… the Esvy guys would like to wish everyone single one of you a special Happy Mother’s Day. We’ve had the privilege of seeing the genuine bond that exists between moms and their children as they walk down the aisle, and we hope that you experience the same amount of smiles and delight today as well. As momma’s boys’ at heart, the Esvy guys will now be off to spend some time with one of the favorite women of their lives. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

In light of this past week’s passing away of MCA from the legendary Beastie Boys, we wanted to spend this week to recognize how music is and will always be a major component of a bride and groom’s wedding day. Many will concur that music can be considered the universal language of the world, and it undoubtedly speaks on so many levels throughout a wedding ceremony and reception. The couples’ first dance, the introduction of the wedding party, the tossing of the bouquet , and even dinner hour are all moments in the reception which are typically accompanied with melodies to instill some sort of emotion to all those in attendance. With that said, here’s some hopefully helpful tips for those seeking their wedding music vendors.

Disc Jockey or Band

Many couples plan their weddings and arrive to the point where they must decide between drums and guitars versus two turntables and a microphone. To be quite honest with you guys, we’ve shot weddings where both have provided hours upon hours of great music that would even satisfy the Michael Jackson’s and Fred Astaire’s of your wedding guests. Seriously, both types of music providers have caused us to shake our own bums to the beat of the music while camera in hand. Typically, you can expect to pay a premium for having a full fledge band due to having multiple musicians, but this shouldn’t sway you completely from this option. There’s something truly special about hearing unique & unheard renditions of today’s pop hits and all-time classics from decades ago (Yes, that’s why we have a Glee playlist on our iPods…and I digress).

Don’t hesitate to ask for a live demo or video footage of the music vendors that you’re exploring. Some couples assume that a demo CD or a website with a soundtrack give an overall representation of the DJ or band, but it’s even more beneficial to see how the vendor interacts withs guests. 9 times out of 10, they will be the master of ceremony on your big day and have huge a responsibility of setting the mood throughout the occasion. Another topic to hit is music selection. Ensure your entertainment vendor can perform the songs that matter, which leads us to the next tip…

This isn’t Seacrest’s American Top 40… On this day, you call the shots

This is your day, so your playlist will be the one on rotation. Outside of the obvious need to provide music for the key parts of the wedding reception, we think it’d be a great idea to gauge the music preferences of your wedding guests and piece together a decent playlist of songs that everyone will enjoy. Yes, you may have teenagers who are head over heels about Justin Bieber’s latest tune, young adult males and females who will still, to this day, sing their heart out to Backstreet Boy’s “I Want It That Way”, and older adults who want the cool listenings of the Pretenders and Phil Collins. Don’t be afraid to also include songs that you wish to exclude from the evening’s event. In most cases, the playlist you compile won’t be enough to last through the reception, but the more detail you provide for the band or DJ, they’ll have a better idea on what additional songs to perform that you may have overlooked.

On that note… we leave you with the hilarious Dan Band performing “Fame” at the wedding reception at the end of the movie The Hangover. Surprisingly enough, they are indeed bookable for weddings. Yes, we’re as shocked as you are…

This past Monday marked Esvy’s introductory appearance to one of NYC’s biggest Wedding shows, and we went into it not knowing exactly what to expect. After frantically running back and forth setting up our allocated table, we can honestly say, without any sort of reservation,  that we were absolutely delighted by all the friendly faces that came by and had a chat with us. We put in a lot of work to produce the different albums, prints, and handouts that decorated our booth, and were genuinely ecstatic with the general reaction from all those passing by. It’s the little things like this that bring a little smile to the guys at Esvy.

For those of you who were able to snatch one of our Esvy promo bundles, you’ll notice that we included a crafty letterpress card briefly summarizing Esvy’s mission in the wedding world. If any of you guys are in need of any letterpress design work, you NEED to check out the crew at Dolce Press (www.dolcepress.com). We personally dropped by their offices this past week to pick up our cards, and they are definitely a wonderful group of people to meet.

We hope you guys continue to keep close ties with us here on our website as well as through the typical social media outlets! We’re only an e-mail or one tweet away, so don’t hestitate to ask us about all your wedding and general photography questions. Till next time, readers…

Hey, guys! Just to let you all know, Esvy Photography will be making an appearance at Wedding Salon’s yearly bridal tradeshow in NYC. We would love for every single one of you to come see us and check out our latest wedding work. If you’re in the area, the event will be happening tomorrow from 4 to 8 PM at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 W 18th Street. You can find more details of the event by clicking here. We’re excited to show our photos and wedding albums, so don’t be shy to drop by and say hi!

Also don’t forget to check out more photos from Melanie & Heri’s preview post.

Ceremony – St Austin’s Church
Reception – AT&T Conference Center
Wedding Coordinator – Your Wedding, Your Way
Hair & Make Up - BeautyMark
Florist – Verbena Floral Design
Videographer – Joe Simon Wedding Films
Photographer – Esvy Photography
DJ – Look No Further Entertainment
Lighting – Filo Designs
Cakes – Blue Note Bakery
Rentals – Marquee Rents
Transportation – Austin Trolley