Your Wedding Master of Ceremonies: DJ Russ Powell

Get you a DJ who knows how to perfectly balance romance and sentiment with a party that you’ll never forget. DJ Russ Powell has been leading couples to the dance floor and down the aisle for over 15 years, and he knows a thing or two about creating the wedding of your dreams. Not only is he an artist on the spin table, but he knows how to lead the whole day with just a bit of music and magic on the microphone.

“My foray into weddings started back in 2001 while I was playing in a band. A good friend and coworker’s sister was getting married in their backyard and asked to borrow my PA system. I told them that I could not lend them $8000 worth of audio equipment, but I would be happy to come and provide sound and music for the wedding at a price they were comfortable with. While at that wedding, two other couples came up to me and said, ‘Oh My Gosh! You are so much fun! We just got engaged. Are you available for our wedding?’ So while the band took a hiatus, this part-time gig snowballed into a business.”

When you’re that good at what you do from day one, it’s hard not to lean all the way into it like Russ!

Your Wedding DJ Should Be an Expert

Since then, Powell Weddings and Events has grown into an amazing team of DJs and spin masters, literally, who are more than dedicated to making your wedding day the party of your lifetime.

And when you have a DJ like Russ, you’ll have a great dance party and an even greater expert in the wedding industry.

“I really enjoy clients who are in love and like to balance both the sentimental and romantic aspects as well as the fun celebration and party aspect of a wedding. With my experience, not only do I care about your details, but I have seen many pitfalls and know what things to avoid so that you and your guests all have an enjoyable evening. I work hand in hand with wedding planners and other wedding professionals to form the perfect team that makes your day run smoothly and keeps any small issues from becoming big ones.”

Speaking of working with other wedding professionals, Russ is married to the one and only Morgan Leigh Photography. Take this as your sign to hire this amazing DJ-Photographer duo!

With so many years of expertise as a DJ, Russ has found a way to make his couples’ experience even greater than you could possibly imagine.

Ever heard of a wedding master of ceremonies? “We also offer professionally certified masters of ceremonies, silent discos, lighting design, custom music edits, and high-quality ceremony audio. Our services allow us to focus on what’s important to each couple we work with, creating the perfect soundtrack and enhancing the guest experience.”

Talk about going above and beyond!

Details and Song Requests

Even from the moment you meet with DJ Russ, you’ll notice how above and beyond he goes. “We care about the details. We are a hands-on company that asks a lot of questions so we can better understand who you are as a couple. Since we have multiple DJs, we like our prospective clients to speak with the available DJ to make sure they are a good fit for their style.”

So how do you start to build your wedding day playlist?

“Each of our clients receives their own music planning app that is personalized to their event, with options of things they may or may not want to do while celebrating their wedding. The app is shareable with vendors and guests to crowdsource music requests as the couple sees fit.”

An app that’s dedicated to song requests and perfect party music just for you? Yes, please!

A Wedding Master of Ceremonies Who Guides Your Timeline

And that’s just the beginning.

“We will have a final meeting where we check off all special songs, must-plays, and do-not-plays no later than one week prior to their wedding day. We show up promptly on the wedding day and like to have background music playing while guests arrive.”

From there, the vibes only get better!

“During the wedding, we communicate with other vendors and the couple to ensure proper staging prior to any announcements or special events taking place. We prefer to gear shift through the evening, changing the overall vibe of the music in between ceremony, cocktail, dinner, and dancing. We like to match the energy of your crowd while giving space for the music to breathe, which I like to call energy rollercoastering. This allows the sentimental moments to be more poignant and the high-energy moments to have more punch.”

Russ and his other mix masters will make the sweet moments sweeter, and the party moments bigger!

“For me, first and foremost, it has always been about the music; those songs that touch your soul and can instantly transport you back to a specific time or place, or memory. Music brings us together and can bind us in a feeling or a moment. The humanity of weddings is mind-blowing to think that over 2,000 years ago, people were exchanging vows and wearing special clothes, and 1000 years from now, they will still be professing love and choosing to build lives together.”

We may or may not be wiping our tears over here right now.

Unique Sentimental Details

Everything Powell Weddings and Events offers is completely customizable to your wedding, because every wedding is as unique as your love story. And it’s as customizable as adding a recording of your own voice to a first dance song.

“Our signature offerings include custom song edits with personalized voice recordings embedded into their special songs, mashups for special moments, and compiling and telling their love story prior to their first dance.”

Even beyond just the dance party, Russ knows how to run the show perfectly with attention to details that you wouldn’t have considered otherwise. That’s what happens when you DJ for almost two decades.

“Couples generally ask if I can provide a microphone for their ceremony. We provide both a lapel microphone for the officiant, and a handheld mic for their vows. They ask us about making announcements and timeline flow; we have taken specific training to be professional wedding masters of ceremonies and work with other vendors as a collaborative team, and when necessary, run the timeline.”

And it doesn’t stop at mics; they have headphones too!

“One of my favorite moments was when a couple came to us and said that they wanted the groom’s mom to be able to participate in their wedding ceremony in real time, even though she didn’t speak English. What we did to achieve that was to give her and any other non-English speaking guests headphones and put a translator next to the audio booth so that when they asked her to stand and be recognized, she was able to hear it in her own language and respond accordingly without any delay. All the guests were able to participate in the ceremony without any awkward pauses or feeling left out.”

Translating in real time during your wedding ceremony? Again, DJ Russ goes above and beyond any regular DJ service.

It’s About the Moments

But beyond just equipment and mastering your wedding day flow, DJ Russ can make your wedding day the moment it deserves to be.

“The biggest thing that sets us apart from other vendors is that we come from a place of love. Those moments are irreplaceable. There are no do-overs. If you mess up, you can’t just say, ‘I’ll do better at the next one.’ There is no next one for this couple. It is all about the love and caring enough to continually improve our craft to give the highest quality service possible, so they feel loved on their wedding day. We care as much about the little moments as we do the party.”

And here’s the icing on the cake, or rather, the beat drop of the best song; Russ offers silent discos so you can literally party into the night without waking up any neighbors. If you’ve never done a silent disco before, here’s your sign to have one at your wedding!

A Professional’s Advice

Russ’s advice to couples who are looking for a DJ is to find one who is interactive, authentic, and who knows exactly what your guests need from moment to moment.

“Your wedding master of ceremonies will guide guests on the microphone as well as have the right songs for every part of the day. I highly recommend every couple speak with their DJ in person or over the phone before booking to verify that their style and personality match the couple’s style. The DJ will not only be the entertainment, but also the couple’s representative on the microphone to their guests!”

And after being in the wedding industry for so long, Russ says to focus on how much you love each other and make that the main priority of your wedding day. “I hope that our clients remember how much they are in love on their wedding day, and when difficult times arise, they lean on those memories to get them through those difficulties.”

Whether you’re looking for a silent disco or a literal master of ceremonies, Powell Weddings and Events is the best place to start.