Living in a Box

Ok - this one won't be the most exciting of posts, but not every part of the events industry is exciting!  Well, I guess that depends on your point of view!  Personally, I love the pop up events - arriving on site with a van full and a venue empty!  The arrival, load in and setting up are just as important as the performance - albeit unseen by most of your guests!  The load out is important too, not only because we want to go home to bed, but often because the venue may have constraints on exit times, vehicle movements etc.

So, how does Silverball Leisure go about it?

We have designed and refined everything about our equipment to ensure smooth and quick load ins, eliminating hassle, stress and disturbance to you, your guests, the venue and any guests of the venue (particularly relevant if your wedding or party is in a hotel).  When possible we prefer to arrive early in the day, ensuring we are in and set up before any guests arrive - there's nothing worse than rushing in just before the evening reception, causing noise and chaos!  We don't charge a single penny extra for this!

(Almost) everything is in a road trunk - a big box on wheels) which means fewer trips and fewer boxes and bags strewn everywhere.  At one recent wedding in a beautiful hotel, the walk from car park to reception room was quite a distance - we did it in just two trips, and the load out through the hotel afterwards was very efficient an quick.

Two trips - no fuss!

Tucked neatly away

Professional, elegant, efficient

What about the vehicles?

Rather than cramming everything in to the back of a family car, Silverball Leisure owns a large van (with full business use insurance) which allows for us to easily move all the equipment, plus anything extra we might add "just in case", and the road trunks mean we can unload quickly via our purpose manufactured ramp!  The van is not sign-written both for security, but also elegance at your venue.  Nobody wants a moving billboard outside their wedding!

Recently the country was hit by snow - twice!  Its not great to be driving  large van in such conditions (trust me!) so we also have a 4x4 and equipment designed to fit into the back.  The 4x4 ("Travis the Truck") and the adapted equipment are also ideal for any hard to access venues in any weather!

Wolfgang the Wagon (Our Main Van)

Travis the Truck - go anywhere 4x4

I did warn you this wouldn't be the most exciting of posts, but it is an important (and overlooked) part of ensuring your wedding or special celebration goes without a hitch!

Gray Wedding - Cutting the Cake and First Dance

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

I saw a post on social media recently from someone looking for a DJ at short notice for a wedding, as they had been let down.  Many people replied because, lets face it *everyone* knows a DJ – one respondent even boasted of having a database of 56 DJs in that area

So I got to thinking – how on earth do you sort the wheat from the chaff?  And are any, let alone all, of those 56 DJs actually good enough for a wedding?

What sets apart a good wedding DJ from a” guy down the pub”

What should you look for in your wedding DJ?

Are they passionate? Are they actually a wedding DJ?  Wedding DJing is a specific skill (if done properly).  Its not just about playing music and you would for any regular party, there should be an element of MC to potentially organise the cake cutting, making sure the first dance goes well, inviting family and friends to join in at the right time – the list is long!

Richard has been entertaining at weddings for 30 years, and is also highly experienced and sought after in the events and hospitality industry

Are they professional?  Just having a laptop, speakers and a couple of flashing lights does not make a wedding DJ!  The lighting, sound and even appearance should be suitable for a wedding – not for a night in a pub or a warehouse rave!  Your wedding reception will probably have a very diverse guest list, and you will have styled your venue beautifully.  You don’t want that ruined by a wannabe superstar DJ in jeans pumping Ibiza tunes while Granny is trying to waltz!  The disco will also form the backdrop to many photos – so I’m sure you want elegant rather than the entire contents of Maplins with cables festooned like tinsel!

We are very aware of the look of the disco, Richard always DJs wedding in a dinner jacket (except that one time dressed as a Jedi) and the disco is designed to be elegant

Are they providing a personal service?  With more and more agencies providing DJs to venues and to brides and Grooms you may not actually know which DJ will turn up at your wedding.  Do they know you?  Do you know them?  Are they suitable for the style of wedding and music that you want for your big day?  With single operators you can be sure that you will be entertained by the actual person you have booked and discussed your day with

Silverball Leisure actually consists of one person – Richard, although we can call on experienced events professionals when required.  We say “we” because it sounds good!

Are they popular?  Can you see reviews written by previous Brides and Grooms?  Facebook pages are great for this as you can see if they are genuine reviews by having a peek at who wrote them!  Read the reviews – you really want to be seeing something a bit deeper than “he had nice lights and played good music” That’s the most basic of requirements.  See if they have gone the extra mile for a couple, added anything extra to the day (especially service levels that you don’t pay for!)

All our reviews are genuine, and many go into depth about why they recommend Silverball Leisure

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Silverball.Leisure/reviews/

Are they prepared?  Can you turn to them if things go a bit off plan?  Does your DJ carry any bits and pieces that will not only keep the party going but keep the whole day going?

We carry our “Justin Case”, ranging from safety pins to confetti, bottle openers to an actual cake knife “Just In Case”

The contents of "Justin"

Pocket sized gavel for speeches

Knife and Gavel

Or beautiful cake knife - "Just In Case"