Tying The Knot in Jamaica: Hey Mr. DJ

"The best wedding I have ever been to!" "Fun!" 

"I want a wedding like that when it's my turn to get married!" 

"Oh gosh, I wish my wedding had been this good!"

Entertainment - that is what makes a wedding enjoyable and fun. A wedding can be beautiful, lovely, gorgeous, romantic, extravagant yet be a real yawn. Guests sit counting the seconds till they are able to leave without being deemed an early exiter. An unforgettable wedding is one that has well timed and placed entertainment. One that turns a cocktail hour, a reception or an after party into a true celebration of a beautiful union. After all the planning, spending and preparing, having a really good time is what makes it even more rewarding and wonderful an experience. It feels good to have guests deem your wedding as one of the best, if not the best, they have attended. Big J Entertainment is ready to provide brides and grooms with amazing service that will add to making your wedding a wonderfully entertaining experience. Big J Entertainment comes highly recommended as the customer service is amazing. The level of professionalism is exceptional. Jason Stewart of Big J Entertainment consistently provides follow-up services that will keep a bride and groom to be assured of his unfaltering commitment to provide them with amazing entertainment.

A few advantages of having musical entertainment

• Music is a powerful form of entertainment; it allows you to set the mood by the tone of your song selection...upbeat, romantic, intimate, cheerful.
• Dedication songs may even be used to replace toasts and lengthy speeches...for many people sitting through all those toasts - toasts to the parents, toasts to the bridesmaids, toasts to the groomsmen, toasts to the cake? - can be a boring affair similar to sitting through a dull lecture.
• Another advantage to dedication songs is that you can minimize the occurrence of unsavoury roast toasts that might set a bad tone for the honeymoon.
• Awesome photographic opportunity to get candid shots of everyone dancing.

Contact Information: 

• Telephone: 876-434-8648, 876-332-0736
• Email: bigjentertainment876@gmail.com
• Facebook
• Instagram: @bigjentertainment
• Twitter

Contract Requirements:

Down payment – For a client to secure an event date, a 50% non-refundable deposit is required. The balance is due 5 days before the event date. For hire on short notice i.e. less than two week notice, they require full payment to secure your event. 

Time period of contact for hire – It is preferable that a client makes contact as early as possible. This is because of their philosophy that “great planning equals great event”.

Locations of operations –  Big J Entertainment provides professional DJ services throughout the 14 parishes of Jamaica. Also, they are able to serve clients in the USA and Canada. 

Summary of wedding package offerings:

• Professional digital sound system set up with top quality equipment.
• Illuminated DJ booth that fits into your décor (clients have the option of choosing the colour  of the lights used).
• Free Cordless Microphone for Master of Ceremony. 
• Customized playlist as per the bride and groom’s request.
• Experienced professional wedding DJ, appropriately attired for a wedding reception.
• Cocktail and dinner music as per request e.g. Instrumentals, classical, souls etc.
• Unlimited email and phone support.
• Event Planning with time lines to prevent errors.
• Up to 3 free face to face consultation meetings and free site inspection.
• Attendance at your rehearsals ensuring all parties involved in executing your wedding are in sync.
• Assistance with song selection for special moments such as: bridal party’s entrance, first dance, bride and father dance etc.
• Unlimited dance music to create the ultimate party experience.
• Party all night as there are no time limits unless otherwise outlined in the contract.

Tying The Knot in Jamaica: Suit Up!

In Jamaica, the typical male wedding attire of choice is a suit or a variation of it. Getting the fit right is critical and something many men only realise when the pictures are released, or even earlier, when the person whose opinion they value sees them and is less than impressed. An ill-fitting suit does wonderful work at highlighting and showcasing body imperfections, whereas a well fitted suit flatters the body and the wearer has a certain dignified air about him or her.

JJ's Tailoring, located in St. Andrew, offers tailoring services for both men and women. Clients may take their own material or choose from the stock in house. Suits are custom made and fitted before completion.

Tying The Knot In Jamaica: Wedding Song

Down the aisle she walked, to the story of their love.  The song retold the story of how love got them here.  Every line, ever word, every verse was true.  A unique song to reflect their beautiful love story.

Born Kerri-Anne Walker, Kei Dubb grew up in the Caribbean. There she learned the French language and went on to live and study in France for a while before returning to the Caribbean.  Her voice range is 3 1/2 octaves and her singing style is a unique fusion of jazz, soul and reggae. There are singers and then there is Kei Dubb. Kei Dubb, known not only for her beautiful voice, Kei is a vibrant yet relaxed personality - a pint-sized vocal powerhouse who has wowed audiences both in the old world and the new. Her abilities are quite impressive as she is not simply a singer but a songwriter as well. Her bilingual ability lends itself wonderfully to her writing and performances which go back and forth between English and French.  As a talented songwriter, Kei has an ability to speak directly to couples and write love songs that tell their special story as lovers. Working with Kei Dubb on your own love story will make walking down the aisle, the entrance to the reception and that first dance as a married couple much more personal, intimate and special.

Tying the Knot in Jamaica: Capturing the Moment

A photograph offers snapshot of a single moment... but that snapshot captures the essence of a moment in time and preserves the visual representation and memory of it. It is a powerful visual holder of a moment and tells a story, though sometimes it may be misleading, of what was taking place in that instant; powerful enough as it gathers information that might have missed the human eye. Throughout time, moments have been captured in various forms; the visual side of moments have been captured in descriptive writing, sketches and paintings. However, the reigning King of capturing a moment is the camera. Unlike a painting, the capturing of a photograph is instant and does not rely on the capturer's memory.

"What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce." 

― Karl Lagerfeld

"A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away." 

― Eudora Welty

"If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it’s already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer." – Eve Arnold

Cellphone cameras and digital cameras are numerous and used or available to many persons around the world. Photographs are no longer expensive to take and need no longer be limited to special moments. The age of digital photography has birthed the premise "take a pic anytime, anywhere" and also that the selfie is king. 

Tying the Knot in Jamaica: The Golden Effect

A piece of jewellery

...an artistic expression

...a token, a gift

...a message

...fashion accessory

...an ornament

...an economic investment (wealth storage)

...currency

...a symbol of status

...an indicator of societal affiliation

...a marker of personal status

Jewellery sometimes finds itself being a feature of an event, such as a crowning ceremony, a medal ceremony and, more frequently, a wedding. In many cultures, rings are exchanged by the couple as a part of the ceremony; while some couples, seeking an alternative to the typical, might exchange other items of jewellery such as cuffs, bangles, bracelets, pins, nose rings, necklaces, pendants, lockets and so on. For many, this is a marker of their personal status, and one of the more treasured and sentimental items of jewellery they own.

The wedding ring or the alternative is often not the only item of jewellery worn by the marrying couple, and the couple are usually not the only persons in attendance who are adorned in jewellery. Brides, grooms, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers and guests usually dress up for weddings and will at times go to great lengths to ensure they look great. Brides and grooms might source new items of jewellery that complement their rings, outfits or colour theme. Likewise, other members of the bridal party might need to get matching pieces or pieces that meet the requirements of their dress code. Guests may want new pieces of jewellery for various reasons. As such, jewellery shopping or finding a jeweller will be on the 'to do' list.

Power Mood Tags - PurpleJade

Tying the Knot in Jamaica - Tiffany Lue-Yen, Photographer

 

The simplicity of taking a photograph often belies the beauty and artistic expression that may be captured in a photograph.

Tying the Knot in Jamaica - Wedding Dresses by Clay

By her dress you shall know her,
The Queen of the Wedding.

For some women, the visual definition of their bridal state is summed up by their wedding dress. It is their identifier, their regal attire, a special dress for a very special day.

Wedding dresses take different shapes and forms, vary by culture and fashion preference. Some dresses are bought new from a store, rented from another, passed down from generation to generation, shared between sisters or made to order by a dressmaker. The acquisition of a wedding dress can be a challenge, and this challenge has forced many women to choose a dress they only tolerate (not love), rent though they didn't want to, travel near and far, among other things. The bride in Jamaica has found her wedding dress creating fairy godmother in Clay. 

Tying the Knot in Jamaica - Wedding Decor Photography

The photographer behind the lens of the camera that took the current Wheat Less in Jamaica profile picture (see above) is Robert L. Henry, a St. Andrew resident who has shot several engagement shoots and weddings across beautiful Jamrock (i.e Jamaica).

Tying the Knot in Jamaica - Make Up by Shelly-Ann Chung

The Caribbean isles are beautiful gems adorning the Caribbean Sea. Jamaica, with its beautiful white sand, lush green landscape and beautiful mountain backdrops, is a preferred location for weddings. The locals appreciate the scenic advantage they have, to the point that many emigrants return to the island to have their weddings here. Jamaica has grown to be a popular destination wedding site, as well. Foreigners are drawn to the island's beauty and laid back feel, not to mention the amazing wedding services available to them. It is quite common for destination weddings to be held in the resort regions of Jamaica. However, what about Kingston or Portmore - two of the most populated and urban areas in Jamaica. What do they have to offer? Plenty and if you want a truly Jamaican wedding, all the better reason to have top notch, truly Jamaican wedding vendors.

The "Tying the Knot in Jamaica" Series will feature several wedding vendors who are primarily based in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine and also answer the call to work all over the island, the Caribbean and the world as per requests by their clientele.

The first article of the series puts the spotlight on Shelly-Ann Chung.

Make Up Artist Shelly-Ann Chung