I’ve mentioned my increasingly-popular live wedding first-dance mixes a few times, but you can’t really understand until you see me perform one, so for the last one I did, I enlisted the assistance of San Diego Wedding Planner Amy Anderson (Affairs By Amy) to get video of the dance while I set up a camera to get video of the turntables. The result? I’m able to demonstrate the full effect now with a multi-view video of the Charest’s first dance, mixed live The Creative Music DJ-style!

Wedding Mix Tracklist:

Bad Meets Evil – Lighters
J Dash – Wop
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Sir Mix-a-lot – Jump On It
Bad Meets Evil – Lighters (outro)

Client: PJ and Louanne Charest

Venue: Marine Corps Community Services, MCRD San Diego – Bayview Room

Venue Address: Marine Corps Recuit Depot, 3800 Chosin Avenue, San Diego, CA 92140

Number of guests: 150+
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Enhanced Dance Floor Lighting, Live First Dance Mix

On-site Coordinator: Shelly
Photobooth: 360 Photobooth
Photography: Patricia Lucia Photography
Florist: Branches Floral Studio

I had an incredible wedding where the ending set was all house and top40 remixes by request from the bride and groom. I had a feeling it was going to be quite a mix so I hit record in Serato Scratch Live shortly after I began the set.

Since I planned to post an August Top40 Remix podcast and never got around to it, I decided to post this. This mix has sooo much energy, it is impossible not to want to move to this!

Note: This is NOT a typical example of what the end set of the night is at one of my weddings, however it is an example of what it could be if the client requested for me to go in that particular direction!

El Cajon Wedding – Derek and Katherine Marso

Venue: <Private Residence>
Venue Address: <withheld>
Number of guests: 200+
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Basic Dance Floor Lighting, Ceremony DJ

Party Planner: Rita Boes
Photography: Stuart Guardner
Cake: Cake Lady
In March of 2010 Derek Marso posted a comment on his Facebook page asking his friends for a good DJ. Soon after, my good friend Andy messaged me via Facebook messages and asked me if the date was open. It was, and Andy let Derek know. Derek and I talked a bit over email, and then arranged to meet at person at their house.

Derek and his fiance, Katherine (Katie), and I discussed a lot of details during that meeting, but the one that really stood out was the fact that they liked that I had lots of suggestions for genres to use for ceremony music and cocktail music. Of course! How could I be THE Creative Music DJ without creative ideas, right? A few days later, they contacted me and booked the date.

On their wedding day, I arrived and set up equipment for the ceremony on the top pool deck, and their reception on the lower grass lawn.

The pool deck was large but divided, and they had guests on both sides of the pool. To compensate for this, I made sure to bring some really powerful speakers and placed one equidistant from both guest seating areas. After testing one speaker, there was no need for a second one!

Ceremony Prelude (Guest Seating): Vitamin String Quartet
Ceremony Processional (Bridesmaids): Israel Kamawawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Ceremony Processional (Bridal March): Christian Joseph – Just The Way You Are
Ceremony Recessional: MGMT – Kids (DJ Dennis J Ceremony Remix)

My view of this poolside ceremony was great, as you can see here. I really like this picture, it shows the look that a poolside wedding can have.

For cocktail hour, guests remained on the pool deck while the wedding party went out front for photos.

Cocktail Music: Hidden Beach – Assorted Selections

After pictures were finished, I instructed guests to move downstairs to prepare for the Grand Entrance. Since the stairway was narrow, it took a while for the guests to get seated, but they diligently made their way to the reception area.

Grand Entrance: Lil Wayne – A Milli (instrumental)

We started dinner after the Grand Entrance, which was a buffet. For dinner music, they wanted me to perform my ‘whosampled mix’. This is a fun live mix that I do where the tracklist consists of songs that are easily recognized as the original source for lots of modern hip-hop hits. Guests seemed to really enjoy the mix, and as always I enjoyed putting on the show for them.

Dinner Music: DJ Dennis J’s Old School Whosampled Collection

After dinner, we began toasts, starting with Katherine’s sister, Jen England.

We then transitioned into their formal dances.

First Dance: J.R.A. – Best I Ever Had

Father Daughter Dance: John Mayer – Daughters

Mother Son Dance: Barbara Mandrell – I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool

We then opened up the dance floor. I tried a lot of older music but only the disco seemed to work well. Music moved to current tunes rather quickly, but I kept bringing it back to older stuff for a while to let all ages enjoy some dancing. Can you say, “packed dance floor”?

After a bit of dancing we took a break and started the cake cutting.

Cake Cutting: The Turtles – Happy Together

Bouquet Toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies (sorry, no pics!)

By this time, the newlyweds and their guests had decided that they wanted to keep me an extra two hours! We had fun with some more dancing, but since they had extended their time I really wanted to give them some more special memories, so I surprised them with the ‘shoe game’. For those not in the know, this is a fun activity where I put the bride and groom in chairs facing away from each other, then have them remove their shoes, and hand one of their shoes to the other person. I then ask questions to which the answer is either the bride or the groom, and they raise the shoe of the person they think is the answer. It is a lot of fun because the bride and groom can’t see each other’s answer, but all the guests can! The questions have to be chosen carefully to make the game fun. To give an (tame) example, a question like “who was the most nervous about tonight?” is a good starter.

It was a big hit, and they as well as their guests had a lot of fun with it. See the laughter on the guests’ faces? That’s memories that will keep for a long time.

This one was actually posted on Facebook by one of the guests, Tiffany Nelson.

And the party continued!

For their last song, they liked my mashup remix of Cheers with Tipsy. I’m not a big fan of mashups unless they are done live, but every once in a while a good one comes along!

Last Dance: DJ Deville – Cheers I’m Tipsy

After such a great night, I made sure to get my post-reception photo with the happy newlyweds, Derek and Katherine Marso.

Congratulations to Derek and Katherine, and best wishes for a wonderful life together!

Wild Animal Park – Wedding of Josie and Eugene Geroche Jr.

Client: Josie and Eugene Geroche Jr.
Venue: Wild Animal Park (Now known as San Diego Zoo Safari Park) – Mombasa Island Pavilion and Hunte Nairobi Pavilion
Venue Address: 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA 92027
Number of guests: 125
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Wedding Montage Projection

Catering: San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Photography: Brian Blue Photography
Venue Coordinator: Keely East

In September of 2010 Eugene and Josie contacted me to discuss the opportunity to DJ their wedding at the Wild Animal Park. After talking on the phone, I ended up talking to his mother who was highly cautious about finding the right DJ (nobody can blame someone for that!). After a bit more discussion via email, we made plans to meet at a restaurant to go over more details. Gene and Josie brought several relatives also, and we had a good meeting with everyone.

Once their reception was close, they contacted me to discuss their choices and seeing what details were still needed. We met again at a coffee shop and went over every detail to make sure there were no questions between any of us. Meanwhile, the Maid of Honor contacted me because she had designed a video montage as a wedding gift to them, and appropriately we added the wedding montage projection package to their order.

On the day of their reception, it had been raining on and off for a week. Keely East contacted me and let me know that there would be a change in venue plans to account for the rain, and we ended up doing their ceremony at the Mombasa Island Pavilion and their reception at Hunte Nairobi Pavilion. Just for the record, Keely is absolute pleasure to work with, and really helped with making everything run smoothly. I recommend her highly.

I arrived at the venue and loaded my equipment onto their golf carts, where I was transported into the park. I set up my equipment inside the Hunte, and then was taken to the Mombasa to prepare for the ceremony. Not my favorite order to do things but under these circumstances it was necessary.

The ceremony went great and their song selections fit them perfectly.

Guests seating (Prelude): Wedding Piano Music
Parents seating: Joy – Tim O’Neill Brothers
Bridesmaids entrance: An Improvisation on Canon D – Robin Spielberg
Bride entrance: Butterfly Waltz – Twilight Piano Series (Piano and Cello Duet)
Recessional: Need You Now –Wedding Day Music (Piano)

After their reception was over, guests were escorted to the Hunte Pavilion for the reception.

Grand Entrance song (wedding party): Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run Through The Jungle
Grand Entrance song (bride and groom): Carmen Twillie – Circle Of Life

Right after their grand entrance, and another enthusiastic round of applause, I instructed the guests to be seated and we began a buffet dinner. Before we ate though, the mother of the bride, Jacqueline Ray, said the Blessing.

During dinner, we showed the montage that her Maid of Honor, Stacia Glenn, had created.

For the Centerpiece Giveaway activity, we did the Pass The Bill game, which went over really well.

After giving away centerpieces, we began toasts. Toasts concluded with a special thanks to their guests, given by the Gene and Josie.

We then began dances, starting with the first dance. Note the white dots swirling around the floor? That’s part of the Enhanced Dance Floor Lighting package which contains separate lights for slow dances as well as open dancing time.

First Dance: What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

Father Daughter Dance: My Little Girl – Tim McGraw

Mother Son Dance: My Wish – Rascal Flatts

Cake Cutting: Sweet Thing – Keith Urban

(sorry, no pics. This was a busy event for me, I was unable to use my camera much!)

Bouquet Toss: Man I Feel Like A Woman – Shania Twain

Open dancing was fun, and I would say the biggest hits of the night were 80s rock. We ended the night with Unforgettable – Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.

Following the last dance, I caught Gene and Josie and got my picture with the happy groom and bride.

Congratulations to Gene and Josie and their families. Thanks for trusting me to be your DJ and entertainment on your special night!

Review:

After the night, I received the following post on my Facebook wall from the groom’s mother, Charlotte Geroche:

“Thank you Dennis for the great job you did for us yesterday.  I know the circumstances were challenging, but you made it all work.  Everyone had a great time.”

MCRD – Wedding of Karina and Jose Hernandez

Client: Karina (Cervantes) and Jose Hernandez

Venue: Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD) – Bayview Room
Venue Address: West Washington Street, San Diego, CA. 92140
Number of guests: 130
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Event Uplighting (12 lights), External Wireless Speakers

Catering: Bayview Restaurant
Photography: AVW Photography (Amy Wilson)
Venue Coordinator: Susan
Florist: Angels U Flowers
Cake: Edelweiss Bakery

In July of 2010 Karina and Jose contacted me to discuss the opportunity to DJ their wedding at MCRD. We met at a coffee shop and talked about their wedding ideas and how I could accommodate them. They were particularly interested in uplighting and table underlighting, as you’ll see later. We had a great meeting and I could really feel that we communicated well with each other and there was a mutual excitement. I was correct, because the very next day Karina emailed me and said they wanted to book me.

Jose and Karina planned to have their cocktail hour outside on the Bayview Patio. The doors to the Bayview Room were to remain closed until it was time for Grand Entrance. In order to supply music outside, they added my wireless speaker package. This is an addon package in which I use wireless signal to supply the same sound inside to the main soundsystem as well as outside to wireless speakers. It provides an elegant atmosphere because announcements can be heard from anywhere, and music stays the same as people move from the patio to the banquet room.

On the day of their reception, I arrived at the venue and set up my equipment inside, then set up the wireless speaker system outside. For cocktail, they requested R&B and island music. Since R&B can be distracting during a time of much conversation, I went with an assortment of Hidden Beach tracks (90s hip-hop remade by jazz musicians) for the first half of the cocktail hour, then switched to some cocktail-appropriate reggae/island music for the second half. Jose came over during the Hidden Beach part and commented that his guests were really going to like it (he was inside the Bayview Room resting for a bit, which their guests were outside). Here’s a picture of the external wireless speakers.

Jose and Karina ordered 12 purple uplights, to be used on the walls and under the cake table and head table. With some clever manipulation, I was able to get a pretty cool effect from the combination of lights I used.

Head table lighting:

Cake table underlighting and walls:

Everything together:

Grand Entrance song: I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas

Right after their grand entrance, and another enthusiastic round of applause, I instructed the guests to be seated and we began a buffet dinner.

Following dinner and the making of their rounds, we began toasts, then proceeded into their first dance.

First dance: Edwin Mccain – I’ll Be

Father Daughter Dance: Heartland – I Loved Her First

Mother Son Dance: Boyz II Men – A Song For Mama

Cake Cutting: Candyman – Christina Aguilera

Garter Toss: Tone Loc – Wild Thing

Bouquet Toss: Single Ladies – Beyonce

And open dancing was happening tonight! Being a hispanic wedding, there were lots of requests for spanish music, mostly cumbias. I really got some good practice mixing cumbias tonight. Other than spanish music, the most dancing seemed to occur when I did a throwback 80s set. I got a lot of comments after the reception from guests about how they liked the 80s choices and one guest was excited about a Selena set I put together. He said he was from Texas and the music really took him back to some happy memories.

For their last song, Jose and Karina chose Sister Sledge – We Are Family.

Afterwards, I instructed the guests to form an ‘exit tunnel’ for the bride and groom to do their Grand Exit.

And off they went to begin the next chapter of their life!

But not before I caught up with them for a post-reception snapshot!

Congratulations to Jose, Karina and their families, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your special night!

San Diego Botanic Gardens – Blazevich Wedding

Client: Karen and John Blazevich
Venue: San Diego Botanic Gardens – Walled Garden and The Victorian Gazebo
Venue Address: 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas CA
Number of guests: Approximately 170
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Wedding Video Montage Creation, Wedding Video Montage Projection

Wedding Coordinator: InStyle Event Planning (Shellie Ferrer)
Invitations: InStyle Event Planning (Amanda Hallock)
Photographers: Debora Barreto and Debra Henry
Videography: Adam Bledsoe
Officiant: The Honorable Vincent J. Brown
Guitarist: Miles Moynier
Cake: VG Donuts and Bakery

In July, Karen and John Blazevich contacted me to DJ their wedding. We met to discuss details, and they were very excited that I knew the San Diego Botanic Gardens well so I could help them with ideas on how to best have a reception there. They also planned to use a live guitarist for ceremony and cocktail hour, but wanted my package of ceremony PA and microphone to use for their wedding ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the Walled Garden. I set up a wireless microphone and speaker which worked well for their needs.

Immediately after the ceremony, John and Karen left in a Rolls Royce to take pictures at the beach.

Cocktail hour was done in the Victorian Gazebo area, and the first hour was done by Miles Moynier.

Once Miles was finished, I took over for a bit since John and Karen were not back from the beach yet. For this venue, I used a JBL Eon speaker with my DJ Skirt equipment dressing. Due to venue sound restrictions, this was ample sound for their needs and conformed well with venue sound policies. I also set up a projector using a belly bar table in preparation for their wedding video montage.

Grand Entrance (Bridal Party): The Beatles – All You Need Is Love
Grand Entrance (Bride and Groom): James Brown – Get On Up

After a round of applause we began dinner. Following dinner, we started toasts.

Best man toast:

First Dance: Ben Harper – Forever

Video of the first dance (provided by Kristen Blazevich, John’s sister who also provided many of the pictures in this blog)

Father Daughter Dance: Temptations – My Girl

Mother Son: Barry Manilow – I Am Your Child
Stepmother Son: Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight

John and Karen took advantage of my video montage creation service, where they sent me digital pictures and I put them together into an incredibly vibrant montage video. Here’s a picture of them and their guests enjoying the montage. For some reason my clients who pick this venue always seem to want my montage creation service too, and it always goes over wonderfully!

And when we got to open dance… wow! Packed dance floor is an understatement. You can see in the pictures that people were dancing on the sides and off of the dance floor. That’s what I call a good dance floor!

After a while we took a break for cake cutting and tosses.

Cake Cutting: U2 – The Sweetest Thing

Bouquet toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies

<no picture of this yet>

Garter toss: Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

Back to open dancing…

Great dance floor, huh?

After the reception was over, I got a picture with the wedding coordinators (Shellie Ferrer and Lacy Hunter) and myself. Shellie has since contacted me about some clients next year that are looking for a great DJ, so I know I’ll be seeing her and Lacy again soon.

And of course, my post-reception picture with the happy bride and groom. I asked John what him and his guests thought of my performance, his reply was, “I don’t think there was a single song that we didn’t enjoy. We gave you what? 12 songs? And you nailed it with the rest of them!”

I thought maybe one of my song choices wasn’t the best, but I’ll happily go with ‘the customer is always right’ especially when the customer’s claim is better than my own!

Congratulations to the Blazevichs’ and their families. I truly had a blast being a part of your most special day.

Winter Residence – Wedding of Amber and Billy Winter Brothers

Client: Amber (Morgan) and Billy Winter
Venue: <Private Residence>
Venue Address: <withheld>
Number of guests: Approximately 135
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Monogram Lighting, Dance Floor Lighting

Catering: Personal Touch Dining
Photography: Aaron Shintaku
Photo booth: Rob Young
Makeup: Gale Alexander
Flowers: Allens Flowers
Cake: Flour Power

In August of 2010 Amber Morgan contacted me through a referral and after talking for a bit on the phone we arranged to meet at her parents’ house, which also served as the wedding venue. While there, we surveyed the property and determined information like where power would come from and where the ceremony system should be set up. They were interested in venue lighting, and since they had palm trees I suggested that they use uplighting on these to complement their wedding colors. I also showed them alternate string quartet ideas for their wedding ceremony. A few days later they contacted me and were booked their date.

An interesting thing occurred during the time that they booked and their wedding– They had some landscaping done to the backyard, and because of this they didn’t think the uplighting idea was the best way to go. They contact me and asked if they could change their contract and use the money they had contracted towards uplighting to get a monogram gobo instead. Being flexible I had no problem with this, but we were only a week and a few days away from the wedding so we had to move fast. I sent them some ideas, they chose a template and a font, and I designed their monogram within a day and had it sent off to my vendors (Inlight gobos) with a rush shipping order. I was of course a bit worried it wouldn’t arrive on time, but sure enough it arrived a few days before their wedding and everything worked out well. Phew!

The ceremony area was the front yard and it was spacious and lovely. I was especially excited about my set up for the ceremony because they had a patio walkway up near the house which I was able to set up at. I always enjoy being able to set up in a spot where my equipment won’t ruin any of the ceremony photos and still can deliver great sound.

Their wedding ceremony music:

Seating: String Quartet
Parents and bridemaids: Yiruma – River Flows In You
Bride’s entrance: Michelle Featherstone – We are man and wife
Recessional: Coldplay – Clocks

For the cocktails and reception, guests were directed to the backyard, which was also really spacious and perfect for an outdoor wedding reception.

Along with dance floor lighting I also set up their monogram, and when the sun went down it looked great on the side wall.

For their Grand Entrance, we used a combination of Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling instrumental and vocal version.

After a round of applause we began dinner.

Following dinner, we began toasts.

First dance: DJ Sammy and Yanou- Heaven (candlelight version)

Father Daughter dance: Tim McGraw- My little girl

Mother Son Dance: Rascal Flatts- My wish

After the formal dances, we began open dancing. After a short set, we took a break for some more formal events.

Cake cutting song: Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar on Me

Bouquet Toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies
Garter Toss: Flo-rida- Right Round

I then surprised them with a little game called the ‘Shoe Game’. It was a total hit, and the guests loved it as well.

After the game, we went back to the dancing. My sets were a lot of fun, I did sets of everything from top4o and 90s hip-hop to 80s electropop (Talk Talk and Depeche Mode). Amber, Billy, and guests enjoyed the music so much that they extended the contract and had me play for an extra two hours!

Some pictures from the night:

At the end of the night (this ended up being an 8-hour wedding!) I made sure to hit up Amber and Billy for a post-reception picture. Some parents and friends got involved as well…

And here’s one with just Amber and Billy. It was kind of funny… seems my clients are starting to pay attention to my style and techniques, because Billy came over to me at the end of the night and said, “You like to take a picture at the end of the night, right? Well, I can now say I will allow you to take that picture!”

Congratulations to Billy and Amber Winter and their families. I hope you and your guests had as good of a night as I did! Best wishes for years of happiness to come.

Sheraton Carlsbad – Wedding of Matt and Pamela

Client: Pamela and Matt
Venue: Sheraton Carlsbad
Venue Address: 5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008
Number of guests: Approximately 135
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Event Uplighting

Venue Coordinator: Sarah Sargent
Wedding Coordinator: La Belle Vie (Aimee-Marie Betz) (949) 378-4934
Catering: Twenty/20 Bar & Grill (Sheraton Hotel)
Photography: Luminaire Images (Molly and Matt)
Flowers: Moments in Bloom
Makeup: Gale Alexander
Hair: Penny Anderson
Cake: Vi Pham
Stationary designs: Fab Unique Designs

In December of 2009 Matt and Pamela contacted me and after a bit of discussion we arranged to meet at their wedding venue (Sheraton Carlsbad) to discuss details. I’ve worked at the Sheraton Carlsbad many times, but I had never done a wedding reception in the Palm Courtyard, so it was a good opportunity to review the site and offer suggestions based on what I saw. Since the Palm Courtyard has several palm trees, my first suggestion was that they utilize these trees to add ambiance to their reception through the use of uplighting. I also suggested rope lighting for the entire courtyard in order to give the guests enough light to enjoy their meals properly. They also planned to use a live band for ceremony, but I showed them a couple alternative ceremony ideas in case they changed their mind.

They took a while to make their decision, but in January 2010 they contacted me and booked me for their reception AND their ceremony!

The ceremony was beautiful. It was held on the Ocean Blue Lawn with the seating arranged in a semi-circle. I personally thought it was a very elegant look, but you be the judge.

And here’s a picture provided by Luminaire Images, who graciously provided many of the photos you’ll see in this post.

Their wedding ceremony music:

Seating: String Quartet
Parents and bridemaids: John Mayer – The Heart of Life
Bride’s entrance: David Gray – This Year’s Love (instrumental)
Recessional: U2 – Beautiful Day

Cocktail hour was done in the Palms Courtyard, and consisted of ‘Rat Pack’ swing tunes. For this venue, I used my new JBL Eon speaker set with the equipment dressing that Creative Music DJs is known for using to create that clean, professional look.

For their Grand Entrance, we used a combination of Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling instrumental and vocal version.

After a round of applause we began dinner. Here’s a picture of their amazing sweethearts table.

A close up of the flowers provided by Moments In Bloom.

Stationery provided by Fab Unique Designs.

And the tables…

Following dinner, we began toasts.

Here’s a photo of the Best Man getting a hug after his speech.

First dance: Michael Buble – Feeling Good

Father Daughter dance: Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight

Mother Son Dance: Ben E. King – Stand By Me

<Pictures removed at the request of the Bride and Groom>

Right about the time that open dancing started, the sun went down and the photographers got a great shot of the venue and my uplighting.

Cake Cutting: Bob Marley – Is This Love

As for the dancing at this event… well let’s just let the pictures describe it.

and…

We paused dancing for a bit to do bouquet and garter tosses. Luminaire Images provided pics for these which I greatly appreciate because I never am able to use a camera when I’m on the microphone managing these tosses!

Bouquet Toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies

Garter Toss: The Commodores – Brick House

Matt before tossing the garter…

Dancing continued at full swing until the end of the reception. As I ended the last song there were chants of “one more song!” over and over, but because it was an outdoor reception, the management wouldn’t allow it and we had to respect that. Matt and Pamela had me announce that the party was moving to the bar, and we ended the reception. But, not until after I caught up with them for my signature post-reception picture!

Congratulations to Matt and Pamela Brothers and their families. Thanks for inviting me along on one of the most important days of your life. Best wishes for years to come!

German American Society – Wedding of Jason and Dina Clements

Client: Dina (Henderson) and Jason Clements
Venue: German American Society
Venue Address: 1017 S. Mollison Ave., El Cajon, CA 92020
Venue Coordinator: Heidi Williams

Number of guests: approximately 100
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Wedding Video Montage, Event song remixing
Photography: Acres of Hope Photography
Catering: German American Society

In July of this year, Dina contacted me and we agreed to meet at a bookstore/coffee shop to discuss details. During our meeting I found out that they were really into Irish punk and alternative rock, and since I spent years going to concerts and participating in mosh pits, it was easy to see that this was a good fit. After discussing options and packages, they decided to go with the basic package of wedding ceremony and reception and video montage projection with the option to upgrade later.

Dina and Jason chose are members of the German American Society and chose their clubhouse as their wedding venue. They set up on the side of the inside of the clubhouse for their ceremony. In typical ‘alternative’ format, both Dina and her father came down the aisle in sneakers (Chucks?).

The ceremony was short but entertaining, with both Jason and Dina saying their vows to each other.

Their wedding ceremony music:

Seating: String Quartet
Parents and bridemaids: Flogging Molly – Between a Man and a Woman
Bride’s entrance: Vitamin String Quartet – Green Day: American Idiot
Recessional: Dropkick Murphys – Famous for Nothing

For cocktails, the Heidi from the German American Society provided me with a German quartet CD (the wedding was Oktoberfest-themed): Schwartwald Quintet – Musik Erklingt.

For their Grand Entrance, I remixed a Green Day song and removed the cursing:

Wedding party: Green Day – Dammit (Clean edit by Dennis J)
Best Man and Best Boy: Star Wars – The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)
Bride and Groom: Dammit (Clean edit by Dennis J)

Dinner was served buffet-style, food provided by the German American Society. The wedding was Oktoberfest themed, and I can honestly say I have never seen so many glasses of beer during cocktail hour in my life! As I walked around, I say lots of beer-driven activities going on, including this one.

During dinner, we displayed a wedding video montage. The soundtrack was composed of two songs (Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams & Flogging Molly – The Dirty Glass) which I had also edited in order to remove the few curse words contained within. Here’s a cool image from the montage, showing a cool wedding crest with an Oktoberfest theme.

Following the video montage and toasts, we began the formal dances.

First dance: Desi Arnez – Forever Darling

Father Daughter dance: The Beatles – The Long and Winding Road

We then began a set of open dancing. Dancing was sporatic, people were way more into drinking than dancing, but several times I was told that the music was great and that they really were enjoying it. We took a break from open dancing for cake cutting.

Cake Cutting: Cake – Short Skirt and Long Jacket

After cutting the cake, we began a German tradition known as the ‘stein-holding contest’ in lieu of a garter toss event. Because of the obvious propensity for major party fouls if the steins were filled with the traditional german beer, they were filled instead with water. Though they were not full of beer, they were just as heavy. The rules were simple– We invited single men to the dance floor, had them each hold a stein directly out with one straightened arm. The last one to remain with their stein held out was the winner. The whole event took two songs before these guys had met their match. And, it was a very smart idea to use water, as you can see in this during and after picture!

Stein-holding contest songs: “Drink” From the Musical “The Student Prince” and Street Dogs: Tobe’s Got a Drinking Problem

The whole event was quite enjoyable, I’m now the number one DJ on the German American Society’s vendor list, and everyone had a great time. During the second set of open dance I got to play some really fun tunes such as punk remixes and bmore versions of rock classics.

For their last dance, Dina and Jason danced to The Pogues – The Fairytale of New York.

And of course, I got my signature post-reception snapshot.

Villa De Flores – Tiffany and Pierre Heremans Wedding

Client: Tiffany (Athie) and Pierre Heremans
Venue: Villa De Flores
Venue Address: <withheld by request of venue owner>
Venue Coordinator: Shellene

Number of guests: approximately 110
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Additional Wireless Speakers
Wedding Coordination: Jenna
Photography: Creative Photography
Catering: Chef DK Catering

In February of this year, Tiffany Athie contacted me via referral and asked me some questions about DJing their wedding. After some brief correspondence we agreed to meet and further discuss details. During this meeting, it was disclosed that they and their guests were into club and electronic music and we ended up talking for a half-hour alone on our favorite techno tracks (both current and 90s)! Our meeting was very enjoyable, and after discussing options and packages, they decided to go with dancefloor lighting, and a secondary set of wireless speakers for their cocktail hour. Interestingly enough, they were planning on using a live band for ceremony, but once I showed them some creative ideas for their ceremony, they decided to discuss it more. A few days later they made the decision to use my services for ceremony as well.

Tiffany and Pierre chose Villa De Flores as their wedding venue. Villa De Flores is a beautiful garden venue in Rancho Santa Fe with several areas of lovely landscapes, and makes a wonderful wedding location.

Tiffany and Pierre’s ceremony was beautiful.It was held in the lower area of Villa De Flores. The areas are not named, as far as I know, but I would call this the lower patio.

Their music:

Seating: Vitamin String Quartet
Parents and bridemaids: Bach – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Bride’s entrance: Wagner – Bridal March (Strings version)
Recessional: Bob Marley – Is This Love

After their ceremony, guests were directed to the upper area of Villa De Flores for cocktails. Per their request, an additional speaker was wirelessly receiving audio from my main system, so guests enjoyed the same cocktail music that was being played in the main reception area. It was a very elite effect, having the same music being played everywhere you went, even though the speakers were well over 100 feet away!

After cocktail hour, we invited everyone down to the main reception area where they were able to enjoy some more dining music while relaxing in comfortable chairs or luxurious white leather couches. The decor was fabulous and very tasteful.

And of course, my equipment was set up clean and tasteful as well, even going so far as to match the colors with my white vinyl.

Introductions went well. The wedding party entered from the cocktail area, and since the wireless speaker was still set up, they had no problem hearing the cues and knowing when to make their entrance. In retrospect, this was another advantage to the secondary speaker idea.

Wedding Party Introductions: JXL vs. Elvis Presley – A little less conversation
Bride And Groom Introduction: Right Said Fred – I’m Too Sexy

Immediately after introductions Pierre and Tiffany had their first dance.

First Dance: Norah Jones – Come away with me

Following their first dance, toasts began. Speeches were short and sweet, first by Tiffany’s Maid of Honor, Margoux, then by the team of groomsmen who delivered one short phrase in spanish with each groomsman saying one word of the phrase.

Catering was provided by Chef DK (Dave Krohn). Tiffany is quite a chef herself and since their guests were from all over the globe she wanted food of all types for her wedding. The variety was amazing, and I took pictures just to give my readers an idea of Chef DK’s offerings.

Chef DK’s asian station. Stir fry, sushi, and fortune cookies. And to top it off, centerpieces with live fish in them!

Chef DK’s Italian station. Lasagna (both vegetarian and meat-filled), salad, pastas, and fresh pizza.

Chef DK’s mexican station. Several types of salsas, tortillas, several meats.

After dinner, we did more formal dances.

Father (Vicente)/Daughter: T. Carter Music – Daddy’s Angel

Mother (Annette)/Son Dance: Stevie Wonder – You are the sunshine of my life

And a special brother & sister (Cathy) dance: The Pretenders – I’ll stand by you

After formal dances, we opened the dance floor. These guests really loved to dance! The dance floor was full all night long. There were props to hand out such as glow sticks, wrestler masks, and joker hats, and certain songs that complemented the props. For instance, I played No Rompas Mi Corazon while everyone donned cowboy hats.

Even when I announced cake cutting, one group of guests didn’t leave the floor. When I asked them what they were doing, they replied, “Reserving our spot! You keep playing songs like the ones you’ve been playing, and this is where we are going to dance all night!”

After a while, we took a break for cake cutting, bouquet toss, and garter toss. I wish I had pictures for these events, but I have to run them so I can never get pictures! One fun thing to note: For the bouquet toss, we gave out light-up rings and veils for the single ladies to wear. Man, I need an assistant to capture moments like those!

Once tosses were done and guests were enjoying cake, donuts, rolls, and other assorted pastries and candy, I surprised the bride and groom with the ‘shoe game’. It seemed like a good opportunity to get everyone excited again, and it went over really well! I’ll have to hit them up and get their review. Once the shoe game was done we opened the dance floor again. This time, I took the music to a different level, playing songs from their request list along with songs that complemented their guests tastes. It was a very fun set, consisting of house, club, electro, 90s techno, and a lot of rock. Some artists that got played were Benny Benassi, Venga Boys, ATB, Scorpions, Eddie Money, and Global Deejays. Since the guest list was largely hispanic, many spanish tunes and club reggaeton found their way to the speakers, and there was also a cumbias set with Kumbias Kings, Cumbias Del Mileno, Juanes, and La Onda.

Dancing ended at 10pm on the dot, per venue rules. Guests were yelling encore and “one more song!” but due to venue regulations I knew it would be a breach of contract for Pierre and Tiffany if I obliged, so I politely declined. Shortly after, a party bus arrived to take everyone to their hotels, and before they left I took an opportunity to get one last picture with the bride and groom.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Pierre and Tiffany Heremans and their families. It was an honor to be a part of your most special day!