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St Louis Couple’s Unique Take on “Saving The Date”

In case you haven’t been watching the news recently, Millennium’s marketing director Ben Kelley mustered up the courage to ask Mindy Underwood’s hand in marriage last fall, and their quirky “save the date” video has been gaining a lot of attention. We had Channel 11 News here in the office last Friday to spotlight the unique video, and several articles have been written on sites like Glamour.com and PopTasticBride.com.

Rick Dilly, Millennium’s video division manager shot the video on a cold Saturday in December, following the script that Mindy had written out and emailed to him a couple of weeks prior. According to Mindy and Ben, they wanted to do something a little more fun and unique with their wedding announcement – Something that would reflect their personality and sense of humor and as Mindy casually puts it, “This is a wedding, not a funeral.”

After realizing their vision they began corresponding with Rick, who will also be filming their wedding in June, about the ideas they had and if creating the video would even be possible. The video features Ben chasing a furry set of numbers in various locations around St Louis, emphasizing a literal take on the notion of “saving the date” and set to the love song “Colorful” by singer/songwriter Jess Penner (via songfreedom.com)

Check out the screenshots below as well as the video above on YouTube (link below). If you’re looking for a fun and unconventional way to announce your upcoming wedding, let us know! Ben has given us full permission to contact his fiance for future screenplays for our clients :)

Click here to read and watch the segment on KPLR News Channel 11.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

January 25, 2012 | Categories: st louis wedding receptions, wedding planning | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Love and Celebration in Soulard St Louis!

Julia and William celebrated their wedding on November 26th, 2011 at the beautiful 9th Street Abbey in the historic Soulard area of downtown St Louis, MO. Millennium Productions’ DJ Brian Lewin kept the music playing all night, while Millennium’s lighting-design division provided the perfect purple up-lighting to bring the mood and drama to the event that the bride wanted. A gorgeous projection of the couple’s monogram shone in the alcove where the guests dined, and completed the look of the space.

Spectacular photos were taken all night by the fabulous Samantha and Shawn of Mirage Photography, and Patty Long Catering did a superb job of catering and making the evening flow smoothly.All of these vendors came together to create an atmosphere that was perfect for an awesome wedding celebration – One that the guests dined and celebrated well into the night!

January 25, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

A Fun, New (sort of…) Space In St Louis – The Peabody Opera House!

On December 17th, 2011, a very unique, monumental and special event took place here in St. Louis, MO. For the first time in over 2 decades, a wedding was celebrated in the grand ballrooms of the Peabody Opera House (formerly the Kiel Opera House).

After being closed for 22 years the Peabody has recently reopened its doors, granting Jeff and Olga Hasser the unique pleasure of being the first couple to host a wedding reception in this classic venue since its closure in 1991. Furthermore, their celebration utilized not one but TWO of the magnificent four ballrooms in this space. The Hassers welcomed guests with cocktails and appetizers in a second floor ballroom. Guests were then ushered to the third floor ballroom for dinner and dancing. Jeff and Olga sat center-stage at the majestic head table, which was framed with a red velvet backdrop and a custom-designed monogram projection. The rest of the room was left glowing with warm golden and amber up-lighting, provided by Millennium Productions’ lighting-design division.

Beautiful floral arrangements donned each table, courtesy of Jenny at Stems florist. Since Jeff is a chemist and Olga is a biologist, Jenny found a neat way to personalize the centerpiece design by incorporating test tubes which were filled with Jelly Beans – Providing a unique gift for the guests to take home as wedding favors. Samantha at Mirage Photo did an incredible job of capturing the wedding memories through spectacular photos, featured below.

Upon arrival and throughout cocktails and appetizers, guests were treated to a unique blend of cocktail music that incorporated African songs as Olga and her family members are from Zambia. Jason M. Clyde from Millennium Productions’ DJ division was on hand to act as Host/MC for the evening.  He worked closely with Patti Berni of Patricia Musgrave & Associates, who did an incredible job as the wedding planner for this epic event. Even though this was the first wedding event at the new facility, Angie Carr, Manager of Special Events Booking at the Peabody and the staff (special thanks to Danielle Whitehead, and Denise Samuels) from Levy Restaurants were on their “A-game” – providing stellar food and service during the course of the night.

All in all, a spectacular night ensued – Creating a very special and memorable reopening celebration for the fabulous Peabody Opera House. If you’re currently planning a wedding in St Louis and are looking for a unique setting for your reception – Check out The Peabody!

January 10, 2012 | Categories: Design and Decor, Music, st louis wedding receptions | Tags: , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Wedding DJ Pricing in St Louis

Bridal show season has arrived in St Louis, and with that arrival comes the familiar question: “What’s the price of your DJs?” For me personally, the typical follow up to my answer is usually some form of “I know of a DJ that charges half of that – Why are you so expensive?”

My first thought after this short exchange is “We’re actually not that expensive”, but the ‘eye of the beholder’ can be a killer. If you have the mindset that all DJ companies are the same – they offer the same type of service, so the price should be the deciding factor, then you’re fooling yourself.

Hint: They’re not.

Here’s a great analogy: When shopping for a car, you can just compare prices across all models and then buy the one with the cheapest price. After all, a car is a car, right?

Well, not exactly… Are you comparing prices for sedans from Toyota, or are you also considering models from Mercedes and Ford. Understandably, there will be some price differences. Would you walk into a Mercedes dealership to inform that you’re in the market for a car, and then expect them to lower their price to compete with Ford’s prices? Hopefully your answer is “no”…

Hopefully, you see my point. Plenty of people are happy to buy a luxury sedan like a Mercedes despite the higher price, because of the way the car performs. To them the car has a higher perceived value because of the higher quality of the vehicle. With value comes demand, and luxury car manufacturers can charge a higher price because they have a higher demand for their cars.

That brings us back to DJ services: My point is that those companies that offer a low price are doing so for a reason, and in my experience its usually one of these three reasons:

1. New company

Perhaps its a newer company and they have a competitive pricing in order to become more established in the market – Not as common as the next two reasons, but this situation does exist.

2. High-Volume

If its a company with 20+ DJs, they will have to charge a competitive price so that they can sell as many DJs as possible on a given date.

3. Poor Service

They have a poor reputation, and are forced to compete at a low price in order to stay afloat in sales.

In my own experience, reasons 2 and 3 are by far the most common. Sometimes, reason 3 can be a direct result of reason 2 – Those companies that offer 20-30 different Djs, probably are more concerned with the number of bookings they can achieve, instead of the quality of the Djs they offer. Its not likely that all 25 of their Djs are the “best Djs in St Louis.” The high-volume company will have good events and bad events. Make sure yours isn’t the latter.

There are a lot of low-budget DJ companies in St Louis that can DJ your wedding. You might get a decent DJ, or you might get a really bad one – It can be a toss up, and in my opinion, is not worth betting on when considering entertainment for something like a wedding reception.

So why do we charge more than “Joe Shmoe” who has also offered DJ your wedding for a lower price?

Because unlike him, we have a high demand for our services – We book up most Saturday’s throughout the year because our Djs do a great job. We have consistently great feedback displayed on our website, WeddingWire, The Knot, and Google. We also pay our Djs a lot to reward them for their work, as well as to keep them around with us for several years to come.

We have some of the best Djs in St Louis – But you have to pay for them. If you’d like to read more about what sets us apart from other DJ companies, you should read this blog post.

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My intent is not to stress any brides out even further. Hopefully these points just serve as a guide in an effort to help the selection process from someone who knows the business first-hand.

Bottom Line: You guys are getting married for a reason. All of the details of your wedding day aren’t nearly as important as the reason why you’re getting married in the first place. You’re in love – You’re committed to one another for life – You’ll always be together – You’re best friends. Don’t let all of that get lost in the planning process – It will make the day much less stressful in my book.

Ben Kelley | Millennium Productions

January 6, 2012 | Categories: bridal expo, bridal fair, bridal show, Design and Decor, Music, Reception planning, st louis wedding receptions, wedding planning | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Getting Engaged … and The 5 Stages of Grief

If you’ve ever taken a marketing or psychology class, you might have heard about the Kubler-Ross model of the 5 Stages of Grief (Wikipedia explanation here) – Essentially its an order of the range of emotions the average person experiences when faced with a terminal illness, loss of a loved one, major tragedy … or in my opinion, getting engaged. The 5 stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance.

Don’t get me wrong – Getting engaged is wonderful, and after 4 years of working in the wedding industry, I recently proposed to my gorgeous fiance and am now experiencing life on the other side of the wedding planning process. However, the excitement aside, I feel that the process of getting engaged and initiating wedding planning should be added to the “things people neglected to tell me until I did it myself” list. Already on this metaphorical list are items such as, graduating college, having a real job, paying bills, and owning a home … maybe skydiving should go on there as well …

This morning my fiance and I were kidding around about the emotional roller coaster we had experienced from the time we became engaged up until now (a period of about 2 months). It sounded strangely similar … and then it hit me. My marketing class: The 5 Stages of Grief. Really? Well … honestly, there are some striking similarities. Let me illustrate:

Stage 1: Denial.

“I can’t believe it!”, “I’m engaged??”, “I don’t feel differently”, “Is this for real?”,  “Am I dreaming?”, “I’m literally in shock – What do I do?”

Stage 2: Anger.

“I have to book how many vendors??”, “Why is this so expensive?” , “How are they not available on our date?”, “This is too stressful!”, “I don’t have enough time/money for this!”, “My fiance/fiancee is completely useless!”

Stage 3: Bargaining.

“Can you come down on your price at all?”, “If you’ll help me with this then I’ll (insert bargain here)”, “What is it going to take to make this work?”, “Honey/sweetheart/sugar-bear, if you handle these vendors, I’ll take care of these ones”

Stage 4: Depression.

“There’s not enough time”, “I can’t do what I want”, “This is literally going to be the worst wedding ever, and everyone is going to know it”, “I cant do this”, “I’m the worst fiance/fiancee ever”, “We’re not going to make it through this”

Stage 5: Acceptance.

“Its going to be OK”, “I think we have this worked out” , “He/She does love me after all”, “This is totally do-able”, “I think we’re gonna to make it”

 

So there it is – Accepting some large tragedy is pretty comparable to planning a wedding, no? OK, maybe its not exactly the same experience for everyone, though it can be a stressful situation for some couples out there.

A little bit of advice though: Keep your eye on the prize. You two are here for a reason, and when it’s all said and done this large event has one single purpose – You’ve decided to spend the rest of your lives together. That’s the important part to remember, and that most everything else is meaningless. When its all said and done, you have your partner for life. So hold each others hand, and enjoy the one time in your life that you’ll ever plan a wedding …

I’ll end this with a quote from the old Cuban man that passed by me and my fiance during our trip to LA this past summer while we were walking hand in hand through a farmers market (probably smiling like little fools):

In a thick Cuban accent: “Love, eh? … Aint it grand?”

 

Ben Kelley | Millennium Productions

December 14, 2011 | Categories: Reception planning, wedding planning | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DJs in St Louis – Why Choose You?

I received an email today from a prospective client, and the last part of her email read like this:

“…This is my first time booking a DJ and after being at lots of weddings/events with annoying DJs (no offense to your profession) it’s a little nerve-wracking to just hire a DJ based on a few emails.  Do you have any suggestions or assurances that can help me feel good about committing?”

Its pretty common to receive an email like this, or at least in some form asking about what to expect concerning the quality of our Djs, their personality, or even providing a little affirmation in the decision-making process. I’d like to address this with this blog post, and hopefully by doing so, I can help to alleviate any stress for future potential clients.

In my response to the email above, I laid out a few points about Millennium that differentiate us from competition:

1. “We’re not entertainers”

One of the main things that separates us from a lot of DJ operations is we’re not entertainers – Our DJs aren’t there to entertain your guests and this greatly influences the way they approach an event. Playing music is cool, and they’ll use the mic to make announcements and command attention from your guests for any particular events that you may have going on, but that’s it – No games, teaching people how to disco dance, announcing track titles after a song, etc.

2.“We wont hide our Djs from you”

You are welcome to go see our Djs out at a reception to see first-hand what we provide. I always advise skeptical clients to go see us, and then see our competition the same night. If a company doesn’t allow you to see their Djs out (and I’ve heard some very clever excuses), then they’re hiding something from you. It only involves a quick call to the bride/groom to make sure its ok, and most brides are very understanding about it.

You can check out the short promo video’s on the DJ bio pages if you haven’t already. We still have more to add right now, though this will at least give you some insight into the style and personality of our DJs.

For peace of mind, we do hold appointments here at the office if you’d like to meet or staff and get a better feel for our personality, package details, etc. If you’re interested in a specific DJ for your date, though want to meet him before booking – That can be arranged. I’d be happy to let you meet with that particular DJ to ensure you are completely comfortable with him prior to booking our services for your event.

3.“We consistently receive great feedback”

We have a ton of great feedback on our website from past clients, great reviews on WeddingWire, The Knot, and Google.

4.“We specialize in weddings”

There are a lot of DJ companies that provide Djs to just as many school events and birthday parties as they do for weddings. Sure, that guy that DJ’d your homecoming might have really had the dance floor packed, but how was he as an Emcee or Host?

Lots of planning goes into your wedding, and your DJ should be there planning the night out with you in the months leading up to your reception. He will act as the Emcee/Host to ensure everything is happening smoothly and on track, so he should be someone that is especially skilled at doing so.

5. “We offer a premium wedding package”

Our wedding package is designed exclusively for weddings and the planning that is required, so our online forms are in place to ease this process. You can login to our website to dictate how you want things orchestrated the night of your wedding – what music you want – a general time line of events, and more. Your DJ will then meet with you well in advance of your wedding to go over all of the information you’ve submitted. He will also use that information to coordinate with all of your vendors the night of your wedding to ensure everyone is on the same page, and to inform you and your guests of what is happening next at all times. Your DJ will act as a Host for the evening, to ensure everything is happening on track, so that you guys can relax and enjoy the evening (you can check out our wedding page for  more information on our wedding package).

We also include the highest quality equipment – If you don’t want microphone pops and cracks during toasts, or music cut-outs during your special dances, then its especially important that the DJ you hire for your wedding has premium sound equipment. I’ve seen other DJ companies cut costs by using old and out-dated equipment, and this can result in equipment malfunctions during your reception.

If you decide not to book Millennium, that’s OK too. As much as we’d like to be, we aren’t the perfect fit for everyone because people have different tastes. I’ve spoken to people who were looking for a DJ that would entertain them, for instance, and I was happy to point them in the right direction. When searching for a reputable DJ company, be sure to check the reviews of DJ companies online. There’s a wealth of information out there for you – Check out the Better Business Bureau. Ask your vendors. Do you homework, and you’ll have no problem making a good decision.

Ben Kelley | Millennium Productions

November 10, 2011 | Categories: bridal fair, Music, st louis wedding receptions, wedding planning | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

A Lovely Time At The Coronado!

We celebrated Elma and Garry’s wedding day (ceremony and reception) at the fabulous Coronado ballroom. Rob Schaeffer at Steven Becker Fine Dining orchestrated the entire affair, along with Yara Holt from Plume events. Ceremony music was provided by the Rosewood Ensemble’s string quartet and a custom-draped backdrop by Millennium Productions provided an elegant setting for the couple to exchange their vows.

At the reception, Millennium’s Decor team enhanced the already beautiful ballroom with warm amber up-lighting, as well as Elma and Garry’s custom logo/monogram which was projected onto the ceiling. In addition to Millennium’s decor service, the venue was enhanced further with exquisite floral decor by RW Designs, elegant linens on behalf of Sitting Pretty, and beautiful chair rentals provided by Aries.

Millennium Video Screenshot

Millennium Video Screenshot

October 18, 2011 | Categories: Design and Decor, Music, Reception planning, st louis wedding receptions | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Party at The Pageant!

September 17th, 2011 was an amazing day as we were a part of the wedding day for Paul & Adrienne Tripi.  Their ceremony and reception was one of the first ever to be held at The Pageant, with the couple saying “I do” on stage while their family and friends watched from the balcony! Millennium was able to play a huge role in this exclusive event as Brian Lewin was the host and DJ for the evening, Rick Dilly and his video team were on hand to record the big day and present an amazing suprise same day edit, and Carley Surkamp and her design team setup an amazing design with drape and uplights on the stage and uplights around The Pageant.

From start to finish the event was perfect in every which way: The ceremony was absolutely beautiful (with special thanks to Barb from Bloomin Buckets for their floral decor and beautiful archway at the ceremony), dinner was fantastic (thanks to Steven Becker Fine Dining), and the dance floor was rocking until the end of the night – at which point Paul and Adrienne came on stage to dance while their guests danced below on the dance floor.  This was a night we will remember forever. Congratulations to Paul & Adrienne Tripi and thank you for letting us take part in your special day!

 

Special thanks to Kate Hayes with “L” Photographie for supplying us with your beautiful work!

Check out Adrienne and Paul’s “Same Day Edit” video shot by Millennium’s video crew and presented at their reception!

 

 

October 12, 2011 | Categories: Design and Decor, Music, Reception planning, st louis wedding receptions | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

Love & Lights at the Chase Park Plaza!

Millennium Productions created an elegant evening at the Chase Park Plaza’s Khorassan Ballroom as we celebrated Josh and Kate’s expression of love for one another. DJ Rick Dilly provided his hosting and entertainment expertise as Millennium’s Décor division accented the room with color-changing LED up-lights, table pin-spot lighting and a custom-designed monogram, which shone on the dance floor all night long as these two love-birds danced through the night – the first night of their new life together.

Special thanks to Nordmann Photography for capturing this lovely evening in all of its colorful glory!


September 11, 2011 | Categories: Design and Decor, Music, Reception planning, st louis wedding receptions | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Special Moments at The World’s Fair Pavilion

The big day for Brenley and Todd began at Trinity Lutheran Church, where a beautiful ceremony took place, and included Brenley’s little ‘boy’, Mr. Lewis (a hyperthyroid & alcoholic Pomeranian!) as the ring bearer. From there, the couple went with the wedding party to grab some pictures in the park, and cool off from the 99-degree heat before the reception  at the World’s Fair Pavilion.

The Pavilion was decorated by Millennium’s design division with coral-colored up-lighting, stars on the ceiling, and Tuscan garden bulb lighting in the cocktail area. After a scrumptious meal from Vikki and the staff from the Pasta House, the party moved to the dance floor with music supplied by DJ Jason M Clyde from Millennium Productions. Later in the evening, dessert was supplied by Ted Drewes, which served as a nice cool treat on this warm summer night.  After a while Brenley changed from her fantastic wedding dress into a lighter, cooler party dress, while the guys shed their jackets (and in some cases, shirts) to stay cool while they danced through the night.

Capturing all of the magic was Bobbi from Bobbi Brinkman Photography, along with her assistant from Park Avenue Photographers, Jeremy (thank you for the photos!). All of the action was captured on video thanks to Dan Martinez from Millennium’s video division.

September 10, 2011 | Categories: Design and Decor, Music, Reception planning, st louis wedding receptions | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

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