Creating Unforgettable Wedding Experiences with DJ Doug Ziegler

Have you ever wondered about the person behind the music at weddings? Meet Doug Ziegler,  DJ and owner of Douglas Adam Entertainment, who offers a refreshing look into the world of DJing at weddings. Doug passionately emphasizes that DJing isn’t just about the tunes, it’s a complex role that involves wedding planning, coordination, and ensuring a seamless experience for all. 

Throughout the chat with Doug, we explore the DJ's role in managing wedding day stress, taking care of details that might not be immediately apparent, but can greatly enhance the wedding experience. Imagine making sure the mother of the bride has her favorite glass of red wine, or setting just the right mood with the perfect song - it's all part of the DJ's mission. Doug also highlights the value of teamwork between the couple, wedding professionals, and the DJ, reminding us of the importance of trust and the absolute necessity of hiring the right people.

As we continue our conversation, we delve into the fading tradition of the bouquet and garter tosses, discussing ways to revitalize these moments to keep the wedding fun and engaging. We tackle the subject of generational differences and how to find a sweet spot for both modern and traditional expectations. We also express the significance of considering every aspect of the guest experience - from arrival till departure. Join us in this enlightening episode as we navigate the intriguing world of weddings, DJs, and creating unforgettable experiences with Your Dream Day Podcast host Kathy Piech-Lukas, wedding planner with Your Dream Day.

Transcript

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 0:00

We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we go, hopin' we are hopin' that we'll go. So we're ever after, ever after. We're gonna be doing a lot of work on our channel. We would love to you know, get to know you and also introduce you to different wedding professionals from all over greater Cincinnati, dayton and all over the country.

Doug Ziegler: 0:51

Huge shout out to.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 0:51

Dahlia Vintodrenel for providing the set today, and we really, really are excited because we have a treat here today. So this is Doug Zeigler. Doug Zeigler is the DJ with Douglas Adam Entertainment but he's more than just a. Dj, he's also a speaker. You're more than just a DJ, you are, you're a speaker. You're actually an actor back in the day too.

Doug Ziegler: 1:16

Yeah, yeah, I'm Jack of all, master of none except ceremonies. Bam, that was good. I'm a Jackie of all trades, so you could be the Jack of all trades. There you go.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 1:26

So, before we went on, we were talking a little bit about one thing that a lot of people forget, that DJ does, and it's actually the most important job that you have and what is that?

Doug Ziegler: 1:38

Yeah, well, it's funny, I always tell people I call myself DJ because that's the category that most identifies me. But that's the DJ aspect of what I do, which is the music part, as important as is that's almost the least important thing that I do. I play music. I make it sound great, beat match, all that fun stuff, but for me, planning and running the event, that is my passion. I always joke. Half of my weddings have wedding planners, the other half have me, because I take it very personally making sure that the night flows, everything is smooth, smooth transitions, no awkward pauses, no staccato and, as the MC, that's a vital part of what we do and that's almost secondary in couples minds when they're thinking about a DJ, and I almost take it as my mission to educate them on the fact that we are so much more than just pushing a button and press and play, because I remember when iPods were first coming out we were all worried okay, our jobs are disappearing. And then we realized, oh yeah, we do more than just.

Doug Ziegler: 2:49

If anything, it showed that you guys do have a job, and a very important one of that, yeah, I mean, for me it's just, it's fun and that everything making sure that everything is smooth, making sure that the night runs the way their vision was, the way our vision was when we came together and throw a few surprises in there as well, that's what I love to do and yeah, I like playing music as well.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 3:15

Yeah, well, like from a planner's perspective, especially since, you know, half of your weddings tend to have a planner. We are spoiled when we have DJs like you. I mean and I'm not saying that to make your head, you know, turn red or anything like that.

Doug Ziegler: 3:27

No, I get it.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 3:28

But it's true because, like so much of our job is behind the scenes and making sure that the schedule stays on track. But when dinner time comes around, I can pass that baton and feel confident.

Doug Ziegler: 3:42

Let us take over.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 3:43

Exactly, and I let you know. And there's some planners and planners I'm saying this to you out there, there are some planners who will tell a DJ how to do our job, and that is that is one of my personal biggest pet peeves.

Doug Ziegler: 3:54

Same here. I never, I always. I always tell my couples. I'm not going to tell a photographer how to take pictures. I'm not going to tell a caterer how to cook their food. I'm just going to make sure that everything is done the way it's supposed to. I don't want missed moments. I'm not going to, you know, I'm not going to call a toast if the photographer is not set, if they're not happy with the way that it's staged. I'm going to make sure all those moments happen, but they're never waiting around for it. I always kind of say it.

Doug Ziegler: 4:21

Years ago, a couple called me a duck on a pond. You know, on the surface nice and smooth, but underneath my legs are flapping around like crazy. That's how I existed. A wedding, I'm the Wizard of Oz. You're not going to see behind the curtain, but everything's just going to happen, you know.

Doug Ziegler: 4:37

And yet working with the right vendors is so vital. That's why one of my first questions, or one of the first things that people fill out on my app, is it's a list of the vendors, it's a list of things that they've seen in the past, list of things that they don't want, but, most importantly, that list of vendors, when I go through that. If it's people that I've worked with before and had positive experiences, I know what my day is going to be like. I know that it's going to be smooth. If it's people that I've never heard of or people that I've that I know that aren't 100%, I know that there's going to be more of a conversation throughout the event, because the chemistry between the vendors is almost as important as the chemistry between the vendor and client.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 5:23

Oh, absolutely, and I think you know, when you hire a vendor to do a job, you have to trust that they're going to perform that job, because they're being paid to do that job. And they're obligated to do that job.

Doug Ziegler: 5:34

Yeah, I always say hire the right people, I'm not going to tell them how to shoot pictures.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 5:39

I'm a phone photographer. Yes, we're shooting this on my phone. Okay, I am never, ever, ever going to be as amazing as Daniel Michael, no matter how hard I try. And then I don't want to be Daniel Michael.

Doug Ziegler: 5:49

Don't get me wrong, If you know, being coming from my background with performing and improv, like I've talked about in the past, my whole world is observation, is paying attention to what's going on. So, yeah, if I'm noticing things, like again, I, I, I comment it with a planner's eye, even though that's not my main job set something like a cake cutting moment. Well, is the knife and server utensil there? Okay, are there plates and napkins? Are there forks as an option? Little details that not everybody thinks about. And then if I'm bringing the couple up, is a photographer comfortable giving those instructions? I'll step back because I always kind of see that as their role. But if they don't jump into it, I'll jump in and I'll say, okay, hold hands, you guys are gonna cut, cut server, put it on a plate, cut it in half, two forks, you know no smashing, and kind of go from there. And photographers appreciate that, but I'm not gonna step on their toes if that's their path. Same thing with a planner or a caterer, One of the things I love to do.

Doug Ziegler: 6:54

I pick this up from a venue and I always thought it was a beautiful gesture. If it's a buffet, I never let a bride serve herself. I never let a bride serve themselves because I don't want to accidentally get something on the dress. So I'll grab the plate and I'll walk in front of them and they tell me what they want and I put it on the plate and I bring it back to their table and they love it. It's a nice gesture, but there are venues that do that, there are planners that do that. I look at myself as the last recourse for that. I want to make sure that it gets done. So if I don't see somebody else doing it, I'm gonna step up. You know, and it's again. It's that seamlessness, it's making sure that everything is being done the way it should be done.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 7:34

And brides appreciate that more than you know, because you know. One thing that I tell the bride is your dress is a person on the wedding day. It really is it needs to go through a door, it needs to be plumped and fixed, it takes up an extra seat in the limousine and it goes through hairstyle changes with bustling it does.

Doug Ziegler: 7:55

It absolutely has a life and personality of its own throughout the event.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 8:00

The time the bride puts it on and starts swishing it in the dress shop trying to get her dinner.

Doug Ziegler: 8:06

Yeah, 100%. I remember one wedding. It was a New Year's Eve. It was Hilton. There you go. Happy birthday on New Year's Eve, hilton, netherlands, holland, mirror's absolutely gorgeous pinnacle New Year's Eve wedding. And there was a. We had a planner and a server walked behind the head table to give the mother of the bride a glass of red wine and tripped down the back of the bride's dress Not a lot but enough and she was in panic mode. We immediately all took her to the back. This was literally like when tide sticks were first coming out, so rubbing, rubbing, rubbing, trying to get that out, seltzer, everything. There was a little remnants, but yeah, it's, that dress is such it is, it's a living, breathing thing and that just it hurt all of us. I mean, we all were like, because I saw it happen immediately and I was across, I was across the way and I just saw it and I saw them going.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 9:04

I'm like, oh no, so that's definitely something with weddings we're doing, that functions do seem to happen. That seems to be more common than people realize.

Doug Ziegler: 9:13

Yeah, but it's managing the drama, it's understanding that it's gonna happen and being adaptable to it, being open to it and realizing okay, again, panic and stress mean nothing here. So just take over and take care of what needs to, what needs to happen, and if I can help other vendors manage stress, if I can help the couple manage stress, that's again that's the stuff that I really really like to do Again to me as a DJ, the music it's so not secondary, but it really really, it really is.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 9:44

It's half of the atmosphere.

Doug Ziegler: 9:47

Yeah, sure, I consider the music literally just a soundtrack of the night. You know whether it's just that chill vibe early on or as we get into more impactful stuff. That's what it is, it's just. It's as you play back the memories, you hear that soundtrack and that's what I look at the music as. But it's all creating, helping to create those memories. That feeds into it.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 10:08

So how do you go about creating the memory, as you put it? When does that?

Doug Ziegler: 10:12

begin From the minute we have our first conversation. You know, for me again as a DJ, it's not just show up that day, and that's where my relationship begins with the couple I just got booked yesterday for October 4th. It's a Friday, 2024. So, year and a half from now, my relationship with that couple starts now and it will continue on. Now I leave it in their court how much they need me, but they know that I'm always a resource. I check in with them either. I always communicate the way they communicate, whether it's email, text, phone, whatever. But I let them know and they are all aware that I'm a resource. Use me for whatever you need. You got an idea that pops in your head? Text me at midnight. Great, we'll flesh it out. You're looking for ideas.

Doug Ziegler: 11:03

I got a thousand of them my brides yesterday. They're just getting started. They started with me, they got their venue and then they wanted me. So they're catering, officiant, photography, all that. So we talked about all of it yesterday. I said I'm not going to tell you who to get, but I'll give you whatever you need. I'll answer whatever questions you have On my website. I don't call it a preferred vendors because it's constant, it's flowing. I have my resources pages with all different vendors on there and it's something that I point to where these are people that I enjoy. These are people that I've worked with, these are people where the chemistry is right, and I know that anybody that you pick in this world you're going to be happy with. So for me, that's where that relationship starts and then it continues on throughout the whole entire process. As much as they need me, I'm there for them, and that's with every single couple.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 11:54

So what tends to happen, let's say, 12 weeks before the wedding? Where does that interaction? Does it change?

Doug Ziegler: 12:01

to talk about timelines, no, my definite timelines are. So what I have is I have an app which acts as my conduit. It's a planner, it's my planner app and that's, and I customize that for each of my couples based on what they need. Whether we're doing ceremony or not, whether we're changing things up, for me I take the word tradition, I throw it out the window, so everything is adjustable, everything is movable on that planner. I have questions in there that help them think about that and create what I call wedding brain, and then within there I start to see their vision. Now I watch it because I'll send them the link. Some of them log on immediately, download it and start filling it. And for my A-type couples, they love it because there's a progress bar. I'll see that progress bar filling up, but I'll have somewhere. I've sent it.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 12:57

And they sit on it.

Doug Ziegler: 12:58

Four months, six months, you know. So that 12 week isn't really a thing for me, but as we're getting closer, I make sure that they're working it and I'll check in with them. If they haven't touched it, I'll say do you need me to re-send the link? You know I'll reach out to them. I have a bride coming out where she had done nothing on it and I hadn't heard from her at all. And I'd reached out to her multiple times and nothing. I texted, called nothing, sent emails, nothing. And then I reached out to other vendors because she had filled out a cut. She literally had filled out that one section with all the vendors on it. So I had her vendors. Okay, so you had the team.

Doug Ziegler: 13:43

I reached out to the venue. I reached out to the photographer, said have you heard from her? I said yeah. I said what number do you have? My phone number was off by one digit, so the number I had for her was off by a digit and it allowed me to reach out to her. Now she still hadn't really done anything. So I wanted to kick her and say you know, kickstarter, and get moving. We just had a great meeting and everything's fantastic and she's filled it up and gone absolutely insane and put like 400 songs on there and so it's everything's wonderful. But I wanted to make sure that we were still locked in, because when I don't hear anything I never get ghosted. So when I wasn't hearing anything I was getting nervous and like, okay, we still having this thing Still going. I mean you get cancellations, it happens. So I just want to make sure, am I doing a wedding that day or am I not doing a wedding that day? But that was that was unique.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 14:34

Oh, wow. So what would you say are some of the more popular elements that people tend to include in their timelines.

Doug Ziegler: 14:42

Well, there's trends, absolutely. I always, I always joke there's. There's tradition and then there's trend. You know, something like cake cutting tradition has been you pick a song for it, you stop the action, everybody watches, they cut the cake, smash, no smash, and then you move on with something else. The trend has become where we're not necessarily stopping the action for cake anymore. We're still going to have the moment. So after they're done eating and again, this is conversations I have with photographer, videographer, whoever needs to be a part of that moment. But we're not playing a special song, we're not diverting everybody's focus to the cake.

Doug Ziegler: 15:21

I always tell the parents, I always tell the bridal parties, hey, they're going to go over and cut their cake, but I don't announce it to the world anymore. People will obviously see that they're going and doing it, but again, we don't make it this big moment. They go, they cut it and we move on with the rest of the night. It doesn't have to be a moment. Another thing I have to say thankfully has transitioned out is 10 years ago, every single wedding bouquet garter, every single wedding.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 15:50

Yes, I have noticed. I know where you're going with this because I'm noticing the exact same thing.

Doug Ziegler: 15:54

Now I'd say maybe 20, 25% of my weddings are bouquets, Maybe two or three a year. There's a garter moment.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 16:04

My garter's tosses have been pretty much like nil for the last few years.

Doug Ziegler: 16:09

Yeah, it really. I mean it dropped off. It wasn't like a subtle decline. It went from like 2019, garters on garter moments, every wedding, to now almost none. But I, because it's such a there's no way around it, it's awkward.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 16:28

It can be especially inappropriate if you have somebody who's maybe 10 years old that catches the bouquet. Well and then somebody older who gets it.

Doug Ziegler: 16:36

Yeah, I mean it's uncomfortable.

Doug Ziegler: 16:39

But I'm so, I have, I have methods around everything. So if we're doing the bouquet, toss the bouquet, wonderful. Now what I always talk to my couples about, I said if we're going to do this, let's lean into the awkwardness, let's lean into the, because we know it's uncomfortable. You're going under her dress to get the garter, so we're going to dive into that. Whether we're going to play Marvin Gaye's, let's Get it On Pony, you know Jenny Wine's Pony, whatever it is something that's just. We know we're going to get weird. And then, when you throw the garter, if you want that third moment where the person that catches the garter puts it on the leg of the person that catches the bouquet, I make it a game time decision. If it was the right pairing, let's go for it, let's have fun. If it's the wrong pairing, I'll come up to you and you can. We can even have a predetermined or you can tell me who do you want it to be. And I've tagged people out. So if a 10 year old girl catches the bouquet, that's not happening. But if they're friend and their other friend and they want to see that happen, I will absolutely make that happen. You know, and I always say forever. That would be entertaining to watch. Oh, yeah, oh, and it's. And again, we know that we're about to see something that's uncomfortable, so I lean into that and I make it as in as fun Uncomfortable as it can be.

Doug Ziegler: 17:56

Right, you know, I had one wedding, my one wedding that I did it last year was down in Louisville, and they, they, we were going to tag in, but then they decided, let's leave who it was. So it was her bridesmaid's girlfriend caught the bouquet, okay, and then one of his groomsmen caught the garter and they're like, let's do it. And bridesmaid's girlfriend, she was wearing a nice pantsuit, and so we, we went into it and they were both, oh, and the groomsmen had a, he had a mullet, it was I mean, you couldn't have, you couldn't have scripted this one better, and it was perfect, and they were both completely into it and he was putting it up up the pants, and then we tagged him out and tagged her girlfriend in and she finished it. And, yeah, you, just again.

Doug Ziegler: 18:48

That's where being adaptable and watching the situation and not just letting things play out without having any control over it, that's what I love to do is really kind of guide the night. Come up with surprises, come up with things that they didn't necessarily think about. I like to give my couples two or three surprises during their wedding, whether it's something that happens that night or something that I pre-planned that they didn't know about. I like to give them those little surprises because that's again those help create those memories, absolutely.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 19:23

Well, you also bring up an excellent point when you're talking about the cake cutting and parents, and I think this is a good statement for both parents that might be listening to this and also couples who are planning their wedding. The generation gap definitely plays comes into play here, because when parents, the people who are in there, like my age now oh my God, I think I'm a kid- when I started I was close to the couple's age.

Doug Ziegler: 19:49

I am definitely in the parent's age now.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 19:52

But you do get that expectation where the parents feel like what do you mean there isn't a cake cutting, what do you mean you're not having a wedding cake? What do you mean you're having a two-tiered wedding cake and you're having macarons and cupcakes and cookies.

Doug Ziegler: 20:07

What do you mean? You have a pretzel wall.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 20:09

Right, I mean what they don't understand. And so for them, back when they had their wedding, that was a timeless moment, that was a moment that had to take place, and so just kind of keep in mind that be open to ideas, but also be open to, maybe, where the other person is coming from with them.

Doug Ziegler: 20:28

Well, it's not 1960. It's not 1980. It's not 2000. It's 2023. It's now and things change constantly. From the way things are delivered, I mean, you know, even again I take tradition and flip it's on a year. Who said, where in the rule books does it say you have to have your ceremony before your cocktail hour? Right, why can't you invite people, give them a beverage, have them enjoy and mingle and then have your beautiful ceremony and then continue on and enjoy your night? There are no rules to weddings. No People think there are, but there's no rules to weddings.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 21:02

It's more like you're going for the guest experience, and that's something as a planner that I always try to emphasize. You have to think about what is going to happen to your guest from the time that they shut the door in their car and walk from the parking lot to where they're going, to the time that they leave, and is that going to include a welcome reception?

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 21:24

And I've done, I've actually used a welcome reception as a plan B several times, where one time I had a couple and they were supposed to grab the tuxedos and forgot Oops, oops, yes. And so our ceremony was delayed for almost an hour because we had to send a courier out to go get the tuxedos, because the groom was at a fishing tournament, of all things, earlier that day, so he didn't want to bring his tuxedo to that, and so we had to kill an hour of time for these guests. So what did we do? We flipped around cocktail hour. We turned it into a welcome reception. Guests were happy, everybody was happy. Tuxedos mysteriously arrived. We got him all changed and then we started the ceremony. And then, after the ceremony, we went right into dinner.

Doug Ziegler: 22:12

And if you do it without hitting a panic button, that goes back to the duck on a pond. All they need to see is that duck floating beautifully on the pond. They never need to see the craziness that's happening underneath. That's where quality vendors, that's where people that know what they're doing and they didn't just show up two days ago to be a DJ or to be a planner, to be a photographer people that have taken time to understand their craft and understand what it means to deliver service. They're going to make sure that that happens. Because I tell my couples the one thing I never want to do is add stress. If anything, I want to take it away, and that includes the parents. That includes the maid of honor, who may be the A type taking on responsibilities. One thing you hear me say over and over at the beginning of the day is, with ceremony and leading the cocktail is clock out, you're done. We worked real hard prior to this to make sure that you don't have to work at all today. So clock out, enjoy. Here's a drink.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 23:11

See, I tell them, they're on my watch.

Doug Ziegler: 23:13

Yeah, yeah, I tell them they're not allowed to look at their watch. I had one wedding where because with my app you turn it into a PDF, you print it out. I'll have that. But I had one where the mother of the bride's sister so her aunt she was their planner. She was there because she had envelopes for gratuities and she was going to give it to me before the wedding.

Doug Ziegler: 23:38

I never take that. I would say no, no, no, I didn't do anything yet, I didn't earn it, I didn't earn that yet, Hold on to it. She's like what I said, hold on to it. You see if I get it later. And then, after introductions and we transitioned to dinner, I always go over to the couple and I check out Is everything look good? Everything sound good? And as I'm walking back, I see the parents table and the aunt is there and she's got my planner printed out like her version. So I just take it. I'm like nope, you're done. I said I'm going to light this on fire, You're done, Clock out. And the couple was right there and they were cracking up. They thought it was hilarious. I said tell her she does not need this. And they're like he's good, Leave him alone. Yeah, so it is. I want everybody to be in the day, because it's a blink. As much as you want it to last forever, it doesn't. It's four, five, six hours and that goes by so quick.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 24:27

And then at the end of the night you're like that's it.

Doug Ziegler: 24:30

Mm-hmm.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 24:30

And then the next morning you wake up and you're like well, what am I supposed to do with my time now?

Doug Ziegler: 24:34

Right yeah.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 24:36

I mean literally when you plan a wedding, you have a part-time job from the time that you get that engagement ring to the time that you walk down the aisle.

Doug Ziegler: 24:44

And for some it's a full-time job.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 24:45

And yeah, and you can either outsource that to a planner or you can take it on yourself, and there's no right or wrong answer for that, because some people enjoy taking on all those details and they enjoy selecting different seven or eight photographers and narrowing it down to three and then meeting with all of them. Some people would prefer just to have somebody else take care of it for them and then say here you go, make a decision.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 25:10

All three of these are within your budget, style and personality and there's no right or wrong answer there really is.

Doug Ziegler: 25:16

It's what fits the couple and that's the great thing is. I remember when I went off on my own, I knew that I wasn't going to be taking business away from anybody else because there's so much out there we are. As much as we don't necessarily want to admit it, our industry is recession-proof. Wedding, the wedding business it's not pandemic-proof, it's not COVID-proof, it's not pandemic-proof that shut it down hard.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 25:41

It's a hard way.

Doug Ziegler: 25:42

But it is. People are always going to want to get married. People are always going to want to celebrate life and love, and that's what I love about this is because I get to help do that and I know that if I can offer my service, I know what I cost, I know what my value is. But that doesn't mean anything when it's the right chemistry. It doesn't mean anything when you have the right couple, when you have the right vendors. None of that really ends up mattering in the long run. You just want to make sure you're with the right person and it fits.

Doug Ziegler: 26:13

One of the things I tell everybody is there's thousands of us, there's thousands of DJs. We all have the same music, we all have speakers, we all have microphones. So what makes you different? The majority of us have good microphones and speakers. I said it's not even a matter of what makes us different. It's when you find one that you like. Stop, because you can go crazy. You can go down the rabbit hole and be looking forever and you see those brides that'll show up to bridal shows and they're at every single bridal. I'm like what are you still looking for? You don't need to be here anymore. You're just adding on to something that's unnecessary. You're done. You know, be done at a certain point Because you can get completely lost in the rabbit hole of finding a vendor, of looking for ideas and, yeah, again, that's what I call the wedding brain. I just started a blog on my site and that was my first one is my wedding brain, so read that if you want to know what wedding brain is.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 27:10

What's a good website?

Doug Ziegler: 27:11

It's where people can go read that you can go to DouglasAdamEntertainmentcom. Perfect, yeah, thanks for that, that was good.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 27:19

No, but you bring up so many great points and you've been doing this for a long time and, like what I do, I've called it this for almost 20 years. I call it the first date. I got the idea from a DJ who you may know, peter Mary. He's a Everybody's like. There's a few of them, yeah, but his philosophy with it was you and your fiancee liked each other so much you went out on a second date. That's kind of what we're doing we're having a first date to see if it's a good fit.

Doug Ziegler: 27:53

And I always throw a little bit of a Because I have a bubbly personality and, yes, this is my personality.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 27:58

I'm very energetic and some people don't like that. Some people prefer somebody a little more low-key. I'm the bubbly energetic who's got a little hint of sarcasm. Not in a bad way, but a little hint of sarcasm in her personality and I dropped those little bites during that first date appointment because I want to see how they react.

Doug Ziegler: 28:17

I want to see.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 28:18

Do you laugh? Do you get this petrified look?

Doug Ziegler: 28:21

on your face, because if you do.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 28:23

It's nothing personal, you're not my client and if anything, what I'll do is I'll say oh so are you meeting with any other planners? And if they give me some names and one of them jumps out at me, I'll be like oh, she's fantastic, I adore her. You know, you'll enjoy meeting with her. Almost like an endorsement of it's okay, if you don't book me.

Doug Ziegler: 28:42

Yeah, and so I'm going to take a little issue with it, because when the first date is great, but you got to remember, first date is on both sides. So for me, if I look at it that way, I am without a doubt, when I'm talking to couples and we're having our first conversation, our initial conversation, it is very much a two-way road. I'm interviewing them as much as they're interviewing me, because one of my most magical words and you've heard me say this is no, saying no, and whether it's not available on the date or it's not the right fit, because not that, it's not just the right fit for me, it's not the right fit for them and they may not see that yet. So by saying no, it frees them up and they don't have this lingering feeling of whether they made the right choice or not. I'm letting them know this is not the right choice and that, for me, is so powerful and so important, because I have to love every single wedding that I do.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 29:45

I have to, otherwise you're not getting me, and that's what I mean, Wedding vendors are in this industry because we love working with people, we love seeing those smiles. We want to see that you know beardier smile at the end of the night where they're just so happy For me. I'm a hugger, so if I don't get that hug at the end of the night it's like uh-oh, that's funny. But I mean, but we really are in the service business. Oh, very much, so Very much.

Doug Ziegler: 30:12

Yeah, absolutely, and I've been in that my entire life, has always been service to others and this evolution for the last, coming up on 16 years, it has put me in a position where I know how important this day is and I take that very personally and I take pride and I tell all my couples I am honored when I'm a part of your day because I know what a big decision that was and I know how important my role is to your day because you don't always hear the good stories of a DJ but you always hear the nightmares, and I've heard nightmare DJ stories from all over, from you know, and I never want to be one of those stories. I never want somebody to tell that story and have my name attached to it. So I take it very personally when I'm a part of your day and I want to make sure that there are zero regrets and I always joke. I don't say my wedding, I don't say my name at weddings. I don't have a laptop with a sticker, I don't have a flat screen with a logo. The end of the night I want everybody to say that was the best wedding they've ever been to and then they'll find out who I am. That's how I live through my business. That's how I live through my reputation.

Doug Ziegler: 31:23

This year, I'm hitting my thousandth wedding. Yeah, so I'm thank you. I'm honored through every single one of those, whether it was when I first started I was up and coming and figuring myself out and thinking I was the worst person on the planet, or now we're. Every single wedding I am still nervous going in, thinking I'm going to suck, I am going to mess everything up literally every single Saturday, friday.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 31:50

You only get one shot. That's the big difference with weddings and corporate.

Doug Ziegler: 31:53

But as soon as, as soon as I pack the car, as soon as I get to the venue, that's all out of my head. But going in I'm like I got to have everything I know I need to it's. I'm not on autopilot ever, because their wedding hasn't happened yet, so it's never existed. I'm not on it, so everything is new. That's how I look at it. I don't. I don't do cookie cutter. I don't do the same thing. Yeah, each wedding, because, frankly, I'd get bored.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 32:20

Well, and I think the couple would get bored.

Doug Ziegler: 32:23

Well, they, they, for them, they. It may be new to them, but it's not new to me. So if it's not new to me, if it doesn't feel fresh, if it doesn't feel new, I'm very. What you see is what you get. I have to feel it. I have to and I have to have that passion for that day, otherwise they're gonna notice, because that's how my personality is, that's, you know, even as a performer, yeah, there are things I can fake it, but Full day, no, I got it. I got to be absolutely passionate about, from minute I poems, that parking lot I'm on. That's, that's my show.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 32:56

Let's go, yeah, yeah yeah, like as a from the planner side of it, I'll work with the entire vendor team and get their piece of the timeline and then I have a master timeline that's like seven or eight pages long, but everything that's on there is no surprise to the vendor team because, they gave me that piece of the puzzle and it's their responsibility to make sure that it's executed.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 33:21

My job is to make sure that if there's an overlap or if there's an issue Coming from another direction that they're not aware of, that may impact how their timeline works. Like to me, that's, that's my role and trying to, you know, kind of keep one cohesive thing.

Doug Ziegler: 33:38

So I love.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 33:38

Turning it over to the DJ during the reception.

Doug Ziegler: 33:41

So let me ask you that, that's that you bring them back to what you said earlier and just again, as far as the timeline, you know I used to be Very protective of the timeline where this is what we made with the couple, this is the timeline, this is what we're doing. Over the years I've adapted to where, yeah, this is the photographer's timeline, this is the planner's timeline, this is the the caterer's timeline, this is the venues timeline. And I plug mine when it is and I make mine the most adaptable, you know, because something things that you can't control, like Friday, my wedding on Friday, one of my absolute favorite venues, Sola Tree Farms, gorgeous, overlooking the Ohio River, the mountains, it's absolutely beautiful, the view is ridiculous and you've got that killer sunset. And so, timeline, I have my things that we're about to get into, because once we get into a certain point, it just rolls, it just goes like. Once I get into Cake cutting, we go cake cutting, toasts, fun things, special dances, blah, blah. It just rolls and it's almost like a train that you know, you just kind of jump on. But over the years I've adapted that to. I have to incorporate my other vendors.

Doug Ziegler: 34:59

So I'm talking to Sam, our photographer and we're both looking at the Sun. I say we're about what, 20 minutes from sunset? I said, do you want to do it After cutting cake or before cutting cake? And she thought about she's like, let's do it now, we'll get those shots. I said, great, whenever you're done is when we'll roll, we'll go into everything and we'll just go from there, rather than this is cake cutting time, we're cutting cake.

Doug Ziegler: 35:27

You know you have five minutes to do sunset photos. No, they're they. They're there at that venue. We know that shot is gonna happen. Let those shots happen. It's not my job to take that away from them. So, being adaptable and being able to roll with whoever's in front of you you know I always joke with my, my couples time doesn't matter I say there's, there's, there's three times that matter when the ceremony starts, when you walk down the aisle, when the food is ready not because I'm fat, but I'm gonna respect the caterer and when it's over, because I'm gonna respect the venue. Everything else is in flux. It, all of it is adaptable throughout the day. So you have to make that clear and then communicate that with the other vendors as well, so they Relax their timelines because, planners, I love you, but you are To the minute and leading up to.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 36:18

I actually don't do that. I'm I consider my timeline a chronological timeline because I know things come up and Sometimes you have to make up time later because something happened, and that could be something as simple as the makeup artist was running behind schedule, or Somebody who's supposed to have their hair and makeup done arrived 20 minutes late, and now everything else is 20 minutes late, and so I might be trying to make up a little bit of time here and there or you know, sometimes during the reception you'll get the couple that says, well, I want to talk to guests a little bit longer, so we're going to put off, you know, doing the toasts for a little bit, and that's fine.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 37:00

Yeah what can be a problem is if they start dinner more than 20 minutes late, because then it's going to start impacting the food quality. Yeah, because when they make, when they make food, for example, like Meat, is about 80% prepared and it continues cooking from the time that the caterer leaves their office to the time they show up to the venue. Well, guess what? That prime rib is going to keep cooking and keep cooking, and if you're 45 minutes behind schedule, it's going to taste like rubber.

Doug Ziegler: 37:29

And then you're going to blame the caterer when in actuality, yeah, and again, that's where that, that food time, I'm going to hit that. If I have to take first dance from the beginning and move it after, I'll do that. If I have to adjust something else, and again that's that adaptability. And there are so many people and you've heard Me talk about it there are so many people that again they've got their planner, they go down that track and that's it. If you're open, if and again, as Couples and as vendors, you have to be open to the, to everything that's happening. It can't just be this is what we created, this is what we're going to do. Do that it's like this is the idea of the day, this is the vision, this is. We work real hard beforehand and then, day of, let's have a wedding and let's create, let's create the day, and that's everything from the timeline to the music.

Doug Ziegler: 38:20

I, for me, as a DJ, I don't just Load up their playlist and hit, play Good, bad or different DJs were a thousand different ways. Every single song, I'm watching. Every single song on the dance floor, I'm watching, I'm making adjustments, whether it's tempo, whether it's beat, whether it's mood, with lighting, with, with the music, I'm constantly adjusting. Then that doesn't mean that I'm always trying to pack a dance floor because I know not every wedding is a dance floor wedding, so I don't try to make them dance floor weddings. I let dance floors evolve on their own, but I want to make sure that the vibe is always Right for the moment. So I will constantly be adjusting the music based on their style, based on their, their playlists, and then Adapting beyond that.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 39:06

Well, I think the thing that we've all gotten from this conversation is be adaptable. The timeline is not necessarily a hundred percent and it's never going to stay that way, but have fun with your big day, because it's going to fly by so fast to blink. Absolutely, doug. Thank you so much for coming on.

Doug Ziegler: 39:24

Thanks, Kathy.

Kathy Piech-Lukas: 39:25

Please subscribe to our channel. We would love for you to continue to tune in to our podcast and you can also go on your dream day, calm, and use some of the different past podcasts that we had. We're very, very excited to have this podcast available. Kathy peach Lucas. Thank you so much for tuning in happy planning.