Tips to Planning an Event to Remember

From hosting a wedding reception to organizing a class reunion, planning ahead is key to a successful event, said the owner of a Cuyahoga Falls entertainment company.

“We’ll meet with all of our brides and go over every detail,” said Rich Siebert, co-owner of Beach Boyz Entertainment. “Who’s saying grace, who’s giving the toast, what time are we doing the cake, the first dance, the bouquet and garter? We basically hold their hand through all this… and make sure it falls into place.”

Most customers book their events six months to a year ahead of time, he said.

Siebert started as a disc jockey in 1983 while in high school, worked his way through college and founded his own entertainment business, which he and co-owner Tim Canter relocated in 2007 to 2364 2nd St. from the Montrose area.

Technologies bring new trends in entertainment, such as up lights that accent a room with glowing colors, monogram lights that project the names of the bride and groom onto the dance floor and sound-sensitive, multi-colored lights that move in sync with the beat of the music the DJ plays.

A new option popular among customers this year is the rental of a photo booth that allows guests on-site prints at an event as well as online photos and a scrapbook for later viewing.

Recently, more couples are choosing secular settings for their weddings, such as parks and gazebos, rather than churches. And unlike past years, when large, expensive weddings often included up to 300 guests, the national average these days is half that size, with weddings locally often including about 75 guests, Siebert said.

With a staff of approximately 25 DJ’s, as well as 50 part-time employees for private, casino parties, the company provides entertainment services for about 600 weddings a year. During the busiest months from May through October each year, more than a dozen events can take place on any given Saturday, he said.

For those in the planning stages of their event, Beach Boyz Entertainment weekly hosts an open house from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. each Wednesday at its location on Second Street, during which Siebert and other wedding and party planners are on hand to go over options available to customers.

DJ Ryan Corbett, who has been with the company 12 years, said he enjoys and takes pride in running events in a low-key manner from behind the scenes so customers can spend time with their guests “and remember the time they’re having for the rest of their lives.”

“My philosophy that I go by is: The day it becomes just a job is the day I stop. The best feeling is when you see a bride at another event you DJ and they come up and tell you people are still talking about their wedding day years later. That is a really enjoyable moment,” Corbett said.

For more information, visit the company website.