Please see below for tips to make sure your special night gets fun before it gets boring

You've planned for this night for a long time.  You're friends, family, coworkers, that guy you don't like but want him to see how successful you've become, they're all in the house.  The dinner has arrived without a hitch, and it's only a matter of time before the band or DJ takes your party the rest of the way. The night isn't complete however without you addressing your guests, thanking the special people who made it all possible and maybe doing some dances/sketches along the way to make it memorable.  However, if you let these festivities go to long, you'll be wondering why everybody has left or fallen asleep by the time it's ready to get the party started. 

Having seen hundreds of these over the years, we've put together a list of tips on how to make sure the memories are made both during and after this critical time of the night.

1) People have short attention spans...keep it simple.

We've worked with comedians, actors, entertainers, and even a few magicians.  All say the same thing: Your audience has a short attention span, so make sure you utilize it.  It's understandable that you want to thank your mom, your dad, your fiance's parents, siblings, coworkers, best friends, and so on.  However chances are the other 300 people you invited aren't going to get a shotout and will probably wonder if the open bar is still popping.  Think about when you watch a video on youtube.  If it hasn't got your attention within the first 20 seconds, are you really gonna sit there for the next 5 minutes? 

A long array of speeches, while nice for the close family, can make the rest of the attendees feel alienated and possibly bored.  If you must, make sure you keep it fresh by changing the speakers every 4-5 minutes so you hit different groups with each speaker.  Try this sample program:

Close Family (Five Minutes)

2. Learn to work the mic

You may have written a really funny joke for the toast, or practiced your singing in front of the mirror 100 times, but that can all get thrown out with too much feedback or holding the mic too close/far from yourself.  Come to the venue early so you can do a sound check with the DJ or Band.  You'll learn the following

3. Watch the Booze

Most performers don't touch a sip of alcohol before they hit the stage because they don't want to lose the edge.  If you're nervous, a little booze may help calm those nerves, but don't have any more before hitting the center stage.  Often times people close the guests of honor drink too much too fast, and the buy the time they get their time to address the crowd it comes off as nothing more than "man man man...drunken rambling.......I love you man!!!" 

4. Like Rihanna says...Please don't stop the music!

We often get the best man and his friends come up to us because they want to tell a funny inside joke, a vice president who wants to thank everybody for coming before he leaves the party an hour early, or a girl who thinks we should really play that one song nobody's heard of because "trust me, people will love it."  The list goes on, but more often than not, nothing kills a party more than emptying a packed dance floor.  Your guests have let their inhibitions and guard down, they've started to do the macarena (well, every now and then is ok) and have started to enjoy themselves.  If you give them a reason to go sit back down, they will! Trust in the DJ who is doing his/her job well by getting the crowd shaking!