Karaoke Forums

I wish I had known that about karaoke before I booked a KJ to do my wedding. Oh, well. Everyone had a great time anyway.

And while my (second) wedding was an informal affair, my (thirty-something) niece recently called to tell me how surprised she was to find karaoke at a friend's (fancy/formal) wedding that she had just attended and how much fun everyone had.

It's too bad people don't know that karaoke doesn't work at weddings!@

It can work - you just have to do it in brief sets later on in the reception. I do what I'm asked to do. It's always mostly DJ, but if the B&G are really into karaoke, I'm certainly not going to say no, but I make sure it doesn't zap all the energy out of the party.

birdofsong

Virtual DJ is a great program that allows you to cue up songs and open up your playlist while music is playing and pull songs into a playlist as you go. It even has a serach function to type in your song select it and move on. I have all my music on my site and customers can put together their own playlist. If I don't have it, I will get it for them. I think I may format these songs into a separate book for suggested songs for them to go through beforehand or even during.

By the way, a lot of great songs came out of this thread. I will download whatever I don't have.

_________________
KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Oh, silly me, I almost forgot that at my daughters wedding, last fall, karaoke was also available.

I guess, if an entertainment company offers ONLY karaoke it wouldn't work at most parties, unless of course it's a karaoke party!

An entertainment company, in order to get a "flavor" for the specific wedding reception at hand, needs to be familiar with many aspects of the bride's plans, particularly where the reception will be held and the type of weddings that are usually attended at that facility!

One of my best friends, for her second wedding, had a "Harley Davidson" motif. While they were married in a church the reception was outdoors. Everyone who rode came to the reception in leathers. All the music for the ceremony was country. Knowing the people in attendance, I am sure that karaoke would have added to their enjoyment!

And if I were hired to do a "karaoke" show for a wedding, if there were a ongoing line of different singers throughout the reception I would accommodate those singers.

I was amazed at my wedding how many relatives had good voices and enjoyed singing. For some, it was their first exposure to karaoke. What I remember most is when all of my wives brothers and sisters got up to sing us a song!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
JR.... yep, weddings can be very stressful, AND very demanding. Those are two of the reasons that allows me to charge, in good conscious, more for a wedding!

Or the brides brother and his buddy attempt to sing "Master of Puppets" by Metallica and 3/4 of the guests just get up and leave early.

Or the teens decide to sing a bunch of rap songs and all the older folks just walk out.

I've seen it happen and unlike a bar, you really cant say no. Karaoke Weddings are awful.

Again it is the preference of the B/G or the mother. My most lucrative wedding receptions were when they got to singing and partying . They wanted extra hours which cost $100 per hour. . I can turn a wedding reception into a thousand dollar gig with karaoke and not with strictly DJ. Your arguments or reasoning shows a lack of experience. I am not guessing or offering opinions based upon inexperience. I do this for a living and do it in a professional manner. To sit here and argue whether there should be karaoke at a wedding reception is only the wild guesses of people that have never done them for years. There has been a period of time when a band was hired and folks didnt sing anymore That trend has changed and more and more request karaoke at receptions and BTW you must have a format where you can supply DJ or KJ and provide the proper ratio as the crowd demands. Cabaret Karaoke can supply the format or theme for any occasion desired and we specialize in satisfaction and meeting the demands of our customers.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

I stand by my experience. Not only by running them but by going to others weddings as a guest only & witnessed the same problems. Yes they can work at times, but this is not the norm as a rule.
I personally will no longer book karaoke weddings, dj only.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Yes, that's it. We are all rookies. You are a Karaoke God with magical powers.

I do provide a professional service and will promote it here or in any other forum. If you want to apply ego or any other childish notions then so be it. These posts are not to feed my ego. I do know my strengths and weaknesses. I do know how to use the internet to promote my business and get high on Google search engines. Google karaoke northern colorado.

I am not a karaoke god but have many years experience in professional vocations which includes entertainment and karaoke. You can glean from my knowledge or choose to take effront and take it personally. Frankly I dont give a damnn.

I offer opinions here and I do get tired of all the childish arguments presented by those with nothing but guesses.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

I would imagine that a wedding comprised of karaoke only, generally speaking, could be QUITE awful. But a wedding that offers karaoke is no different than one that doesn't. If there are a different generations in attendance, and there usually are, the music must be satisfy a diverse crowd. And sometimes it will miss the mark whether there is a band, KJ or DJ.

But I have never been to ANY formal affair, and I have been to many, where anyone has left early because of the entertainment company and/or the selection of music. There are just too many other things going on in the dynamics of a wedding reception to keep folks occupied.

- food & beverages
- introductions - meeting and greeting
- wedding rituals
- catching up with old friends/relatives
- and perhaps other diversions such as a psychic (which I had at my daughters wedding along with DJ and Karaoke), magician (which had at my daughters sweet sixteen along with a band), face painters, clowns, henna tattoos, and the like!

If adding karaoke to your portfolio of services for a wedding ends up destroying the wedding, you're doing something wrong! In short, because people fail at a particular effort doesn't mean that the objective cannot be accomplished --- it simply means that it cannot as yet be accomplished by those who have failed at it!

eric- AGREE with your post!

Let me add..

I think it's downright unprofessional and stupid to put what Y-O-U, as a " self-professed professional" WANT and DISREGARD what THE CLIENT WANTS. The SHEER LACK of catering to the clients wants and needs FIRST shows what Ollie said. "Lack Of Experience".

For a "dj" or "kj" (pardon my laughing) to REFUSE to provide a SERVICE for personal reasons or just with the opinion that "they weddings/karaoke won't and can't work well together" is simply STOOPID. Out of 300+ weddings in my years of experience, probably 35-40 HAD karaoke as an added feature- separate rooms form the ceremony, and EVERYTHING worked out GREAT in ALL WEDDINGS.

MOST of YOU people here KNOW NOTHING but speak volumes of WHAT YOU'VE HEARD as reference. If you don't know S#$T, DON"T SPEAK IT! You can ruin it for people who want to learn something.

YOU WILL NOT HEAR ME speak of band knowledge, much technical innards of equipment, or current computer software hosting programs, BECAUSE I DON"T KNOW enough to Spout-Off on those subjects!

CRACKS ME UP when i hear a simple KJ "talk" of Deejaying, or a former band member knowing everything about every karaoke disc manufacturer. OR someone who ONCE WENT to a wedding, know eveything about what will or won't work.

YOU SHOULD HEAR YOURSELVES SOMETIMES! I would rather not post or add a simple reply, THAN act like i know everything.

SOME people are well-rounded here, don't get me wrong, but THE COMPETITION TO SEE WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING is getting old and ugly...just like this post.

REFUSING to provide a service for a client other than "you don't have the resources, or experience" makes NO SENSE, SENCE, OR CENTS at all. NOT because you don't like it. I WOULD HOPE A WEDDING COUPLE WOULD search for a REAL company who could handle ALL THEIR WANTS & NEEDS- not a wannabe Wedding DJ that ONLY hosts KARAOKE- and TAKES a HUGE RISK OF FAILURE at the most important day of their lives!

RANT over. My apologies. POINT: Don't TALK IT, unless you really KNOW IT! J.R.

When I say DJ I am using the term very loosely for I am not a DJ in the truest sense. I would rather say I have a good selection of dance or background music for all ages. Private parties are totally different than bar gigs and can vary from one to the next depending upon what the customer wants. The rules are different for example if there are people dancing you dont call up a singer and end the song in the middle.

A typical host wants dinner music to start with then pick up the pace and crank it with dance music and a smattering of karaoke. The kids around here had graduation parties like this and grew up with these types of parties. It is only natural that their receptions tend to follow the same format.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

In my post above I stated that at the majority of the weddings we do (and we do A LOT of weddings as DJs/MCs), they don't want karaoke when asked. Of course I offer it. It'd be crazy not to. When we arrange weddings, it is the wants and needs of the marrying couple that matters. If they were rabid karaoke nuts, of course there would be karaoke. We just haven't done any of those yet. In fact, I ALWAYS offer to have the TV and computer set up just in case. Funny how many people go, OH NO, NOT KARAOKE AT MY WEDDING. We did do one wedding a couple of years ago where they wanted it - interestingly, it was after everything else and it was like someone opened the flood gates - people started singing and pretty soon the party was over. Could have been any other number of reasons that people were leaving but this was a family deal - kids to oldsters. Only a few wanted to sing.

Retirement parties, birthday parties, anniversaries - yes, people are more likely to say that they'd like it as an option. Probably comes down to the kind of party it is - but duh, always offer it if you have it. When I cast my vote about not at weddings it was with full knowledge of all aspects of the wedding/private party DJ/KJ business.

BTW, to take it a step further, I only do weddings for acquaintances anymore (including friends of friends of friends, etc.) - Bride of Godzilla isn't someone I want to deal with. We have more than enough weddings for the next few mos - enough that I don't take Saturday karaoke gigs anymore because of it.

I have been doing weddings for close to 27 years...and they are still my least favorite of all gig types. Give me a private party or club any day. Of course, it's probably because I am just a newb and doing something wrong.

I've got a karaoke wedding reception coming up next month. Never done one before.

It's the first marriage for both bride and groom. Their group forms a substantial part of the core regulars in my home room, so I think I know what I'm getting into.

Bride will wear a red gown with a short skirt so her leg artwork isn't covered up. Her favorite songs to sing are things like Short Dick Man and Highway To Hell, his - Living Dead Girl and Seasons In The Abyss. Should be interesting.

Now THAT sounds like it could be a lot of fun! Good Luck.

JR

Well-taken point of view. Of course, there are those who will read your post and think that your point is directed solely at this thread!

It would be too bad if people don't recognize the truth to be found in your post regarding how some poster' delve into areas that they may not know as much about as they profess! And then stick to their opinion.

It might be helpful to add to your post that there are those who offer opinions that are often contrary to the facts or experiences of others. Instead of embracing what there is to learn from those other experiences and/or viewpoints, those other experiences/viewpoints are often minimized or deemed as inconsequential!

No lack of experience on my part. So call me stoopid if you like, I do not offer karaoke for weddings. I recommend a couple other companies I work with. I will do karaoke for any other party, but no longer will do weddings!

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

http://www.singerschoice.ca/

This site is showcasing about a 1/2 dozen wedding karaoke discs on this page.

Alert.... the prices are in Canadian dollars, about 25% cheaper in US $

Don't know if he is or isn't a karaoke god, but he's right. I've done the same before I got too annoyed with weddings. If you go on to a DJ site like Ourdjtalk.com, you will see similar posts.

_________________
"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."