Aqua Turf Point of Interest Lighting

Riverview Architectural Uplighting

Simsbury Inn Architectural Uplighting

Letter from a bride & Groom

Mike, We just wanted to let you know how things went at our wedding reception on 10/24.  Jeff and Bill were fantastic!  They exceeded all our expectations!!  They were both really professional in every way.  They met with us as we arrived to go over last minute details of our entrance into the reception and then met with us periodically during the event to make sure we were hearing the music we wanted and to suggest music that would create the atmosphere we needed to make our party the success it was.  Our guests had a great time and this was due in large part to Jeff and Bill and the attention they gave to us.  We couldn’t possibly have been more pleased.  Everything was perfect.  If you ever want a reference regarding their services please ask us!! Thank you so much, Nina and Michael O’Rourke

New lighting page is up.

Check it out here

Welcoming Jeff

Jeff Vitti joins Mike Connolly Sound Productions.

I have known Jeff for many years and am pleased and excited to have him join our company.  He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the lighting, live music and the disc jockey field.

He started in the entertainment business at the young age of 10 as the drummer in his family’s wedding band.  He is an accomplished musician currently plays guitar as well as bass and drums.  Jeff currently plays in a few combination of duo and trio arrangements specializing in acoustic versions of modern songs.

He has been a disc jockey since 1990 and has worked for a well respected DJ company on the CT shoreline for the past 10 years. He works with vocalist and emcee Bill Chisholm as a DJ/Emcee package for weddings.  Jeff and Bill are meticulous with the details of your wedding and the two of them always go out of their way to make sure you have the reception of your dreams.

If that is not enough talent for one person, Jeff is also an experienced lighting and Audio-Visual professional.  He has worked on many theme and decorative wedding solutions to make any room look like something better than you could have imagined. Architectural lighting, point of interest lighting, video slide show are all a passion for him.

Please feel free to contact us for information on any of the following.

Disc Jockey and Emcee services

Architectural room lighting

Point of Interest lighting,  (cake table, sweetheart table, dancefloor)

Live duo or trio music.  Modern music in acoustic form.

Audio visual slide shows

One of my favorite weddings in 2009

Amy & Andrew Click to see video.

Congrats to Amy and Andrew. Video by Fran Gagnon.

Wedding Pic’s Page

Check out my new page of favorite wedding pictures.  CLICK

7 years later

Here’s an email I just received from a past client.  This couple was so much fun and their reception was fantastic.

Hi Mike!

My husband and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday.  One of our traditions each year is to watch our wedding video.  Last night when we watched we were once again reminded of how awesome you were and what a great party our wedding was.  As we watched our video we could see that everyone had such a great time dancing and the dance floor was always full!  Many thanks for making that happen!  You were so professional and did an amazing job!

We’ve talked about renewing our vows for our 10 year anniversary and throwing a big party…we’ll have to have you on hand to recreate the fun! We hope you are doing well and business is good! Take care and many thanks again for such a wonderful job at our wedding all those years ago!

Chris and Brian Liss

August 2, 2002

Wedding Guests’ Secret Gripes

An article from MSN lifestyle and the Knot.
Wedding Guests’ Secret Gripes
You’ve been to a few weddings yourself, so you know there are just some things that can rub you the wrong way. Here are a few helpful reminders about what guests can’t stand.
You may think your wedding is all about you and your groom (or maybe just you) but, hello, you’re hosting a party! If your guests are miserable, your wedding will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. So we talked to dozens of frequent wedding guests — from always-a-bridesmaids to recent brides to guys in their 20s and 30s — to find out what they hated about the events they’ve attended. We’ve kept the guests’ names secret just in case they’re coming to your wedding!
Your Timing Stinks
Huge time gaps between the ceremony and the reception — the ones where the ceremony starts at noon, but the party isn’t until 7 p.m. — are annoying because you’re often leaving us in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing to do. We don’t want to kill time at a restaurant because we’re hoping you’ll feed us well at your reception. And there’s only so much lingering we can do at a coffee shop or a bookstore … in our dressy clothes! We’d much rather head straight to the party after the “I dos.”
You Picked a Bad Day
We’ve had weddings on every holiday, from Mother’s Day to Super Bowl Sunday (yes, that counts as a holiday). You must realize that we’d rather be with our moms or watching the game instead of going to your wedding on those days. And please don’t ruin our holiday weekends. We get it; you can save a bundle if you get hitched on the Sunday before Memorial Day, but maybe we’d like to take our vacations then. If nothing else, please don’t get married on some random Tuesday night. That means we have to take off two days from work just to go! Let us use our vacation days for vacations.
You’re Boring Us
The ceremony may be the most important part of the day to you, but the reception is what we’re really looking forward to. When it takes forever to get dinner served, each speech is 25 minutes long, and you play a string of songs that are all inside jokes with the same group of friends, there isn’t much time for getting our groove on. Uh, and if the band’s so bad that no one’s dancing — including you and your groom — we just think, Why are we even here? Showing us a really good time is the least that you can do to thank us for giving up our free day, traveling, and getting you an expensive gift.
The Food Isn’t Great
Why would you bother spending thousands on your flowers if your food is going to taste terrible? We want a delicious meal way more than we want pretty centerpieces. You don’t know this, but we actually think of that $200 gift as a contribution to a great meal. If it’s not as good as something we’d have at a restaurant, we’re going to be disappointed. Even if the food is tasty, don’t make us go hungry. We don’t need an eight-course meal, but we don’t want to have to push through other guests just to get to the tiny hors d’oeuvres you’re calling dinner.
You Make Us Pay?!
Treat your guests like guests; don’t make us bring our wallets whenever we want a drink! When you have more than 300 guests and a cash bar, we wish that you would’ve just cut the list and paid for our drinks instead. How exactly are we supposed to feel when we paid for flights, a rental car, a hotel room, and a gift, and then you make us pay at the bar? So not cool.
You Sat Us Here
We want to have fun at your wedding, believe us, but it’s pretty tricky when you seat us right in front of giant speakers. We won’t be able to talk to anyone at our tables or enjoy our dinner if you’re blowing out our eardrums. Before you book your venue, make sure there’s enough space for tables without having to make us sit in the DJ’s lap. And don’t make us suffer in the heat. If you’re having a summer wedding, do it somewhere with air conditioning!
Also, if you want to be outdoors, don’t make us rough it: Walking around in the mud, swatting bugs, or using porta-potties is even less fun in formal attire. And please give us plenty of places to sit. Cocktail hours are great, but it’s pretty tough to balance our plates, drinks, and purses while standing — in heels no less!
You Don’t Invite a Plus-One
Nothing reminds us of our dating status like a wedding. No need to rub it in our faces with even more reminders. The garter and bouquet tosses are like saying, “Hey, look at them. They’re single!” Could you blame us if we hide in the bathroom as soon as the DJ announces it? And, come on, even if they did honestly predict we’d be the next to marry, do we really want some cheesy guy slipping garters up our legs? Of course, we’d prefer to be invited with a date, but we get why you may not be able to give us that, especially if we’ll know lots of other people there. But if everyone we know is making out with their significant other all night, we’re going to be pissed that you couldn’t include one extra person to make us feel a little more comfortable.
You Put Us to Work
We know we’ll have to help out with some tasks when we agree to be in the bridal party, but it’s insulting when you consider a task like manning the guest book table an honor. We’d rather just be a regular guest at the wedding than have some silly duty like that. At the very least, give us a heads up if you’ll need our help. Don’t spring flower girl babysitting duties on us minutes before the reception.
You Don’t Say Thank You
It’s frustrating when we fly all the way to your wedding and you don’t take the time to thank us for making the trip. Even if we haven’t come a long way, make an effort to thank us for coming anyway. We know it’s hard to talk to every guest at the wedding, but that’s why, at the very least, we better get a thank-you card from you when you get back from your honeymoon!

Remember, No one will ever tell you they didn’t have a great time at your wedding, but they will tell everyone else.