For your wedding, don’t buy the leap. Buy the parachute.

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There’s a reason we don’t talk about “climbing in love.” Falling is more fun – letting go, relaxing, being in the moment. People who skydive call it “the most liberating thing you can do.” For 12 seconds, you’re not falling. You’re floating on a cushion of air. As long as you’ve got a parachute. Without a parachute, those same 12 seconds will be pretty stressful. You’re not safe. And if you don’t feel safe, you don’t feel free. And freedom is the fun part. Any idiot can jump out of a plane. But for a good time, bring a parachute. […]

These are the songs that killed at our Chicago weddings in September.

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I’ve got your wedding music ideas right here. Every weekend, Backthird DJs are all over the Chicago area, filling dance floors of all sizes. And every Monday, I ask them a question: Which songs killed it on your wedding dance floors this weekend? Here’s how our Chicago area wedding DJs answered me last month, September 2016. […]

What does my wedding Account Manager do?

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Backthird works a little differently from some Chicago wedding DJ companies – and not just because you can book live music here along with your DJ! If you’re setting up your first call to talk wedding music with us, here’s what you need to know. You’ll have two main points of contact at Backthird Entertainment: Your Producer and your Account Manager. Your Producer is your DJ or your lead musician. (If you book both, you’ll have two producers.) They run the music and events at your wedding, and they help you plan those things ahead of time so they’ll be successful. Your Account Manager helps you do everything else. […]

How should my DJs and musicians set up for my Heritage Prairie Farm wedding?

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I haven’t met you, but I already know two things about your Heritage Prairie Farm wedding: It’s going to be beautiful. And it’s going to have a more complicated setup than most weddings do. I’m not clairvoyant; I just send a lot of DJs and musicians to weddings at Heritage Prairie Farm! We had 18 performances at the Elburn, Illinois wedding location just this year – and every event meant multiple sound setups and multiple outdoor locations for ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing times. At a Heritage Prairie Farm wedding, your guests are going to have grass under their shoes for at least part of the day – and they won’t be spending too much of that day in any single location. What will that look like at your event? Below are pictures of the setups our teams use to make it work. […]

What’s the best sound setup for my Morton Arboretum wedding ceremony?

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My teams play music at Morton Arbretum wedding ceremonies a LOT. In the height of the Chicago season, it seems like hardly a week goes by without at least one Backthird DJ, jazz group or string ensemble setting up there. And yet one thing we love about Arboretum weddings is that, if you get married there, your event won’t unfold quite like anyone else’s. The sheer number of spaces and the many ways to use them ensures that every couple’s night takes a very personal shape. Couples saying vows at Morton Arboretum have a lot of gardens, lawns and rooms to choose from. It’s no wonder, then, that one of the biggest questions Backthird office staff get is “What kind of sound setup does my wedding ceremony need?” What follows is our specific advice for various Morton Arboretum wedding ceremony spaces. In every case, the goal is the same: To allow all of your guests to hear all of your ceremony without difficulty. For some areas, that means microphones are a must – in others, you could skip the sound setup and go entirely acoustic if your guest list is small. […]

These are the songs that killed at our Chicago weddings in the month of August.

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Need wedding music ideas? Our DJs work weddings all over Chicagoland. Every Monday, we ask them a simple question: Which songs killed it on your wedding dance floors this weekend? Here’s how Backthird’s Chicagoland wedding DJs answered for the month of August 2016. […]

Why are the best DJs in Chicago so expensive?

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There’s no such thing as the “best DJ in Chicago” – only the one who’s right for your event. But if you’re deep enough into your plans to be comparing rates, you may be noticing broad differences in what different DJs charge. Focus specifically on wedding DJ pricing, and the discrepancy looks even greater. I’ve written elsewhere about what the differences in Chicago DJ pricing can mean to you, the client. But in this post I want to look at why, exactly, the best DJs are so expensive. And I want to explain in a way that’s as transparent and honest as possible. Here’s how my Chicago DJ company breaks down our wedding pricing. This is where your money actually goes. […]

Nope, your wedding is NOT the most important day of your life.

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I was on the lawn at Danada House in Wheaton, Illinois, smiling and looking classy in my black suit, while inside I freaked just a little bit out. The bride and groom weren’t asking much from us today. They only really cared about one thing: my trio had to play “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent. It was this couple’s favorite song in the whole world. We’d learned it. We were ready. But their pastor, an adorable guy who looked like he’d been doing weddings since the 1920s, had blown right by that part of the wedding on autopilot. They swapped rings. They said their vows. And now Pastor Forgetful was working his way toward pronouncing them husband and wife – without their favorite song. If this sounds like no big deal to you, you may be right. But you are NOT in the wedding business. […]

3 Do’s and 3 Dont’s for weddings at Morton Arboretum

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Those who choose the Morton Arboretum venue for their wedding choose a good thing. This Lisle, Illinois gem is one of Backthird’s favorites – our musicians and DJs have been working there since 2005. We’ve played in every room and run extension cords to every lawn. And we’ve definitely learned a thing or two about what wedding couples should – and shouldn’t – do to get the most out of this venue. Weddings at Morton Arboretum take a unique approach. Here are 3 do’s and 3 don’ts from our team to make planning your Arboretum wedding easy. […]

Backthird Entertainment is moving.

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