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"

Brown Paper Packages Tied up With String - A few of my LEAST favourite things!

Who doesn't love a package?  Well, obviously nobody - we all like to receive a package, but I feel a little rant coming on about packages in the wedding industry!

Disco Packages

Gold package, Silver package, premium package... why sell a range of levels of service?  Why offer a service (package) that is deliberately inferior?  In my opinion your disco offering should be the best that it can be - you shouldn't be charged extra to make the disco look a bit better, to carry more music, or (and I've seen this!) to allow more requests?  

Then there are the add ons that aren't really add ons.  Pay for early set up, pay to use a radio mic, pay a DJ to play background music (seriously?  For mealtime you literally just need a playlist, you don't need a £50 per hour DJ!)  Suddenly your cheap price DJ isn't so cheap after all!

Of course this is just my opinion - but I don't sell packages, I sell the best that I can be.  I don't add on extra costs, I tell you the price from the outset.  Sure, we offer optional extra services - three to be precise:

Mood lighting

Giant Games

Event Management

That's it! No gimmicks, just honest prices

That's something we all like to receive! 

Package Discos

Ok, this may sound like sour grapes, but bear with me!  So many times at wedding fairs when we speak to couples we are told "The disco comes as part of the package with the venue"

I can't speak for all venues, all discos and maybe this is how you want to book your wedding reception, but look at it this way...

You are planning the biggest day of your life, a true one off event and you want it to be perfect.  You've chosen a beautiful venue, looked at dozens of dresses until you found "the one"  The cars suit your personalities, your photographer offers amazing pictures, great albums.  The flowers, the colour scheme, the cake - oh! The cake will be magnificent.  Every single detail of your day has been handpicked by you to suit your perfect day.

Except one.

And its not a little detail.  Its the party to celebrate your wedding, its the cake cutting, the first dance, the last dance, its the dancing with your friends, its the waltz with your Dad, its one of the parts of your day that everyone will remember and talk about.

And its the one part you haven't chosen.

Its the one part that's been chosen for you.

And as an events professional that worries me.

Its your day.  Have it your way.

I Bet That You Look Good From The Dancefloor - Wedding First Dance

Think about a wedding you have been to recently.  Take a look at the photos that you took of the happy couple.  I bet you got one at the ceremony, during the speeches, cutting the cake.  I know you took photos during that so romantic first dance - everybody did.  Now look at the background.  Its the disco.

I know that this is true for every wedding, and I know that the disco becomes the backdrop for some of the most important moments of the day.  It is with this in mind that I have constantly reviewed the look of the disco so that every moment, every photo has the most elegant background that I can achieve.

How do I go about this?

Well, particularly for a wedding, it is all about you, not about me!  Whilst the rear of the disco is set up for me to operate, the front is set up to complement your day, your decor, your glamour!

The difference comes from years of experience in DJing and events.  The simple white screen and white lights, or lights matching your colour scheme, means that nothing detracts from the stunning Bride and Groom, and nothing affects the photos - so now fast moving lights, no coloured lights and no dots or lasers - that's all saved for the party!  Extra highlighting means that the guests can get good shots, and careful set up means that there are no ugly cables causing a distraction - you won't see cables curled round speakers, extension leads hanging from lights - you've probably seen it many times, but not here!

The last step, after setting everything up, is to take a photograph.  By looking at this I see what you will see.  And if I don't like it - I change it!

You have made every effort to make your day perfect - and so do I!

Silverball Leisure on Facebook

Tell Me On A Sunday...

Another Sunday morning, another wedding fair!  Now that DJing is my full time job, wedding fairs are more and more important to me as the best source of new clients.  I chase weddings as, to be honest, they pay well!  Having said that, I do genuinely enjoy the feeling I get from helping a bride and groom have a wonderful day!

Weird things though, wedding fairs.  I like to think that I do them well.  My stand looks professional with a mix of display board, roll up banners and quality leaflets.  I include my giant Connect4 to attract attention, and hand out packets of lovehearts to break the ice with Brides.  When I look around though, I see some strange things...

Exhibitors:

Surely pretty much everyone at a wedding fair is self employed - its the nature of the game.  This means we are all there because we choose to be there, and yet when you look around a fair, see how many stands are manned by exhibitors who really look like they would rather be somewhere else!  You don't attract business by sitting behind a table, keeping a barrier between you and the visitors!  Step out, smile, engage!  Is this rocket science???

Brides:

I love you brides, I want to make your day special, but please remember that if you come to the wedding fair, we will want to talk to you!  Please don't look scared/shocked at us approaching you! Yes, every stall will ask you the same questions, but we do want to help and offer you advice!  And if you like what I'm offering - please book!  If you leave it...someone else gets your date!

But, even though it is early mornings, lots of standing, smiling and talking, and then hoping that the keen person will book me rather than go with the cheapest offer...I still love the buzz of exhibiting and chatting to so many excited brides to be, and networking with other suppliers!

Paperback Writer - "One day I'll write a book"

So much happens in the world of being a DJ that Facebook status updates just aren't enough.  Discos for weddings, kids parties and all types or celebrations along with Bouncy castles and giant games make up Silverball leisure and the various services we can provide, and while we do it we see so many things, meet so many people.  I keep swearing "one day I'll write a book"...