So this post is for all you brides and wedding people out there who I think can benefit from my favorite wedding website and people on the internet, Onewed.com. Why? I will let them tell you what they do below but basically it went like this. They took the extra step to reach out and connect with me. The day I signed up, someone called me and told me everything they do, (Cheryl I believe and hope I spelled that right.) I didn’t sign up for a premium account at the time but then I start interacting with them on Twitter and that is where the relationship was made. From this weird old thing we call Twitter. (Click here to listen to my story about how Twitter changed my life.) I can say that the relationship on twitter led back to me becoming a premium vendor therefore validating the value of this stuff called Social Media that we do everyday.

I asked the onewed staff to give me the top 10 reasons why they kick ass. They gave me 12 which just goes to show the personality’s behind this awesome site. Why do you think they called it  a baker’s dozen? Because giving a little more is how real relationships are made. As we grow with the internet and our connections grow astronomically, it will be about those people and companies who take the extra step who will find themselves in a better place. Onewed has got it figured out. Here are their 12 reasons…

1. Best looking wedding website staff around!
2. Coolest wedding planning tools around—hell, you may just enjoy the process of planning your wedding
3. Did I say how good looking we all are?
4. We’re not The Knot
5. Most vendors around—bar none—‘nuff said
6. We care… as cheesy as it sounds..we care about our brides, grooms & advertisers J
7. Fast to change, test, & innovate— unlike some sites that rhyme with Da Rot
8. We don’t hide behind what is “proper”– you get the straight scoop
9. We know that when it comes to weddings, one size/idea/style does NOT fit all
10. Best checklist ever! (we’ve heard this from tons of brides)
11. We have a sense of humor
12. WeddingPreParty.com is the bomb!- where else can you control whose input you want, share all your wedding planning ideas (with the people you choose) and delegate those wedding planning tasks that you just don’t want to deal with!?  Most importantly, with WPP, you will not become one of those STFU brides (* feel free to refer to this post- http://www.onewed.com/blog/savvy-scoop/2009/08/30/stfu-bride )

If you are getting married or know someone who is, send them this post or just tell them about onewed. (And then call me to play it at 309-453-8175 or watch my wedding stuff here.) The power of your word is underestimated and people don’t know if you don’t tell them. Still waiting for my first booking to come through since I set up my paid account… . (I love this stuff and have some ideas if they wanna chat with my company m2volt). Regardless, I am grateful for the award they gave me in 2009 and that alone is worth it. It helps in more ways than one. Thanks onewed for everything and keep on kicking ass in 2010.

I am Shane Mac. I play weddings, bars, corporate events, or any other thing that you can think up and don’t want to be boring as hell. I will travel anywhere in the country too. It’s a half live / half DJ show that is all about you. It can be all live or all DJ too. Heck, it can be whatever YOU want. I use drum and bass backing tracks so it sounds like a full band. You pick any song out of a book, I play it. If I can’t play it, I DJ it. (I want to sing along too…) Cheers to someone who finds a song I don’t have . Why waste time writing a set list and assuming I know what you want to hear? You make it, you create it, and we all have a bad ass time! Let’s make your next event kick ass! Call me 309-453-8175 or email me shane@mac-live.com. I tweet a lot too so say hello @shanemacsays.

If you want to read about my other stuff, like biz and careers, go here-> http://www.shanemac.me

First, the people I want to thank.

1. My Family. They push me, challenge me, and helped me believe “HELL YES I CAN DO WEDDINGS!”
2. Aleisha Dunne Mooneyham. She was my one and only hair ‘cutter’ (she hates that word) that let me play her wedding as my first show… Ya, shes nuts but that’s where it all started.
3. Pam Cooley. It was her passion and style in wedding photography and leaving the ‘day job’ that inspired me to think, “I can do that.”
4. Lisa Ragan. She is pretty much the best wedding planner. Why? Because she doesn’t complain when I am there.
5. Other Vendors and Brides. All of you who allowed me to play your weddings and believed that a moment can be created not only by dancing all night, but by singing along and creating a show that we will remember forever, thank you.  This award only exist because of you!
6. Last and (the one I forgot and was reminded that I did , but is the most important), onewed.com! If you have never seen the site, used the site, or even heard of it, now is the day.  The website is a way to bring all of the people involved with your wedding together to share ideas, plan the wedding, and much more.  They not only have everything you need to plan a wedding and help take out all the stresses related to it, they are there to help.  A lot of websites are just that, a website.  You don’t know who is behind the URL or the email.  Not here.  I have talked to them numerous times and they take the extra step that is so important in any business, reaching out and talking with your customers.  Thank you onewed! Check out the site here if you are even thinking about getting married!

Here are my thoughts on how it happened.

1. I DJ, yes. But it is so much more than that.  It is about the people, the songs, the moments that give you the chills when it is over because everyone came together on your big day.  After playing in bands and a one man live show it was the weddings that made it worth it.  It is about the songs that we all know and love. It is the dancing and singing to them and if they are rocking, just keeping them going.  It is about having live music at your reception because of this unique show but not paying $3000 for an entire band who is limited by the set list.  It is about you, and whatever you want for your wedding.  It is also the fact that I CAN’T PLAY EVERYTHING and I am just fine with DJ’ing your favorite stuff.  Remember, the amount I DJ and play LIVE is up to you.  It really doesn’t matter to me.
2. I love people.  Period the end.  I love meeting with the brides, vendors, whoever, it doesn’t matter. I could care less if we have a wedding in a barn or the Ritz Carlton (is that even a hotel?).  It isn’t about where, it’s about who.
3. I think music is the most important part of your day.  Alright, I guess the wedding rings, kiss, or other stuff could be but whatever.  The truth is that music is the part most people remember (unless you do something awesome like this at your ceremony which I am totally down for, JK Wedding Dance)
4. I play your ceremony too.  I play keyboard, piano, guitar, and sing at your ceremony.  So one person, one entire day of music is covered with no worries.  I will play/learn any song to sing during your big ceremony, play the processional/recessional music, then straight to the reception.  Hell, I will even write a song for you if you want.
5. I don’t mind brides who change their mind 500 times.  I’m used to it.  I will change your song 5 minutes before your big moment, (wouldn’t recommend though.)
6. It is amazing to meet so many great people. I just want to say thanks to those who I have met through this opportunity and I look forward to meeting many more of you!
7. I don’t stress, really ever.  I’ll leave that up to you and  your wedding planner.
8. Lastly, doing things a little different.  I believe that simple thought can be helpful to anyone in business, life, or music in general.  Mark Twain said it best, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

Here is the little banner award.

I am humbled right now and I look forward to a kick ass 2010!  I am in Seattle, WA now but I will also fly anywhere to play weddings so if you are interested…CLICK HERE! Feel free to call me anytime at 309-453-8175 and we can talk about your wedding and if my show would be a fit. (I will have to say I think we can make something work and I am cutting deals in Seattle right now to get 2010 rolling so feel free to negotiate the price … Here’s to a kick ass 2010.

(I wrote this post in about 5 minutes because of excitement so grammatical errors can take a back seat I hope!?)

You can follow Shane Mac on twitter here.

Now I have to give a huge write up on Shane from Mac-Live Entertainment….every one needs to have a DJ….NO…. an Entertainer like him for their reception. Shane is not your average DJ, he actually sings, plays the guitar, really gets the party going and it never stopped – EVER! When I had heard about Mac Live this past summer..I didn’t know what to expect…but I am so glad I got to see for myself and what an impact it had on the entire evening. So…. some of the songs were your typical songs but then after a few of those he would get the guitar out and sing live – SO FUN! Now there is one little problem…Shane now lives in Seattle, but we are working on seeing if he will continue this venture and head back this way every now and then for some weddings. I really want more clients to experience a reception like this…especially clients that really want a band but the cost is just too much….this is the way to go! THANKS SHANE for keeping the party going all night!

This was written by an awesome wedding planner in Peoria, Il, Lisa Ragan.  If you want my opinion on why you need a wedding planner along with my review that I wrote on Lisa, click here. If you want to see her site, click here.

This is my mom’s favorite song so I figured I should record it for her.  Love ya.

Over the past 2 years of playing weddings I have come across numerous wedding websites.  Some local, some national, some that cover the entire day, and some that specialize in a certain niche of your special day.  I have to be honest and say that I have only booked a handful of weddings through online connections, more though recently, and have relied more on word of mouth and referrals from photographers, wedding planners, and past brides. After making great connections in the mid-west I had to make a big jump to Seattle a year ago for my career and I feel as though I went backwards 3 years with booking weddings unless I fly back to the mid-west (which I do quite often.)

So I turn to you with a question.  Did you find your wedding entertainment online and if you did, which site did you use?  If you didn’t use online, did you try to?  I have made some great connections lately through the online channels and want to stay ahead of the game and know where you are looking. Please leave comments if you have other sites, suggestions, etc. Check out my wedding show here.

Thank you. -Shane Mac
Seattle, WA

photography

Pam Cooley.  (If this was a national TV commercial I would just say, “The name says it all”)  Since it’s not I will give you a quick run down on why Pam, in my mind, is the greatest photographer anyone could have for their special day.  Anyone can go to her website and discover how talented she is with her art but in my mind great photography has another dimension that is often overlooked.  The art of comfort, compassion, and spontaneity.  You see, the best pictures are not only caught by the photographer rather they are created.  She has the incredible skill of breaking down walls and barriers and allowing the true love and passion to come out in all of her photos.  It is the art of creating the moment and then capturing it.  Remember that the next time someone says “CHEEEZ” and everyone does a fake little smile and appreciate the true art that an incredible wedding photographer like Pam brings to the aisle (like that plug, aisle, table, get it?).  A true pleasure to work with (even though we haven’t worked a wedding together, yet, we have done other projects) and an even better mentor, Pam goes down in my book as my #1 Wedding Photographer.  Her website is http://pamcooleyphotos.com/

wedding planner

To be honest with you, when I started playing weddings a few years ago I didn’t know why people would spend money on a Wedding planner.  Wow, was I ignorant.  A wedding without a wedding planner is like have a wedding without a cake.  It just doesn’t make sense.  The difference that it makes is a blessing for any bride who wants to be certain that their big day runs smoothly.  You can find out more about “why you need a wedding planner” on Lisa’s site but now onto my rant.  I had the pleasure of playing a ceremony and reception a year ago yesterday with Lisa of Happily Ever After as the Wedding Planner.  This was the 2nd time I had played a wedding with someone to boss me around all day (just kidding), and let me say that I have never been to a wedding that was so thought out, planned, organized, and a pleasure to be at than this one was.  Lisa is a pure charm to work with and can bring a light to any situation even though their wasn’t a bad situation all day because that is what good planners to.  In my business classes they used to call it risk-management I think.  I didn’t get to see all of the pre-planning that goes on beforehand but I heard from the Bride that there was nothing to worry about there either.  I wouldn’t expect anything less after what I saw on the day of the wedding.  It was one of those weddings where I played the ceremony and the reception so anyone who can keep me in line for almost 12 hours has to be awesome at what they do.  To that I say, Lisa with Happily Ever After is a must have for any wedding.  Keep rocking Lisa! Her website is http://www.h-e-a.biz

video

Video.  In my mind video is just as important as pictures.  It is the only true way to capture all of the moments that can slip through the cracks of a photograph.  It is especially important if you have those inspirational moments throughout the night when everyone is singing along to all of your favorite songs and would definately put a smile on your face watching it for years to come. (That was a little plug to my show which Ingrid of White Lily Productions did an amazing job filming last year.)  I had the pleasure of working with Ingrid a year ago at the same wedding that Lisa was at.  She blew me away, seriously.  Ingrid was everywhere, capturing everything.  She didn’t miss a beat all night and really kept the night fun and enjoyable for all of us.  Add in a super person to work with along with her incredible video of your entire wedding day, I think you have to put her on the “must-have” list as well.  White Lily’s website is http://www.whitelilypro.com.

Let’s see, I just mentioned the best vendors I know for photography, video, and wedding planning.  Looks like you should have your next event all covered!

Visit each vendors website below

Pam Cooley at http://www.pamcooleyphotos.com

Happily Ever After Weddings at http://www.h-e-a.biz

White Lily Productions at http://www.whitelilypro.com

Click Here to follow this story as I am going to update weekly with new material, videos, and ideas from the coffee shop and the people that I come across. Please join the discussion and comment on this entry with ideas, comments, or suggestions! Thanks. Below is how the idea started.

Who is a songwriter? Is there a certain person who would be classified as a songwriter? Many people would say there is, but I would beg to differ. Anyone can have an idea and put words on paper and then put those words to a little rhythm, songwriter. With that said, like many different hobbies and talents in life, people think that “they” could never do that. The truth is most of the time “they” just haven’t tried to. As I rode to the park today I thought about this and here is what I thought… Don’t just do things because you do, or do things because you know, rather do things because you don’t know.