bride and groom who may not have chosen a wedding song, Stacy might suggest something like "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy. She said one of the most memorable moments at a recent wedding came when the father pre-recorded the song "I Loved Her First," by Heartland. For the father-daughter dance, the Heaths played his version.
"It was very nice," Stacy said.
Their voluminous music stock includes everything from the 1920s through today, spanning all genres - rock, pop, country, etc.
Stacy said she and her husband specialize in bringing a classy touch to wedding receptions. "We are the preferred vendors at the Inn at Bay Harbor and Castle Farms," she said.
And while one or two of their couples might ask for the "Chicken Dance," odds are they won't, she added. "Couples are spending $20,000 to $75,000 to $100,000 on their weddings. They don't want some cheesy DJ."
Helping to make each couple's evening an elegant affair is part of the Heaths' talent. "We want their event to run flawlessly and I'm very adamant about that," she said.
Avoiding the spotlight themselves is also the way they do business. They will formally introduce the couple and emcee the event but the Heaths aren't into drawing attention to themselves. "We don't want to be the center of attention," Stacy said. "We want the bride and groom to be the center of attention."
A+ Digital DJs, Boyne City, 582-0628
www.aplusdigitaldjs.com,
info@aplusdigitaldjs.com
(according to about.com poll)
Beyonce featuring Jay-Z, Crazy in Love (2003)
Boyz II Men, I'll Make Love to You (1994)
Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack, Tonight I Celebrate My Love (1983)
Roberta Flack, The First Time Ever I saw Your Face (1972)
Debbie Gibson, Lost in Your Eyes (1989)
Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (2003)
Dave Matthews Band, Crash Into Me (1996)
Paul McCartney, My Love (1973)
Savage Garden, Truly Madly Deeply (1997)
Barry White, You're the First, the Last, My Everything (1975)
