At some point in almost every consult, someone pulls out their phone and shows me a video. Sparks going up behind a couple during their first dance, or a dance floor disappearing into a cloud of fog.
They know they want something. They just do not know what it is called or where it belongs in their night.
So here is the plain version of each one.
Cold sparks
The fountains of sparks you have seen shooting up behind a couple. They look like fireworks and they are not. The spark is cold to the touch, which is why they run indoors where real pyro never could.
They work because they arrive once, everybody gasps, and then they are gone.
Best moments are your grand entrance and your first dance.
Dry ice
This is the one people mean when they say they want to dance on a cloud. The fog sits low and stays on the floor instead of rising and filling the room, so from every angle it looks like the two of you are floating.
It is a first dance effect, and it is the one that photographs best.
CO₂
Short bursts of cold white fog fired out over the dance floor. Pure energy, and it belongs at the peak of the night when the floor is already full and you want to take it up another level.
Not a dinner effect. Not a first dance effect.
A sax player on the dance floor
Kloud does a fifteen minute set where he comes off the booth, gets into the middle of the crowd and plays live over the music while it is running.
It gives you a live moment without hiring a band, and it happens on the floor with your guests instead of on a stage. People film it every time.
Tam Tam
Marco and his drums, on his own or with dancers. Live percussion straight into the middle of the party.
It lands especially well at our Lebanese, Greek and Armenian weddings, but it works anywhere the crowd wants to be loud.
Photobooth
Self serve, or with a hostess and printed photos on the night.
This one is different from everything else here because it is the only thing your guests take home. Everything else is a moment. This is a souvenir, and it keeps people busy when the floor is quieter.
Upgraded lighting
More moving heads over the dance floor and more uplighting around the room. Not a single moment, it runs all night, and it changes how every photo looks from the second guests walk in.
Kloud wrote a whole piece on uplighting if you want to go deeper.
So which ones do you actually want
I cannot answer that for you, and I do not try to on a consult either.
It comes down to what you want the night to feel like. Some couples do dry ice and nothing else. Some do sparks and no fog. Some do both. Plenty of couples do none of it and just want great music all night, and those weddings are incredible too.
Do not buy all of it. Effects work because they are rare. Six of them and your guests stop reacting, because you have taught them that something is always happening.
One or two big moments hit hard.
So start with the night, not the list. Which two moments do you want people talking about? Usually the entrance and the first dance, sometimes the peak of the party. Pick those first, then choose what fits.
Most Montreal venues are built for events and allow all of this without any issue. If you are unsure about your room, just ask us and we will tell you.
You do not have to decide now
None of this has to be settled when you book.
Most of our couples add effects later, usually after a second or third consult once they can actually picture the night and know where the big moments land. That is the right way around. Decide on your night first, then decide what deserves a moment.
We can add to your package right up until we finalise everything.
What it is really for
None of this makes a wedding. Your night is built on the music, the timing and the room reading right.
Effects are the exclamation point on a sentence that already works.
Used once or twice, in the right moment, they are what people are still describing to each other a year later.
Pick your moments. We will handle the rest.
Written by
Majd Owner, DJ and MC
Founded Back to Basics in 2012. Still behind the booth most Saturdays from May to September. New posts land on @btbmtl first.
Which two moments are yours?
Send us your date. We confirm availability the same day, and the first call is about whether we are the right fit for the night you have pictured.
