Episode 39 From Bar Gigs To 400+ Weddings: 3 West Productions

Looking for wedding entertainment that actually changes how the day feels? We sit down with Matt and Nissa of 3 West Productions to unpack how two relentless gig musicians built a music-first company that now powers 400 weddings a year—without losing the soul that started it all. From their first cocktail-hour set that moved a bride to tears, to the late-night grind of learning every radio hit, they share why care, connection, and craft still come first.

We walk through the smartest ways to add live performance without blowing your budget or your floor plan. Think live ceremony or cocktail hour, a live first dance, maybe a solo sax feature at dinner, then a DJ who mixes with intention and reads the room. They explain why clean transitions matter, how a well-timed key or tempo match keeps energy seamless, and what couples can do to keep the dance floor alive. You’ll also hear candid insights on scaling a creative business—hiring humble talent, paying on time, and protecting quality as the team grows.

If you’re choosing between a band and a DJ, or trying to make a smaller venue sing, this conversation is a blueprint. We cover the questions that actually reveal fit: how often will your DJ get on the mic, what does their setup look like in photos, can you hear raw event clips, and how flexible are they when the crowd surprises everyone? We also dig into playlist strategy—must-plays, play-if-possible picks, and a hard do-not-play list—plus the underrated truth that guests follow the couple. Show up on the dance floor, and they will too.

Want more? Explore videos and booking info at the links below. If this episode sparked ideas for your day, tap follow, share it with your planner, and leave a quick review—your feedback helps more couples find the music that makes their night.

https://www.3westproductions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/3west_productions/

Transcript

Welcome And Venue Spotlight

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Welcome to The Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Let's meet today's wedding vendors. Matt and Nisa, how's it going?

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Great, how are you? Good.

SPEAKER_04 0:26

I'm so glad to have you guys on today. Uh Matt and Nisa run 3 West Productions. We're talking music today, which if y'all don't know, I don't know if you guys know this, but I love music. And I have a degree in it. I don't use it, kind of. I maybe I do, I don't know. But I'm very excited to dive into all the things you guys. You guys do a ton of stuff. A little bit of live music, a little bit of DJing, a little bit of the photo booth kind of thing going on. We've got a lot of stuff to dive into, which I'm super excited.

Meet Matt And Nisa Of Three West

SPEAKER_04 0:54

Um, but before we do, we are here at the booking house. The booking house is an industrial modern chic wedding and event space in Metheim, Pennsylvania, rich with character history. It was originally built in 1884 as the old General Cigar Company warehouse. The venue blends historic charm with contemporary style across 15,000 square feet. It's centrally located and it's an easy drive from Philadelphia, Westchester, New Jersey, Maryland, and even New York City in under three hours. And it serves both local couples and destination couples. It's perfect for intimate gatherings or even events up to 250 guests. The booking house offers separate spaces for ceremony, cocktailer, and reception all on one property. It's open year-round and their newly added atrium brings an open air feel without their worries. With an experienced, caring team providing in-house bartending and coordinating, they are dedicated to making every detail seamless so you can enjoy an unforgettable day. And I'm just, I love this part. This part is so fun because I've never met these two people. We've never met you? Strangers. But they seem lovely, and I just love this part of the process. We're at a local venue, which has kind of been the dream of this podcast, to have this space to connect and just hear the story of other wedding vendors and their business and their life. And so we're gonna dive into all things three West productions. I'm excited. So, guys, fill me in. I got a little bit of the backstory because I always like to get some context. But give the listener and myself the extended version, right? Of what is Three West.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

How much time do we have here? We're gonna talk about that.

SPEAKER_04 2:36

You know, uh, we can go as long as you guys want.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Matt loves talking about us.

SPEAKER_04 2:42

Um coming from the person who wouldn't even wear headphones. No, I'm just kidding. I know. I forgot this is me. I forgot the third set. She does have in ears on, though, which fits because they're music people.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Are they in there? Yeah, they are in there. Beautiful accessory.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

So um tell me about the backstory.

From Acoustic Duo To Weddings

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Where did Three West Productions come from?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

So we started, Matt and I are musicians. We started as an acoustic duo, which we still are. Um, we were out gigging, oh my goodness, for many years, probably doing about, let's say on average, like 250 shows a year for like 10 years. And while we'd be out doing bars and restaurants and colleges and traveling, people started asking us, hey, can you guys do like my cocktail hour or maybe come perform for my ceremony? Um, and we were like, Yeah, sure. Like we would always joke, like, if they're paying, we're playing, you know. So just not to sound corny, but really like it was it was like, yeah, let's do it. And I remember the first wedding we did. We I remember the bride coming up, it was just a cocktail hour, and she came up at the end and it was just like like almost tears in her eyes, and like, thank you so much. And this was so great, and it just added so much. And I remember looking at Matt and just being like, what a wonderful feeling that was. And I could tell it made a difference, and I knew he saw it too. Um, we then proceeded to eat some shrimp cocktail, and that was also really good. Uh I really like seafood, and so anyway, but seriously, all jokes aside, it it just was so cool. And the more we did that, it was like, Whoa, this is this is great. Like, this is really, really nice. And you know, the bar industry is really tricky and tough. And um, we just kind of looked ahead and little by little started getting more into doing events, and you know, maybe you could chat a little more about it.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Yeah, so it turned into you know, us just doing some cocktail hours and dinner performances to people saying, like, hey, do you know a DJ or do you have a full band? And they really got our wheels turning, like, we should really try to build this. Um, because people really won't trusted us and wanted us to be a part of it in some capacity. So we're like, if we can manage everything and they wanted more too.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Yeah, they wanted too, you know.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

So three West Productions was born from that point.

SPEAKER_04 4:54

Yeah, yeah, it's just so funny to me because it's like you guys have this journey in music that is totally outside of like the wedding space, but then you saw something different when you got to perform in this sort of like unique day in a couple's journey in their in their wedding day.

Why Live Wedding Moments Felt Different

SPEAKER_04 5:14

What was it about that performance that really stood out as something different than the kind of bar scene that you guys were used to kind of playing in?

SPEAKER_01 5:24

I think for me, like in that exact moment, because I specifically remember um that pride, and I think her name was Angela, I'm almost positive. Um, it was and and not to say, I mean, we have met so many amazing people over the years. We've made some of our best friends performing just at bars in Manhattan till 2 a.m. You know, it's amazing the people you meet, but in that particular moment, other than any, I would say of the volunteering stuff we did, like the musicians on call with kids and hospitals, that kind of stuff is like the stuff where you're like, yeah, like you feel you feel like you're making a difference. So yeah. So that I don't want to put it in that category, but it was the idea that this day meant so much to someone. It was their one special day. And I think for Matt and I, I think I can speak for both of us that we both, even when we were just playing the bar gigs, we always cared. Like it's in our nature to care and want to do a good job. And I just think putting all that effort and it's like anything in life. Sometimes you put the effort in and you reap the benefit, sometimes you don't, or sometimes people it matters that you care. I like to think it always matters that you care, but I'm not sure that in a bar it always matters that you care. Probably not. Right. So when I looked in her eyes, not to sound corny or silly, but it mattered. And that really resonated with me anyway. It was just like I liked that feeling, and I like the feeling that what we were gonna do and the effort we were gonna put in and trying our best and making sure the sound was perfect and that everything lined up just so mattered. Because in this industry it does. And here we are all these years later, and it's like it matters, and it still matters, and it's always gonna matter. So, in that moment, I know for me, I really realized that. And that kind of struck a chord for me. No pun intended. Yeah, good one.

SPEAKER_04 7:04

Yeah, we could we got a lot of puns going. I love it. Um, it's just it's so fun to me to see, like, because you guys, I can already already tell you're very passionate about what you do, which is so fun. Thank you. But you found a way to do it with like like you were even mentioning being on call for the kids, like there's just a different purpose behind it when it's not just you know, like, I'm just gonna play some tunes at this bar and maybe someone's gonna listen and enjoy it, but like in that cocktail space, as just one of the like many things that you guys are doing, you're like providing like an ambiance to one of the most important days for these couples, and you know, having that like that confirmation a little bit in your first pride's eyes, is like, guys, this is something different.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah, it was special. Thank you for saying that because that's yeah, that's really what it felt like.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

So take me back to like like how did you guys get into music? I mean, I I love this kind of stuff, but like, yeah, yeah. Like, take me back. Like, how did you guys get into this and even just like get started? Like, there was a time before you guys were even doing the bar scene stuff where you're like you met and you're like, hey, you you have a good voice, you're good at guitar, like let's see what this thing is all about.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

There was a time I had hair.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Ooh, imagine that. I I never saw hair in that time, and I've known 21 years and I've never seen the hair, but it was there. Do you want do you want to tell our story?

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Yeah, sure. Go ahead, go.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

So we, I mean, for me, I started singing at 12. So that was many, many years ago. Um, and I think immediately when I started singing, I was a really shy kid, but I knew that I wanted to be a performer. And I did so much after that, you know, with school and all different things was like I just always knew like singing is what I love. I I started it and that was it. Um, started taking lessons. The teacher that I had had a lot of connections in Atlantic City. I started singing in casinos. Oh, cool. Um, and that was like my first job, not at 12, but you know, that was like my first job. But um even a little before that, um, not to get into too much of it,

Pivoting From Bars To Events

SPEAKER_01 9:11

but I got picked up by this group, 3LW, which was like a very big, like it was like a 90s girl group. Um, and I was recording with them and all that good stuff. They later became the cheetah girls on Disney, but I got dropped from the group right before they got picked up by a new label, which is crazy. It was an insane thing at like 15. So that was where my musical journey um started. And then after that, I kind of just would pick up jobs singing, and eventually, and Matt can tell his story of how he got started, but I met Matt because he was putting together a country band, which at the time in North Jersey was really weird. I don't do you remember what year that was? We didn't even have a country station, which is great.

SPEAKER_03 9:49

2005, maybe?

SPEAKER_01 9:51

I think I'm the only young person. I what was I, maybe 20, that answered the ad. And so I automatically got the got the audition pretty much. And that's how we started. Um, but you should tell about how you got into music.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

Well, I I started taking guitar lessons right around the 12, 13, around there, yeah. Um, and um I became really interested in just wanting to perform live. Um, so I ended up performing with this band called the Good Rats when I was 14 years old, and they're from Long Island. You can Wikipedia them, um, the whole history of them. But I was one of many 30, 40 members of the band, um, members of Kiss and Twisted Sister, everybody. There's a whole story behind the band. But um I got to play with them for a few years, and um after that kind of fizzled off, I was doing the cover band scene in Jersey, Jersey, especially South Jersey has a big cover band scene. Um, so I was doing that circuit and doing that like three, four nights a week, and then I saw, you know, I always loved country music. There was no country music radio station in New York at that time, which is wild.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

It doesn't even seem like possible.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

When we finally got the station, all of a sudden, all these people that I knew also loved country music. I thought I was the only one. So I'm like, this is never brought it up with all the people. Exactly. You were afraid that you're afraid to mention it. Yeah, yeah. Um so I'm like, there's no cover band doing country covers. So that's when I started, you know, putting the ads out. And you know, back then I would go to like guitar center and put like you know, an ad on the bulletin board, you know. Yeah, that's right. With the little tabs you pull the phone number down for that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

So I answered the ad.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

She answered the ad.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

And everybody else who answered the ad was like much, much older than me. And they were trying to put together this like hip young like cover. Yeah, we needed a male singer and a female singer.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

And so we started the band.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

And she's pretty, so she got the job right away.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

Thanks. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 11:55

She couldn't sing. But she got the job. It was sweet, and then it just got pushed, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

I swear. But yeah, we started that. And anyway, the band fizzled out, and and then we start we started dating. We never did a gig. We never did a game.

SPEAKER_03 12:09

We were just auditioning people, and we're like, this is taking too much time. Why don't why don't we just go out and just play in in bars in the meantime? Yeah. And we can at least make connections and you know, and we just did that, and and we ended up just learning every song that was coming out on the radio, and we were just doing acoustic, whether it was like Lady Gaga or you know, at that time it would have been like Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, just everything.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

So we said like all the hits stripped, and we basically just took every like if it came out on the radio, we learned it,

Building A DJ Offering With Intention

SPEAKER_01 12:36

and then we'd go to the bars and play it. So everybody was like, This is amazing, because it just was the stuff that was on the radio. Wasn't the classic rock stuff, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:43

The acoustic, you know, the bars always had like an acoustic, you know, axe that would play Wednesday, Thursday night, but they were doing like classic rock stuff, you know, your typical. So we're like, let's do completely different completely different. And yeah, it really was awesome. So we we sort of started playing out and we five nights a week, six nights a week just did it.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

And that's how we started playing.

SPEAKER_04 13:04

That's so cool. Yeah, was there a part of that you were like gosh, I we need to do something different? Because I'm thinking like five, six nights a week. I mean, there's only so much Katy Perry and Britain on Marshall.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

100% and we were we were writing and recording and like going out to Nashville and like trying, you know, you're always you know following the dream, right? Which is fine. But I have to be honest, me as a woman, like I got to the point where I was like, okay, how for how many years? Not to sound whatever, but like for how many years am I gonna be out playing and singing, and how long is this gonna go for? Yeah, like and quite frankly, I mean, you're starving musicians. It's like you can only play so many gigs, the gigs only pay so much money, right? And it's like you look to your future and you go, All right, painting a bleak picture. I mean, I hate to say it, but yeah, it's kind of true. But yet we want to do music. Like, this is our love, and we're not breaking down and doing something different. And so I think right about that time, the wedding stuff starts coming in, and it all just made sense.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

You know, the wedding stuff came in, and of course, that was more lucrative for us and less of our time because you know, a bar we'd be there for four hours till two in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yeah, you know, um a cock hour from seven to eight.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

So that helped us be able to fund the projects that we were doing in Nashville with our original music. So we were down there writing and recording things like that, and we got some really awesome opportunities to open up for national country acts, you know, through that time. And it was all like it was all just from the wedding stuff that you were like, oh well, just give us a shot.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

And yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_03 14:41

It was really that was really cool. Um, and then like like I said, it just once you do a wedding, more calm yeah. You do want to do that. Well, you do a good job, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah, thank you. Yes, we tried.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

So yeah, well, I mean I would assume that you guys could perform if you did that many nights a week over the years. Eventually she would start singing decently. Um I mean, I hope, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

So I'm just playing then. The in-ears are coming out and not the mic over.

SPEAKER_04 15:09

If my wife was here, she would also slap me too for that. So it's all good. I can't reach you. That's that's the problem. Um, so you guys saw sort of that empty pocket of live music, but also you have the DJ stuff going. You have maybe some other, you know, like the photo booth is like a classic DJ thing to have. How do you go from the two of you playing a cocktail hour to now we have like hundreds of weddings and all these events and putting DJs out there, still doing the I'm assuming you guys are still playing too. And you have other musicians that are doing it too as well.

SPEAKER_05 15:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

Yeah, we have tons of how does all of that come from like one one wedding?

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Are we even sure? Because I feel like sometimes we see that. I have no idea how any of this happened. Yeah, honestly. Yeah, I think um wow.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Let me tell you, I sometimes we sit, we're just like, wow, it it really is it's quite amazing. I've said to our staff, because at this point, you know, it's funny, like, and I will get back to answer that question because I get on tangents, but it is quite amazing to see all of these people come together because in the beginning it was how hard are we gonna work? Yeah, what are we gonna do to do a good job? And now it's like a team of people that have to come together.

SPEAKER_04 16:21

And and we are a team of musicians is probably not like a common thing to hear.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Oh no, definitely not. And just to find people who are talented and yet also humble, right? Like DJs, musicians.

SPEAKER_05 16:33

This is like that's a big thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

This is a big thing for us in our business because that was always our thing. Like it's not about us. Yeah, I love that in this industry. Like, this is it is someone's wedding day, it is someone's most special important day. We are not the stars of this show. We are here to compliment and to make it a nice day and atmosphere, but it's not about us. Yeah, and so a lot of musicians aren't like that, you know. But yeah, I just I think it's yeah, it's just especially those trumpet players, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:00

Oh, yeah, watch out for those trumpet players. You know, I'm not gonna disagree with any of that at all.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

That's great. Oh my goodness. But no, we just we really I remember looking for like our first DJ, and it was like, you know, that was its own thing. But when we first started, it was Matt and I. And so I looked at Matt and I was like, You're gonna DJ. And he was like, No, I'm not. And I was like, Oh, yes, you are, because we're gonna go out, we're gonna do this. We're gonna just like we were gonna be all the hitch stripped, right? We were gonna be something different when we started. You have to find something different, otherwise, you're gonna be just like everybody else. And it was like, how do we do this? And so I MC'd, he DJ'd, we went out there, we grabbed our, he invested in a decent camera. So, like when he would be DJing, like after I did my MCing, we took video footage of people dancing, we would set up the camera of us performing, we would create like, but I mean they weren't reels, whatever videos, right at the time. Um, and we just started doing weddings, building relationships, coming into the venues and being like, hey, like we're

Growing A Team Without Losing Quality

SPEAKER_01 18:02

through us productions. And through us productions was me and Matt. Like that was it. But we knew we could do it, you know, and we were just like we wore many.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

I mean, we we all, our whole team wears many hats on a wedding day, of course, but we wore a lot of hats, just the two of us.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah, like I joke with the guys on, like, I was the roadie and she was loading the truck and the singer do singing the ceremony. I mean, we literally were running.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

I would play instrumental guitar at the ceremony and yeah, run the mics, and we move and we'd sing the first dance song, and then I get behind the turntables and I'd, you know, do my thing for the rest of the night.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

But we knew we had to do it well, yeah. So, like, we were just like, Okay, we have to do this, we have to do it well because no one's gonna take us seriously, otherwise. Like, we better deliver.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Yeah, even if your live music was the best, and then you get behind that turntable and you're like, is that how you're gonna mix the done?

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Nope, nope, it's right, like it was gonna be and and another thing, like we have a friend in the industry who was helping Matt. Like, it's like you have to beat Match and the transitions, and like, because again, as musicians, like we weren't just gonna come in and not do it right, yeah, right. You know, like it was gonna be done right, and God bless him, because that he really had to do the hard part, in my opinion, to like the DJing aspect of it.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

That was a totally different animal, yeah. Yeah, it's crazy, you know, going from playing an instrument to to DJing, you know.

SPEAKER_04 19:18

And then you're trying to do both. Yeah, you're like, is my guitar in tune? And then also is my song queued up that I need to play next time.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Yeah. I give our guys tons of I mean, they they kill it every every weekend, and it's it's not an easy job. It's way easier to get up and perform in front of somebody, like being a band, than it is to be a DJ.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

Yeah, it's what what was it about the because you you were saying like we wanted to go into the DJ space and not necessarily like make a splash, but do it differently, do it better, and so like what was it that you were trying to do in that space specifically that you were like let's be different in this way?

SPEAKER_01 19:55

We definitely wanted to bring our North Jersey, New York flair to Lancaster. Like we were like, like where we're from.

SPEAKER_04 20:03

It definitely needs more flair.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Lancaster's a wonderful zone. It doesn't know, but no, it was and it's funny, it's Lancaster has changed a lot since we got. I mean, we've been here, what, 12 years, I guess, but the industry has changed. The wedding industry, I think, has really blossomed. Um, and a lot of you know, just being here, just we've seen a lot change. But I definitely think it was the idea of like um the transitions, as silly as that sounds, like mixing and and it actually actually mixing?

SPEAKER_04 20:32

What?

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Yeah, like it sounds crazy, but we're it's not crazy.

SPEAKER_04 20:36

It's real listening, it's not crazy.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

You know, we wanted it to we wanted to bring a really a quality, I don't it's service, I don't say product, right? A quality service.

SPEAKER_04 20:44

Well, and that's the thing that's kind of funny about it. And I know we're getting a little techie. If you're not musical, I'm sorry. We're gonna it's gonna continue. So um, but it not everyone would probably notice, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Fair enough, yes, agreed.

SPEAKER_04 20:59

If you hit the transition perfect, you got the next song, you know, it's the same VPM as the song before it, right? Maybe it's even the same key. You hit like the chorus right on, like whatever it is, right? There might be like 10 people out there that are like, oh, whatever. I don't like I'm not even dancing, right? There might be 10 other people that are like, Oh, I love the song. But for those that do care, that mixing is gonna go a long way. Cause I know it does for me. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

You hear it.

SPEAKER_04 21:32

I'm like, ooh, we got our headsets on, and then I'm like talking to my second tutor, and I was like, Did you hear that?

SPEAKER_02 21:38

What?

SPEAKER_04 21:39

Yep. So there is like an element to it where, like, yes, not everyone's gonna notice, but those that do, like, that's gonna go a long way for like the longevity of like, hey, did you hear about three rest production? Have you heard the way that they mix and like the quality of it?

SPEAKER_01 21:54

No, I appreciate you saying that because that was a big thing for us in the beginning. And I think and then and And then everyone who was hired after that point, right? And basically just the because you had asked, like, how did we grow? And it's like, I think it's like with any small business, like we could be just us forever. But then we would have boxed ourselves in exactly it, we would have almost done the same thing we were doing in the bar scene in weddings, right?

SPEAKER_04 22:17

And it was like, and I know more Katie Perry and more Bruno Mars.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Right.

SPEAKER_04 22:21

You just can't get away. You guys are gonna play that song. You're gonna be like, oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

You know what's funny? We just did not take it on a tangent. I'm the tangent queen. We just did a sweet 16 and we went to do the party. And you know, we're getting older here. And I was like, oh man, like, you know, we know new music, but like we still have a lot of old stuff. And the sweet spot was the like, like I remember we did a Jesse J song. This was just what was a Saturday night?

SPEAKER_03 22:47

Saturday, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

And I was like, Yeah, they know like the Jason Darulo. And like, I was like, we could have done a whole set of Katy Perry. I was getting so excited.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

And I was like, I think they were born the year these songs came out, but whatever. I'm like, it's very Madonna, you know?

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Yeah, like no, we're doing some Rihanna stuff. And then you get like they'll stand on the way home, you're like, oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Oh yeah, I was just like, oh, yeah, but it's it's so true. But yeah, we were bringing it back, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

I was like, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:09

I'm like, Rihanna's like the Beatles pretty much.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

We were trying to figure out because I love like I love jazz and I love like standards and all that kind of stuff. And I was like, so is that like what is that to them? Like, I was like, is that like listening to like Mozart? Like I just was trying to figure out, I was like, what standards for sure. I was like trying to figure it out, and then it was just this whole mental rabbit hole, terrible thing I was going down. I was like, I gotta perform, I gotta be youthful. This is not good. I'm getting it.

SPEAKER_04 23:35

Don't even bring that up anymore.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Talking about this, it was simple water and getting started. But anyway, when we started hiring people, it was like holy moly, rock and roly. Like, now you gotta give up. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:47

That needs to be a sweatshirt.

unknown 23:48

Woo!

SPEAKER_04 23:49

Three months productions. Holy moly, rock and moly.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

That's actually a great idea.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

Thank you for that.

SPEAKER_04 23:54

Just send me one. That's all I ask. That is such a cold cold.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

I gotta, I gotta, I got a heat press at the office. I'll make it tomorrow morning. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Oh, we can do it. Yeah, and you're getting one. Yeah, just tell us your size. We should do that for real.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

Large.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Um putting our trust in other people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:12

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

We are like, we want everything perfect all the time. And that for me, I mean, he was even more willing to let go of some of that. But for me, it was like, how is anyone gonna do it as good as we're gonna do it? Not because I think we're so great, just trusting people. And you know what? Here we are, years later, and I've come to learn not only are they gonna do it as good, some of them are gonna do it better. And people care because they they care. Like we have found the people that care, and it actually worked, but that was crazy in the beginning.

SPEAKER_04 24:41

I just had this conversation uh earlier today. Uh, the the idea of like scaling and growing a wedding vendor business is such like a niche idea in the space, even because it's

Advice For Couples: Live, DJ, And Fusion

SPEAKER_04 24:56

like we're this pigeonhole of like we're kind of a business, sometimes we're entrepreneurial, sometimes we're like, what have we gotten ourselves into? Sometimes we're like, this is amazing, and then other times it's like I haven't had an inquiry in a month. So like, what do we what am I doing? And so it's just like such a weird, like in between. And I'm just curious, like, your mindset on growth, and I know like some of that is just like it just comes with time. Like, you're obviously putting out a good product, you're gonna maybe get more responses back. But like, how did you actually go from like the two of you where you're playing, DJing, singing, all of the stuff, only able to do one event at a time to like now you have a full team, a whole bunch of musicians? That someone's like, Can I get a trumpet player and a saxophone? You're like, Yeah, is it gonna sound good? Absolutely, and you you have the dude, the other dudes, you send them out and they do a great job. Like, how do you actually go from like ground zero to all of that growth?

SPEAKER_03 25:59

It's it was it was it was tough, you know, because again, like Vanisa said about just um you know, putting that trust in someone else to go out there to represent the brand, you know. Our baby, our baby, yeah. With the live music part, it's really easy for us because we're musicians, so we you know, our we our network of musicians is pretty big, and a lot of those people don't really want to deal with the selling of themselves and the contracting and all that kind of stuff, insurances and all the fun stuff, but we almost had like the medium for them to go out and gig. Right. So they you know, once we started doing this, we had a lot of our friends and being like, hey, if your couple needs a jazz guitar player, I'm your guy. Just let me know, I'll be there. Um, everybody's kind of in the same place where a lot of these people are doing bars and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

And um And also being respectful of the musicians. Musicians are like again, right? From the world we come from, it's not, it's a tough, it's a tough job. And people a lot of times don't take it as I'm sorry to cut you off, but I have to say this like they're not musicians aren't always paid on time. You know, sometimes you're waiting a month for a check and it's like, uh, whatever, you're a musician. And it's like, like when musicians are getting direct deposited on Monday and they're getting paid what they said they were gonna get paid, and all of everything's lined up just so for them, they're not used to that. And so basically everything we dealt with, we flipped the switch and was and were like, okay, we're gonna make this all right for you. So when you come work for us, it's gonna be beautiful. And we delivered on that. And so then they tell their friends, and you know, as a musician, it's like, hey, you want to go work for this company, like they're gonna treat you well, you know, and respect you and care, and the gig's gonna be good, and you know, you're not gonna be sitting outside in the rain, you know, your violin isn't gonna get destroyed because they put that in the claws and cared and double-checked and um all that with the musicians and the DJs you can, you know, speak more on, but the same with the DJs too, you know.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

It's uh, you know, once we started reaching out and and putting the team together, you know, a lot of you know, the DJs were like, hey, listen, you guys have the work. It's here. Like, I'm willing to, you know, just put aside my three gigs that I have for the year, and I'm gonna, you're gonna fill my schedule. I don't have to sell myself, I don't have to, you know, try to prove myself to someone. You guys are doing all the marketing, you're doing the videos, you're making me look good, essentially, right? Um, and we're doing all that kind of behind the scenes work, you know, to fill their schedules.

SPEAKER_04 28:29

Yeah, you know, so um to little by little we just kept adding, and it was but but it intentionally, like growing, like not just like, hey, yeah, you know it's kind of interesting too, because like it seems like uh from what you're laying out, like there's a huge value add, live musician or DJ, for them to partner with you, and you've set that up, what sounds like pretty intentionally. It's like if you're growing a team, like there's a way to do it where the the growing part of the team has an upside aside from just like maybe they're getting an extra check.

unknown 29:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Yeah, and we and it's funny, I think as business owners, like I'd be alarmed if I said we don't constantly struggle with that because we joke sometimes, we're just like, man, we're just two musicians, right? It's like we're business owners, but you think back to just who we are, like at our core. And one of the things we've had to like learn and grow with is managing people. Like we have employees, we have tons of subcontractors, we have like we have and we're still musicians. Like we will still go out and gig now. And it's like that's the easy part, you know, it's all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_04 29:31

And and it's probably fun when you can get out and kind of like turn the business mind off a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

It's crazy. We took a little hiatus, and um, it's interesting because we our daughter winter is six, so when she was born, um, I was kind of like, oh yeah, like I got this. Like, I'm I was still doing all the sales at the time, and it was just like, I was like, mad, I can't, I can't, like, I can't do this and perform and be on the events and deal with all the clients and raise a child. And and he really stepped up and took over a lot of that. But as we've grown, you know, we as the business has been growing, we actually kind of took a backseat on like performing. And we recently, like, and what has it been now? Like about a year and a half, we've been performing a lot more. We actually had people who worked for us. This is almost embarrassing, that didn't even realize all the stuff we've done. And we were like, whoa, like just in that moment of kind of being vulnerable and being like, maybe we haven't even shared our background enough. Like, we are we actually that company that like people didn't even realize because it's it's so crazy to us, because again, like we tell that story of that bride that night, and it's like, I'm still there. Like in my mind, it's just like, wow, how are we doing 400 events a year? Like, so much work has gone into it, but yet you still sit back and you go, like, this is unbelievable. Like, because the team has grown a

Budget, Space, And Smart Live Options

SPEAKER_01 30:45

lot and it's kind of crazy in a way, because I don't think we ever knew how much we would grow. You know, we always we always took it a step at a time and we never try to grow too fast because we're still growing and we want to grow more, but we don't want to overdo it because the quality's got to stay there for sure. So that gets a little crazy.

SPEAKER_04 31:02

Because I mean, you're like you said, you're stamping the brand on it. So if you're gonna send a DJ out and they're not gonna do a good job, it's not gonna be like, oh, so-and-so DJ was not creative. It's gonna be your brand. DJ is not great.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Three West is like, and and when we when we start, so like our duo is called Three West, and then we're three West Productions, and so many times Matt's been like, We should have just changed the name, like because people would say three West, and when we didn't show up in the beginning, they were just like, Well, who's this other person? Like, you guys are three West, you know? And now it's it's so not like that, but um, yeah, like the the quality, like that's just that's gotta stay there forever. Like we can never grow so big that people don't love our people, like when our guys show up, our musicians, like we want people to have the same like feeling they had in the beginning that that brought us to here where we can grow because someone goes, Oh darn, you guys aren't available. You're sure you don't have someone else available. We just always want that. Like we and as a small business, it's tough like to keep that.

SPEAKER_04 32:02

That's gotta be a fun feeling though, when you're like, ah, you know, we're not available. And they're like, But do you have someone?

SPEAKER_01 32:09

That that was, I mean, that was the coolest because I think that's when we really realized it clicked and it and it made us realize that like we're gonna, you know, we have a child now, and it's like we wanted to better ourselves and our life. And again, we were struggling musicians, you know, and to change from that and to just be able to do more and have more time and I don't know, just grow something. Well, I have a little more time.

SPEAKER_05 32:30

Matt has no time, but he's like slightly determined.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

What time is that exactly? This guy he gets to the office at what time do you get there? Probably in the morning, truthfully.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

Eight o'clock, usually.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

And what time do you leave? Most days.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

9 30 at night. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

You know, small business.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

You know? And then I I'm in when I can be, and this guy just I don't know. Hold on the fort. He's our fearless leader, let me tell you. I'm here.

SPEAKER_04 32:59

I could see it in his eyes. Oh, it's like I got this.

SPEAKER_02 33:01

He's, yeah. Don't you worry. He is. He's our guy.

SPEAKER_04 33:04

So if we could spend a little bit of time speaking to the couples that are listening, um like what do they need to know about live music? What do they need to know about the DJ service? What do they need to know about the photo booth? Like, maybe give some guidance, direction, like what to watch out for. I asked a question because, like, part of it's like I don't see a lot of live music. There was a band at a wedding that I was second shooting at, and I was like, this is sick. And then I had to leave because my contracted time was over. It was like, oh, I got like four songs. Um, and all four were amazing. Uh so maybe we can start the live music.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:45

Like, what is it? What are the options? What should couples kind of be like looking out for? And then maybe even like what's the couple like what are they like maybe that are gonna benefit and really enjoy that extra sort of peace where it's like most of the time the weddings that we go to, it's just a speaker that the DJs put up in that like cocktailer space where there could be again that wedding I was at, they had a saxophone and uh guitar playing some jazz standards and stuff, which is so cool.

SPEAKER_03 34:17

Yeah, we found that um a lot of couples um really truly want like I feel like now it's all it's about the experience, and a lot of couples are really loving the live music DJ fusion um and how to incorporate that live element without spending on a on a a band because a lot of couples don't have the budget, or they may not want to spend that.

SPEAKER_04 34:40

A big band is expensive. Yes, I'm not saying it's not worth it. I'm not saying it's not worth it. It is it is absolutely worth it, but it's a it's an expense that is like almost out of the category of like a DJ.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

We couldn't have done it when we got married. I mean, yeah, not at all.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

That's what I was like super pumped. I was like, Christina, let's do this. It's gonna be sick, it's gonna be awesome. I like looked up a couple and I was like, it's not gonna be sick, it's not gonna be awesome.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

It just didn't work for us. I know. And in the venues out here, I feel like in Lancaster County, like a lot of them are small, you know.

SPEAKER_04 35:12

Um, that's a I didn't even think about that.

SPEAKER_03 35:14

So, you know, you have to you can't have

Vetting Your DJ: Reviews And Fit

SPEAKER_03 35:16

that 12, 14 piece band that sounds awesome coming in from Philly or Jersey or Long Island, wherever. Um, you have to have like the smaller version of that band, which you know you may lose a singer or two and not a horn section now. Now the horn section, it's like now it's just kind of like a bar band now, you know.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Because what is it if you don't have a trumpet player?

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yeah, I mean, come on, just throwing the towel at that point.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Right. Um, so we found a lot of couples really wanted some sort of live element for their day. Um, and being musicians, we always did that anyway. You know, when we were first started, we would always offer a live element, like a live cocktail hour performance. A live we will perform your first dance song live, we will play during dinner. So I think that's how it really started. So um just became known for doing that. But um a lot of people come to us for ceremony musicians, you know, string quartets, string duos, um, cocktail hour entertainment, you know, not just a speaker on a pole in the corner, yeah, playing you know, booblay for 45 minutes, you know, an actual bubble. I know Michael Bubble.

SPEAKER_04 36:24

Um I was gonna say it, but you said it first.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

So doing jazz, you know. Um, we even do a cool like sax solo sax with backing tracks for people that you know don't have the budget for a duo or trio. Well now they can hire a soloist and it's not just a sax player playing to nothing.

SPEAKER_04 36:43

We were at a bar, um, and it was just like a hotel bar, yeah. My wife and I, and there was a dude playing that same setup, and it sounded nice.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

It's yeah, it actually works. And if it's done right in the levels, you know, it's it's gotta be done right. But if it is, I think the thing is too like, and you know, I don't I don't talk to as many of our um couples when they're booking as I did years ago. Matt really speaks with them more, but I think the thing that like, you know, I would always say to to our potential clients or couples is like a lot of people, I think they hear live music and they assume it's gonna be really expensive. And it's not it's not that it's not, it's in the budget or it's not, and I get that, but I think that was that whole idea of like where we came in and were like pepper it in where you want.

SPEAKER_04 37:23

Like it doesn't have to be, you know, all or nothing, you know, like so like ten thousand dollars or you don't get it.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

No, no, I mean I not to sound silly, but I'll laugh sometimes and I'm like, people are paying for monogram napkins, and I'm not knocking it, but like I don't think they realize the the the things that they're spending on, like like a live musician could add so much, and it's not being like salesy, like, oh, you should have a live musician because it's good. I actually think people really who would like to have it don't even know they can sometimes, you know, based on whatever their budget is. So I always just say to you know, couples, like, look into it, just check, you know, check it out and see. Because um, as we would talk to, you know, different clients, you find sometimes that they'll say, like, hey, you know, during dinner, I'm gonna be up and I'm not gonna really sit and eat and I'm gonna be talking to everybody. So maybe for them at that moment it doesn't matter, or cocktail hour doesn't. But then there's been couples who are like, you know what? Like, I have wanted to dance to this song with, you know, my dad for a bajillion years. And I heard this really cool uh cover somebody did on YouTube, and I know I can't have that person, but they could have another acoustic duo do it, and that just like makes it for them. You know, like it could just be that one tiny little bit.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Um, but I guess as musicians, it's easy to say, like, live music's gonna add so much, we're all gonna feel that.

SPEAKER_04 38:38

That's almost what I'm trying to like not pull out of the two of you, but just like almost like what's the value in it, or like how would you like use words to describe like what it brings to the table? Because I totally agree. Like as a musician myself, thinking about having a band play a set or two during my reception, that sounded like insanely fun, but uh it just wasn't gonna work. But I knew like the intrinsic value of it kind of like beforehand.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Because you're a musician, so I think it's like anything. I think like I've always said, you know, like in our house, every light in our house is on a dimmer, right? And I'm crazy with like music. Like I set like the back, like our daughter knows it's like we wake up in the morning and like jazz is on, but it's like a certain specific type and like it's at a certain volume. And then as the day progresses, like I switch it up, you know. Like, I don't know, because I homeschool her. So I'm, you know, I'm home a lot with her doing stuff. And like I'm really big on like, even since she was a baby, like having the lighting just right at bedtime and the music at the right level, he thinks everyone thinks I'm crazy. But now she gets up and she puts it on. And she'd be like, there's no music on in here. So I guess what I'm getting at without getting on too much of a tangent, which I said I do that. That's okay. Is that I don't think people realize how how much of an impact it would have. But the best way I could describe it is like, look at, like, I'm not a concert goer, but look at when people go to concerts and are just like in that moment and that feeling. And it's not that I think us and our people are creating a concert vibe, but like there is something to be said about like, I don't care if you're in a pub and you're singing along to your favorite song and everyone's drunk, right? And someone's playing Sweet Caroline, or you're at your favorite concert, or you just happen to walk through and someone's playing piano and it like almost like brings a tear to your eye. It's like there is something with live music that you cannot get from recorded music. Like there's a reason that it brings the joy it brings people, the emotions, the feelings. Like it's just that's exactly I don't know. I don't know how to put it into words if I'm doing it right.

SPEAKER_04 40:41

You did it though, you did. Like that's what it is. What it brings to mind now is like the connection element. It's like when you're in a room and someone's playing music, there's this like weird, not weird, it's not weird in like a bad way, but there's like this weird kind of connection that you have with that person. Yes. And it could be for a split second, it could be for like five minutes, but you're providing like a level of connection

Emcee Style, Setups, And Aesthetics

SPEAKER_04 41:06

through the music, through the musician. It's literally human. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Yeah. Yeah. It's I don't know. It's weird. It's almost like, I don't know, and maybe I'm a weirdo, but it's like this time of year makes me think I love the fall. And it's like I will go outside and like listen to the leaves like blowing in the wind. And there's like we're human beings, right? It's like there's there's feelings, there's emotions that come out of us because we're like, I don't know, like we're we're part of, we're part of it all. And like when someone is playing an instrument, I don't play an instrument. So I sit and listen to a musician play an instrument. I mean, I bang on a drum a little bit, but I don't really count that. But you know, it's like there's something like I'm just gonna sit in it, you know.

SPEAKER_04 41:42

Wait, pause.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

Okay, so we we went more on like the positive side of things.

SPEAKER_05 41:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:49

What what should couples be looking out for? Or maybe even like what questions should they be asking when they're in the search? Like maybe they're let's just say they've kind of made up their mind on what they want. So it's not like uh do we want live or do we want recorded or do we want DJ? Like, what do we want there? They already kind of made up their mind. How do they find like the right fit? So, like what what sh questions should they be asking? Like, how do they get to the bottom of like whether or not this DJ or in your case, like one of your DJs is gonna be the right fit and provide them with like the service that they're thinking they're that they want?

SPEAKER_01 42:26

I don't know, you know what? I think, and uh you may have a different answer. I won't go too long on this. I am like I believe in the reviews so much. I just feel that that's a really good place to start. And I'd love to say, hey, come talk to us. But I used to joke, and especially when I was doing a lot of the selling, I'd be like, Yeah, I could sit here and tell you we're great, but at the end of the day, we know that's why the vendor relationships are so important, right? When someone says, like, hey, this company does a good job. But I don't know, I just think like really being able to read between the lines and like what are clients saying, what are past couples saying? Like, did that, you know, did that, and I don't care what service it is, if it's a photographer, a florist, a DJ, a musician, like did they go the extra mile? Are those things that are in there that are different? Um, I just think that's the stuff to look for. Like, obviously, you have to click, yeah, you know, and and we just it's we're doing things the same way we did from the start, from the first bride that I spoke with to whatever the last bride or groom you spoke with is, is just being as honest as we can be and just saying, like, this is how we do things, and then actually delivering on it. But not everybody delivers on what they say they're gonna do. Yeah, you know, that's the tough part.

SPEAKER_04 43:36

I keep coming back to this thing where it's like you can vibe with someone, you can have a good connection with this vendor, whatever category it is, yeah. But you're not gonna know for sure for sure, for sure, for sure, until it happens and you're like, that was good or that was bad. Yeah, that's the problem. Especially in my mind, and maybe this is just because I I Like music and have been in that world for so long. But it's like the DJ in my mind can like make or break the entire evening.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah, I'd agree.

SPEAKER_04 44:11

Like the entire evening. If they're I don't know, and maybe I'm just thinking about it too much, but it's like when the DJ's on it and they're on and the party is bumping, I'm like they understand well it affects everything, and it also affects your job too as a photographer.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

Right.

SPEAKER_04 44:28

Yeah, and if they're not like man, when there's a packed dance floor and I can get video of that all night, like and I can put that into their film and they I see the excitement and the joy and all that stuff, like mine, it's just like I enjoy when it's mixed well because it's fun for me. But listening. Yeah, but uh besides the reviews, is there anything else like like what should they be asking maybe in that DJ scene to be like digging to the to the bottom of the barrel to make sure like okay, I've I've kind of checked all the boxes that the reviews look good, I've asked these questions, and I think I'm gonna go this route.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

Man, I don't know. Do you have an answer for that?

SPEAKER_03 45:11

Well, I mean, I feel that I mean we give our couples the option to speak to their potential DJ. And we have such a small team, so it's again, they're not looking at a list of 20 people. You know, they're listening at a list of five guys, and they're out there. I mean, because the amount of events that we're doing, they're out there every weekend. So we uh do a lot of social media content, a lot of like Instagram stories and showing footage because you know, again, uh you can have this really cool promo video of our DJs, right? But you're not using any of the audio that was in that moment, you know. You kind of have this music bed of something, right? Um, so I always do I'm like, here's raw footage that you can watch every weekend we post, just go and look and listen. And because you know, some couples come to us and they're like, We run, we really want to hear, we know the DJs are gonna be great. All your DJs are awesome. We know they're gonna kill it.

SPEAKER_00 46:03

Their reviews are great, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:05

What is what does their voice sound like? Yeah,

Crafting Playlists And Reading The Room

SPEAKER_03 46:08

right.

SPEAKER_04 46:09

Like introducing, yeah, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Yeah, like you're listening to and how much are they gonna speak? And I think that actually is a good question. I don't know that I don't know that enough couples ask this. Like, there's always this idea of like what you think it's gonna be, right? And how many weddings have you actually been to? Because if you're young and you and you don't go to a lot of weddings, you might not know what to expect. Then your parents are trying to guide you and they're just freaking out, making sure bad stuff doesn't happen because they just don't want the guy that stinks, you know? And so maybe questions like, How much are you gonna speak? You know, and like things like that, because going back to the whole, it's not about us, it's about them. Like we are us as a company, like we will talk through it with our clients and find out like how much of this do you want? But at the end of the day, we're not on the microphone the entire time. Like, we don't want our comp that we just don't do that here, you know.

SPEAKER_04 47:00

Like, you might want like it's a different, it's a different vibe. It's not my favorite. Yeah, it's just a personal preference, it's not my favorite when they're on the mic all the time. I don't think I care too much. Like, it doesn't affect the video at all because I don't hear any of that sound. Right. Um, but that's a great question though, to be like, are you gonna be like one, two, three, four? Are you gonna be like, hands up, hands up, hands up? Like, are you doing that or are you not? Because if you're if you don't want that and you don't ask and they do it, like it it's gonna happen all night.

SPEAKER_03 47:34

I've had couples come to you know, when I'm talking to them during the sales process, and I'm like, what are some things that you've you know you've encountered at other weddings that you disliked? And they'll that always brings up like, oh my goodness. So, like three months ago, we were at this wedding, and the DJ actually got up and did gave a toast to the bride and groom. Oh and it was so awkward.

SPEAKER_01 47:56

That sounds like something out of the 80s.

SPEAKER_03 47:58

And I pictured like a sparkly vest and like where like he came out onto the middle of the dance floor and he was doing the cha cha slide with us, you know, um, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

Um which some people might want, and that's fine.

SPEAKER_04 48:08

Some people yeah, again though, but if you don't know to ask, like if you don't know, what do you do? Are you gonna dance with us? Do you like like are you gonna talk a lot? Yeah, you're gonna have a microphone in your hand the whole time, right?

SPEAKER_01 48:20

Yeah, it's and there's just so I don't know. Yeah, you just I mean, you definitely have to like the person, I suppose. You know, that's always important, but what their skills are, you you could be the nicest guy in the world, you could be a great guy and be a terrible musician, you could be a great guy and be a terrible DJ. So it's like, what are you doing? And then the other thing is too, it's no literally, what are you doing? What are you doing? Yeah, but like the setups, that's a whole nother thing. I mean, that was one of the it's funny, speaking of come, you know, coming to the area, it was like that was a big thing for us. Like I remember people being like, What is that? And it was just a simple DJ facade in front of our table. And I was like, There's DJs with tablecloths in the city.

SPEAKER_03 48:59

Yeah, I mean, we had to be one of the first companies to to have a fascinating. I can truly say that in Lancaster County. And you're just even talking about like just a cover, basically.

SPEAKER_04 49:08

Just cover the wires, you know. So like simple thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 49:11

I would think mo I think I think most couples at this point are discerning enough to ask those questions, but that would be a big one for me. Like, what is the setup gonna look like?

SPEAKER_04 49:19

And I will say, look, if you're listening, your couple is saying and you're like, eh, it doesn't really matter. It might, if it's the background of some of your photos, just a thought.

SPEAKER_03 49:29

Yeah, and it's really of the dip, and then there you are, there's the DJ. Nowadays, with all the stuff you have, you could just excellent and yeah, I don't know. Can of Pepsi sitting there.

SPEAKER_01 49:41

I'm just I know I've always been the type of person, like I go with my gut on things. So, like, my advice to people always is like, if it doesn't feel right and it's over, you know, I don't know, the DJ package is $300 less. And it's like your gut is telling you, like, just go, and it doesn't have to be our company, just go with the company that feels right. Because at the end of the day, and it's not because it's a business we're in, your music is gonna make or break your wedding. Yeah, it's gonna, unless you're doing a dinner party. I mean, our wedding, our wedding was a dinner party. Um, we had a very small wedding. If that's what you're doing, you're good. It doesn't matter. But yeah, because at that point it's just like a little background. It's you're there with your family and friends, but majority of the weddings we do as a company, and let's face it, if everyone wants to be honest, you want people to dance at your wedding. Like everyone's biggest fear is that their wedding, you know, floor is gonna be empty and no one's gonna have fun.

SPEAKER_04 50:33

But I will say if the bride and groom are there and they want to get other people, like if you're in the center and you call people out, they're gonna dance with you.

SPEAKER_01 50:42

That's great advice. We tell that I'm just throwing the knob. That's a good yeah. Let it be known. Let it be known.

SPEAKER_04 50:49

If you do it, they will come.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

It's so true.

SPEAKER_03 50:52

The people make the party. Yeah. You know, our guys can do you know the best job in the world. So can any other company, yeah? It's really the people make the party.

SPEAKER_04 51:01

So, how do couples figure out like, because there's a part of that process, I'm assuming, where they're able to maybe say, like, hey, we like this kind of music. We don't really want any of maybe these 20 songs played, but everything else is fine. It's fair game, or maybe they have like a specific list. How do you help them kind of curate the list to fit like, you know, obviously we don't need to play every song that grandma loves, but like she's got to throw a couple in there that she's gonna like shake her booty to you, but like everyone else maybe is gonna want a little bit of a different kind of list.

SPEAKER_03 51:32

I so we have a really cool online portal that they get access to when they book, and we have like a we have a must-playlist, play if possible, and then we have a don't you dare playlist in there. And uh that really helps us because I you know, I say, you know, focus on that, focus on the do not play songs, first off. And that's easy for most people. Yeah, they know the certain things that they don't want. Um, and then we'll and then we'll focus on like the must-play songs, and it's really how we build that playlist, and then our DJs do have you know lengthy conversations about the type of music that we're playing, and um even down to just remixes, you know. Some people want to hear the original, they don't want to hear an a a house remix of Don't Stop Believing, they want to hear Journey's version, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:17

Um very different songs, sure, very different.

SPEAKER_03 52:21

Yeah. So we talk about that, you know, what kind of vibe are you going with? Because we have every version of every song, you know.

SPEAKER_01 52:28

If you want it, we can get it. I

Dance Floor Energy And Capturing Moments

SPEAKER_01 52:30

think the other thing too is just is is really explaining to couples that, and I this is the best way I would always say it to people like the dance floor is like a living, breathing, moving thing. You have to understand it from the from our guys, from the DJs, like when they're looking out on the dance floor, like they are very, very good at what they do because they're watching and they're paying attention, and that's what a good DJ does. But like the couples and the people on the dance floor also need to understand that they're gonna go with the ebbs and flows, and that's what a good DJ will always do. So, in the moment, what a couple might think is going to happen may not be actually how the night plays out, but that may actually be what they want in that moment. Yeah, like that's like when a bride will run up to you know, one of our DJs and be like, I know I said I wanted this, but like everyone's digging this kind of music, like just go with that.

SPEAKER_03 53:15

Happens a lot. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Yeah, like that's that's really like if if you can understand, and again, I think that just goes back to just being human and understanding human connection and what's happening in the moment. Because you could be in the same, we would say this, like we would play the bars, you know, in New York City, like the pig and whistle on second, and we could be there on a Saturday night, and it could be like 1:30 a.m. And it could be like the most amazing, coolest night that you thought you were like in a movie, and then it could not be. And all it was was just about the people and how the people reacted, and just how everything just happened to fall into place because that's life, right?

SPEAKER_04 53:49

Play the same song like every Saturday night, and one of them hits, and you're like, What just happened?

SPEAKER_01 53:54

And then we'd have to look and go, okay, we're gonna make this a good night no matter what. And in on that, in that genre, that area, whatever, whatever that is.

SPEAKER_04 54:02

I love that though, because if you are a vendor in the category of like nighttime, so whether it's one of you guys DJing to the end of the thing, or it's like we end up staying most of the time to the end of the night, uh I always go with that and I'm like, I'm exhausted, my legs hurt, I could sit for like six hours and be completely fine. But I want to make this super fun and just have a blast because like at the end of the day, this day and nighttime, like time happens one time. So, like when there is the thing where like Bride gets lifted up on a chair or gets put on shoulders or does the worm in her wedding dress, and I'm like, how'd you do that? Impressive. I want to I want to have my wide angle lens and be like from here to here. I want to be right there for it so great because it's so fun. It's like all these like little kind of mini fun memories mixed in with all the like sentimental, like story-dripping ones, which is like so cool that that matters to you because our biggest pet peeve is like when all of the people capturing everything are gone, and we know, we know how tired they are, and we know they probably only paid for so much, you know.

SPEAKER_01 55:18

We were there at the start, and we know all of that, but then we're also just like, oh man, they're gonna miss it all.

SPEAKER_04 55:24

And then we're out with our phones and yeah, like it's I will say I had a conversation with a photographer, and she kind of like she told me, she's like, at some point the dancing photos look very similar. Granted, there is one time in that scenario where the bride was doing the worm, so like that that would be one sure specific photo in that case. On photo, yeah. Um, and she's like, it just like it just starts everything looks the same. It's not even that I don't want to be here, it's just like everyone's this, that, like just weird. But I'm like, But you missed those man for video though, like video, you could you could be at any point of the night with any person in front of you and get like a new look. You know, it's just like to me, it's almost like I kind of got her thing with photo. It's like okay, but for video, I'm like, you know, I want all of that stuff because all that stuff, like little moments that I can kind of like sprinkle and use and like create like a dance vibe.

SPEAKER_00 56:27

Oh, so cool. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 56:28

I'll have to show you the the worm one. That was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 56:31

Yeah, I like want to see. Yeah, it's in the film. She's like famous, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 56:34

Um, but Matt and Nisa, three West Productions, thank you guys for being on.

SPEAKER_00 56:38

Thank you for having us. This was really fun.

SPEAKER_04 56:41

It was fun for me. I I said this in a little break. This has been such a fun episode. Um, I hope that you guys have had you know a good time being on as well.

SPEAKER_02 56:50

It's great, really, genuinely.

SPEAKER_04 56:51

Yeah, so where can people find and and follow along with what you guys are doing?

SPEAKER_03 56:55

So our website is uh threewestproductions.com. That's the number three Westproductions.com. Um,

Where To Find Three West & Closing

SPEAKER_03 57:04

tons of stuff on there, videos, all sorts of stuff. Um, and then our Instagram is at threewest underscore of course productions because someone has it.

SPEAKER_04 57:15

Don't put up course on there, you're not gonna find them.

SPEAKER_03 57:17

Of course productions at three West underscore productions is our Instagram page.

SPEAKER_04 57:22

Yeah, and all of that will be linked down below. Is there like a preferred way to reach out if someone's like, man, these guys are awesome.

SPEAKER_03 57:30

The website has a really cool contact form. Love it, it goes right to us.

SPEAKER_01 57:32

Yeah, I think the website is a good thing. I mean, anyway anyone wants to reach out, so we're gonna be like, hey, what's up?

SPEAKER_03 57:37

But yeah, and then and then our duo um is threewestlive.com.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

If anyone's interested in like hearing us perform or coming out to a show, come out, we play weekly, come have a beer.

SPEAKER_04 57:48

Yeah, which I can attest. Sound great. Thank you. The drummer is phenomenal. She's great.

SPEAKER_03 57:54

She's got to work on the vocals, but the drums, drums are one last dig before we end up.

SPEAKER_04 58:00

There it is. Well, guys, thank you so much for being on. Um, thank you guys for listening. If you guys are on YouTube, how's it going? Uh, what's up? Uh appreciate you guys. If you've watched this long, you know, just thank you. I don't know what else to say, but thank you. Um, but if you're watching on YouTube, make sure you subscribe so you know when new episodes are coming out. If you want to hit that little bell, it'll like ding you on your phone. Like, hey, new episode, which would be cool. It'd be really, really, really awesome if you could uh like the video and then leave a comment. Just like if you have questions about stuff that I'm doing or stuff that Matt and Nisa are doing, um, I will be there. I will answer those questions. And if you have a question from them, I will get them on there and they can answer those questions too. It'd be so fun. And if you're listening on a podcast app or something, hey, what's up? How's it going? Uh, if you're like walking or running, or I don't know what you're doing. Hope you're having a great day. Hope you're having a great day. Um, and you know what would be super, super, super helpful is if you left a review for the podcast on whatever you're listening to. Just let us know what you're thinking of the show. And uh, I've been I've been learning a ton. I don't know about you guys, but I've been learning a ton. It's been so fun uh to hear the stories of all of these wedding vendors that we've had on. Um, but again, three of us productions, Matt and Nisa, thank you guys for being on. That is all for this episode. We will catch you guys next time on the preferred list.