Equinox Sound - Edmonton DJ and Edmonton Wedding DJ Blog

Alberta Wedding Bridal Show Week

2012-01-20T13:41:00.001-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Edmonton and Calgary wedding professionals from all over Alberta will be coming out to see a ton of brides-to-be at a number of Alberta wedding shows.

Equinox Sound and Entertainment will be a part of four shows in a thirty day period which means a lot of inquiries and new clients!! We love trade show season.

That said, trade shows do not come without some stress. Couples asking for discounts, comparing apples to oranges in many cases and trying to decipher the good DJ, photography and video services from the not so good ones. So how do we separate ourselves?

Equinox Sound offers:

* High quality equipment
* Professionally trained staff in DJ, photography and video
* Full time staff to help with your planning and customization
* Backup options on all events
* Licensing and Insurance for all of our staff

We hope you come visit us at any of the following shows:

* Bridal Fantasy - Edmonton Expo Centre - January 22, 2012
* Enchanted Bridal Show - Camrose Regional Exhibition - January 29, 2012
* Enchanted Bridal Show - Royal Executive Inn Leduc - Feb 5, 2012

Congratulations Carrie and Philip

2011-12-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Congrats to the happy couple. It was our pleasure to work with you and here are just a few highlights of what we were able to do for you!

Come Sing a Tune or Two!!

2011-12-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

We're in the singing mood... are you?

Starting just a week ago, Equinox Sound and Entertainment has added O2's Taphouse and Grill to our weekly karaoke rotation. Both the northside 135 ave and 127st and southside 10390 151 ave will be be holding karaoke from 10pm-2am and they want you to come down!

Over 10,000 songs to choose from, great for parties and bookings and a whole lot of fun.

Call O2's lounge for details or Equinox Sound and Entertainment if you want to reserve a table.

Two New Wedding Video Samples You Have To See!!

2011-11-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

It was our pleasure to work with some great new video clients this summer and we're starting to see the end result of the footage we shot with some very happy couples getting to relive their big day! These highlight reels are so emotional and beautiful it's no wonder our video services are growing more and more popular.

Thanks to all of our Edmonton video clients. We truly loved working with you!

Darren and Pamela | October 1, 2011 from James Cadden on Vimeo.

Shawn and Catherine | September 10, 2011 from James Cadden on Vimeo.

Another Happy Couple Edmonton Video Services

2011-10-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Daniel and Ashley | July 30, 2011 from James Cadden on Vimeo.

Bridal Conference Weekend!!

2011-09-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well it will be a busy weekend for us here at Equinox Sound and Entertainment. Outside of the fact that we have a full load of wedding events to service as DJ's, photographers and videographers, we'll be working with the special guest of honor at this years Bridal Conference.

Jane Dayus-Hinch will be this years guest and as a wedding planner for over 25 years, she has plenty of knowledge to pass along. We'll be at the Enjoy Centre in St. Albert with Jane on Saturday and then following that up with two booths at the show on Sunday.

We encourage all couples to do a few things before the show...

1) Come and visit us at our office prior to Sunday if you're looking at our services. Waiting until the show comes and goes really means you run the risk of us not being available

2) Come see our booth at the show. We'll have our DJ, photography and video services on display and we'd love to tell you more about us!

3) Watch for a new company and product we're launching at the show. It's going to change the face of how we plan weddings in the future. This is something you don't want to miss out on if you're planning a wedding -- it's completely free!

July 23, 2011 Andrew and Cindy Video Highlights

2011-09-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

Andrew and Cindy | July 23, 2011 from James Cadden on Vimeo.

Thanks to Andrew and Cindy. Great people to work with! Equinox Sound and Entertainment was pleased to shoot your big day!

How to Understand The Crowd You've Invited to Your Own Wedding

2011-09-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

It's not all the time that in assisting with the planning stages of a clients wedding, that we are supplied with more than just a few simple requests of what to play and not to play based on the tastes of the wedding couple. That's pretty standard stuff.

Every once and a while, we send out our two page reception itinerary form and when it's turned back in by a couple, two pages became four or five pages rather quickly. Two pages of the information we asked for and the rest all songs that the couple would like played.

At Equinox Sound, we're all about making the reception, the dance and the entertainment about our couples. But, we urge all wedding couples -- even our own -- that going overboard with requests can have an adverse affect on your goal, which is to ensure a fun evening of dancing!

In many cases we understand that a couple is only trying to help that DJ company out. They want to make sure to share their music preferences so their DJ has a good read on what they like. That's a great gesture and DJ's do appreciate it.

Where it becomes tricky, is if it's not clearly explained to that DJ if the list should be followed to the letter or if these songs (many of which can be inappropriate for a wedding), are just suggestions ultimately left to the DJ to decide on.

Couples need to keep in mind the variations in any wedding crowd. You'll have friends your age, grandparents, sometimes kids and everything in between. Two pages of the newest Top 40 might not appease that range and if you've hired a DJ worth any of the money you've paid, they'll know this. It becomes important to give the DJ a chance to work your room with the music that will get everyone involved.

Special Thanks to Candace and Dustin

2011-06-22T13:31:00.001-07:00

It was our pleasure to work with Candace and Dustin on their big day. Our photographers, DJs and video guys all had a blast!!

Thanks again!

Thank You to Leslie and Bill From Equinox Sound - Edmonton's Wedding DJ

2011-04-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Equinox Sound was happy to perform both ceremony services and rock the reception with Leslie and Bill this past Saturday. The happy couple had this to say...

"The wedding was absolutely amazing and your DJ's did a fantastic job, was so much fun and really funny too. Thank you so much for everything."

Cheers,

Leslie"

It's that kind of feedback that we strive for every event.

We also had the honour to work with Renee from Getwed who was organized, helpful and right on cue in assist Leslie and Bill with their wedding plans. We look forward to working with getwed in the future.

Congratulations to Leslie and Bill!

#1 Thing a Bride Is Looking for in a DJ Company?

2011-03-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

Join our new Facebook fan page to find the answer. The simplicity of it will blow you away!

Plus keep up with us as we add great pictures, videos and profile updates on our events, our staff and so much more.

It is our goal to show you we are more than a company, we're a group of caring people who want to make your day the most special it can be.

Referrals You Have to Read to Believe...

2011-03-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

On behalf of the employees at David Aplin Recruiting I just want to take this opportunity to thank Kris very much for an epic celebration! He deserves a lot of credit for pumping up our awards gala – everyone is still raving! He was very professional and yet friendly and relaxed at the same time. He kept everything flowing the whole night, played the perfect mix of music during our dance, honoured requests, and made sure everyone had a great time. We would recommend him to anyone!

Thanks again! -- Sarah T.

That was truly awesome! We’ve never had a photographer on hand to print out the pictures of our staff right there and then before and it was a huge hit. The DJ was great, the music was fun and people were all over you guys telling you what a great job you all did. I’m not at all surprised that when our staff had finished with your photographers the company across the hall started hiring you on the spot to do the same for them. You guys have a really great thing going over there. Good job.

-- A staff member of Hadjuk and Gibbs

I just needed to call you to tell you I’ve found the DJ you need to hire. I’m sitting right here in front of him and you should see his shop. It’s a really nice place, very professional, he’s easy to talk to and he’s the guy! I’ve talked to a lot of other DJ’s and this is your guy. I’m worried he won’t be available if we wait so I had to call you right now. Should I put a deposit down to get him? He’s a bit more than you’re budget, but we have room from other places and if you’re going to spend the extra money somewhere it should be on this DJ. I just know he’ll make the reception a blast.

-- A conversation by a wedding planner on the phone while in our office

We talked to two other reputable DJ companies before you guys and by far we feel the most comfortable here. One company (who claims to be the largest in Western Canada) we almost booked with and then they changed the prices on us last minute citing some kind of “oops, we didn’t realize the date you were asking about, so now it’s this much” and the other company didn’t even have someone in their own office when we showed up for our scheduled appointment. We’re spending more here than the first company offered, but we’re happy to knowing you’ve taken good care of us already and met with us twice before we even decided to book you.

-- Nathan Forbes

Another Satisfied Client!

2011-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

It's never a great time when someone passes away. But when it does happen, you want a company that understands what you're going through, how they can help and that providing the type of services we can is the last thing you want to think about during a funeral.

We had a client of ours whom last year we conducted a wedding for, find themselves in that position lately. Here is what they said...

"For the staff at Equinox Sound,

I just wanted to thank-you for all of your help to make my grandfather's funeral a success. The slideshow turned out great - and it was so nice to have Brian there to set everything up, take it down, and relieve some of our stress.

The DJ and photography at our wedding last year was amazing - and we really appreciate your willingness to help us these past few days with such last minute notice.

I have been recommending your business to all of my friends!

Thanks again,

Ashley"

Bridal Fantasy Countdown Is On...

2011-01-21T23:35:00.000-08:00

Less than 48 hours to the craze known as Bridal Fantasy and Edmonton's leaders in DJ, photography and video packaging couldn't be more excited.

Here's what you can expect from our booth at the show...

Size Does Matter

We'll be twice as big as some of the others. Equinox Sound and Entertainment wants to ensure we get the chance to talk to you. To do so, we've booked two booths at the show and have a few activities going on. They'll be plenty of space to chat with us, lots of information and a few videos of what we can do to better serve our possible future clients.

What Makes Us Unique

Equinox Sound is Edmonton's only DJ, photography and video provider all rolled into one and each of our services will be on full display. Take a look at just one or ask about all three, but you'll get to see our video equipment and meet our videographers, you'll get to see samples from the extremely talented photographers we work with and you'll get to see why Equinox Sound is one of Edmonton's busiest and fastest growing DJ services.

It's not just about hiring a DJ anymore, it's about your event being special. Outside of some the most reliable, professional and quality talent; our company offers unique games, activities and options others don't or can't. Come by the booth and play a game of Trivia Feud? Perhaps a little Trivia Fortune? If you're not sure what we're talking about, our booth will explain everything.

Who Are We Friends With?

It's not just about what we do in this business that counts. It's about who we work with and who trusts us to be their reference for a great DJ service. There will be at least a handful of other booths at the show who are directly linked and related to what we do. From Flashworks Photobooth, to Bride-on-a-Budget to Greenwood Inn and Suites and more, all who use us on a regular basis. Even when you're not at our booth, you'll see our names around the entire show floor.

Great Prices

This is a spectacular time to get some terrific discounts on our traditional rates. Are we giving away the farm? No. But we are providing significant savings on our already competitive prices.

You want great service at a price you can afford. You can get a DJ, photographer and video service from us for less than some of the photography pricing at other booths by themselves!! It sound crazy but it's true. Last year we saved some clients over $2000 each!

We're excited to see you at the show on Sunday. Get there early, it should be a lot of fun.

Calgary Wedding DJ's 25% OFF

2011-01-14T00:04:00.001-08:00

Two days until Calgary Bridal Fantasy and Equinox Sound is planning to make a splash. With up to 25% off on a handful of our packages, there has never been a better time to talk to our staff in Calgary who are ready to serve brides and grooms this summer.

Equinox Sound is one of Edmonton's busiest DJ companies. Nothing wrong with that and we're happy to be that way. However being so busy took us some time to plant our roots in Calgary and now that we have, we want clients. Best way we know to do it is by grabbing their attention! A great way to do that is to save them money!!

With up to 25% savings, clients through Bridal Fantasy can save as much as $375 on some of our high end packages and still get a great DJ. We encourage you to come by and see us!

Edmonton's wedding DJ isn't just Edmonton's DJ anymore. Calgary look out, this is only going to mean good things for brides and grooms in your area.

See you Sunday at Bridal Fantasy!

Getting Ready for Wedding Tradeshow Season

2011-01-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

They're merely weeks away. If you're planning your wedding this summer or next, you've likely contemplated attending one of the many wedding tradeshows coming to your city.

If you're one of the many planning to attend the show, here are a few secrets you should know and may not have thought about:

1) Arrive early. Lines can be quite long about an hour after the shows start so if you want to avoid waiting, be there a bit before the show is to start, find a good parking spot and get first crack at the vendors.

** Secret: By getting in as the first people arrive, you'll get to see who of the wedding vendors with booths at the show are ready to go with a smile on their face for the first guests. If the booth isn't ready or the vendors themselves seem unprepared, that can be a real tell for the manner in which they approach everything, including your big day! Your wedding is one of those times that being on time is considered being late. You want someone ready to go long before they are required to.

2) Fill out forms and contest draws only for businesses you want to talk to or services you don't yet have. Unfortunately, many of the booths promote a contest where you can win a grande prize, but the purpose of these draws is not to be nice. It's to get your contact information. If you don't want to be called, follow up with and called some more, don't fill out the information. It may mean you can't win the prize, but if you're like many who hate telemarketing, it's worth it.

3) If you don't intend to watch the fashion show, go to the show at that time with the purpose to speak to the vendors. While everyone else is watching the models, you'll have the undivided attention of the vendors during a time they can actually spend with you. Bridal shows are known for being fast paced and crowded. This is one of the only times it won't feel that way.

4) If you have a specific wedding company you're specifically going to see at the show, call them prior and ask what deals they intend to offer at their booth. Most booths will offer a discount and unless they're crazy, they'll offer it to you just prior to the show. In fact, they'd rather do that than try to sign you up at the show where they likely aren't planning to sign people up. For a majority of the vendors, these shows are far too crowded in a lot of cases to sit down with someone and go through all the paperwork. Take advantage by visiting the business a day or two before the show and get the same deal without the crowds.

5) GO TALK TO EQUINOX SOUND!! For the best in Edmonton and Calgary disc jockey, photography and video, you can get a lot done in one place. Working with great vendors and each one offering discounts the more you book, you'll be pleased you did.

New Record in 2010 and 2011 To Be Even Better...

2010-12-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc. has been known for years as a DJ company. Unfortunately for some in the Edmonton area, we were known more as a "guy or two" who "did a few weddings here or there". In 2010, we drastically changed that perception in Edmonton.

Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc. successfully made a number of changes and became one of Edmonton's leading disc jockey services. While we did, we also took strides in offering photography and video services, moved offices into the city, renovated and designed a new 3400 sq ft showroom and meeting place, expanded our DJ services into Calgary, brought in and trained over a dozen new employees and all the while, increased the number of events we did by over 21%, while receiving an increased positive feedback response from our clientelle.

Not bad for "one or two guys" if I do say so myself.

Now with over 20 employees in province of Alberta and with just a week to catch our breath before a new year, we hardly have time to waste as in 2011 we expect to grow by another 25%. We look forward to adding new wedding, corporate and networking clients, we look forward to even more positive feedback and we look forward to exploring more ways to be innovative and entertaining as we do. We've got our eyes on being Alberta's leading entertainment and wedding company and we don't plan to stop until we get there.

We want to send a special thank you and Merry Christmas to all of our 2010 clients. Without you we'd not have been able to grow and flourish in ways we hadn't dreamed years back as a one DJ operation. Many of the changes we've made serve as a thank you to you. We can now better service repeat client and friends or family from our past clients. It is our goal to not only look after them, but make you a superstar for referring them to us. We owe you that much.

We invite you all to come check out our new showroom and office at 4913-99st in Edmonton. Make an appointment to have one of our staff walk you around, show you our DJ set-ups, take pictures in our new photography studio or just sit down and have a coffee while we talk a bit about how we can help you or someone you know.

2011 will be a busy year. We're quickly approaching wedding tradeshow season and we'd love to chat with you. Give us a call -- we're the right choice for your wedding entertainment needs.

Equinox Sound Is Making Waves as a Calgary DJ Option

2010-11-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc. has been in the Calgary area before. Primarily we've been servicing the Edmonton and surrounding areas as a DJ company for the past decade, working events here and there in Calgary as time permitted.

Edmonton's leading DJ company is no longer interested in just being a small piece of the Calgary pie. Equinox Sound is looking to make a splash and as such we've moved one of our top DJ's -- DJ Kris -- out to the Calgary area on a permanent basis to establish a foothold for us as a company.

Take Advantage of Some Limited Time Pricing!!

This is the perfect time if you're planning your wedding in Calgary to give Kris a call. Because we're known in Edmonton, but not as well known in Calgary, for a limited time, we'll be offering our already competitive Edmonton pricing at a reduced rate to bring Calgary residents a great DJ at a great price.

DJ Kris comes with over 10 years experience working in the wedding industry. He's been with Equinox Sound more than half that time and has been one of our most popular options. Our clients will be sad to see him leave Edmonton, but Calgary wedding couples get to take advantage.

Don't hesitate to give Kris a call at 403-336-9041 or email him for more information at kris@equinoxsound.com.

You can always check us out online at www.equinoxsound.com

Calgary -- you are in for a rockin' good time!

Edmonton DJ Set to Announce Deal with Flashworks Photo Booth

2010-10-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Equinox Sound is making waves. There is some buzz around the city that big things are happening within the company and it's true.

Equinox Sound is undergoing some major expanision, moved offices to 4913 - 99st in Edmonton, adding a full service photography studio and adding a great new staff.

Part of that expansion is in the re-evaluation of contracts with vendors, our working relationships with others in the industry and ensuring we are continuing to work with the best of the best.

A new wave of popular options are now available for a number of companies and portable Edmonton photobooths are one of those options. Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc. has taken some time to meet with one of the more popular photobooth services in Flashworks Photobooth and is set to announce an exclusive agreement to be their DJ provider in the event that their clients can use an Edmonton DJ service.

If you need a photobooth and are looking to add it to any one of our Edmonton wedding DJ, photography or video packages, Equinox Sound will have a number of options available.

We look forward to working with Flashworks Photobooth and are positive this is just the first step in a very successful relationship.

The Alternative To Drawing Names...

2010-10-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

As an Edmonton mobile DJ company, we're hired to do our thing at over 40-50 corporate holiday parties every year. And, every year we see a number of companies give away door prizes in the same fashion. Either they draw names and a good chunk of the staff wait around until they are lucky enough to get a prize or they give out awards for contributions within the workplace over the past year.

The second option makes a lot of sense. Employees should be rewarded for hard work and for the results they produce. If you didn't believe that, you likely wouldn't be considering having a corporate holiday function in the first place.

The first option however - this waiting around for your name to be called - is a bad idea for a number of reasons.

First, your entire staff knows that this is how it works. If you're giving away anything of real value, they'll wait to see if they win and then a good majority of them will realize there isn't much left to stick around for and leave before the DJ you've hired even has a chance to do his thing. Second, the entire process takes a good hour or more and that's a lot of downtime for those not involved or spouses who may not be eligible to win a prize.

At Equinox Sound and Entertainment, we've come up with some different options. Your next Edmonton corporate party can be remembered as a lot of fun and chances are next year, more staff will actually choose to attend.

1) Let's Make A Deal -- we've all seen the Monty Hall game show. A couple of curtains and a few gag prizes make giving away even the smallest item more interactive. Those are not choosing a curtain at the time are encouraged to help those who are make a decision. Perhaps you can add a couple of boxes and let as many as four employees pick a number at the same time, thus speeding up the process and keeping everyone involved.

2) Name That Tune - it's crazy music trivia that can be customized any way you see fit. If you have a number of smaller prizes to give away as a business, we can incorporate giving those prizes away during the game and whomever is left at the end without having won something can pick from the remaining draws throughout the night and immediately following the dance to shorten it up and keep employees partying.

3) Minute to Win it - one of the more recent and popular interactive game shows, this game can be taken anywhere and there a number of challenges employees can take part in as indivduals or a group. Make getting the better prizes something you earn by participating and you can bet money people will get involved.

4) An interactive Edmonton DJ - doesn't sound like a big difference, but if you hire a DJ who can get your guests involved, give out prizes and incorporate that into what he/she is already doing, it works fantastically. Your DJ can do a Michael Jackson contest, line dancing, a snowball or spot dances, singing and dancing contests and a whole lot more and without even thinking about it, a vast array of your smaller prizes have been given out without having to stop the night at any point to draw names. If you have some bigger prizes, your DJ should be more than able to make those draws without killing the flow of the dance.

These are just a few ideas to help you come up with a way to reward your employees but not bore them to death with the same draw they've seen time and time again. If you want or need more ideas, give us a call or visit us online.

Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc.
780-435-3686
www.equinoxsound.com

Edmonton's DJ Company Equinox Sound Goes Bridal Conference Crazy

2010-09-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Equinox Sound was again front and center in terms of Edmonton DJ, Edmonton photography and Edmonton video for hundreds of couples at this years Bridal Conference tradeshow at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

Proudly displaying some samples of our video and photo work as well as a full set-up of wedding DJ equipment, both Jason (one of Equinox Sound's Edmonton DJ's) and Jim Parsons (owner and President of Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc.) got the chance to speak with a number of brides and grooms showing off what Equinox Sound has to offer.

A special thank you goes out to all that stopped by the booth and we hope our promotional material was informative and helpful. We want to encourage -- and did let everyone at the show know about our new office -- that couples come on over to our brand new office/showroom at 4193 - 99st. We have a variety of systems set-up on display, a pile of additional testimonials and helpful staff who can get you the information you need to make an informed decision about the right DJ, photography or video services for your wedding.

As you know by attending the show, there are a lot of options available to you. One of the bonuses in Equinox Sound is the ability to locate a quality DJ, photography and video option using not but the highest in professional integrity and quality at prices that make your day more affordable than ever before.

Edmonton's Top DJ Company is Officially Moving to Edmonton

2010-08-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

For over a decade Equinox Sound and Entertainment has been a go-to company for DJ needs across Edmonton. Over the past couple of years, the company has added photography and video services to it's list of services. Also, until recently, this "Edmonton DJ" company was located in Sherwood Park.

All that is about to change as owner and President of Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc. Jim Parsons, is packing up his crew and heading into the city. With the growing demand for their brand of DJ, photography and video services, the sheer number of events the staff are called to in any given weekend and to make it much more feasible for new and current clients to meet with the office, Equinox Sound is making the move.

It took some time, but the company has worked hard to get to the final stages of opening a 2400 sq ft showroom, photography studio, office and bay on 49ave and 99st (just off the Whitemud). New and current DJ clients, folks who want a exciting shots from the new Cormack Photography studio headquarters and any of the thousands who pass that location on each given day can now easily find, consult and discuss their wedding, professional and entertainment needs with the staff.

Equinox Sound plans to start things with a bang and will be offering exciting promotions and discounts for those who will see us at the Bridal Conference show on Sept 19th of this year, anyone newly engaged couples making wedding plans and the many corporate clients planning holiday functions.

Equinox Sound is hoping this move will help the company take the next step and they want to see you there!

Planning the Last Few Steps of Your Edmonton Wedding

2010-08-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

As I write this (August 11, 2010) Equinox Sound will do 14 weddings this weekend and is in the process of putting the final touches on each one. From last minute song changes to clients who wanted to add a slideshow, to a panic call from a potential client looking to catch the big day on video; we're seeing everything.

Here at Equinox Sound, we're used to it, so we handle each Edmonton wedding in stride. For brides and grooms, the last minute processing isn't always so easy. It's often what turns what should be a joyous event into the "bridezilla" nightmare we've come to associate many wedding with.

How does one avoid all of this? We'll give you a few helpful tips:

Make pre-arrangements for balances owing...

You need to pay all of your wedding vendors. In our case, our Edmonton DJ's, Edmonton photographers or Edmonton videographers will be accepting payments at different times as each service has a different end date. That may not be the case will all vendors as your cake, caterer, hall rental, marriage commissioner, entertainment, ... will need to be delivered their final payments on or before the event.

Designate a person you trust (or for some their wedding planner) to have final payments ready to go. Having them ready and able to deliver envelopes with already written cheques makes your life as a happy couple much happier.

Go Over the Small Stuff One More Time At Least a Week in Advance

When I say small stuff, I don't mean things that don't matter. I'm referring more to items that are easily overlooked or considered finer details.

In our case as an Edmonton disc jockey service, it's your first dances and request list for the DJ you've chosen. Going over your list and what was sent to the DJ one more time ensures that your DJ will have the first dances and important songs you want to dance to. If you decide to change something, that still gives the DJ company time to make an alteration.

Perhaps you wanted to do a slideshow? You've taken the time to create it, edit it, put music to it and scan everything. Yet, you forgot how you planned to show it at the reception and as such obviously didn't rent a projector or screen.

Having gone over this a week early means you aren't running around trying to rent or obtain something that could easily be sold out or booked on a busy weekend. Even if you can get one, last minute bookings are always more pricy. Being prepared can save you money.

Meals and Beverages

Who are you feeding? Where are you sitting them? Obviously if you made a seating chart you considered your guests and family. As you should.

Are you feeding any vendors? Is the photography company you hired mandating a meal as part of the contract as some photographers are known to do? Does the DJ who'll be working for 12 hours deserve a meal? Where would you like to sit them?

This is an area that gets overlooked often and you don't want them pulling up a chair or brown-bagging a lunch to your classy wedding. Make sure you place or communicate with anyone at the event your intentions on the food. This is something you can do last minute as where you sit a vendor matters least over where you sit your guests.

This process of making final arrangements on the food extends to the alcohol. How will you be serving alcohol? Obviously one would hope your wedding vendors aren't dipping into the drinks, however many of your guests don't realize that unopened alchol can be returned, so they dip in withouth thinking about it first. Did you?

Making an arrangement to not waste bottles and drinks by limiting how each person opens a new bottle when they want a drink will save you hundreds of dollars. It sounds silly, but think about it this way. If you required each guest to go to the bar when they want wine instead of placing bottles on the table where there is 8 guests but only 2 wine drinkers (who likely won't finish the bottle), you'll have dozens of bottles left. That refund you get could be the cost of your DJ for the night.

What are you going to do with 11 bottles of partly used wine? Will you really take the time to put them all in one or two bottles? Does the idea of it take the elegance right out of your wedding? It would be much easier just to tell your guests to head to the bar and that the bartender would be happy to poor them a drink.

There are many more examples of last minute planning. These are just a few. Have any suggestions or tips you'd like to add?

The Perfect Example of Never Being Too Careful When Hiring Your DJ

2010-06-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

First, let me start this article by saying I post this story with sadness in my heart. I left a phone conversation and series of emails with a potential client knowing that their wedding is weeks away from being less than the dream they had hoped for.

As Edmonton DJ's, we receive a lot of calls for summer wedding events. Many of them last minute. Just a day ago, we received a request for an estimate on a wedding event that was two weeks away. Our first assumption of course was that something had happened with the DJ that was asked to perform at the wedding and we were right.

They had asked a friend to DJ and that friend found "something better to do" and bailed. We didn't get details, and frankly we knew it was a sour subject so we didn't ask for much detail, but even though we could guess it was money related, we did feel bad because we see this more often than we wish to admit.

Upon getting a few more specifics about the event itself and what the clients were trying to find with little to no time, we realized the reason they had asked the friend in the first place was because they set their priority to have a good DJ way down the totem pole, spent all of their budget in other areas, and literally had no money left to solve the issue.

Long story short, they were up a creek without a paddle.

Knowing many of the other DJ companies these clients might call would see a couple in trouble and an easy pay day, thus jacking up their prices; we offered our services not only to help, but at a reasonable discount. We found one of our DJ's who was willing to assist for less than his regular fee and we as a company were going to take little to no profit, just so these folks could have a professional company look after things the proper way.

Our thought besides just being good people? Hopefully they'd remember how we helped and tell their friends about it. Good word of mouth travels fast...

Sadly, when we called back we were told we hadn't lowered our rates enough and that they had literally less than $200 to spend and were going to hold out until they'd found a DJ who could fill that request.

After my initial shock that a couple would be so blah about something that was mere days away, as politely as I could, I asked "what happens if you find no one willing to do it, or if the only people you find are as shady as the DJ you first decided on?" They replied that they had little to no choice since they simply couldn't afford it.

Knowing that this couple wouldn't even be able to rent an adequate sound system with no DJ for $200, I politely asked if they had tried to contact a relative to borrow an extra couple hundred to get a good DJ. Maybe make cutbacks in other areas just to ensure they had music at their reception? They said that they just didn't feel comfortable doing so.

We left that conversation knowing we couldn't help them and that their only resort was to possibly make the same mistake again by trusting a non-professional with the entertainment and fun of over 100 guests at a wedding where everything else took time and effort to organize.

Now, I'm not writing this because we missed an opporuntity to add a new client. Of course, that always makes me sad, but I write this to clients planning their event. Let this be a lesson.

You don't have to go crazy. While we contend it's important, you don't even half to make a DJ your top priority. But, for heaven's sake, hire a professional!

We can't explain how often we receive calls from clients who asked their cousin for this or a friend for that. They trusted those cousins or friends (most of whom have no experience as DJ's, just lots of music) with the entire entertainment of their event and those favors fell through. it happens all the time.

Don't let this picture be your wedding. You spend so much time and money on everything else, do you really want to ruin it with a DJ who looks like that?

A professional DJ company has back-ups, contracts, written agreements and more to ensure this doesn't happen to you. All we ask, is that you do your part and contact professionals. There are plenty to choose from and you always get a competitive price without blowing your entire budget on music.

The Key To A Good Wedding Slide Show

2010-05-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's not everyone's speed, but let me tell you, when we do them at Edmonton weddings; guests, couples and even banquet staff stop and watch and share an incredibly important moment with the bride and groom.

So whey then, is it not the favorite thing of many couples to have a slideshow at their wedding? Sometimes the words cheesy or boring come to some couples minds when we ask if they'll be doing or would like us to help with a slideshow.

Our only assumption, is that somewhere along the line, these couples have seen a poorly made slideshow and it's ruined their experience of them. So much so, they've sworn off wanting one at their own wedding. We find that unfortunate, because when done right, a wedding slideshow can be something a couple can cherish throughout the rest of their marriage.

With some experience at making these, here are a few tips to doing it properly. These are tips we've been employing as Edmonton DJs for over a decade:

1) Be aware of how short or how long a slideshow is. Unless you or the person creating your slideshow incorporates video or other elements besides straight photographs, anything over about 10 minutes has a tendency to feel long and drawn out.

2) Pick the right music. Something upbeat and fun that your guests will recognize captures their interest more than just plain old background music. You may think that you just need to "add music", but there is so much more to it than that. Songs should represent the pictures in the show, the couples the pictures are focused on and their personalities. If the creator of your slideshow isn't taking those elements into account, they're not doing a good enough job for you.

3) Add something that gets your guests to watch along. It can be simple text with your names and dates. It can be small captions or descriptions of certain pictures. Whatever you choose, it should get people to understand what they are seeing.

*** Important note... do not add so much text that it becomes hard to see and read. These aren't books. You don't want people squinting trying to read the articles you write on each slide.

4) Create your slideshow in a universal format. There is nothing worse than taking the time required to put together a slideshow, but realize you made it in a format that your DJ, video crew or photographer can't use. Powerpoint is a great example. Often it's the one software platform the average person has some familiarity with, but it's the one software platform that has more transfer issues than any other format. Sure, almost everyone has Powerpoint, but what year? I may have 2007, you may have 2004, your friend may have 2009...

5) Don't try to undertake creating a slideshow if you lack patience, time and the knowledge to make one. I've seen it time and time again that people want a slideshow, think it's as easy as scanning a few photos and off you go. It's not, so don't waste your time. A proper slideshow is scanned and each picture cleaned and formatted to its clearest image. A proper slideshow has the photos in an order that makes sense to the couple and their guests, telling a story along the way. And a proper slideshow is entertaining.

Equinox Sound has been making and creating slideshows for over a decade and we'd love to make one for your wedding. When it's done properly, you'll be so glad you had one.

Songs Not To Play at Your Edmonton Wedding

2010-05-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

You maybe stumbled upon this blog article and asked yourself, why would a professional Edmonton DJ company who works more than 400 events a year write something to brides and grooms about what songs not to play?

That's a valid question considering many clients hire their DJ based on the song library a DJ company can provide. The more selections for request, the better right?

Well... yes and no.

Here is a very important tip to keep in mind. Every professional Edmonton DJ company should know, that there are certain songs you simply don't want to play at a wedding.

This is not to say that if the bride or groom specifically asked for it, that we wouldn't play it. We always cater to every client we work with. More, what it means, is that the DJ you hire should be able to pick out songs and requests from their experience that create a negative reaction or inappropriate response at a wedding reception.

If the Edmonton DJ you are looking at can't do so, you're looking at the wrong DJ company.

Here's a perfect example. Were you aware that the song "Grease Megamix" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John has more than one offensive cuss word in it? No? Did you know, that most of the DJ's we talked to weren't aware of that either?

Perhaps you've seen what happens when "Mony Mony" by Billy Idol is played. People tend to make up their own words if you see where I'm going.

Or, did you know that the Black Eyed Peas (an extremely popular Top 40 group and reception favorite) have album versions of their songs that are a far cry from the language you hear when they are on your favorite Edmonton radio station?

Now, many of these songs are extremely popular wedding choices. One's that based on the sheer amount of requests are tough to ignore. The question then becomes, what do you do?

You want your guests to have a good time and hear their requests. But, you don't want your grandparents or kids to hear foul language and wonder what kind of company you keep when your friends get a tad carried away.

The answer is simple. Either a) your DJ needs to have alternative options like different yet similar genre style songs b) clean versions of each song or c) your DJ needs to know how to steer a crowd in a different direction if he/she notices they are starting to go in the opposite direction than what a bride and groom might want for their reception.

Music has the power to create emotion. It can turn a good time into a great one or a bad time into the worst one. Ultimately the DJ holds that power and the order, quantity, or selection of the right music can make all the difference.

Make sure, that each and every Edmonton DJ company you talk to knows the difference. That they can tell based on your guests, the age groups, the requests given by you (as the bride and groom) what's going to work and what won't.

Equinox Sound has over a decades worth of experience and the luxury of learning from events long before your's what tends to pack the floor and what doesn't. When the right time to play that classic slow dance, or to break out the newest and best mixes presents itself and to maximize the effect it has on your dance.

Equinox Sound Plays a Big Part at the Small and Mighty Charity Fundraiser

2010-04-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

It's one of those events as a DJ you can be proud of. That each and every year it comes around, you hop on board without thinking twice and donating extra time. To make even just one day of a youngster, who's been going through such hardships forget how strong they've really had to be and just let loose is why we DJ.

This year was no exception.

Even more exciting, when in years past there has been all sorts of great live acts and fun, Equinox Sound was asked this year to be the headline entertainment for some 200 plus guests and owner of Equinox Sound, Jim Parsons was happy to be there.

The above video says a lot and personally Jim would like to thank Amy Andrews, Carol Dizak and all of the volunteers who made for another special event. I'm looking forward to next years event on April 16, 2011.

How Do You Know if Your Edmonton DJ is a Good "Wedding DJ"

2010-04-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

We hear it a lot. Especially in an economy where weddings couples are looking to save in certain places and "everyone is a DJ". If that decision (going with a friend whose cheaper or a professional who values the services they offer at a certain price) is staring you in the face, how do you know if the DJ you're interested in because they'll save you money is a good "wedding" DJ?

There are a few things you can look for. (Picture courtesy of Paper Hearts and Crane website)

Generally the music you’re DJ is expected to play will vary all along the musical spectrum and needs to please many different musical tastes. Often couples will assume their friend or a friend of a friend who is a “DJ” is capable of playing any type of affair. This is not always the case.

Ask yourself, 'if I frequent a nightclub or my friend has purchased turntables and has added "spinning" to his/her list of hobbies, does that necessarily make them a good candidate for my wedding?'

If you can't answer that your confident they'll have a music knowledge far beyond the format of the club they DJ at or the music they like to spin at home will please your grandparents, your friends and possibly a handful of kids, a wedding may not go easy for them.

If you analyze the audience at a wedding, you’ll be able to identify distinct groups of people a wedding DJ must cater to. Most weddings have an older group, a middle-aged group and a younger group. Depending on the age of the bride and groom, the DJ may end up playing more for one particular group, but wedding DJs always need to cater to each group at some stage of the proceedings. Regardless of age, most people enjoying dancing if the music suits their taste.

So too, it's almost guaranteed that at most weddings, guests will start requesting songs. If the format of some club DJ's is not to take requests, can they switch gears like that and play more of the music that people are enjoying if it isn't part of what they're used to playing? If not, expect chaos when your "club" DJ tries to mix classic rock into rap. It may not go so well.

Make sure the "club" DJ understands that this is not the nightclub they're used to and that requests are important. Even if you like the music of the club you frequent, take some time to think about your guests and understand, a good wedding DJ knows the bride and groom are the bosses for the evening, but a good hundred plus other people may have different tastes. A wedding dance floor looks kind of funny when the bride and groom are the only ones on it.

If that's the case, even the bride and groom won't dance all night by themselves.

Finding that "It" Factor with your Edmonton DJ

2010-04-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you're currently planning your wedding, you're probably doing a few things. Maybe you started by searching the internet for companies, reading some reviews, sending out for estimate requests and perhaps, even meeting with the vendors that give you the best feel.

Good for you, because that's a great start. Here's the problem.

With all that information, how do you know what information is relevant or better yet, what makes one company better than another despite the variety of prices you've probably received.

As a professional DJ and owner of one of Edmonton's larger entertainment companies, I'm going to share with you a secret that some of the most successful wedding vendors don't want you to know.

Every good company has at least one USP. What is a USP?

A USP is otherwise known as a Unique Selling Proposition.

It's that one thing that separates their company from their competition. In other words, a USP is some area of that company's business that offers a solution to their customer’s problems. Even more simple, a USP is the reason why a customer does business with that particular vendor.

Let me ask you a question.

If you sat down with three different photography companies and only one supplied you with the rights to reproducing your digital photos without the photography companies permission; but that one feature was important to you, which company would you likely choose?

Well if most other areas are considered equal, ie. you like their photos, you trust they are professional, they offer the time frame you want and the price isn't different by some drastic $3000 amount; the chances are that one feature or USP gets you to gravitate to that one company.

If you are making a list of what you want in any company you hire for the most important day of your life as a couple, what is important to you?

A number of questions I'm often asked include:

Do we as DJ's take requests?
Do we have back-up DJ's?
How much experience do we have?
Are we insured?
Can we be interactive?
What is our price?

There are plenty more, but my point here is that when we get these questions, we know the answers are important to the couples who ask them. Our answers, if different than our competitors can be considered our USP.

I'm proud to say that we've taken great pride in having more USP's than our competition in a number of areas. Let me give you an example.

Question:Do we as DJ's take requests?

Answer: Of course. Both before, during and after the event. With every client, we provide a reception form to which clients can list the songs, requests or specifics they want to ensure the DJ carries. Our DJ's also have thousands of titles available at the event and will let your guests know they can make requests. We also add an opportunity for any client, once their event is complete to request a personalized CD with their most important songs. We'll send that anytime after the event is over.

Question: Do we have back-up DJ's?

Answer: For every event. You can never know for sure what obstacles such as illness, emergencies or weather conditions can cause an absence from a vendor you hire. We have on-call DJ's for every event as well as additional equipment a phone call away should their be any issues.

Question: How much experience do we have?

Answer: It varies among our entertainers and you'll see it reflected in some of the variations in our pricing, but all DJ's must go through a strenuous training program and meet certain criteria before ever being allowed to perform an event on their own. Many of our DJ's have done hundreds of events.

Question: Are we insured?

Answer: Absolutely. We carry over $2,000,000 in liability insurance to every event. Some venues won't actually allow you to hire a company who doesn't have it.

Question: Can we be interactive?

Answer: Of the many of our options, you can select non-interactive to fully interactive shows and we'll work with you specify the type of interaction you'd like to see at your event. From line dances and conga lines to games and trivia to Name That Tune, we have entertainers who can do almost anything including emcee your event.

Question: What is our price?

Answer: We're proud to offer a variety of prices from off-season rates to summer Saturdays and from non-profiled options, to personalized DJs. All of our prices include items like insurance, lighting, cocktail and dinner music and more. We can fit most budgets and can customize our services to suit almost any need.

As a client, what is important to you? Are you talking to a company who can answer your USP? If not, perhaps it's time to call someone else.

Uplighting Your Event. Ask Your Edmonton DJ If They Offer It...

2010-03-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Easily one of the most popular and trending tendancies of wedding couples is to add a little extra wow factor to any event. Whether it's to decorate a not-so-classy venue with a little extra class, or take a very elegant facility and add your wedding colors to it, uplighting is the new "it" thing to do.

It doesn't cost a fortune, but the difference can be priceless. Take a look at a picture of a venue before uplighting and after.

Or check out this very plain and simple hall with the pink wedding colors requested by the bride...

It doesn't take much. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of $30-$40 a light if that depending on where you obtain them from.

Equinox Sound, Edmonton's fastest growing DJ company is proud to introduce their uplighting feature add-on to all of their events. Now, for just a few extra dollars, you can add an amazing element of class and beauty or find that color that matches your theme.

Ask us if you've already booked our services what it costs to add this great feature. If you haven't booked us, remember uplighting among other things that separates us from our competition.

Equinox Sound and The Palace Casino Are At It Again. Come See Edmonton's Top DJ's for Name That Tune

2010-03-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Edmonton DJ company of choice, Equinox Sound is pleased to announce that our weekly Friday night Name That Tune and DJ event at the Palace Casino in West Edmonton Mall will continue on through the month of April.

Whether it's clients looking to strike it rich at the slots or mall shoppers catching a fun evening of music entertainment, Equinox Sound, more often known as Edmonton wedding DJ's, have the Casino Showrooom Lounge dancing and singing every Friday night.

We encourage anyone to come down. Our Edmonton DJ's are there from 8:30pm - 1:30am, with music, prizes and more.

If Friday's not your speed, we'll be hosting Name That Tune Wednesdays at Suzy Cue's Sportslounge, where while we test your music knowledge, you can enjoy dirt cheap chicken wings, drink specials and more.

Come on down to either one. Tell our DJ's your a first time guest and your team will receive an extra 20 points before the game even starts!

Equinox Sound and Entertainment is Edmonton's leading mobile DJ service offering entertainers for Edmonton weddings, corporate functions and obviously Name That Tune.

Separating Posing Edmonton DJ's from Professional Edmonton DJ's

2010-03-13T23:08:00.001-08:00

I sat down with a couple today, who after they booked us for their upcoming August wedding, told us why. We're always greatful when clients do this, because for us to know what we're doing right, and in some cases, doing wrong, it's critical to our success.

These clients, like many others we work with, did their homework.

They started by doing some research on the internet, specifically by going on Google and searching the term "Edmonton Wedding DJ". Right off the bat, they quickly found our site. Considering we have one of, if not the highest Google ranked site of any DJ company in Edmonton, I wasn't surprised to hear them say so.

They clicked on our link and it took them to what they called, a "simple, classy yet informative and professional looking site that made them feel like they weren't dealing with a "fly by night" company."

* On a personal note, we took great care in designing our site. We didn't want to be too flashy, thus distracting clients from the meat of what they were looking for, but we didn't want to look like the site was thrown together by a Grade 1 student, which unfortunately, some of our competitors have done. Sorry guys, you know who you are...

The groom then called us and asked what he considered to be a million questions. We were fine with it and were able to answer most, offering to meet them in person to give more details to the questions we thought deserved a more complete answer.

His impression was a good one simply from the conversation on the phone, having described it as someone who took the time, who didn't want to steer the conversation and was looking to make sure they were the right fit for our wedding.

We allowed them to do more research including a BBB search, testimonials, references and other competitors to ensure they were sold on us. They advised us they found nothing but good things.

We met, we took another good hour talking and got everything booked with a package that fit their personalities to a tee. We took the time to provide some contacts in other areas of the industry and provided some information on our photography services, since they'd yet to resolve that part of their wedding.

When we were done, they both again thanked us and seemed genuinely excited about us being the entertainment on their wedding date.

My point here, is that without putting just that little extra effort into making this couple feel that much more at ease with our DJ company, they might not have taken the time to really learn about us. Without simple, yet informative marketing materials, they would have discarded our stuff with what they called the large pile of "nopes, not gonna cut it" companies. Without having the experience with hundreds of other events, back-ups and positive responses from the associations and clients we've worked with previously, they'd have gone a direction they felt more comfortable with.

The best part is and what makes me feel good about what we do, is that these folks are not alone.

This is simply an example of what we try to do with all of our clients and just one of the many things we do to make every client feel like their wedding is something that should be treated with professionalism and respect. Yes, there's a big difference between that, and just a wedding DJ.

Equinox Sound - Your #1 Option For Edmonton Wedding and Corporate DJ's

2010-03-08T15:52:00.001-08:00

Thank you for visiting our blog. We're excited you've found our sites and hope we get the chance to work with you on such a special event. We encourage you to use the links on the right to browse through our official website.

Take some time and fill out an estimate form if you require more information on our Edmonton DJ, wedding photography and video packages. Someone from our office will be happy to get back to you with our availability and a quote.

Selecting the right Edmonton DJ's or Edmonton Photographers can make all the difference in the world. Make sure you choose right and contact us here at Equinox Sound and Entertainment.

Included in every package:

* Qualified and Experienced Entertainers
* Thousands of Music Titles
* Full LED Lighting Effects
* Full Service Reception Forms
* Insurance, Back-ups and Much Much More

Edmonton's Wedding DJ's Working With Edmonton Rush

2010-03-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

One of Edmonton's most trusted wedding and corporate party DJ companies is working hand in hand with Edmonton's Lacrosse team the Edmonton Rush.

Go to a Rush game, and pay close attention to the Crush dancers as they provide about a minute more than a few times a game and you might hear something interesting. (assuming you can get past the good looks and dancing excitement).

Every music cut, edit and routine has been provided to the Edmonton Crush dance team by yours truly, Jim Parsons from Equinox Sound. Working closely with Danielle -- the Crush dance coach -- Jim has used his skills and creativity to come up with more than 20 unique edits to entertain you the Edmonton Rush fans during game breaks and down time.

If you're interested in getting your hands on a copy of any of the cuts, Equinox Sound will be selling them along with a variety of other original edits.

Equinox Sound is not just a wedding DJ company. We're much more and enjoy every aspect of this industry.

Edmonton's Top Wedding DJ Company Adds a New Level Of Excitement and Fun

2010-03-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

After spending time in Las Vegas at the Mobile Beat DJ Conference, Edmonton's elite DJ company Equinox Sound will be introducing a whole new level of fun and excitement to it services.

Offering Name That Tune, Karaoke, wedding dj's, corporate DJ's and school DJ's in the Edmonton and surrounding areas, Equinox Sound clients can now add the Digi Games package to any of it's services to bring that something extra to their wedding, party or establishment.

In formats similar to Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Who Wants to be A Millionaire and Family Fued or in a custom format to fit any event, you as the client can now bring in a host from Equinox Sound along with five colored and wireless buzzers to any event for a massive amount of fun, laughing, quiz taking and more.

Wedding clients might want to have it for the rehearsal dinner. Maybe they'll decide that during dinner, it would be fun to see how much their guests know about the bride and groom. In short, the possibilities are endless.

For bars and pubs, this new technology brings something other than the karaoke and music trivia games that many have tried and have been yearning for something new and different.

Equinox Sound will be introducing its new services to Edmonton in the coming weeks and we look forward to sharing it with you. If you'd like more information or to book a trial show, we ask that you give us a call today and pre-book.

How to Find Your Wedding DJ at a Trade Show Like Bridal Fantasy

2010-01-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, January 24, 2010, Edmonton's DJ and Photography company Equinox Sound and Entertainment will be displaying its services at booths #104 and #105 inside the Bridal Fantasy wedding trade show.

Hundreds of brides to be will be gathering all kinds of information about different Edmonton wedding companies on all sorts of different levels. Some may have only a few things left to tackle, while others have yet to begin to gather information about different Edmonton wedding vendors and are looking for a place to start.

So, if you'll be one of the many brides making your way to the show, how do you successfully navigate through all of the information? What's useful and what isn't? What rules do you follow and what above all else do you not do?

Here are a few tips to remember:

Single Operator vs Mutli-op Vendors

There are a variety of wedding vendors at these shows. From full-time incorporated businesses, to one-man small potatoes operations needing a way to get into the industry. We won't judge here as to what the right approach is, but what we will say, is that it is smart to go in knowing what makes you comfortable and what doesn't.

Are you the type of wedding couple that would collapse if you hired a single operation wedding DJ company who in the event got sick or had an emergency couldn't be at your event? Would re-hiring an Edmonton DJ last minute be a nightmare for you? This applies to any type of industry and if so, stay away from all companies that don't offer a back-up option and are using the show as a way to generate their first clients.

Trade shows are expensive, but with two or three bookings can turn a profit for most vendors. Their goal is to walk away from a trade show like this having filled a handful of dates they had yet to add to their calendar.

Make sure you ask.

There are also companies that have booths so extravagant that you think to yourself, is part of their price to pay for such a nice booth? The answer is probably yes.

What we find the most popular choice are Edmonton wedding vendors who have a simple yet informative booth, have plenty of employees/assistants available to answer questions and are simply looking to offer information helping you make the right decision.

Those vendors are a safe bet.

Do I supply my contact information for draws and prizes?

The answer is sure, with one exception. If you have already found a vendor in the industry you are filling out an entry form for, there might be no point in filling out a draw unless you are ok with screening or turning away phone calls after the show.

For vendors, these draws are more about the ability to contact you about your day than it is the prize they are giving away. Expect some calls after the show. It's all well and good if you need that type of vendor and require information, but if you don't it can be quite the annoyance.

If I Like a Vendor, Should I Sign Up At the Show?

I would say, typically no. With a show that busy and that loud, it's tough to get all the needed information. Every vendor worth their weight should offer a no fee consulation. If they don't, they aren't worth the trouble. Take the time at the show to book an appointment. At the appointment, sign up if you like what they offer.

Your goal is more to narrow down the type of company you don't want. If they come across as arrogant or rude, or they don't have the knowledge or offer the services you require, then you can take them off your list. Then, meet with the vendors you did like right after the show.

There is one exception to this rule. If you've either already spoken with the vendor and just wanted to meet or see some of their products on display plus you've gathered what you need, you can sign up and the vendor should have a way to allow you to do so.

Or, if you've chosen a wedding date so popular, that even the multi-op vendors might have limited space, that could be another reason. Ask if you can put down a refundable deposit that is only refundable for a few days and set an appointment. immediately following the show and finalize everything there. Most vendors have non-refundable deposits, but if you show this level of seriousness, they might give you a 3 or 4 day window.

Make Sure the Company Is Reputable

If the vendor your searching doesn't have insurance, licensing, references, back-up options, a website, easy contact information and so forth, you' can bet they are not going to provide the required service or resolution if a problem were to arise.

Companies who have cheap websites, shotty office depot or home made business cards or unprofessional looking informative materials often offer services that match their appearance. There are always exceptions of course, but more often than not, it's easy to get burned and the last thing you want on your wedding day is to get burned.

Enjoy the Show

They are extremely busy, they are loud and they are not always the best method to get completely detailed information. All that said, don't let it get you down if you don't walk away with all your vendors booked. You want to get ideas and sometimes you'll find that one vendor that immediately matches your ideas and you get that love at first impression feel.

Gather information, follow up by booking appointments and don't miss out on the opportunity to meet those vendors you liked.

Equinox Sound and Edmonton's Best DJ's Head to Bridal Fantasy

2010-01-17T14:17:00.001-08:00

This Sunday, Edmonton's DJ company Equinox Sound, will be spending the day answering questions and meeting new potential clients at Northlands Agricom. This years Bridal Fantasy Wedding show is just a matter of days away and we're excited to see what this years show will bring.

You can find Equinox Sound and booths # 104 and #105 on the trade show floor. A number of our DJ's and Equinox Sound and Entertainment President Jim Parsons will be there from 9am to help out with any questions and show you why Equinox Sound can and is the right choice for all of your Edmonton DJ and Edmonton Photography needs.

We encourage you to stop by and enter our draw for a free engagement photo session. Valued at over $200, it's worth taking a few minutes to enter your name and wedding date for such a fabulous prize.

Should you be interested in booking with Equinox Sound, we might suggest setting an appointment with us prior to the trade show as how busy it gets and the business and new contacts we take away from the show make our calendar a little less flexible.

Should you choose to book at the show, you'll be able to receive as much as $100 off the price of our DJ rates and up to 25% off our photography options. Booking with us can save you literally a thousand dollars!

On behalf of everyone at Equinox Sound and Entertainment, we hope to see you there.

Equinox Sound Brings its Edmonton DJ's to Suzy Cue's for Name That Tune

2010-01-09T01:28:00.001-08:00

Each and every Wednesday, you can find Edmonton's best DJ's and Name That Tune hosts at Suzy Cue's Sports Bar on 28ave and 65st for Name That Tune.

Taking place on Wednesdays between 9pm and 11pm, Equinox Sound encourages all music trivia buffs who'd like to win a few prizes and simply have a good time, with Wing and drink specials to join us.

We're looking for new teams each and every week and hope to see you there.

Equinox Sound has been in Edmonton's DJ scene for about 13 years and for many of those providing Name That Tune services in Edmonton and area. With a wealth of experience outside of providing Edmonton wedding dj's or disc jockeys for some of Edmonton's top nightclubs, we're proud on weeknights to share our love of music and entertainment at some of Edmonton's hopping watering holes.

Suzy Cue's is a welcome addition to our group of clients and we'd love to add more. If you know of a few players or venues that might want a Name That Tune event, feel free to contact us.

How Much Music Should Our DJ Carry?

2009-12-16T11:40:00.001-08:00

A very common question when we're hired as Edmonton DJ's or wedding entertainers, is how many songs are in our library and can we see a playlist?

There are a few answers to those questions and a lot of different DJ companies will give you different responses. Here's the real truth behind what you need to know as a wedding couple selecting your wedding DJ for the first time.

There are literally millions of songs. Some DJ companies will use it as a promotional tool that they have over 400,000 songs at their disposal for your event. Wow! That's a lot.

Others, won't bring it up because many of the Edmonton DJ's out there are still working off of CD's or vinyl and it would take loads and loads of equipment to carry that many songs on formats other than Mp3 or Mp4.

Here at Equinox Sound, many of our libraries are thousands and thousands of titles deep. That's all well and good as long as we have the right music. Hundreds of thousands of songs won't do you a lot of good, if the three favorite songs you as a client want are not a part of that group.

A typical wedding reception dance lasts about four hours. Sure, between dinner and cocktails, speeches and other traditions, our Edmonton DJ's are there much longer than four hours, but from the start of the first dance to the end of most nights, a four dance gets you around 75-100 songs depending on how much your DJ mixes tracks together.

75 songs is a lot less than a few hundred thousand to say the least. What becomes critical, is that of those 75 songs, the wedding or corporate DJ you hire makes the most out of the song choices for your guests. If you hire a club DJ and you have a guest list that embodies mostly ages 40 and up, Top 40 and Techno, likely won't work as well as oldies and classic party tunes.

Which would you rather? The DJ with a million choices or the DJ with the right music for your event?

The catch here is not that you pick a DJ with 1,000 songs. Likely, with that small a selection, they won't be able to sufficiently accept requests. That said, if your DJ carries 5,000-10,000 of the right tracks and knows his stuff, it is very likely that your guests won't spring up anything the DJ can't handle.

For us, all DJ's carry in the neighbourhood of 20,000 plus songs that will cover a variety of genres from oldies, country, Top 40, rock, swing, latin, jive, easy listening, romantic, disco. dance, and more.

So too, Equinox Sound provides (as all good Edmonton and area DJ companies should) a reception form that prior to your event, will allow you to specify any song requests, do play and do not play lists relevant for your big day. While requests are great and we do take them, we try to get as much feedback from our clients before the event as possible.

So a few things to remember:

* More is not always better. The right songs make the difference
* Your Edmonton DJ company should have enough songs to fit a variety of requests
* Your Edmonton Disc Jockey should work with you prior to your event to find the right variety of music you'll want to hear.
* Your wedding DJ should make sure that just because he has a song, doesn't mean that the song will work for your group.

What Is LED Lighting and Why Should the Edmonton DJ Company You Hire Have It?

2009-12-14T01:11:00.000-08:00

LED Lighting is everywhere. From Christmas lights to DJ lights, the world is going LED for a number of reasons.

Firstly LED Lighting is far more efficient and flexible. Its power consumption is on average 5% of the typical lighting solutions that came before it. Outside of simply being more environmentally friendly, LED lights reduce the amount of power required in every building and every reception setting, which can be critical to not only the quality of lighting, but sound quality as well.

Ever been to a wedding where the DJ is doing his thing, lights are on a base stand and providing a very cool wedding backdrop effect? Ever notice if you're the guest sitting beside that light or your child is the one who touched the "shiny toy" how hot a non-LED light can get?

LED lighting creates virtually no heat thus they can be placed anywhere with no concern for burning the hands or materials that may be placed near them.

LED lights also have a longer bulb life, with some LED manufacturers rate their LED units at between 100,000 hours and 1,000,000 hours lifespan.

Outside of the cost savings for a DJ company, that in turn could be passed to the client(s), this virtually guarantees that a wedding DJ's lights won't run out of bulb life half way through a night, thus your dance floor either loses effect until a bulb is replaced or for most Edmonton DJ's until after the show is over.

Furthermore, LED lights are much more durable, compared to the filament in traditional bulbs. Shocks, drops and knocks are far less likely to cause damage to LEDs than to incandescent bulbs, so if you have that clumsy guest that can't seem to handle his/her drink consumption, or just seems to always find a way to damage something expensive, the likelihood of them damaging an LED light is far less.

In terms of what you as a client will see with an LED light over a traditional bulb, LED Lighting offers far more options. Because LED fixtures are commonly powered using several LEDs to create the brightness required, different colours can be fitted in one unit. This means instead of single colours traditional lighting provides an LED gives you simply more color options. The same can be said if the light needs to be dimmed for certain environments.

As a client, if your DJ company isn't using LED lights, they're not taking every opportunity to save you money and energy. For a company that does 100 shows per year, replacement costs on bulbs alone could cost in the hundreds of dollars. That money could be a savings you see if the DJ company you hire doesn't have to replace the bulbs in the lights they use.

If you want a "green" wedding and are concerned about the environment, you simply aren't doing your part by hiring a DJ who uses anything but LED. This is one of the first questions you should ask your DJ if they claim to be "environmentally friendly".

It’s very easy to see now why LED lighting is taking over and easy to understand why Edmonton's top wedding DJ and corporate DJ company Equinox Sound made the switch a year ago. We encourage you to take advantage by giving us a call today.

Londonderry Mall Set for Line Dance Contest

2009-12-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, Equinox Sound will be providing a DJ from Edmonton to Londonderry Mall for their annual Christmas party. Every year, Londonderry Mall does something a little different including either singing or contests and this year is no expception.

Londonderry Mall will be celebrating the holidays with a line dance contest and Equinox Sound is no stranger to line dances. Having worked at the now non-operational Ezzie's nightclub for over five years and a host of other country night spots, Edmonton's premier DJ's can offer a wide base of knowledge when it comes to line dancing.

We look forward to seeing what the staff of Londonderry Mall can come up with and invite anyone who enjoys line dancing to give us a call for your next wedding reception. Equinox Sound can be confident in knowing that among other things, when it comes to country music and line dances are knowlege is unsurpassed.

Equinox Sound Helps Kyland Investment Management and TMG Mortgage Group Give Back

2009-12-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

On Thursday Dec 10, 2009, Edmonton's top DJ company was pleased to be invited to help Kyland Investment Management and the TMG Mortgage Group make a very Merry Christmas for some very worthy recipients.

The Rundle Centre Boys and Girls Club along with Edmonton Women's Shelter will be receiving some Christmas gifts that would have otherwise gone to areas and people that might not have needed it as much as these two groups.

This year, instead of the typical corporate Christmas parties, these two companies made an effort to ensure that the proceeds and efforts of organizing such an event went to those who needed it most and Equinox Sound was more than happy to volunteer both it's Edmonton DJ services and an Edmonton photographer from Cormack Photography to catch the spirit of giving in action.

President of Equinox Sound and Entertainment, Jim Parsons said the following when asked about getting involved in such activities, "In an effort to continually give back to the community, Equinox Sound takes a number of opportunities to share its experience and qualified DJ's for events and worth causes and working with Kyland Investment Management and the TMG Mortgage Group, just made sense. We hope this helps brighten up the holiday season for a few families and women that are more than deserving of such attention."

And here is the rest of it.

McDonald's Canada Gets To See Equinox Sound At It's Best

2009-12-10T00:21:00.000-08:00

Equinox Sound had the pleasure of working with McDonald's for the 2nd straight year. For us, this year was especially meaningful to us.

While the employees, kids and adults had a blast year when we were there, this year one of the organizers sent our Edmonton DJ office an touching email about how Equinox Sound was received this year. This is what makes doing what we do so special.

The email read:

Thank you so much we were so happy with your DJ. He was wonderful. In fact, I had several of the managers that attended a party last week asking what he was not our DJ- Its planned by someone eles in the office- Anyways, several of them went directly to my boss Jeff and asked to have him next year for both events! I will let you know! Thanks Again.

This is why we do what we do. Of course, we're never hoping that clients regret their DJ selections when it's not Equinox Sound. But when our Edmonton disc jockeys are able to set themselves apart from the competition, it's a great day for all of us here.

We want to thank the 500 plus attendees at the event for being such a great group. We want to thank those managers from McDonald's who realized the effort we put into making their event a success, and we want to say thank you in advance to those attendees that will be rocking out to our music and DJ's at next years parties.

Equinox Sound Brings a Ton of Fun and Excitement to 15 Parties in 4 Days!!

2009-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

With 12 Edmonton DJ styles and a variety of options, Equinox Sound gets asked to do a lot of DJ events in Edmonton and area. We truly appreciate all the business and love adding new clients to our ever growing list of Edmonton corporate clientelle.

This past weekend was really something as Equinox Sound corporate DJ's provided services for 15 different clients from Dec 4th to Dec 7th!!. That's 15 events in 4 days and we are happy to say we were able to have great results at all 15 shows.

This coming weekend will be another fun one and we look forward to working with, entertaining and bringing great music to a host of other corporate clients. With everything from Name That Tune, to dance contests to video and more, our Edmonton Disc Jockey's will be bringing a wealth of experience, personality and flexibility to all of these events and hope to see many of you there.

We continue to wish all a Merry Christmas and are happy to discuss with potential Edmonton wedding clients their upcoming wedding receptions.

For us, it's non-stop as the minute we end our Christmas season, we get ready for the big Bridal Fantasy conference and then our annual trip to the Mobile Beat DJ Conference in Las Vegas.

Should you want to obtain a quote from us in respect to your upcoming event, please check out our estimate form and we'll get a great quote to you.

Equinox Sound Goes to Jasper Place Hotel

2009-12-09T19:33:00.001-08:00

Equinox Sound has been hired and is excited to bring Name That Tune to Edmonton's Jasper Place Hotel. In an attempt to revitalize the venue, Equinox Sound is looking to clients, friends and anyone looking to have a bit of fun on Thursday nights as Edmonton's best DJ's put on a show from 8pm-11pm.

We welcome you to join our Edmonton DJ team every Thursday night and also on Mondays for karaoke each week. Come have a little fun, win some great prizes and together we can make Jasper Place Hotel the type of venue it wants to be --- a clean, fun, safe and entertaining for some great Edmonton entertainment.

Great Weekend of Christmas Functions: Thanks To All

2009-11-29T22:40:00.001-08:00

Well, it was a busy weekend in Edmonton for Christmas functions and Equinox Sound, Edmonton's top DJ service was in the middle of it all.

We started on Friday with Lilydale Foods, Weiss-Johnson, S.T.A.R.S and a few others, moved on over to Saturday where our entire crew of DJ's were entertaining and finished off with a kids party on Sunday in Fort Saskatchewan.

We just wanted to send a special thank you to all the companies and groups we had the pleasure of working with and are excited to see you all again next year.

As top notch Edmonton Corporate DJ's, Equinox Sound can do a variety of shows from your traditional corporate dinner and dance to a night of Name That Tune, Murder Mystery and Karaoke and we love working with new companies every year.

Give us a call at 780-907-1761 and make an appointment with us.

Picking the Perfect Entrance Song

2009-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

When it comes to making your entrance as husband and wife for all your guests to see for the first time, picking the perfect song can be tricky. What do you want to say about your new relationship? What does it tell your guests about you?.

Your entrance song sets the tone for the rest of the night. Remember that and you can't pick a bad choice.

If you're the type of couple who want to keep things low key, making your event more of a classics and cocktails type scene, pick something that represents that. Classical music is a sure bet.

But, if you're the type of couple who throws a wedding to make sure your guests are dancing, singing, enjoying a few beverages and just all around having a party, classical may not be the best choice. You want a song that shows everyone "we are here to party and you better have a blast!"

From Sinatra to Hockey Night in Canada, and from Kool and the Gang to the Black Eyed Peas, nothing is off limits. Your DJ should tell you if a song is inappropriate, but mostly, your DJ should let you know it's your choice and your guests have been waiting an hour or so for you to arrive.

Let them see you in the way you want to be seen when you get there. With the right entrance song, you'll be able to do that.

How To Hire the Right Edmonton Wedding DJ

2009-11-01T23:02:00.001-08:00

When it comes time to hire the DJ for your wedding, there are a few critical things to remember.

A DJ above all else can make or break your reception in a heartbeat. Hire the wrong one and your party will suffer. Hire the right one, and your guests will be telling you how great the night was every time you run into them. So, how do you know if you have the right DJ?

First, the company you hire should make you feel comfortable right out of the gate. You want to feel ask though you are bringing someone in who cares not only about your image of the perfect wedding, but understands how to incorporate your guests to the level you desire.

Not everyone wants a DJ that puts on a show all night, dresses in costumes, and talks about everything under the sun just to keep your guests attention. Some couples actually hope their wedding is a more laid back, cocktail style function that allows people to dance or mingle at their own speed.

Others, look for a DJ who can get everyone involved and out on the dance floor. A DJ who will start the party if it takes a few songs to get your guests into the swing of things and can participate in line dances, interactive activities and more.

What do you want your wedding to be? Once you know, ask the company what they do.

Second, the company you hire should be able to cover your event in case of problems. You can pick the right DJ, you can be excited about what's going to happen at your event, but if an emergency strikes and your DJ can't be there, what happens to your wedding reception? Never ask a friend or hire a company that does not have a back-up plan. More often than not, you'll regret it.

A DJ company that has more than one "DJ" is a safe bet. Double bookings, car accidents, contracts and other factors unfortunately come in to play with a lot of companies and friends who don't take pride in their professionalism. If you're on the wrong end of that confusion, you could be stuck without an entertainer and all the money, pre-planning and research won't do you any good, since you can't make a DJ without a back-up magically appear.

Third, consider price. There are a lot of DJ's in the Edmonton area whose prices range from $500 - $2000 per night. With such a wide range, how do you know which one to choose?

Well once you've eliminated those that don't make you comfortable right away, or don't have back-up DJ's, you've found you'll have narrowed down your options significantly. From there, ask what you get for the money.

With a $500 DJ, you might find there are no lights, licensing, insurance, wireless mics or other things you might need that a DJ should provide. With a $2000 DJ, you might be paying for the advertising cost, the office space they rent, or the fancy gift basket they offer in an effort to attract your business. Do any of those things really affect the DJ's ability to provide quality entertainment? Probably not.

An average DJ should run between $700-$1400 per night depending on who you hire (this can change or be lower if you're wedding is in an offseason or on a day other than Saturday).

Couples who hire a DJ based on a referral or recommendation, knows the DJ is probably pretty good, which also means others have interest in them. You may pay a premium to keep that DJ for your wedding, but that is money well spent, since you know exactly what you'll be getting.

There are more factors that go into the process, so always meet the company you're interested in, unless you know right off the hop you don't want to risk losing an available date to another client. The DJ company you hire should offer to meet with you and answer any questions. If they don't, it's not worth considering them anyways. .

Welcome to the Equinox Sound Blog

2009-05-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our first edition of the Equinox Sound Blog. Our hope is that this becomes a place where clients, music enthusiasts, wedding couples and more can leave information about the past, present and future wedding plans as it relates to anything DJ or photography related.

Please take some time and introduce yourself.