As I kick start my Sunday, I think back to what an enjoyable evening I had last night at a friend’s wedding in Grand Haven!
The decorations were so unique, appetizers and dinner by Anthony’s Kicked Up Catering was awesome, and Ryke’s once again outdid themselves with the cupcakes and dessert bar. We have so many talented event professionals in the West Michigan area; it’s always fun to see each of them hard at work.
While I’ve heard great things about Modern Entertainment and experienced it first hand during conversations with both Nick and Tim, I’ve never had a chance to see them in their element. When Chuck and Carissa were in the market for a DJ for their wedding, I recommended ME to them but I had no idea just how enjoyable ME would make the night! Great music, seamless MCing, and unique ways to get guests out of their seats and onto the dance floor…Nick did an AMAZING job and I can’t wait to attend another wedding where the microphone is in ME’s hands.
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to learn more about this dynamic duo. Here’s what Nick had to say:
|JLC| Tell me about Modern Entertainment and how you got started.
{Nick | ME} Tim and I met in high school when we joined a garage band together, so we’ve had a lot of years in the musical/performance background. Eventually we got tired of that scene and started looking for other opportunities. That’s when we started DJing side gigs. We already had the equipment and music, so why not? Once the word started to get out and we started booking more and more, we thought about doing it more seriously. Then we decided to form a company, get a website, start attending bridal shows, etc. We figured we were already booking up pretty good as is, so what could it hurt? Sure enough in our first year as a company our bookings tripled, then they tripled again the second year! We figured we made the right choice.
|JLC| What is your favorite part of your job?
{Nick | ME} I think my favorite part is knowing we have everything covered. We tell our clients all the time that you can plan for months and months and try to cover every detail for your reception, but once you get there it’s in our hands. You want someone in that position that can handle curve balls and make sure everything runs smoothly. We do everything in our power to make sure things are done in a timely manner and everyone (hall staff, photographers, caterers, etc) is in the loop.
|JLC| What attracts brides (and grooms) to ME?
{Nick | ME} Professionalism. Our brides know that they have nothing to worry about when they book us. I think a lot of it is what I spoke of in question #2. We hear horror stories all the time about how people will book their DJ and then never hear from him again. Or how while the photographers were in the other room taking pictures of the cake, the DJ goes into the first dance (so now the bride and groom have no pictures of the first dance). That one’s my favorite. A lot of people would blame the photographer in that situation, but they should blame the DJ.
|JLC| What is one piece of advice you always share with brides?
{Nick | ME} You get what you pay for. Have you ever heard, “My aunt’s cousin’s daughter is getting into photography, so she said she’d do our pictures for free!” or “My brother DJ’s at the club once in a while, so he’s doing our wedding.”? YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! haha. Do you really want to risk missing all the important shots of you big day just to save a few bucks on the photographer? Do you want someone that is going to (possibly) show up to the wedding, and plays music off his iPod and just sits there all night? I actually just took a client in about a week ago that said “so and so was supposed to do it, but now he’s out of town and won’t answer the phone”
|JLC| What additional services/products do you offer?
{Nick | ME} As far as wedding and event related business goes, we own the DJ and Photobooth company (Shots Picture Booth), and we offer discounts if bundled together, or bundled with some of our other preferred vendors such as Fly Photography and Vantage Paintball(Bachelor parties, etc).
|JLC| Please share your most memorable experience with a bride and/or groom!
{Nick | ME} That’s a tough one, there’s so many! I would have to say one of them was a couple years ago when we did the ceremony music for this younger couple and their outdoor wedding. They did everything right. It was gorgeous outside, beautifully decorated, and just overall classy. Well, they told us prior that once they get announced (“I give you Mr. & Mrs. so and so”) that they wanted us to play DJ Unk’s “Walk it Out.” Needless to say I was very skeptical, because I figured everyone would turn to us like we were crazy. However we hit it and they went nuts! The whole wedding party danced their way back up the aisle. It was awesome. The reception was really fun too.
|JLC| What’s been one of your favorite venues to DJ?
{Nick | ME} Locally, I’d have to say Watermark 920. The staff is great, the place looks great and very original, and it’s always a good time there. Not locally, there’s a place in St. Joe, MI called The Veranda at The Whitcomb, we did a beautiful wedding there a while back and the place is spectacular. Two corners of the building are exposed so you can see the lake across the venue; it’s a great view.
Now…what we really want to know…
|JLC| Driving with the windows down, or the air conditioner cranked up?
{Nick | ME} Depends on how hot it is, but usually windows down unless I’m on the highway.
|JLC| What celebrity wedding would you LOVE to DJ?
{Nick | ME} It’d have to be a comedy actor like Seth Rogen or Paul Rudd
|JLC| Ya’ll have your hands in quite a few projects. What’s next?
{Nick | ME} Well for me, I have my own wedding to plan! haha. As for the company, right now I think we are staying focused on what we have with the DJ, Paintball, and Photo Booth. We dabbled in the party bus concept for a while, and I’d like to revisit that when we have more time to dedicate to it. We still plan to open up a bar/arcade in downtown Muskegon, but I think we are a few years away from that.
|JLC| What song is constantly requested that you might rather not play?
{Nick | ME} Pretty much any Pink song. I’m not a big fan and most people just want to sing along with her rather than dance, so she kind of works against us.
Thanks so much Nick for taking the time to let us know more about Modern Entertainment! With the 2013 wedding season starting to die down, I know ME’s 2014 season is quickly filling up so make sure to contact either Nick or Tim for your special day! Find them on Facebook or check them out here! You can also learn more about all the other projects they have going:
