Celebrate Stress Free with our Epik Booking Process
Hello! Thank you so much for booking our services at Epik Weddings & Events. We are so excited to learn more about you two, your tastes, likes, dislikes, style, and most important: how can we make this day the most authentic representation of how you two are as a couple. Everyone at your wedding is there to celebrate you two and Your Love Story, and we want to make this the most engaging wedding they’ve ever been a part of.
You made it through the big decisions of choosing the vendor team for your Best-Day-Ever; now the fun begins as we work through your checklists of the design, flow, music, etc. We have a break down of our booking process and what you can expect from your team at Epik Weddings & Events.
Client Portal
Now that you have booked with us by signing the contract and we have collected the retainer, you should have received an email with the subject line “Thank you for booking” with the link to your client portal:
https://clients.epikweddings.com/login
The Client Portal is where your quotes, contracts, invoices, receipts, and questionnaires will live. You will also receive an email with the direct links to the aforementioned once they are created.
Your Client Portal username is your email address, and if this is your first time logging in, you can create a password. If you forget your password, or your log in isn’t working, please email us at info@epikweddings.com and we will reset the password for you.
Wedding Preparation
After the booking process, we are here for you to help answer any questions. When we are 2-4 months away from your wedding date, we start to reach out again and work through questionnaires for each service. We have suggestions for anything that you need if you haven’t already decided on certain elements where we can assist.
If there is something that you want to include in your wedding, we love bringing in unique elements that tell your love story. If there is something that you have seen in almost every wedding you attended but you don’t want it at your wedding, let’s find a substitute for it or just remove it completely. You have so much control over how you want the day to unfold, and we are there to give feedback based on our experience over the last 20+ years of being a part of weddings.
Pre-Ceremony
After we have worked out all the necessary decisions for the day, our team springs into action on your wedding day. The photo and video teams like to arrive about an hour before the bride slips into her dress. This way the teams can capture the dress and any other specialty decor like shoes, invitation, bouquet, etc. Next the bridesmaids can assist the bride into her dress for more portraits of the bride and her entourage.
The groom is the next stop for the photo and video teams to capture things like the tying of the tie, cufflinks in the shirt, and similar to the details with the dress, capture the shoes, belt, watch, boutonnière, etc. for more details of the day. The team will then capture the groom and groomsmen as the crew gets ready to escort the bridesmaids down the aisle.
If you have decided to have a First-Look, the team will get the groom is position with a mic on each the bride and the groom. This can be a more intimate moment as the photo and video team will capture the First-Look from afar so it feels like it is just the two of you. This can be done with just the bride and groom, as well as the bride and the father of the bride, or any other special person who deserves an intimate first look at the bride or the groom before the ceremony.
Ceremony
2 hours prior to your ceremony, your DJ is arriving and getting everything in place. The ceremony is typically in a separate location from the reception. To solve for this, we have a dedicated sound system for the ceremony and the main sound system where the reception area is. This allows a smooth transition with music to keep people moving.
As your first guests arrive to the ceremony area, your DJ is already playing pre-ceremony music to set the mood in anticipation of your nuptials. Your DJ will seek out the officiant to get them mic’d up and go through the queues. The DJ will also mic up the groom and between those mics, the vows will be heard by all.
Prior to the processional, the DJ will welcome everyone and inform them of the “unplugged ceremony”: turn off or silent their cell phones, and to allow the photographers and videographers to capture the ceremony thus being unplugged from their devices and in the moment. Next the processional music plays for the ceremony to begin with the groom followed by the wedding party.
As the DJ transitions into the bride processional, the officiant asks the guests to rise. Tears are flowing as the guests are in awe. As the ceremony begins, the guests are asked to take their seats. Just before your first kiss, the officiant steps out of the frame to give you two that moment and gives you permission to make it official. Then you turn and face your loved ones and are introduced as the newlyweds while your recessional song plays you back down the aisle. We recommend a fun dip at the end for footage with your loved ones cheering behind you.
Cocktail Hour
Your guests make their way to the cocktail hour while you capture your post ceremony glow with the photo and video teams. The photo booth is set up and your DJ welcomes your guests with instructions on where to find the photo booth, how to get a drink, and anything else such as a guestbook, wedding favors, etc. Once you are done with the post-ceremony footage, take a moment for yourselves and then enjoy cocktail hour with your guests.
Reception
When we are ready to transition to the dinner reception, the DJ will ask you guests to find their seats and gather your wedding party and the two of you for the grand entrance. The photo and video teams are set up, the DJ will put everyone in order and go through the pronunciations of their names along with a pep talk on how to make it an Epik Grand Entrance. The DJ gets on the mic and engages your guests to welcome the wedding party as they pump your guests up. Then the moment everyone has been waiting for: the DJ asks everyone to rise with a standing ovation for the two of you as you walk into the celebration of your love.
Your Grand Entrance can lead right into your first dance if you like, or we can save those specialty dances for after dinner and speeches. Your DJ will keep your guests informed on what is happening next as we transition into dinner; the DJ will introduce the speakers for the toasts as the photo and video teams capture the stories and reactions. If we didn’t do the specialty dances after the Grand Entrance, the DJ will clear the dance floor and welcome you two for your first dance as a married couple followed by smooth transitions into each specialty dance: father/daughter and mother/son dances are the most typical, but can be any specialty dance you prefer.
The final event before dancing is a Group Photo to capture everyone in attendance. The DJ will first invite you two at the front of the dance floor with your families just behind followed by the wedding party and then everyone else. The photo and video teams are elevated and the DJ directs the event: first photo big smile, second photo make a silly face, third and final photo you two kiss while everyone surrounding you puts their hands in the air and screams.
Then the DJ drops in a fun song; since everyone is already on the dance floor, they stay there and keep dancing as they are so ready to let loose and celebrate your love. If we didn’t do the bouquet and garter toss earlier, we can do this about 30-45 minutes into dancing, or we can exclude any portion.
The photo booth is open again and your guests are having the time of their lives. We know all good celebrations have to wrap up sometime, and we love to end on a high-note by playing an upbeat song, inviting all the guests to the dance floor with you two in the middle surrounded by a circle of love. Your guests applaud you two, and talk about how much fun your wedding was while using it as the bar to measure every wedding they will ever attend.
Post Wedding Delivery
Within 48 hours of your wedding, we will send you an online gallery of your Photo Booth photos to share with whomever you like along with a link to download the entire photo booth experience to view off-line.
For the Photo and Video team, this is where a lot of the heavy lifting begins to edit the photos and the video. Within 2 weeks, we will deliver a sneak-peek of your photos while we continue to work on the full edit of your love story. Within 120 days, you will be able to live your love story with everyone as we deliver the finished edit of your Photography Portfolio and your Wedding Film. Both include an online link to view the gallery of photos and your Wedding Film along with links to download. If you need assistance with prints, we can work with you with our print options and even create a Lay-Flat Wedding Photo Keepsake Album.
After delivery, we are always here to continue to watch your love and family grow in the way you prefer sharing. If we aren’t already, we would love to interact with you on Instagram and Facebook. If you have any questions about our booking process before, during, or after booking with us, please reach out to us for support. Thank you so much for trusting us to be a part of your wedding, we can’t wait to help you Live Your Love Story.
