Special Interview with Morgan Liddell - Wedding Planner

Hey gigging musicians. It's Jared and I have such a special treat for us today. I am joined today by Morgan from Blue Fancy Events. Welcome, Morgan. Thank you, Jared. It's pleasure to be here. Awesome. Thanks for joining us. Would you mind just quickly introducing yourself and tell us where you work and how long you've been doing it? Yeah, absolutely. So as Jared said, my name is Morgan Liddell I am with Blue Fancy Events. I'm a local Milwaukee wedding planner. I've been doing this for the last five years now. exciting time to be in Milwaukee in weddings, also a crazy time. But we're back on doing what we love. And yeah, just happy to be here. Awesome. Well, we're so excited to have you here. And I've played in a couple weddings that you have planned, and they've all been phenomenal. I love your work. And you work with such amazing clients to the company's good time. Yeah, we really do. So I'm curious, how did you get into wedding planning? Yeah, absolutely. Let's see. Um, I began as a bridal stylist on weekends at Miss Ruby bridal boutique in the downtown area. And then slowly started to accumulate all of these odds and ends jobs bartending and working as a floral designer. And along the way, realized I wanted to be part of the whole picture, not just the dress or the flowers, and I met our lovely owner, Meredith, at Blue Fancy Events, she brought me on board, and I've been doing this ever since. So just that little foot in the door, and then just took off. That's awesome. And remind me again, how many years ago was that that you started? Oh, my goodness, I believe it was around five years. Yeah, five years that I've been doing this now. Just working in events. I was at good city brewing for a little bit as an event coordinator. And then, of course, did events in college. So I've always kind of gravitated to this role, and just enjoyed doing it. That's awesome. So what about events do you love? Why are you still doing this? Yeah, I would say the people I'm both the on the client side as and as also the vendor side, just the opportunity to meet all kinds of people with various talents and different backgrounds. I enjoy that part the most. And then, of course, you know, clicking into the type a side, being able to organize finite details, put on really cool designs. And I just feel like you tap into a pool of various talents and skills that you might not get to apply in other roles. So yeah, and you know, we undergo a full year, sometimes longer than a year even of planning, and then finally arriving at that wedding weekend and seeing it all come to fruition and get these amazing couples to a very special, meaningful day. It's just it's so rewarding. And it's always bittersweet for me too, when it comes to an end. But yeah, the whole work as a whole. It's just very, it's just so rewarding. I enjoy it so much. That's awesome. Do you remember the first event that you planned? first event that I planned? Um, let's see here, it would have been Kelly and Matz, their wedding in a sock fell, I believe at a little Nature Center. It was a wedding for 100 people, outdoor ceremony. crazy dance floor was my first very first wedding. And it was a wedding management. So I began working with them three months out, got to know them very quickly. And had a beautiful day with them. That's awesome. Cool. So obviously, the first one went well enough that you do the second one. Yeah. And now you do them full time for a living. And I learned a little bit I learned a little bit more with each each wedding, you know, you try to be as prepared as possible. And that's another thing I love about this job is you're constantly learning how could I do better? How do I better prepare myself? You know, it's, and I love that you're constantly growing. Yeah, for sure. I love that too. Great. So tell me a little bit about the typical weddings that you plan. You can say how many people they are and what does a typical day look like? specifically from a musician's perspective to where do they fit into this equation? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, our our planning process and the wedding day, I mean, all of it is entirely custom, you know, we want it to be a true reflection of the couple. So we take a lot of factors into account when shaping our planning process, and then shaping the day as a whole. But in general, our weddings, they vary in size these days, all the way from the more intimate experience where maybe we have 20 people all the way to 450 people you know, and everything in between, but on average, I would say we find ourselves putting on events of 200-250 guests. And music is really important to our couples, I think it's the best way to embed their personality and just reflect who they are as people the music that they gravitate to. It creates that atmosphere that vibe during various points of the day. So bringing in musicians that feel like them and can embody that music that they know and love. I think that that's very recognizable from the guest standpoint when they walk into an event and there's strings playing as they, you know, enter the ceremony space, and they're recognizing, oh, it's more of a modern pop flavor. And oh, that's, that's very Cali or that's very matte, you know. So, yeah, and I think just creating that energy, that vibe throughout the day, you know, whether it's, you know, a very, very romantic summary ceremony, and then maybe the cocktail hour becomes more upbeat and more jazzy. And then dinner is, you know, just creating a different experience for all of those segments of the day, musically, is really fun, and I think really important to couples. Absolutely. And that's so great that you're talking about it in this way. Because one of the things that we are the gigging musician podcast, talking about all the time is that our music is not about us. It's about the people that we serve when couples who are playing for and so when you say, you know, we need music that matches the vibe of Cali or music that matches the vibe of the cocktail hour. Yeah, I think that's so important for musicians to hear. So thanks for sharing that. Absolutely. Yeah. So we have the gigging musician podcast, we have a Facebook community called gigging musicians. And I asked them to submit questions that that they wanted to hear you answer. Okay. So if it's okay with you, I'd love to ask some of those questions now. Let's do it. Awesome. So this one comes from Donna Renee. She is a Milwaukee guitarist, and Donna asked, What specific etiquette do you look for in hiring musicians for weddings? etiquette? Let's see here? Um, well, etiquette, I would, I would say, you know, in the booking process, communication is very important. And I think couples like to see a portfolio of previous work. And just having you know, your ducks in a row, that organization, as far as, you know, what does your your music book all entail? What songs are you able to put on? Are you open to customizing that experience learning new songs, just examples of you in action at various previous events, and just a willingness to communicate, whether that's a preference over the phone or via email, if you have a process for making that making the booking seamless and transparent, so that people are able to see what you're all about and get excited about what you're able to produce musically, and you make it easy for them to communicate with you. I would say that, that leads to a very happy booking and a wonderful musical day. So that's awesome. Good to know. And another one of our members, Keaton, he actually asked kind of the flip side of that question is, what makes you least likely to hire a musician? Yeah. Or recommend them? Yeah, let's see here. Um, for me, as a planner, it would be really just a lack of communication. If there are holes where you know, I've reached out to you with my my inquiry right out of the gates. And you know, I'm hearing back from you a week at you know, a week between responses or in, I'm really having to pull teeth just to get this information, it's going to make me feel like you are not excited about working with us, or we're not a priority. And I'm you know, there will be somebody else that maybe is already communicating with us that information and really demonstrating that. They want to move forward with the booking just as much as we do. So I think really, it's just communication and just being on the ball with seeing that booking from start to finish. Yeah, that's awesome. Good stuff. So another question I got this is from a Milwaukee drummer named Joe Howard. He asked what is hot today? What are the current trends in your opinion? And I think for this question, I think he's a little talking more about what kind of musicians Yeah not necessarily what songs cuz I've got a question about song. Okay, okay. Okay. Um, let's see here. What's hot today, um, I would say striking a fine balance between live music and maybe a DJ components. I'm seeing that there. There are some songs out there that clients are still holding on to the original versions of so but still feel this desire to have this presence of live music, whether that's coming through in the ceremony or the cocktail hour or later on a big band for the reception. Just having that fine balance, I think, is something that I'm seeing. But I'm getting a lot more requests for live music in general. It's also which I think is more fun. It's a more dynamic event, for sure. Is that newer as of after COVID is kind of over? Yeah, yeah, I think post COVID I think people really miss the live music experience. They miss concerts we've seen Spent a full year of, you know, listening to a lot of music. And I just think that that need for the live experience. Everybody just has that craving and it's so fiery right now. Yeah, for sure. That reminds me of a question I meant to ask earlier. Pre COVID I did a survey of over 150 couples before they booked anything. It was that one of the wedding expos asking kind of what percentage of them are interested in DJ versus live music? Yeah. And it was slightly more DJ than live music. What are your observations? As far as the split between a DJ versus a live music? Yeah, absolutely. Um, I would say I mean, a lot of it can come down to budget, right? DJ is always going to be the more budget friendly option compared to a band who, you know, you're taking care of maybe I mean, there's a lot more individuals involved. Sometimes you have to cover the overnight situation. So sometimes it's just a matter of budgets. But I would say, and for some of those couples that are like, Oh, you know, I like I like the band experience. But I also like the DJ experience, we've been to these weddings, where we've seen great experiences of both, for whatever reason, they're always turning to those previous weddings, sourcing their inspiration musically, but now we're finding you know, the bands, and live musicians, they can offer a little bit of DJing, whether it's just during dinner, or during band breaks. And so when I when I show them, oh, well, you know, a band can also offer that side as well. They're very much on board for that too. Awesome. Would you still say it's more DJs than live music at your weddings? Um, let's see. It's really a mixed bag. It's very 50/50. And I think at the end of the day, it just comes down to what these couples together and on an individual level, what they value and what they, especially in terms of the budget, like if they want to invest more of their their funds, or just make a priority of the music and just have that live component. I think sometimes it's just, it just comes down to what the couple prefers. Yeah, and envisions for this day, for sure. That's awesome. Okay, so follow up to Joe's question, what kinds of musicians live musicians have you seen personally, at your weddings? Absolutely. Let's see here, um, strings are very, very popular. Whether it's a trio or or a quartet, I see a lot of strings for ceremony. And now also rolling into cocktail hour. whereas previously, I think I just saw a lot of strings focused solely on the ceremony, but now we've been rolling it into cocktail hour as well and just kind of continuing romancing that atmosphere. Let's see here, acoustic guitar. I've seen that come up. I've had couples work with salsa musicians. They just they really wanted to get out there and dance, you know, even beginning during cocktail hour. So that's been really fun. Um, let's see. And then, of course, some of these big big bands for they just wanted a very lively, energized dance floor. Right. Yeah. So like your typical party band or cover band? Right. Right. Right. And those bands that do come in for the reception, they tend to have an emcee. Right, that that runs the night, right. Yeah yes, absolutely. I would say, yeah, making sure that the band has a stellar emcee that can really take on that role. And guide, everybody throughout the reception is really, really important, for sure. And that's a skill that most musicians when they go to music school or take music lessons, they're never taught, you might be asked to emcee a wedding someday, right. And for some people, that can kind of be an uncomfortable spot. So, you know, for anybody that's kind of on the fence about that. I think it's something that just comes to you over time with enough practice where you realize, okay, it's scary at first, but you do it enough on the mic, and it does quickly become second nature. So yeah, for sure. I'm an introvert by nature. But when I was when I started Dream City Strings, we got some requests for DJing that says, like, I'll try it out. And so I tried wedding DJing. And my first couple of weddings as an emcee, were not good. I mean, that's with anything, right? You've got to you've got to learn, you've got to practice. You've got to, you know, do it enough times before you feel really comfortable and confident in it. So yeah, for sure, yeah. Because I know you're not doing a little bit of emceeing with me on some upcoming weddings as well. You know, I've got you making a few announcements. You know, you're in a good time. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that. All right, so let's dive in a little bit more to when a couple wants to dance on the dance floor. What are some hot songs right now that you hear many of your weddings? Yes. Oh my god. This was by James Gross. He runs a cover band in Minneapolis. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Let's see here. Hot songs. I mean, it kind of depends on the point of the night, right. But I would say, you know, it's it's hard to say because all of my weddings musically they really do differ. I mean there there are some songs that are always going to be popular. You know, some Whitney Houston classics. I'm Donna summers. Um, but I don't know, everything is just music is so catered to the couple. So it's hard for me to round up like, I don't I don't know that I'm seeing people gravitate to like top 40. But I don't know, when they put together or curate this, this playlist they're putting in their favorites, but also being mindful of the kinds of guests that are coming together their parents, you know, what are songs that are going to really cater to the whole group. And I have found that even just, you know, turning to the band or the DJ to, you know, keep an eye on things and see what songs are really making the dance floor pop, you know, it's, I feel like it's kind of an experiment as you go on. And you realize, okay, well, maybe I'll, I won't pull from this genre, or this decade, quite as much as this one. So yeah, that's kind of a hard question for me to answer just because each group is so different. And I'll see some weddings where the college circle comes out. And they've got some really obscure favorites that are requested. And it'll be like the most the craziest part of the night, those few unique songs that I wouldn't normally see at a at an events. So it's just a pretty large range. And I think but asking that question, to your couples, your clients is really important. You know, what songs are going to make this dance for what you want it to be? Yeah, for? Sure. So I mentioned before that I have DJ for weddings, I don't specifically DJ for weddings anymore. But at one of the ones that I did, the couple asked me very specifically and very insistently to play to play WAP. Yes. And I was like, are you sure like this has some very inappropriate lyrics? Yeah. Like you have your your parents, your grandparents are here. That's a tough request. You really want me to do that. And if so, are you willing to take full responsibility when your parents come in? Like, I don't know punched me in the face? They said yes. And there are some people like I had one group that was very insistent on Anaconda playing like berries, you know, and I'm just like, are you sure think about who's gonna be there? And oftentimes, they say, heck, yeah, I want it I want it played. So yeah, that's a that's a tricky spot to be in for sure. And I think just leveling with them and just giving them that honesty, you know, really wants you to think this through, are you sure that you want this played and then having to make that call? And I will say, Oh, another term that I have noticed almost all of my clients, they voice that they do not want any of those? Those instructional dance songs playing? I think we're really getting away from that. Yeah, I don't think there's been a couple that's like requested any, like, you know, the Electric Slide or any of those instructional vans? Yes. Almost all of them really, I have strong opinions to not play those songs. That's good that that gives me hope for couples going forward. Which I'm yeah, I'm like, I'm in the same boat. I'd rather I'm not a fan of them. But right. Yeah. Cool. So kind of the flip side to covers is original music. Have you brought in original musicians to any of your weddings that played songs that they've wrote? Hmm, that's a good? That's a good question. Um, I have. But there would have been special cases where the couple had a relationship with the musician. And the musician, like, had had the opportunity to show showcase their original song, and almost kind of dedicated to them. So there was an existing relationship there. But I can't say that I, I would I mean, I'd love the opportunity to do that. And I think as long as the couples familiar with the work, and oftentimes, I think it's, it's a matter of them making that request, and already having seen this musician, in action in town, being familiar with their work. Yeah, for sure. And I know, the answer might seem obvious to this next question, but why do you think covers are more popular? Yeah, um, you know, I think it's a matter of song Association, whether it's, you know, some of those favorites, they take you back to your college days, or you've got a special relationship with the songs or they're things that they're, it's just music that you listen to on a regular basis. And, you know, it feels like you and you envision your wedding day, and those are the songs that come to mind that are going to be playing. So I think, yeah, and a lot of it can be, you know, the couple shares, you know, fond memories that are attached to those songs, or, you know, maybe it calls back a playlist that they listened to on a road trip or you know, so I think it's just a matter of song Association. Yeah. It makes sense. Like, this was the song that we fell in love to we want to play. Yeah, that makes total sense. Okay, a couple more questions about kind of the hiring and the working with musicians part. Many musicians are just so excited to how do we get these gigs in the first place. So, I have Pendra. Pendra runs a string quartet out in Dayton, Ohio. Okay, she has asked about your recommendation process. So a couple comes to you and asks you for musicians. First, tell me about that process. How do you make recommendations? Yes. And then after that, how do musicians even get on your list of musicians that you recommend? Yeah, that's a good question. Um, let's see here. So when we, when we start to talk about music, you know, we have a sit down, and we talk through, you know, what, what do you envision for the day musically? is live music important to you? Do you prefer a DJ experience. So we've kind of talked through those things. And usually, there's an openness, where it's, you know, let's hear what you recommend, or what are some exists some awesome musicians that you've worked with in the past, I do like to curate a list of recommendations of those musicians, whether it's, you know, these are a couple amazing quartets. These are, these are a couple jazz trios that I've worked with that really know how to deliver on X, Y, and Z, for looking for a big band experience, these are the bands that I would recommend that, you know, are a reflection of your budget, your style, and just the kind of musical genre that you want to serve your guests. So there's a lot that goes into it. And sometimes it is very surface surface level, where I'm just rounding up a pool of all of those different areas, and then kind of honing in on what their thoughts are after reading reviews, or tapping into videos, or their Spotify playlists, you know, and then kind of going from there and beginning the inquiry process. And just seeing what musicians or DJs, or musical experiences they they start to become really excited about and actively pursuing them. Awesome. So it sounds like you provide them with a bunch of options, send them home, their homework is to do some research. Rights, rights. Hopefully they fall in love with one or maybe a couple recommendations. And exactly, from there is what you talked about earlier, who responds to the inquiry, who is difficult to communicate with? And it's booked. Right, exactly, yep, we undergo the communication, make sure that it makes sense in terms of Yeah, the budget, the style, if we feel that this vendor is equally as excited to be working with us, and you know, as Super transparent with their offerings, what they can do, and then yeah, just seeing it through the finish line. Awesome. That sounds great. So on the flip side, then is you know, you have your list of recommendations, how does a new musician get on that list? I would say, you know, always open to expanding that network. And working with new people working with new talents, I would say, you know, getting involved in the community or wedding shows or reaching out, you know, even if you were to pull together an email or correspondence to your local wedding planners, or, you know, local venues and just getting yourself out there and writing, you know, hey, this is who I am, this is what I specialize in, or this is my service. And these are examples of my my work, would love to work with you, you know, how do I connect the dots? You know, do I need to meet with you in person, or, you know, just teach you more about who I am, and you know, what I'm all about. And so and even on my end, you know, I, I'll go into the deep web here. And you know, just try to find some new local talents. Sometimes it's a matter of even just checking out local showcases or beer gardens. I think there's a lot of great talent there. Some of them are interested in in dipping into weddings, others maybe not so much. So I do find myself going to beer gardens and local showcases and just approaching those musicians and asking them point blank, you know, hey, I think you're really great. Would you ever be interested in playing a wedding with me? You know, so it's sometimes it's just very on the ground, too. Yeah, that's awesome. I didn't even think about that you would go and seek these things out yourself. Oh, yeah. You know, there's a lot of homework that goes on on this end as well. I believe that. That's awesome. So you mentioned that you're open to receiving kind of cold emails from musicians. Is that right? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, sometimes it's a matter of Yeah, just reaching out and just flagging, hey, I exist, and I would love the opportunity to work with you and just kicking things off that way. Cool. Are you a member of any like networking groups or associations for wedding and event planners? Um, yeah, we've got a few Facebook groups. We've got a really great network of wedding planners and vendors here. I'm also part of NACE as well, our local chapter. And we mean, there's so many different venue showcases that go on where they're featuring in local talent or existing talent and vendors. So I try to go to as many of those as possible and just network and, you know, try to meet as many new people as I can and in the hopes of just continuing to band to build my current network, for sure. That's awesome. And then when you are kind of researching on your own, does a lot of that research happened online? I'd say online. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. But that's where I go to find vendors and connect the dots work with existing vendors, everything is online email, that's how I roll. I have I mean, I've been able, I've even called I mean, if there's the option to call a vendor, you know, maybe they don't prefer email, of course, entertain that. But for me personally, going online and finding vendors and working with them over email is just the most streamlined approach for me. Yeah, for sure. So when you're researching online, you're probably looking at musicians, websites, and maybe directories that they're listed on. Yeah. What are some of the important things that a musician needs to show you in order for you to trust them? Yeah, online specifically? Yeah, definitely, definitely, I would say, let's see here, I appreciate a good bio that shares with me your background. I love video, or, like a Spotify list of you know, your previous or your songs, your collection of work. And then I would say, you know, a way of communicating with you, whether that's email or phone or a contact form. availability is always nice. I like seeing a calendar, I don't want to, you know, waste anyone's time. But also, just as much information as yourself on yourself that you're willing to share is always greatly appreciated. For sure. Would you even consider reaching out to a musician, if they had no videos for you to hear them? Or any, any way to listen to them? It would be tough, it would be tough on just because I think right now, that's almost become standard practice. If you're putting yourself out as a musician that you do have work available for people to check out and tune into. I would it wouldn't necessarily hinder me from actually pursuing you. But I would just be more likely to reach out and even request more information if I can see your work. And, you know, really like what I'm hearing, I'm really drawn to it. Yeah, for sure. I'm glad you say that. Because one of the latest episodes we did was actually on the importance of video on your web presence. Absolutely. And I find you know, because otherwise, if I am sharing a recommendation, the first question that my couples ask is, can we see video? Can we see them in action? So having that immediately available is really great. Otherwise, I find that the ones that don't have video up? And I'm asking that question, they then confirm Oh, I actually don't have footage to share with you. And then that really puts the book into a halt. Yeah, yeah, totally. So what are some other red flags that you might see on a website? Or a Facebook profile that says this musician is not for my couples? Yeah, let's see here. Um, I mean, I do appreciate your professional websites. And, you know, maybe has like just a good sense of who you are. Um, let's see here. If I don't see any way of contacting you, that's a red flag, obviously. But I would say, let's see here, I'm trying to think of any immediate red flags, reviews are always appreciated, if there's some way to see just examples that you've that you've worked in events. And even if you're new to the scene, like that's not not necessarily a hindrance. But reviews are always great to see. And that's another thing, I worked with a band out in Chicago, and they were fairly new to the scene of getting into weddings. And after our phenomenal experience together, I was more than happy to write them a review and have them include that on their various sites, through the knots and wedding wire, and then they're all their own website as well. So keep in mind that, you know, even after working with a band or musician, we as vendors are so happy to share that recommendation and write that review for them too. For sure. That's great advice, because the review doesn't have to come from the couple. Right? It can come from anyone who has heard the band play live, even like the photographer who was there, or even the bartender. Absolutely. Yeah. And we, I mean, as a community, we want to help everybody out. So we're all happy to do that. For sure. Well, it gets me to my last question, because one of my big philosophies as a wedding musician is we want to make your job as easy as possible. What are some ways that musicians can make your job easy during the booking process? at the wedding and even after the wedding? Yeah, definitely. I would say I'm having processes throughout The whole I mean throughout booking and then as well as post contract, just being able to be on the ball with when we owe you details is greatly appreciated, whether that's, you know, the the playlist, the remaining balance, just staying on that, like, I know you do a phenomenal job with sending out reminders as far as Okay, we've got our timeline due at this point, we've got our playlist to at this point, our remaining balance due at this point. So that's super duper helpful. Especially as you know, the vendor team builds and becomes larger and larger, and the details increase. I love a music portal that couples can log into and, you know, I know, again, I just I keep singing your praises, and I will continue doing that forever and ever. But, um, I love that they can log into their portfolio, and when they select their songs they're pulling from your repertoire, you know, and that if there's a song that isn't on there, you know, obviously we communicate about that and see if we can include that or, you know, if we can have your musicians learn that song. But already being able to just tap directly into what your current offerings are, that's super helpful. So it's just a very streamlined process. And I love those little reminders that you know, this information is to that information too. And then I love a one month phone call, I think is super duper important just for the opportunity to you know, maybe we've been emailing this whole process through but just having that touchpoint directly with the couple, and I'm always on that phone call as well. Just to confirm details. Once more, make sure everyone's on the same page, we have noted your needs, whether it's a 10 by 10 tent, or chairs or you know, whatever it might be having water available all of those things. And it's just a nice feel good touch points for myself a couple of new annoying Oh, we're all on the same page. And we're ready to do this. We've all got the information we need. Awesome. Well, that was incredible. And I'm so glad you like the BookLive portal, I am obsessed with it. that's available to any musician who's listening to this podcast, you can sign up for free for at BookLive.com for that. But Morgan, thank you so much for just joining us here and sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it. I learned a lot. And we've been working together. Yeah. And I hope I'm sure the musicians listening to this, you know, if they've never played a wedding before they now have all the tools they need to get started. And the more experienced ones like me like, thank you so much. This has just been incredible. Absolutely. Yeah. I don't know everything. But hopefully I mean that this, this is just what I've come to learn and hopefully people have a little bit of value out of this. So I appreciate it. Appreciate the time. Yeah, well, thanks for coming on. So thanks for listening to this episode of The Gigging Musician podcast. If you liked what you heard, make sure to like and subscribe to it and join our gigging musician Facebook group where you can interact with other gigging musicians who have learned from people like Morgan and play many weddings and come join us we have a lot of fun and we play great music for great people.