Or maybe "You're going to like the way your guests look as they leave your event," might be a good advertising tag line. The line was of course inspired by the Joseph A. Banks commercials that say "You're going to like the way you look." I've always been fascinated to watch the audience after the music ends at events over the past 29 years. If the party is awesome, you're guests will not want to leave. An awesome party requires awesome Music. Hiring the right Disc Jockey is one of the most important decisions you can make as a bride and groom. I was playing around with advertising tag lines on our journey back from a two day getaway with my wife of twenty years. Jennifer and I went to The Inn at Pocono Manor in Pennsylvania to share some much needed alone time. This included time away from the Phantom Shadow business, our lovely children, and the zoo we have at our home. (4 dogs, 3 cats, and a gecko) We were successful in having a great time together....but it did include some discussion of the business because it has become a major part of our lives over the past twenty years. Mysteriously enough, the resort location also had a wedding reception with Disc Jockey Adam Skuba with Skuba Entertainment who I have recently become friends with. Earlier in the week I had planned to go and "shadow" Adam at his event, but after I looked at the Inn at Pocono Manor's website I knew Jennifer would enjoy the venue as well. Jennifer and I rarely are both available on a Saturday....One of us is usually booked to entertain for a wedding.The resort was laid out in a way that Jennifer and I were able to be in the lobby at different times throughout the day (between the massages, lunch, formal dinner, bar, etc) and be able to hear the wedding celebration in the ballroom. And we were able to hear the party in our 3rd floor room. This worked out well. This was almost like good therapy for me. Alone time with my wife, time with my business partner, and being able to hear what a successful DJ in a different area does, but most important to me was being able to see how the guests looked after the 11pm ending of the reception. Many of the guests including the bride and groom moved to the resort bar where there was a Guitar player/singer fellow. The look on the brides face said it all....she had a day that she will remember for all the right reasons. The guests proceeded to dance in the resort bar to play that funky music being strummed by the guitarist. I could tell that the guests liked the way they felt and I give credit for that success to Adam Skuba. A great disc jockey has the ability to make your special day one to remember for all the right reasons.Wedding receptions are an escape for guests to as they say in Cabaret "Leave your troubles outside, in here life is beautiful....." If the DJ is great, the guests will like they way they feel and the guests will leave their troubles outside and have a great time a the reception. Isn't that what every bride hopes for? A wedding day filled with joy and memories to last a lifetime. Maybe some background will be helpful....Jennifer and I are the owners of Phantom Shadow Entertainment. When she was crazy enough to marry me in 1994, I rather quickly decided to give her 51% ownership of Phantom Shadow Entertainment thinking we are now a female owned company. I have no regrets in doing this. Jennifer's efforts in the business are a major part of our growth between 1994 and today. From 1985 until 1994 Phantom Shadow Entertainment was soley a Disc Jockey company. We had grown from one system to in around 25 systems if we count my business, my brothers business, and my dad's business. We were in the right place at the right time between 1985 through 1994. We grew quickly and dominated the market share. We were able to provide quantity and quality during those years.Times changed quickly in 1994 with the DJ industry mainly due to the availability of the CD Recorder. This made music collections easy to duplicate. DJ equipment also came down in price. Very quickly, the DJ market started to become saturated with disc jockeys. We felt we needed to place our irons in different fires and grow the business. We bought a limousine, started doing invitations, and even started a videography branch specializing in weddings. It was the 90's....brides seemed to like the DJ, Video, Limousine, Videography package deal type of thing. Afterall, that's what the businesses in Long Island where selling at the time, so we ventured on. At the same time, I also bought an inflatable boxing ring which eventually led to our highest grossing event to date in our 29 year history. (another blog will certainly be in the future about this branch.)We offered the videography and invitations from 1994 until 1998. We realized in 1998 that "Jack of all trades, Master of None" was relevant. While we were profitable with the videography business, we just didn't have a passion for it and the word "edit" really should be left to professional video production talent. The invitations were dropped quickly....It's best to leave invitations to the professionals who do invitations. Limousines? We grew the limousine business for twenty years from 1994 until 2014, and because we wanted to direct our attention and passion to the DJ, Inflatables, and Casino Theme Party Business, we sold our limousine business In September 2014.The DJ business for Jennifer and I continues to be a passion for both of us, and I believe it is because we enjoy making people happy. Our dedication to the growth of our Disc Jockey business has been re-energized and good things are happening with that division of the business. We have excellent team members in place to enable the growth to be systemized and most importantly healthy for Phantom Shadow Entertainment. As a bride and groom, I urge you to take action and invest the time to meet with your DJ choices before you hire anyone. Hear their story. Ask them about their journey. Great Disc Jockeys exist in your area...."I guarantee it!" Afterall, at the end of your wedding day, I'm sure you will hope to say to yourself, "I like the way my guests looked."-Donovan Yaukey, CO-CEO & Founder, Phantom Shadow Entertainment
