Your Philadelphia Wedding DJ

5th Annual Proposal & Engagement Survey

2012-02-21T13:41:00.007-05:00

5th Annual Proposal & Engagement Survey...by Mens Health and TheKnot.

Make the Most of Your Proposal: Men's Health.com

What makes for a great proposal? We asked our readers to find out.

Booking a New Jersey Wedding...from Germany?

2012-02-01T17:35:00.008-05:00

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Verlobung!

I received a wedding request by e-mail recently for a wedding in New Jersey. I responded in the usual way and received a reply that the couple is currently living in Germany. The Brides is from NJ and was planning her wedding from half way around the globe.

Skype to the rescue!
We scheduled a Skype meeting so we could communicate easily, see one another, and best of all... it was free. You have to love technology and the way that it works it's way into our daily lives.

Speaking of technology, the couple can also plan their wedding online with their very own Event Planning Website that each Masters Group client has access to. It includes a Wedding Planning Form, Wedding Event Timeline, and an Online Music Database that integrates with iTunes for listening to song samples.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Marriage Proposal Guide, Proposal Ideas, Wedding Proposal Infograph

2012-01-12T20:45:00.003-05:00

A great poster size proposal guide from Brilliance.com

Marriage Proposal Guide

Average cost of a Philadelphia Wedding ...

2011-12-27T21:25:00.001-05:00

Interesting statistics about the average cost of a wedding in 2011. You can also see the average cost by city.

Which brings us to the answer... the average cost of a Philadelphia Wedding in 2011 is $16,931.

The average cost across the country for wedding gowns, wedding cakes, wedding photographers, wedding florists, wedding DJ entertainment, etc. are there as well.

Keep in mind though that it is an average only based on wedding data from across the entire USA.

Most brides and grooms that I get the opportunity to work with, however, don't want average for their big day... would you?

You can read the full article on weddingstats.org here.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

Engagement Season in Philadelphia

2011-12-16T13:29:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again - with the holidays, New Years, and Valentines Day coming up, it is the perfect time to get engaged and "pop the question" to your significant other.

With everybody already in a festive mood, it is one of the most popular times of the year for couples to get engaged. Whether surrounded by close family, friends, or 10,000 strangers, many will be saying "Yes" to the "Dress".

Working in the Philadelphia area as a DJ and MC for 15 years and entertaining at many Delaware Valley weddings, I have heard some fantastic engagement stories. Some were spur of the moment and others meticulously planned to the very last detail. Some were in local spots such as Love Park, Rittenhouse Square, the top of the Art Museum steps, and the Jersey Shore.

Here's to all of the soon-to-be engaged couples in the Delaware Valley....

Congratulations and best of luck with your wedding!

Bride and Groom - First Dance Songs - Top 50

2011-12-10T11:54:00.002-05:00

There are so many great songs available for your Bride and Groom First Dance.

Dana & Steve's first dance at Appleford Estate courtesy of Rachel Clare Photo.

To help you get started, below is a list of the Top 50 First Dance Songs dynamically compiled based on online requests made over the past year at thousands of events across the country.

1	Paisley, Brad	Then
2	Train	Marry Me
3	Mraz, Jason & Colbie Caillat	Lucky
4	James, Etta	At Last
5	Adele	Make You Feel My Love
6	Buble, Michael	Everything
7	Rascal Flatts	Bless The Broken Road
8	Black Eyed Peas	I Gotta Feeling
9	Lamontagne, Ray	You Are The Best Thing
10	Lonestar	Amazed
11	Mcgraw, Tim	My Best Friend
12	Johnson, Jack	Better Together
13	Presley, Elvis	Can't Help Falling In Love
14	Mcgraw, Tim With Faith Hill	It's Your Love
15	Strait, George	I Cross My Heart
16	Urban, Keith	Making Memories Of Us
17	Aerosmith	I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
18	Matthews Band, Dave	You And Me
19	Urban, Keith	Only You Can Love Me This Way
20	Green, Al	Let's Stay Together
21	Sinatra, Frank	The Way You Look Tonight
22	Black Eyed Peas	Let's Get It Started
23	Chesney, Kenny	Me And You
24	King, Ben E.	Stand By Me
25	Paisley, Brad	She's Everything
26	Michaelson, Ingrid	The Way I Am
27	Sade	By Your Side
28	Twain, Shania	From This Moment On
29	Clapton, Eric	Wonderful Tonight
30	Jones, Norah	Come Away With Me
31	Mraz, Jason	I'm Yours
32	Shelton, Blake	God Gave Me You
33	Krauss, Alison	When You Say Nothing At All
34	Snow Patrol	Chasing Cars
35	Adams, Bryan	(Everything I Do) I Do It For You
36	Big & Rich	Lost In This Moment
37	Rascal Flatts	I Won't Let Go
38	Uncle Kracker	Smile
39	Gray, David	This Years Love
40	Thompson Square	Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not
41	Journey	Faithfully
42	Mccain, Edwin	I Could Not Ask For More
43	Morrison, Van	Someone Like You
44	Righteous Brothers	Unchained Melody
45	K-Ci & Jojo	All My Life
46	Morrison, Van	Crazy Love
47	Armstrong, Louis	What A Wonderful World
48	Black, Clint	When I Said I Do
49	Mccain, Edwin	I'll Be
50	Boys Like Girls Ft. Taylor Swift	Two Is Better Than One

The Best Music of 2011 - Amazon MP3

2011-12-06T18:25:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again... time to take a look back at the year in music.

Amazon has just released their best of 2011 Music lists:

The Best Albums of 2011

On her sophomore album, Adele owns it, landing not only at the top of our list of favorite 2011 albums, but at the top of our CD customer's favorites list as well. Our MP3 customers made Lady Gaga's third album Born This Way our bestselling album of 2011, reveling in her epic, anthemic, and socially-aware pop confections. Which albums did we all agree are great? Find out here:

Amazon Picks: the 100 Best Albums of 2011: CDs | MP3s
Customer Favorites: 100 Bestselling Albums of 2011: CDs | MP3s

Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed

It pains us when great records go unheard. While we can't protect all of them, we make an attempt to rescue 50 of our favorite hidden 2011 gems in our list of outstanding 2011 albums you might have missed (CDs | MP3s). To aid your discovery, we've assembled a playlist featuring a favorite song from each. Hit preview all and dig for more when you've found a new favorite.

Discover 100 outstanding albums you might have missed: CDs | MP3s

The Best Songs of 2011

It's unanimous! There was never really a question though, was there? Everyone seems to agree that Adele's masterful neo-soul hit "Rolling in the Deep" was the best song of 2011. Besides Adele, we loved songs from The Naked and Famous and M83, while customers preferred LMFAO and Maroon 5. Discover more of the year's best andbestselling songs.

The Best Alternative and Indie Rock

Driven by her powerful, emotive voice, Merril Garbus' tUnE-yArDs really stunned us this year with their sophomore effort, while our favorite 2011 song is an epic, catchy, atmospheric synth jam (including an awesome sax solo) by dream pop purveyors M83. Discover more of our left-of-the-dial favorites in these lists:

The best alternative and indie rock albums of 2011: CDs | MP3s
The best alternative and indie rock songs of 2011

The Best Country Music

Lady Antebellum tops our country chart again this year with their album Own the Night as does Luke Bryan who delivered the upbeat country album Tailgates and Tanlines compiled of some fun hit singles. Explore these lists for more of our country picks:

The best country albums of 2011: CDs | MP3s
The best country songs of 2011

The Best Pop

Aside from the utterly dominant performance of Adele, 2011 brought us plenty of pop that was more than just bubble gum, including the slow burn of Beyonce's latest and Ellie Goulding's electric dance party. See what else popped for us in 2010:

The best pop albums of 2011: CDs | MP3s
The best pop songs of 2011

The Best Blues

There's no better category than the blues for lauding great recordings from artists at the beginning and the end of their careers. Though still in his twenties, Gary Clark Jr's Bright Lights hit the mark this year, as did the arresting, final offering from the one of the greatest; Etta James. Here's the full list:

The best blues albums of 2011 CDs | MP3s
The best blues songs of 2011

The Best Classical

We can't put the Diabelli Variations, or Rojotango down even though they topped the leaderboard in the first half of 2011, but they're joined by spectacular new competition. Outerborough from Todd Reynolds sparkles with originality, but at the same time shows his eclectic, well-honed influences, not least of which comes from another winner this year; Steve Reich.

The best classical albums of 2011 CDs | MP3s

Bride & Father dance | Groom & Mother dance

2011-12-02T13:45:00.001-05:00

Many people ask me to suggest a song that is fitting for the Bride & Father dance or the Groom & Mother dance, and there are some nice general selections that are fitting.

My best advice is to always ask your Father or Mother if THEY had a song in mind. It shows that you are thinking about their thoughts and this special dance, whether they have something in mind or not.

Remember that your parent has been thinking about this day longer than you have... it will mean so much more to them if you at least ask for their input.

You can find some suggestions for the Top 50 Parent Dances from our music database below:

Bride and Father dance

Groom and Mother dance

I hope this makes selecting these songs easier and more enjoyable for you and your Father or Mother.

November 2011 - Top 40 Music Update

2011-11-22T23:40:00.001-05:00

#	Title	Artist	Time
1	It Will Rain	Bruno Mars	4:15
2	The One That Got Away	Katy Perry	3:46
3	International Love	Pitbull f./Chris Brown	3:46
4	When We Stand Together	Nickelback	3:07
5	I Like How It Feels	Enrique Iglesias f./Pitbull & The WAV.s	3:37
6	Wish You Were Here	Avril Lavigne	3:43
7	Hangover	Taio Cruz f./Flo Rida	4:02
8	Countdown	Beyonce	3:30
9	Good Feeling	Flo Rida	4:05
10	Tonight Is The Night	Outasight	3:08
11	5 O'Clock	T-Pain f./Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen	3:07
12	Heartbeat	The Fray	3:36
13	Just In Love	Joe Jonas f./Lil Wayne	3:27
14	Far Away	Tyga f./Chris Richardson	3:27
15	Papi	Jennifer Lopez	3:42
16	Cough Syrup	Young The Giant	3:54
17	Got 2 Luv U	Sean Paul f./Alexis Jordan	3:16
18	Crawling Back To You	Daughtry	3:42
19	Headlines	Drake	3:34
20	Blackout	Breathe Carolina	3:21
21	Oh Darling	Plug In Stereo f./Cady Groves	3:01

Top 200 Most Requested - November 2011

2011-11-20T21:46:00.002-05:00

As part of our Online Planning Tools, our clients have access to our Music Database which lists the most requested songs by category.

Here are the Top 200 Most Requested songs from clients across the US as of November 2011.

1	Black Eyed Peas	I Gotta Feeling
2	Journey	Don't Stop Believin'
3	Lady Gaga Feat. Colby O'donis	Just Dance
4	AC/DC	You Shook Me All Night Long
5	Cupid	Cupid Shuffle
6	Bon Jovi	Livin' On A Prayer
7	Beyonce	Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
8	Diamond, Neil	Sweet Caroline
9	Morrison, Van	Brown Eyed Girl
10	Def Leppard	Pour Some Sugar On Me
11	B-52's	Love Shack
12	Lmfao	Party Rock Anthem
13	Jackson, Michael	Billie Jean
14	DJ Casper	Cha Cha Slide
15	Usher Feat. Will.I.Am	Omg
16	Pink	Raise Your Glass
17	Lynyrd Skynyrd	Sweet Home Alabama
18	Cruz, Taio	Dynamite
19	Outkast	Hey Ya!
20	Beatles	Twist And Shout
21	Usher Feat. Ludacris & Lil' Jon	Yeah
22	Perry, Katy	Firework
23	Mars, Bruno	Just The Way You Are
24	ABBA	Dancing Queen
25	Clapton, Eric	Wonderful Tonight
26	Sir Mix-A-Lot	Baby Got Back
27	Sister Sledge	We Are Family
28	Lady Gaga	Poker Face
29	Kool & The Gang	Celebration
30	Black Eyed Peas	Boom Boom Pow
31	Isley Brothers	Shout
32	Timberlake, Justin	Sexyback
33	Pitbull Feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer	Give Me Everything
34	Rihanna	Don't Stop The Music
35	Brooks, Garth	Friends In Low Places
36	Lopez, Jennifer Feat. Pitbull	On The Floor
37	Jackson, Michael	Thriller
38	Brown, Chris	Forever
39	Sinatra, Frank	The Way You Look Tonight
40	Temptations	My Girl
41	Train	Marry Me
42	Vanilla Ice	Ice Ice Baby
43	Black Eyed Peas	Let's Get It Started
44	Seger, Bob & The Silver Bullet Band	Old Time Rock & Roll
45	Mraz, Jason	I'm Yours
46	Loggins, Kenny	Footloose
47	James, Etta	At Last
48	Black Eyed Peas	The Time (Dirty Bit)
49	Foundations	Build Me Up Buttercup
50	Rihanna	Only Girl (In The World)
51	Flo Rida Feat. David Guetta	Club Can't Handle Me
52	Commodores	Brick House
53	Jackson, Michael	Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
54	Flo Rida Feat. T-Pain	Low
55	Lady Gaga	Bad Romance
56	Ke$Ha	Tik Tok
57	Presley, Elvis	Can't Help Falling In Love
58	Usher	DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love
59	Armstrong, Louis	What A Wonderful World
60	Village People	Y.M.C.A.
61	Big & Rich	Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)
62	Bee Gees	Stayin' Alive
63	Wild Cherry	Play That Funky Music
64	Green, Cee Lo	Forget You
65	Adams, Bryan	Summer Of '69
66	Lauper, Cyndi	Girls Just Want To Have Fun
67	Righteous Brothers	Unchained Melody
68	Far East Movement f. The Cataracs & Dev	Like A G6
69	Jackson, Michael	P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
70	Aerosmith	I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
71	Beyonce Feat. Jay-Z	Crazy In Love
72	Dexy's Midnight Runners	Come On Eileen
73	Jackson, Michael	The Way You Make Me Feel
74	Cyrus, Miley	Party In The U.S.A.
75	Rascal Flatts	Bless The Broken Road
76	House Of Pain	Jump Around
77	Lonestar	Amazed
78	Rednex	Cotton Eye Joe
79	Mraz, Jason & Colbie Caillat	Lucky
80	Lmfao Feat. Lil Jon	Shots
81	Brown Band, Zac	Chicken Fried
82	Buble, Michael	Everything
83	Ke$Ha	Blow
84	Kid Rock	All Summer Long
85	Griffiths, Marcia	Electric Boogie (Electric Slide)
86	Trey Songz Feat. Nicki Minaj	Bottoms Up
87	Earth, Wind & Fire	September
88	Lady Gaga	Born This Way
89	Jay-Z Feat. Alicia Keys	Empire State Of Mind
90	Brown, Chris	Yeah 3x
91	Johnson, Jack	Better Together
92	Iglesias, Enrique Feat. Pitbull	I Like It
93	Springfield, Rick	Jessie's Girl
94	Jackson, Michael	Beat It
95	Queen	Crazy Little Thing Called Love
96	Train	Hey Soul Sister
97	Adele	Rolling In The Deep
98	Guns N' Roses	Sweet Child O' Mine
99	Young M.C.	Bust A Move
100	Cascada	Evacuate The Dancefloor
101	Journey	Faithfully
102	Sugarland	Stuck Like Glue
103	Flo Rida Feat. Keisha	Right Round
104	Perry, Katy	Teenage Dream
105	Medley, Bill & Jennifer Warnes	(I've Had) The Time Of My Life
106	Houston, Whitney	I Wanna Dance With Somebody
107	California Swag District	Teach Me How To Dougie
108	Franti, Michael & Spearhead	Say Hey (I Love You)
109	Four Tops	I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
110	Checker, Chubby	The Twist
111	Nelly	Hot In Herre
112	Salt-N-Pepa	Push It
113	Pink	Get The Party Started
114	Black Eyed Peas	Imma Be
115	50 Cent	In Da Club
116	Kings Of Leon	Sex On Fire
117	Buble, Michael	Save The Last Dance For Me
118	Maroon 5 Feat. Christina Aguilera	Moves Like Jagger
119	Romantics	What I Like About You
120	Ke$Ha	We R Who We R
121	Beatles	All You Need Is Love
122	Jones, Norah	Come Away With Me
123	Ke$Ha	Your Love Is My Drug
124	Pitbull Feat. T-Pain	Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)
125	Taylor, James	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
126	Brooks & Dunn	Boot Scootin' Boogie
127	KC & The Sunshine Band	Get Down Tonight
128	Prince	Kiss
129	Iglesias, Enrique Feat. Ludacris	Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)
130	Mcgraw, Tim With Faith Hill	It's Your Love
131	Paisley, Brad	She's Everything
132	Sinatra, Frank	Fly Me To The Moon
133	Green, Al	Let's Stay Together
134	Guetta, David Feat. Akon	Sexy Chick
135	Cheap Trick	I Want You To Want Me
136	Hammer, M.C.	U Can't Touch This
137	Los Del Rio	Macarena
138	U2	Beautiful Day
139	Black Eyed Peas	Just Can't Get Enough
140	Madonna	Like A Prayer
141	Perry, Katy	California Gurls
142	Jackson 5	ABC
143	Rihanna	S&M
144	Swift, Taylor	Love Story
145	Rascal Flatts	My Wish
146	Spears, Britney	Till The World Ends
147	Paisley, Brad	Then
148	Minaj, Nicki	Super Bass
149	West, Kanye Feat. Jamie Foxx	Gold Digger
150	Adams, Bryan	(Everything I Do) I Do It For You
151	Gaye, Marvin	Let's Get It On
152	Buffett, Jimmy	Margaritaville
153	Franklin, Aretha	Respect
154	Travolta, John & Olivia Newton-John	Grease Megamix
155	K-Ci & Jojo	All My Life
156	Thompson Square	Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not
157	Lady Gaga Feat. Beyonce	Telephone
158	Aerosmith	Walk This Way
159	Daft Punk	One More Time
160	Idol, Billy	White Wedding
161	Maya, Edward Feat. Vika Jigulina	Stereo Love
162	Cash, Johnny	Ring Of Fire
163	Lady Gaga	The Edge Of Glory
164	Mcgraw, Tim	My Best Friend
165	UB40	Red Red Wine
166	A-Ha	Take On Me
167	Sorta Crackers Band	Chicken Dance
168	Smith, Will	Gettin' Jiggy Wit It
169	Perry, Katy	Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
170	Black Eyed Peas	Rock That Body
171	Dion	Runaround Sue
172	Black Eyed Peas	My Humps
173	Rascal Flatts	Life Is A Highway
174	Sinatra, Frank	Come Fly With Me
175	Gaynor, Gloria	I Will Survive
176	Queen	Another One Bites The Dust
177	Jordan, Montell	This Is How We Do It
178	Big & Rich	Lost In This Moment
179	Eagles	Hotel California
180	Digital Underground	The Humpty Dance
181	Yolanda Be Cool Vs. Dcup	We No Speak Americano
182	Idol, Billy	Mony Mony
183	Martin, Dean	That's Amore
184	Prince	1999
185	Lifehouse	You And Me
186	Checker, Chubby	Let's Twist Again
187	Strait, George	I Cross My Heart
188	B.O.B. Feat. Bruno Mars	Nothin' On You
189	White, Barry	Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe
190	Rihanna Feat. Jay-Z	Umbrella
191	Rihanna	Disturbia
192	Tone Loc	Wild Thing
193	Violent Femmes	Blister In The Sun
194	Temptations	Ain't Too Proud To Beg
195	Beatles	I Saw Her Standing There
196	Coldplay	Viva La Vida
197	Timberlake, Justin	Rock Your Body
198	Sledge, Percy	When A Man Loves A Woman
199	Rihanna	Rude Boy
200	Kings Of Leon	Use Somebody

"Like" The Masters Group ... Facebook page

2011-11-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

The Masters Group has a new Facebook fan page. Please "like" our page to keep up to date with what we have going on.

Looking forward to seeing you there...

The first post...

2009-09-18T01:45:00.009-04:00

Greetings everyone.

My name is John Marasheski and I am the Entertainment Director with The Masters Group - Professional Entertainment Services.

I am a 15 year veteran of the DJ entertainment industry including the last 10+ years as a Professional Wedding Entertainer, MC, and DJ in the Delaware Valley.

I'll be posting all kinds of great little nuggets of wisdom geared specifically towards wedding planning, wedding entertainment, music selections, tips, trends, vendors, ideas, etc.

I look forward to sharing my past, present, and future experiences as a Philadelphia Wedding DJ with all of you.

All the best,

John Marasheski
The Masters Group
215-799-2396
www.mastersgroup.net