Falkner Winery Wedding of Roger and Angel

Roger and Angel chose Falkner Winery for their wedding ceremony and reception. Falkner has a really cool external ceremony site set up which allows for a dramatic entrance down a long mountainside path, which I’m sure was a factor in their decision. It’s an enjoyable Temecula wedding venue which I enjoy working at. I also got to work with Brian David Photography and really enjoyed that. Most of the photos in this blog are theirs, and I think you’ll see the quality that they can provide.

Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Reception

After the ceremony guests moved upstairs into the main ballroom for cocktail hour. For cocktails, I played jazz music according to their preferences, which the guests seemed to enjoy. Once cocktail hour was over, we began their grand entrance.

Grand Entrance

Wedding Toasts

We then began dinner. Once dinner was completed we began toasts. Although I don’t have photos of toasts being given, I do have a great one of Roger and Angel thanking their guests once the toasts were complete.

Wedding Video Montage

After toasts we played guests a wedding video montage that I helped them create. It was a hit, and we even got a photo of the happy couple enjoying their own montage.

Once the montage was over, we began formal dances, starting with the choreographed first dance!

Choreographed First Dance

Mother Son Dance

After formal dances were over, we opened the dance floor up for everyone!

Wedding Dancing

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

Wedding Cake

Angel was such a playful tease with that cake!

Garter Toss

Bouquet Toss

Garter Replacement

Wedding Dancing Part II

We then opened the dance floor back up for another round of fun dancing.




After such a fun wedding night, I got a photo with the happy newlyweds, the Maid of Honor, and Falkner Winery staff.

Congratulations to Roger and Angel and their families, and thanks trusting me with your most special celebration!

Photos of DJ Dennis J

While I’m showcasing some amazing photos by Brian David Photography, here’s a couple great shots they got of yours truly. An extra special thanks for going the extra mile to get these and provide them to me. Not all photographers will!

Japanese Friendship Garden Wedding - Tom and Akiko Cleveland

Venue: Japanese Friendship Garden
Venue Address: 2215 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101-1656
Number of guests: Approximately 90
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Basic Dance Floor Lighting, Ceremony DJ

Event Coordinator: Swann Soirees
Photography: Love Art Photography
Flip Books: A Little Scene
Catering: Indulge Comtemporary Catering
Cake: Sumi’s Oven
Florist: ArtQuest
Officiant: Joe Cleveland

In February of 2011 I was at the Del Mar Wedding Event bridal bazaar and met Thomas (Tom) and Akiko. I really like the smaller bazaars because you get a chance to really chat with people. For instance, Tom came over and started asking questions and we ended up chatting for at least 20 minutes about his wedding. Akiko was nearby at another booth, and later joined him. Before I even packed up and got home after the bazaar, Tom and Akiko had already gotten online and submitted a quote request! We met, discussed details, and they booked their date. I met with them a second time down the road, and did a site walkthrough with them. We discussed optimal locations for equipment. Of particular interest to many may be my controversial preference of the DJ booth. While many DJs who work at the Japanese Friendship Garden like to have their table up on the porch, to me that was not preferable. You see, I like to ‘connect’ with the guests, and I firmly believe that being easily accessible to guests is a key factor to a successful event. When I’m on a stage or platform, I feel ‘disconnected’ from the dance floor. In the event industry it really is the little things that matter a lot, and I firmly believe that Thomas and Akiko’s trust in my location preference contributed to the degree of success of this wedding. More on that later.

Tom and Akiko had their ceremony at the Koi Pond. This location has it’s own set of challenges. The guest seating areas are divided into two areas. To work with this, I used two speakers on stands, and swiveled each to cover the proper areas. The photo below only barely shows the left speaker, but it was swiveled to the left to support the area you can see over there.

Ceremony Prelude (Guest Seating): Vitamin String Quartet
Ceremony Processional (Officiate, Groomsmen and Groom): Empire Brass / Music of Gabrieli - Canzon No. 16 for 12 Parts
Ceremony Processional (Bridesmaids): Bach – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Ceremony Processional (Bridal March): Lumiere Quartet – Bridal March
Ceremony Recessional: U2 – Beautiful Day (Dennis J Ceremony Remix)

And the talented team of Love Art Photography were gracious enough to supply some more professional photos to commemorate the night.

For their ceremony interlude, Thomas and Akiko participated in a tree planting ceremony. This a cool ‘green’ idea for a ceremony. The idea is to water the tree together, then take it home and plant it in your garden. The tree is then always as old as your marriage is.

After ceremony was over, guests were escorted outside of the venue to take a group photo, then started cocktail hour at the Fujidana.

Cocktail Songs:

Stickshifts and Safety belts by Cake
Apartment Story by The National
Lovers in Japan by Coldplay
In the Waiting Line by Zero 7
All I Want Is You by U2
Let Go by Frou Frou
Marry Me by Train
Somewhere over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole’
Steady As We Go by Dave Matthews Band
Somebody by Depeche Mode
Songs from the Garden State Soundtrack
Hey There Delilah / Plain White T’s
You and Me / Lifehouse

When photos were finished, I got the guests seated, and worked with Brenda and Ania from Swann Soirees to coordinate the perfect Grand Entrance.

Grand Entrance: Novelle Vague – Just Cant Get Enough

Immediately after Grand Entrance, we started their first dance.

First Dance: Dave Matthews – You and Me Together

We then started dinner. After dinner, we began toasts. I’m starting to see this trend more and more– Toasts being given with cues/speeches read from their iPhones!

We then started Akiko’s dance with her father.

Father Daughter Dance: The Beatles – Blackbird

And then some open dancing!

We took a break after a bit and did the cake cutting.

Cake Cutting Song: Cake – Love You Madly

And then got that dance floor going again. Note that we had all ages on that dance floor until the very end!

Here’s a fun occurrence– Unbeknownst to me until later, Brenda Swann came up behind me while I had everyone dancing up a storm, and snapped the following photo which she posted to Twitter with the comment, “Good DJs really make the party!”. Pretty cool, huh? Here’s the photo she took. I swear it’s me. LOL

For the last dance, I had Tom and Akiko dance in the center with all the guests holding hands in a circle around them.

And all the guests gave them a big goodbye hug, at my direction!

This wedding was so much fun! Working with Swann Soirees was a delight and together with the other vendors we made a night full of memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s what it is all about, right?

Of course, after the reception was over I made sure to get a photo with the happy newlyweds. Remember that I mentioned I was going to talk more about the placement of my DJ table? During our photo, Akiko mentioned that while she wasn’t on the dance floor and was greeting guests and engaging in conversation with them, she was really enjoying watching me do my thing with the turntables and vinyl. She loved ‘the show’. Tom remarked, “That’s why we hired him!” I just said, “I appreciate that!”

And then one with Brenda Swann… the first of many, I’m betting. I made her promise that we’d get a photo together after every event we do together. She was down with that.

Congratulations to Thomas and Akiko Cleveland and their families, and best wishes for many happy years to come!

Mount Woodson Castle – Grand Re-opening Party

Client: Bridal Insider and Personal Touch Dining
Venue: Mt Woodson Castle
Venue Address: 16302 N Woodson Dr, Ramona CA 92065
Number of guests: 300+
Services Provided: Monogram Lighting, Event Uplighting (computerized)

In October of 2010 Eve and Lori of Bridal Insider contacted me to discuss the opportunity to provide lighting for their upcoming event, “An Evening At Mt. Woodson.” As many know, this year I was a featured vendor on Bridal Insider’s blogs, and they also featured one of my blogs on their ‘Real Weddings’ listings. Knowing that I’m knowledgeable with lighting, they asked if I could demonstrate lighting ideas, and I was happy to oblige.

The event took place on November 17th, 2010. To be able to effective demonstrate the flexibility of modern state-of-the-art lighting techniques, I set up 12 uplights in the Castle’s front patio area. For my more technical readers, they were all connected via DMX cable which then fed into a laptop. From the laptop, I was able to control the lights in many different ways. I spent days before the event creating different creative color patterns which changed with a click of a button. When I wasn’t consulting with a guest, I would pick a random ‘scene’ that I had set up and let the lights do their thing. When guests came over to talk, I would show them my ability to change the color of the lights instantly.

Here’s a couple pictures and some video from the event.

For those considering Mt Woodson Castle for their venue, I highly recommend good use of lighting. As you can see, it can really change the way the venue looks.

Coronado Community Center – Wedding of Phong and Anna Tu

Client: Phong and Anna Tu
Venue: Coronado Community Center – Nautilus Banquet Room
Venue Address: 1845 Strand Way · Coronado, California 92118
Number of guests: 164
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, External Wireless Speakers

Catering: Encore Catering (Christine and Tress)
Photography: Trailbrook
Venue Coordinator: Coronado (Notable mention: Colleen Muldoon)
Wedding Coordinator: Ha Nguyen (Maid Of Honor)
Florist: Thuy
Linens: SD Linens
Cake: Edelweiss Bakery

In July of 2010 Phong Tu and Anna Chong contacted me to discuss the opportunity to DJ their wedding at Coronado Community Center. They were referred to me by Tress Balch of Encore Catering. For those that don’t know Tress… you’re missing out. He’s a great sushi chef and a pleasure to work with. The last time I worked with him was at Liberty Center during Jim Fitzgerald’s wife Rita’s birthday party. I was excited when I heard that Tress had recommended me because 1) this was the first time he had referred me and 2) I was going to get to enjoy some more of Tress’ delicious cooking!

Phong, Anna, and I met at a coffee shop and discussed details. They planned to have a part of their ballroom sectioned off for a photobooth, and reception room doors were to remain closed until cocktail hour was over. 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. They originally were going to use string lighting for their dance floor, but after seeing some video samples of my lightshows, they decided to include that as well in their package.

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 left it up to me with the simple instructions of “modern and upbeat please!” I went with an assortment of Hidden Beach tracks to meet this request. For those that haven’t experienced Hidden Beach, think fun 90s hip-hop remade by jazz musicians. I know that Phong and Anna must have received several comments about the cocktail music, because I got several myself! To top it off, I overheard the bartender telling guests, “OK, I’ll pour your drink but first you have to name this song.”

Tress Balch, in his natural habitat.

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. Tables were dismissed by number, two at a time.

Following dinner and the making of their rounds, we projected a video montage for the guests to enjoy. Note: This montage was original burned in a HD DVD format and could not be played on the venue’s projector. Why it was burned in HD DVD I’ll never know, but through quick thinking (a degree in IT probably didn’t hurt) I was able analyzing the cause, inform the groom of the issue and propose a solution involving acquisition of a Macbook. Phong took my advice and found a guest that had a Macbook in their car, and with my assistance we were able to convert the video and eventually display the montage!

Honorable mention: During the trials and tribulations with the projector I had the privilege to meet Colleen Muldoon, a wonderful employee of Coronado Community Center. Her pleasant demeanor and friendly attitude was noticed and appreciated. We talked a bit, and she definitely helped me to feel comfortable as a vendor at her venue.

Towards the end of dinner, we began toasts. Here’s a few pictures taken during the toasts.

After toasts, we gave away the centerpieces using the “Pass the Bill” game. It was a lot of fun and the guests really got into it. It was a blast hearing the “Awwww!”s and laughter after each round.

Following the centerpiece giveaway we began formal dances. 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: 98 Degrees – I Do (Cherish You)

Cake Cutting: Blessed – Christina Aguilera

Garter Toss: Tie Me Down – New Boyz

Bouquet Toss: Single Ladies – Beyonce

For those that know Asian tradition, weddings usually incorporate games. See my blog of the Perez’s wedding for an explanation of the history and significance of Asian wedding games. Since Tu and Anna didn’t have any games planned out, I threw in one of own… the wedding-appropriate, entertaining, and always successful– Shoe Game!

After the Shoe Game, the dance floor was opened. Although dancing occurred to a lot of genres, I have to say the biggest hits of the night were the current club hits. Anna and her friends were all over that floor!

Phong and Anna chose to keep the energy high during the last song.

Last Song: DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love – Usher

After such a successful wedding I always make sure to get a picture with the happy bride and groom, but this time I had it done by a professional using the photobooth!

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

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!

The Wood House at Woodland Park in San Marcos – Evan and Natasha’s Wedding

Client: Susan Dewindt on behalf of Evan Dewindt
Venue: The Historic Wood House at Woodland Park
Venue Address: 1148 Rock Springs Rd., San Marcos, CA, 92079
Number of guests: 115
Services Provided: DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Video Montage, Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Coordination: Opal Martin of Allie’s Party Equipment Rental
Photography: Sage Taylor Photography
Catering: Allie’s Party Equipment Rental

Earlier this year Susan Dewindt contacted me for her son’s wedding. We met at the wedding venue to discuss details, and worked out the details. The Wood House is a historic building located at the top of Woodland Park in San Marcos, directly below the public pool area. I wish I could supply more information than that about this venue, but the history of it seems to be rather secret, and I haven’t found a single website that elaborates on it.

The Historic Wood House in San Marcos

We sat down at the venue to discuss additional enhancements for the wedding (we are a full-service entertainment company, after all) and Susan decided to add the video montage package after viewing some of the recent slideshows that I have created for clients.

The ceremony was a lot of fun. Natasha and Evan were not looking for a traditional ceremony with traditional music, and to make sure that happened they spent time with their bridal party choreographing a bridal party introduction routine to Black Eyed Peas’ “Alive”. Although my camera wasn’t in a good spot to get some of the details, I did manage to get a decent amount of the routine on video. Enjoy!

The reception area at the Wood House is nice and large and guests enjoyed great appetizers from Allie’s Party Rentals while I played a customized playlist well-tailored for this particular crowd. Song choices included Reasons to Love You by Meiko and You Look Wonderful by Slightly Stoopid. As you can tell, this wasn’t your ordinary cocktail playlist. It was many of the couple’s requests, complemented by similar songs with similar themes. Truly a challenge, with a rewarding outcome.

Since this was an outdoor wedding and it was a bit sunny and hot, precautions had to be taken to protect my equipment (and me!) from the elements, all the while keeping the clean and professional set up I’m known for.

My view…

The wedding started a bit late so we had to adjust the timing of events to compensate. Luckily , I was not alone with the planning. I had the help of their day-of coordinator, Opal Martin, to work with. It’s always nice to work with a competent and friendly coordinator. Together, we were able to mitigate some of the scheduling issues and make everything work well. When we needed some extra time, I threw in the “Shoe Game” to entertain the party, and it went over really well. We also did the “Anniversary Dance” since there were a lot of married couples in the guest list. The winning couple had been together for 60 years!!!

Dances:

First dance – Can’t Help Falling In Love (UB40)
Father/Daughter – I Loved Her First (Heartland)
Mother/Son – Beautiful Boy (Celine Dion)

After the sun set, we were able to project the slideshow. I used my DaLite projector screen, which is 7′ wide and 7+’ tall. The projection was beautiful. My projector is extremely bright and as such doesn’t let me take pictures of the projection well, but here’s a shot of the set up and the guests and bride and groom enjoying the montage.

For open dancing, I was given a rather eclectic playlist of the bridal party’s favorite songs, largely centered around electronic dance music (EDM). I really enjoyed my set because it was definitely out of the typical wedding genre. I actually enjoyed it so much that I ended up hitting ‘record’ on my system, and after tossing some ‘drops’ in it, I’m posting it here for all readers to listen to and even download if they wish.

Creative Music DJs – July Live Wedding Clip

The reception ended with a fast dance, and the mother of the bride actually requested an encore song which I obliged with, and then the mother of the groom came up and wanted ANOTHER encore song. This group of guests just did not want to stop dancing!

After the reception, guests gathered around for a group picture, which I became a part of as well. It was pretty dark so I had to do some editing to make everyone visible.

And I just LOVE the happy expressions of both Natasha and Evan in this one.

Congratulations to Natasha and Evan, thanks for having me along for the celebration, and best wishes for continued years of happiness. You both have known each other since second grade, and you answered most of the questions the same during the Shoe Game. I’d say this one is going to last!

After the big day, I contacted Susan, the mother of the groom, who posted a review on InsiderPages (http://www.insiderpages.com/b/15253916392/creative-music-djs-san-diego) which says this:

“Dennis did such an incredible job at my son’s wedding. Even with some very last minute changes minutes before the wedding started, Dennis was able to pull it off. He is great with the crowd and kept everyone dancing up to the very end!”

San Diego Botanical Gardens – Melanie and Tim’s Wedding

Client: Melanie (maiden name: Lehman) and Tim Allen
Venue: San Diego Botanic Gardens – The Walled Garden (ceremony) and The Victorian Gazebo (reception)
Venue Address: 230 Quail Gardens Drive
Number of guests: 75
Services Provided: DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Dance Floor Lighting, Video Montage, Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Coordination: Creative Music DJs (hey, it happens.)
Photography: Rachel Wattson Photography
Catering: Sombreros Catering

In January of this year I was contracted by Melanie and Tim to provide services for their wedding. They had reviewed my blog and were ready to sign up at our first meeting, which was nice. After viewing some example slideshows that I have created for clients, they decided to add that to their package as well.

Melanie and Tim selected the San Diego Botanic Gardens for their venue. The Botanic Gardens is in Encinitas and covers around 35 acres. In those acres, there’s several great spots for weddings, and they went with the gazebo area. Both are very picturesque.

The ceremony was beautiful. Melanie and I had met a few weeks beforehand to finalize wedding details, and she opted the ‘tearjerker’ ceremony package. This is a package which comes with a customized version of the processional song. It’s a package designed to induce tears of joy for all attendees, especially the parents. That’s all I will say about it in the blog, but if you’re a client that is interested, ask about it during our initial consultation and I’ll clue you in on the details. Trust me, if the bride is close to her father, this is a unique addition that will be remembered forever.

The bridesmaids entered to Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”, and Melanie walked down the aisle to Matisyahu’s “One Day”.

DJ Dennis J at The Walled Garden

Dinner was catered by Sombrero’s Mexican Catering, and was delicious. Afterwards, the bride and groom danced to Jason Michael Carroll’s “Living Our Love Song”.

For the father/daughter dance, Melanie’s dad had something special planned which him and I had secretly worked out the details about. As I started the dance, I played a ‘filler track’ while her dad passed out pamphlets explaining to all guests where Melanie’s nickname “Hood” came from (she was really into a Sam the Sham song when she was younger…). Melanie had no idea what was being passed out as she waited on the dance floor for her dad to join her for the dance. Her dad made his way to the dance floor, and proceeded to start to dance with his daughter. As the dance began, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red hood with horns, and I quickly switched to the real dance song he had chosen, “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and The Pharoahs!

For the mother/son dance, Tim and his mother danced to “Fishin’ in the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I don’t have a picture of this yet, unfortunately.

After the parent dances, we had a bit of open dancing, and gave it a chance to get dark. Once the sun had gone down, we paused dancing for a bit to present the video montage for everyone to enjoy. For this event, I went with my DJ Screen lycra projector screen. Being that we were outside, this screen works well and also looks pretty unique and impressive.

Tim and Melanie enjoying their custom-created wedding video montage

Following the montage, we did bouquet and garter tosses.

Garter Toss at San Diego Botanic Gardens

Bouquet Toss at San Diego Botanic Gardens

The night was a huge success, full of customization and surprises. Afterwards, Melanie and Tim stuck around and said goodbye to their guests. Tim came over and thanked me for my service, and stated, “You were worth every penny!” which was a nice compliment. I took the opportunity to get a picture with him and his new wife.

DJ Dennis J with the bride and groom at Botanic Gardens

Congratulations to Tim and Melanie Allen, and thanks to them once again for inviting me to be a part of their special night. And also a special thanks to Rachel Wattson for providing me with many of the excellent pictures that were used in this writeup!

Point Loma Naval Sub Base (NSB) – Oceanview Room (NSB) – Vicky and Aaron Smith Wedding

Client: Vicky and Aaron Smith
Venue: Admiral Kidd Club – Oceanview Room (Naval Sub Base in Point Loma)
Venue Address: 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106, US (NSB)
Number of guests: 170
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremony, Dance floor lighting
Photography: Corbin Kell Photography
Videography: Eagle Lion Video

Ahh the familiar sights and sounds of the Ocean View Room on the Point Loma Sub Base. I actually really like this venue. It’s remote, very festive, and the staff are great. Therefore, when Vicky and Aaron Smith booked me for their wedding at the NSB, I was pleased.

For their ceremony, they chose to have traditional classical seating music, and the traditional Bridal March, Wagner Lohengrin’s “Bridal Chorus”.

Since there was a large amount of guests, the cocktail and dinner were held outside on the deck. Tables were laid out evenly, with the head table being by the gazebo.

Now here’s the kicker– They opted not to have their dance floor outside, as is typically done at the Point Loma Naval Sub Base. Instead they put their dance floor inside, and placed my station inside as well. Different, but I welcome a challenge so I made the best of it.

As usual, I kept my setup very clean and professional.

Events went well, here’s a picture of the first dance and the father/daughter dance.

As a highlight of the evening, I coordinated a special latin dance called “La Vibora Del Mar” (The Sea Snake). It’s a fun dance where the bride and groom stand on chairs facing each other with their arms raised and connected, and guests form a ‘snake’ and dance around them, going in and out of the tunnel created by the bride and groom. It went over well, and they seemed to really enjoy it. Thanks to Charlie Bradley for the helpful words and advice on how to properly execute this traditional dance.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Dancing was plentiful and constant, with the majority of the requests being old school hip-hop. The guests had fun, and many gave compliments to me and the bride and groom.

Afterwards, the bride and groom posed with me for a post-reception picture.

Thanks to Aaron and Vicky for inviting me to participate in their amazing wedding ceremony and reception, and thanks to all guests for making the night a unique enjoyable experience. One can never forget the Sea Snake!

Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina – Karlsgodt Wedding

Client: Adam and Kela Karlsgodt
Venue: Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina – Bay Tower – Bel Aire Ballroom
Venue Address: 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego California, 92101

Number of guests: approximately 110
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Event Uplighting (8 lights), Enhanced Dance Floor Lighting

Wedding Coordination: Daphne
Photography: Dave & Sherry Gillespie
Caterer: Kimberly Miller

Adam and Kela contacted me in February to inquire about wedding services. After a productive meeting, we kept in touch for a bit. They wanted someone who could really mix, so I offered to get them VIP at one of the clubs I was performing at at the time. I invited them to come see me at Onyx, and they accepted (though never showed…). Nevertheless they contacted me and decided to book me for their wedding.

Adam and Kela chose the Bel Aire Ballroom at Sheraton San Diego as their reception location. One side of the room is composed of windows overlooking the ocean, and provide an amazing view to complement an event. Their wedding colors were red and black and silver, so they chose to include the uplighting package and I complemented the room with 8 red uplights.

Red Uplighting at the Sheraton Harbor Island

The ceremony was held at the Garden Terrace. The request was to arrange speakers to ensure that no wires or speakers would get into the pictures. To work with that, I placed the speakers behind the guests, and taped the wires down almost invisibly.

Sheraton Harbor Island Garden Terrace Wedding Ceremony

Although I’d love to show you lots of pictures, things went off schedule (the guitarist for the ceremony was stuck upstairs retuning his guitar after his son decided to tweak the strings!) and although my efforts to recoordinate were successful, it resulted in very little time for pictures! However, I did get a few pictures…

Here’s their candy table. Lots of candy here! I took home about 20 pumpkin cookies myself…

Sheraton Harbor Island Candy Table

A picture of some of the guests on the dance floor.

Bride and Groom and their guests danced all night long

And another…

Karlsgodt's Guests dancing

The bride and groom and their guests danced all night long. At the end of the night there were still at least 40 people remaining! Here’s a picture of the dance before the last dance. Look at how many guests remained all night!

Sheraton Harbor Island Guests remained until the end

At the end of the night the guests didn’t want to stop. They even started chanting ‘encore!’. Kela had talked to me a few days ago and asked if it was possible to get extra hours and I assured her that I would stay as long as they needed. However, when I went and asked her if I should continue (keep in mind the reception had been going for 6 hours and it was midnight!) she said she would love to but her feet were sore from dancing all night! Haha.

After the reception ended I took a moment to get a picture with the bride and groom.

DJ Dennis J with Adam and Kela Karlsgodt

Congratulations to both Adam and Kela Karlsgodt, the Karlsgodt and Miner families, and thanks to both for allowing me to be a part of their wonderful celebration!

Levyland Estates Wedding – Christopher (DJ Ruckuss) and Mary Lou Lomibao

Client: Willie and Johanna Asaro
Venue: Levyland Estates – Main House
Venue Address: 2401 Mountian View Drive, Carlsbad, CA
Number of guests: approximately 108
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Enhanced Dance Floor Lighting

Wedding Coordination: Crystal Roode from The Occasion Events
Photography: Gabrielle Fox

Christopher (DJ Ruckuss) contacted me to discuss their wedding. He is a club DJ from Vegas who recently moved to the OC area. Being a club DJ, he wanted a DJ that could match talent in the clubs yet conduct events like a true wedding DJ. We talked for a bit and discussed details. He had a very good idea of what music he wanted, and a strong desire to get his guests dancing using club-techniques.

I was pretty excited about this wedding because the theme was music, and well, I LOVE MUSIC!

Christopher and Mary Lou chose the Levyland Estates as their reception location. The Levyland estates is a large venue that can only be rented for a 6 day period, but provides everything that one needs for a wedding and reception.

Levyland Estates

The reception began well. The ceremony had ended much earlier than planned, so guests came in while I was setting up, but it wasn’t a big deal. Introductions were done to “Michael Jackson – PYT (Pretty Young Thing)”. For the first dance, they chose, “Amel Larrieux – Make me whole”.

Chris and Mary Lou's First Dance

Since we also did the Santee Street Fair this day, I didn’t have our camera, so the only pictures I got were from my iPhone, but hopefully they’re still enjoyable.

Here’s some pictures of the cake and decorations, with the ‘Music’ theme.

Turntable cake.

DJ Turntable Wedding Cake

Dinner menu, in the form of a CD playlist.

Dinner menu, CD playlist style

For wedding favors, Chris made 50 copies of a special wedding mix and placed them all over the tables. I’m not sure who had a cassette deck to listen to one though. I know I got rid of my last one a long time ago!

A real mixtape

CDs were labeled with instructions for guests such as guestbook signing.

CDs prompted guests to perform functions such as guestbook signing

Another DJ-themed cake.

Another DJ cake

Needless to say, dancing happened. It was a lot of fun because I got to really go all out club-style and showcase a talent of club and wedding fusion. It was kind of funny because guests came up to Chris and told him “good music tonight” to which he replied “hey, it was all Dennis”.

After the reception, I took my usual opportunity to get a pose with the happy bride and groom.

DJ Dennis J with Chris and Mary Lou Lomibao

Congratulations to Chris and Mary Lou Lomibao, and thanks once again for inviting me to be a part of their special night!