Marina Village Weddings – Joseph and Crystal

I met Joseph and Crystal after Joseph’s grandmother found me while doing some research for quality entertainment. According to her, she was “… just trying to help them have a happy, trouble-free wedding, doing some research for them and helping organize.” We talked a bit with her via email and phone calls, then we met at her condo and had a great discussion about their music preferences, wedding ideas, and each other’s passions and lives.

In March I found myself back at Marina Village, this time in the Sunset Room. As their website states, Marina Village is one of San Diego’s only special event sites to offer banquet halls with multiple waterfront views. They also have two ceremony sites, offer very reasonable rates, and have friendly staff that I love working with time and time again.

Marina Village Ceremony – North Lawn

The North Lawn at Marina Village is very picturesque, but it has one caveat for vendors– There’s no power on the lawn. Many vendors run their cables all the way across the walkway to the closest power source which resides inside an enclosed area that looks like it was made for a dumpster. This method does work, however it leaves cables strewn across a public walkway. This is unsightly at best, and could be a potential hazard at worst. To mitigate this issue, I brought my custom-built portable battery pack. This pack enables me to supply ceremony power anywhere for over 10 hours, and reception power for a little over 4 hours. It’s also very compact and easy to hide.

I powered the above ceremony system and JBL Eon speakers. Fully covered for that professional look I know my clients expect.

Marina Village Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was perfect. Crystal clear sound, a wonderful background, and a lot of positive energy.

Note: Nearly all photos from this point forward were provided by Sutography.

Wedding Reception

The Sunset Room has a built-in DJ booth, but I prefer not to use it because it doesn’t allow guests to have easy access to me to request songs. As many know, I prefer to appear very approachable to guests and family, and will almost always request not to be in a booth if possible. Joseph and Crystal were happy to accommodate my request, and so I set up on the stage but not in the booth.

Grand Entrance

First Dance

Immediately after the Grand Entrance, Joseph and Crystal began their first dance.

Wedding Toasts

Toasts were as full of energy as the rest of their wedding, as you can tell from all the smiling and laughing photos captured during their toasts.

Father Daughter Dance

Wedding Dancing

After a bit of dancing we took a break for some more formal activities.

Wedding Cake

Garter Toss

Bouquet Toss

Garter Replacement

Wedding Dancing Part II

Post-Reception

After another wonderful wedding reception, I got a post-reception photo with the newlyweds.

Congratulations to Joseph and Crystal and their families, and thanks for choosing The Creative Music DJ for your special day!

Additional Photos

Here’s some additional photos taken by Sutography of yours truly.

Green Gables Wedding Estate – Dan and Anna

For those that remember the Old Richland Schoolhouse, this venue will seem familiar… because that’s what it used to be. After it closed abruptly last year, San Diego Special Events Co. began leasing the property at 134 Woodland Parkway on Sept. 1, and reopened the venue for weddings– including several that were booked by couples before the closure. They’ve made several improvements, and the venue is looking rather nice in my opinion. From a vendor’s standpoint, the fact that they only do one wedding a day is a great feature. I was able to come in several hours before the event and take my time setting up. I always appreciate the ability to do this, as I can do sound checks and make sure everything is in order.

From Green Gables own website:

This secluded venue features artistic and poetic gardens inspired by love, imagination and tranquility.
Nestled among tall forests, vibrant floral, and cascading streams. San Diego’s premiere wedding venue is host to one beautiful wedding per day currently accepting reservations Thru 2013.
Once you stroll through the garden gates you will be surrounded by twinkling rose arbors, soothing waterfalls with lush established landscape that take you back to a time of the elegant English garden.
This turn of the century historic landmark estate is set in total seclusion, nestled among a towering forest that dates back well over 100 years. The unique statuary, flora and fauna encompass every corner of this magnificent garden and it’s totally private garden gazebo are set in the shade of the landmark forest.
The grand tented pavilion showcases towering peaks of chiffon gathered over head with crystal chandeliers and intimate lighting. Surrounding it are cozy garden nooks and soothing sounds of the waterfalls setting a tone of peace and tranquility.

For those that don’t remember the Old Richland Schoolhouse, here’s some photos of the ceremony and reception areas. As you can see, it’s got style!

Green Gables Ceremony Area

Green Gables Reception Area

Dan and Anna contacted me in February 2012, after a family friend who was going to DJ their wedding ended up being unable to do so. We met nearby and discussed details, and hit it off pretty well. Of particular interest was the fact that their wedding was going to be “Mad Hatter” themed. I got excited when I heard that. Themed weddings are almost always a blast to perform at!

Wedding Ceremony

Due to weather conditions, Dan and Anna didn’t get to use the gazebo area for their ceremony. It rained pretty hard on their wedding day, so an alternate location was selected, inside the reception tent. Regardless, the ceremony was amazing. Right as it started, thunder erupted so loudly that it sounded like it was right outside the tent. Guests took it in stride with applause, and it was honestly one of the most entertaining and excitement-filled ceremonies I’ve ever been a part of!

Note: Nearly all photos from this point forward were provided by John Salgado of Salgado Images.

I’m not sure if the officiant was an industry professional or not, but I have to say he did a great job. And unlike many industry professionals I’ve worked with, he had to foresight to make sure to hold the mic out to the bride and groom for their vows, so everyone could hear them well.

The funniest part of the ceremony was when it was time to exchange rings. Somehow the rings had gotten dumped in the arbor base, and several guests/parents rushed forward to sift through the base and find the rings quickly!

Guests had fun and took it all in with glee, leading to a wonderful processional.

Wedding Reception

Grand Entrance

First Dance

Immediately after the Grand Entrance, Dan and Anna began their first dance.

Wedding Toasts

Toasts were done by the Father of the Bride, Best Man, Maid Of Honor, then opened up for 3 additional toasts, and closed with a Bride and Groom thanks speech.

Father Daughter & Mother Son Dance

Dan and Anna combined their parent dances together into one dance. Dan’s mother had just been in an accident and was wheelchair-bound, but they didn’t let that stop them from an enjoyable dance! They switched partners a couple times through the dance as well.

Wedding Dancing

After a bit of dancing we took a break for some more formal activities.

Wedding Cake

The cake was a major part of the Mad Hatter theme.

… which of course Dan had to cut with a knife…

Garter Toss

Bouquet Toss

These girls seriously wanted that bouquet!

Garter Replacement

Danza Kuduro Dance

Dan and Anna requested that Don Omar’s song, Danza Kuduro be played so they could dance with their guests to it. I don’t know the dance, but apparently it has to do with holding onto each other, going around and under arms, but never letting go of those you are holding. It looked fun!

Wedding Dancing Part II

For the second set of dance pictures, I’m happy to display some of John Salgado’s work where he did some cool effects to the shots to really capture the excitement and energy that was on the dance floor.

Post-Reception

After another wonderful wedding reception, I got a photo with the happily exhausted newlyweds.

Congratulations to Dan and Anna and their families, and thanks for choosing The Creative Music DJ for your special day!

Additional Photos

Here’s some additional photos taken by John Salgado of me and my equipment.

Hilton Torrey Pines Wedding – Jeff and Zoe

Jeff and Zoe contacted me last year to discuss DJing their wedding. Although they live in LA, they were having their wedding in San Diego. Coincidentally, I had a trip planned to LA for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in Whittier, and was able to plan a meeting with them to coincide with this event. We had a great meeting, and they booked soon after.

Wedding Reception

Jeff and Zoe had their ceremony outside the Grande Ballroom, on the Ballroom Terrace. This ceremony had an interesting feature that I’ve never seen at an outdoor wedding before– A crystal chandelier that had been transported from LA just for the occasion! It sparkled while suspended at the top of the truss wedding arch.

a closeup…

Once the ceremony was over, the guests were invited into the ballroom where they mingled while the newlyweds and their wedding party took photos.

Wedding Monogram

Jeff and Zoe wanted their family crest for their monogram. I worked with them to get a high-quality vector image from their graphic designer, and after talking with them about their options (metal, greyscale glass, etc) they decided that it is important to them to have all the proper colors represented in their monogram. I proceeded to order a full-color glass wedding monogram gobo for them. The template sent to my gobo vendor looked like this.

In actual application, it looked like this on their dance floor.

Wedding Uplighting

Jeff and Zoe took advantage of my uplighting package and decided on 16 uplights, which they wanted in pairs (two colors side by side at each spot). They draped the entire room so the uplighting really looked good on the white drapes.

As you can see, they chose to utilize my cake lighting services. I supplied dual-colored underlighting.

Grand Entrance

First Dance

Since Jeff and Zoe rented a white dance floor, I was once able to do my infamous color-changing dance floor effect. Here’s a video of it in action.

Father Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

Wedding Dancing

Events took a lot of the reception time tonight but I did manage to get a few shots of the dance floor.

Cake Cutting

Post-Reception

We had a really fun time full of activities such as the Anniversary Dance, Conga dancing, and even some limbo dancing! Before Jeff and Zoe left, I made sure to get my signature post-reception photo with the newlyweds.

I really enjoy working at this hotel and hope to someday become a Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines preferred DJ! Congratulations to Jeff and Zoe and their families, and thanks for choosing The Creative Music DJ for your special day!