Hard Rock Hotel Wedding – Roxana and Jeff Brown

Client: Roxana and Jeff Brown
Venue: Hard Rock Hotel- Ceremony tent and “Celebrate” room
Venue Address: 207 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
Number of guests: 75-100
Services Provided: Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremony, enhanced dance floor lighting, uplighting

Roxana and Jeff live in Carmel Valley, and chose to have their wedding at the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel, most likely because it is a beautiful venue. They both enjoy many genres of music, and prefer current hits for their own listening pleasure.

I met Jeff while setting up for a military ball last year in Del Mar. As I was setting up, he came over and inquired about my services. After talking with him a bit and giving him a bit of an idea of the knowledge we have of wedding services, he continued interest by asking for our card and telling me he would be in touch. A day or so later, he called us and we discussed a bit more, then scheduled a meeting with him and his fiance, Roxana.

During our meeting I found that they were looking for a very customized wedding, which just happens to be our specialty! I suggested our ceremony music package using string instrumentals of classic and modern day rock songs. Since their ceremony was at the Hard Rock Hotel, how could it not work perfectly, right? In our opinion, it is definitely an option that ensures that all in attendance will remember not only the reception, but also the unique ceremony that they were a part of.

Every detail of this seven-hour(!) wedding received that ‘customized touch’. For cocktail hour, they upgraded to use our wireless additional sound system service, for which we use an additional pair of speakers outside of the reception room and transmit the same music stream wirelessly to the other speakers. For music selection we played an eclectic mix of downtempo ambient trip-hop.

The ceremony and cocktail hour were held in a large decorated tent.

Hard Rock Hotel Ceremony

Hard Rock Hotel Ceremony Altar Set Up

The dinner/reception was held an appropriately titled room called, “Celebrate”.

Hard Rock Hotel Wedding Lounge

Hard Rock Hotel Wedding Uplighting

One of the coolest features of Celebrate is the mural of Madonna on one of its walls.

Hard Rock Hotel Madonna Mural Celebrate Room

Due to some delays, we had to adjust some of the planned times of events, but the photographers, day-of-coordinator, and caterers were very helpful and worked with us to get everything working correctly. After announcing the location of the Celebrate room and showing guests the way to get to it, we performed a wonderful introduction of bridal party and couple, completely with our enhanced lightshow package which included a disco ball for the first dance.

As an added original touch, they opted to have a ‘donut tower’ instead of the traditional cake. During the ‘cutting of the donuts’, we played a special donut-themed song mix which we had prepared beforehand.

San Diego Wedding DJ Donut Tower

After cutting the donuts, we went back to open dancing, and the guests packed the dance floor for over three straight hours! Afterwards, guests were still in high-spirits and the mood to continue dancing even though the room rental was over, so Roxana and Jeff and the remaining guests headed downstairs to Hard Rock’s club for more. Now that’s the kind of mood we like to see the guests in as we end our performance!

The bride and groom were very happy with the outcome of the night, and took time after the reception to pose for a picture. Thanks to Jeff and Roxana for giving us the opportunity to share their special night with them, and our best wishes for them and their new life!

San Diego Wedding DJ Dennis J with Bride and Groom at Hard Rock Hotel

More from Creative Music DJs

• San Diego Wedding DJ | Candelas Coronado - Antonio and Ruby Wedding
• Coronado Candelas Wedding – Ruby and Antonio
• Admiral Kidd Club Wedding – Shannon and Jason Fouts
• San Diego Wedding DJ | San Diego DJ - Oceanview Room - Kathleen and Dominic Carr Wedding
• Sub Base Point Loma- Kathleen and Dominic Carr Weddin

Winter Formal Dance – Julian Charter High School (JCS)

Client: Jenn Sheehey
Venue Type: Banquet Facility
Venue Address: 35245 Briggs Rd, Murrieta, CA 92563
Number of guests: 100+
Services Provided: Dance (mostly top-40) music, energetic emceeing, premium dance floor lighting, fog machine, laser lighting, wired microphone

Julian Charter High School held their Winter Formal dance at Monteleone Meadows. Creative Music DJs was contracted to provide the entertainment.
For those that do not know the location of Monteleone Meadows, let me tell you, it’s not easy to find even in daylight! The road, Briggs Road, is under construction, and if you get on the wrong part of it, you can get really lost! After driving around a bit, I found a way around the hill and made it to the school.

The staff of Monteleone Meadows are very pleasant and helpful. The manager, Gaby Wempe, was especially helpful at the end of the night and helped carry some equipment to the trailer for me.

The kids were very excited to dance! JCS had requested fog and premium lighting, so we went with an assorted display of Vue IIIs, a Tri-Pearl, Scorpion 56RG, and a Galaxian laser.

The floor was packed all night, despite the fact that there were casino tables in the same room! HS kids are excellent at letting DJs know when they enjoy a song, and this group was no exception. There were plenty of ‘wooooo’s, ‘yeeeeeeah’s, and ‘yaaaay’s to go around.

I had received a song request list before the event, so I didn’t expect that many requests, but there were still several. The song of the night was, “Circus” by Britney Spears. I think I had at least 8 requests alone for it. Then again, it could have been one or two people sending their friends one at a time to re-request the song until it was played. Yes, we’re actually on to those tricks, don’t think you’re being slick! Here’s a couple of pictures from the night:

After the dance, I talked with Mrs. Sheehey while tearing down equipment about feedback from the night. She stated, (I’m quoting) “You just blew away any DJ these kids have ever seen. I’m pretty sure everyone is going to want you for Prom in April.” She also mentioned that the ASB staff had made me a thank-you card but she had left it behind. I thanked her for the opportunity and then we posed together for a picture.

There’s no doubt that this school dance was a success, and I’m so glad for the opportunity to have made JCS’s Winter Formal a memorable and enjoyable experience!

Congratulations to the winners of the night:

Drawing for free night stay with free dinner and spa treatment at Pala Casino: Emily Warren

Freshman class Prince and Princess: Matt Smith and Alexis Umathem

Sophomore class Prince and Princess: Alex Morgan and Shellen Glahn

Junior class Prince and Princess: Austin Lewis and Amanda Difilipo

Senior King and Queen: Josiah Herrera and Hanna Johnson

More from Creative Music DJs

• Pacific Ridge School – Halloween School Dance
• Spirits at Liberty Station Fundraiser
• San Diego DJ | Hard Rock Hotel Wedding - Roxana and Jeff Brown
• Linda Vista – Disco Party Video and Pics
• San Diego Wedding DJ | Candelas Coronado - Antonio and Ruby Wedding

Sub Base Point Loma – Oceanview Room (NSB) – Kathleen and Dominic Carr Wedding

Client: Kathleen and Dominic Carr
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: 100
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremony, enhanced dance floor lighting
Photographer: Liz Grace from Liz Grace Photography

Kathleen and Dominic Carr had their wedding at the Ocean View Room on the Point Loma Sub Base. Musical choices include Bob Marley and all Marley Family, Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Otis Redding, AC/DC, Black Eyed Peas, Steve Miller Band, The Police, and Steele Pulse. To complement these tastes, they decided on a island-music based ceremony. For their prelude music, they selected an entire set of Jack Johnson songs, which worked quite well.

Oceanview Room Ceremony - Point Loma Sub Base

The wedding guest list included around 12 kids, and they dominated the dance floor for the first half of the evening.

Point Loma Sub Base - Kids on the Dance Floor

After a while, the kids got a bit tired out, and it was time for the adults to dance. Being that this crowd was primarily Irish, we worked in some Irish music, including popular artists such as U2 and House of Pain. At one point, we were asked if we had any traditional Irish music. We suggested a compromise– We’d throw on a traditional Irish jig, if the Irish guests promised to dance an Irish step to it. They agreed, and we had a blast playing traditional Irish and watching the guests enjoying their native dances!

(Irish step video coming soon)

During open dancing, we put on Pitbull – Hotel Room Service, a popular song among dance clubs, and one of the guests remarked, “awww… come on! Put on the original!”. “Oh, you want some Nightcrawlers?” we asked. “Yes, exactly”. That was our cue. We went into a old-school 90’s house set, and the guests packed the floor. Afterwards, one of the guests (a woman by the name of Blaize, which she swears is her real name!), asked if we did house parties, and took a card while stating that she was impressed because wedding DJs didn’t normally have music like this, nor the knowledge of what to play and how to mix it properly. We hope to hear from her in the future, and would love to rock a 90’s house set at her house party!

Kids and adults on the dance floor

One thing we’d like to mention– Photography for this event was done by Liz Grace from Liz Grace Photography. With the amount of events we do, we meet lots of photographers, but to be honest, most get in, get out, and really don’t seem to care to get to know us. Liz was different. For one, she stayed throughout the whole event, making sure she didn’t miss one little photo opportunity. Also, she took the time to converse with us. We talked about our businesses, and she even offered some advice on what has worked well for her as far as marketing investments. She was extremely helpful, even volunteering to organize the wedding party for their introductions if we wanted. She definitely liked what she saw regarding us and our professional lighting, equipment, style, and performance, and mentioned that she would be happy to work together to cross-promote. We highly recommend her if you’re looking for a wedding photographer, and we look forward to the next wedding we do that we get to work together again.

So, all in all, we had a wonderful island-music-based ceremony, traditional Irish music, happy kids, and a whole bunch of family and friends of the bride and groom that appeared to enjoy themselves immensely. I’d call the evening a complete success.

Afterwards, Kathleen and Dominic expressed their thanks and gratitude, and posed for a memorable picture.

San Diego DJ Dennis J posing with the happy bride and groom

One of the reasons for the delay on this posting is the lack of pictures we have from the event. We took some video but have been so busy with other gigs that we haven’t had a chance to process it. If anyone in attendance cares to share some pictures, please comment and let us know. There were a lot of smiling guests and we would love to have more pictures to show of them! Does anyone know if they use Facebook?

Thanks to Kathleen and Dominic for inviting us to participate in their amazing evening, and thanks to all guests for making the night a unique enjoyable experience. And thanks to all that demonstrated the Irish jig. Those types of surprise occurrences are some of the main reasons we enjoy what we do and look forward to each new event!

San Diego wedding DJ Dennis J with happy bride and groom

Admiral Kidd Club Wedding – Shannon and Jason Fouts

Client: Shannon and Jason Fouts
Venue: Admiral Kidd Club – Harbor Lounge and Patio
Venue Address: Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC) on Harbor Drive
Number of guests: 100
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremony, enhanced dance floor lighting

Shannon and Jason Fouts live in Rancho Penasquitas, but chose to have their wedding at Admiral Kidd Club in Point Loma since Jason is in the military. Jason is an officer in the military, promoted after achieving enlisted rank E-7. Shannon runs Smarty Pants Playhouse, a daycare that provides a safe, nurturing environment for children to learn and grow. She is also an accomplished photographer, specializing in family portraits. Check out her work at http://www.shannonsdigitalphotography.com/.

When we first met Shannon and Jason, we sat down and discussed their needs and choices. Jason is a classic rock fan, with a passion for KISS. With that in mind, we suggested a ceremony music package using string instrumentals of classic and modern day rock songs. They loved the idea and after reviewing sample songs put together a perfect playlist for the interlude, prelude, processional, and recessional music. This unique idea was a hit with guests, and will help all in attendance to remember the ceremony and reception for years to come.

An interesting situation occurred that caused us to dig into our ‘bag of tricks’. The sun went down a little sooner than intended, and the scripts for the ceremony were difficult to read. It became noticeable when we heard Shannon start stumbling over some words. We had been in discussions with Shannon constantly during the last few weeks before the reception and was obviously articulate and educated. To hear her stumbling over something being read was an instant ‘red flag’ that something was amiss. Thinking quickly, we ran inside and grabbed a small flashlight out of our ‘emergency rescue kit’. We then ran to the front of the ceremony (yes, in front of all guests and photographers!) and held the flashlight onto the page so that the ceremony could continue. The maid of honor, Kim, was standing beside us as this was going on, and took a cue from us to hold the flashlight, which then allowed us to get back to our ’station’ and continue managing audio for the rest of the ceremony. Here’s a picture of the officiant using the flashlight to read his parts.

Fouts Wedding with Emergency Rescue Kit Flashlight!

During the reception, we had to adjust some of the planned times of events, but the caterers were very helpful and worked with us to get everything working correctly. Since Shannon and Jason opted to not have the garter nor the bouquet tosses, we threw in a little something extra and had them participate in a ’shoe game’ where we hit them with questions about each other and entertained their guests with their opinions and knowledge of each other. The game was a complete success and afterwards we received compliments from guests as well as the bride and groom themselves.

We would love to show lots of pictures from this wedding, but our camera was acting up a bit, so we only have a few good pictures worthy of display. Here’s a couple with commentary to give you an idea of the experience:

CMDJs - Clean and Professional Setup

During the First Dance We Invited All Couples to the Dance Floor!

Without Flash You Get a Better Idea of the Dance Floor Lighting

Keeping All Ages On the Dance Floor Takes Skill!

The "shoe game" - Creative Music DJs

There are two events which we’re not sure if anyone has pictures of, but if they do please help us! We need pictures of the first dance (well, one that the bride approves of!) and some of the immensely long conga line! The line was so long it went out the door, around the patio area, and back inside to the dance floor!

It was a very enjoyable night, and we’d like to thank Shannon and Jason for inviting us to be a part of it. And thanks as well to the family and friends in attendance who helped to make the night memorable for all!

San Diego DJ Dennis J - In the Mix

Coronado Candelas Wedding – Ruby and Antonio

Client: Antonio and Ruby Jaramillo
Venue: Candelas On The Bay Restaurant
Venue Address: 1201 First street #115, Coronado CA 92118
Number of guests: 80+
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, uplighting (table underlighting), enhanced dance floor lighting

Ruby and Antonio currently reside in Los Angeles, but chose to have their wedding at Candelas On The Bay in San Diego, to accommodate family members (and because San Diego is a great place for a wedding, of course!). Antonio is a successful hollywood actor, whose work includes television dramas, sitcoms, major motion pictures, theatre and voiceover work. The talent is not one-sided in this relationship, however, as Ruby is an accomplished graphic designer who excels at marketing promotion.

Antonio contacted us after being referred from a friend who had seen us perform at a wedding in San Diego. We met with him and Ruby and discussed a few details, and both of us left the meeting confident in the fact that together we were going to make their night magical. It helped that they were using Candelas, and we’ve been on Candelas preferred vendor list for a while now. One of their managers, Karen Houpt, worked with us at a previous wedding, and ever since then she is first to recommend us when any of her clients are in need of a DJ.

San Diego Wedding Venue Candelas On The Bay

When we met, Ruby was particularly interested in uplighting. She has been previously discouraged about extra lighting because Candelas has so much atmosphere lighting already, but had never been introduced to the concept of ‘underlighting’. I  showed her some example pictures, and she was convinced. After some consideration, she decided to use aqua underlighting on the head table, gift table, and cake table. The end result was beautiful, and they received compliments not only from their guests, but even patrons of the restaurant came over to tell them how wonderful the underlighting effect was.

Cake Table Uplighting (Underlighting)

Head Table and Gift Table Uplighting (Underlighting)

Setup was smoother this time since we are now well-acquainted with the layout of Candelas. My assistant Jay Villaruel set up the dance floor lightshow, while I took care of the DJ system, and uplighting. It was an interesting arrangement, because the wedding was not private, and the restaurant was still open for business so the ‘dance floor area’ was full of tables and restaurant patrons eating meals. We set up quickly and then went to mingle. While dining was going on, several restaurant patrons inquired about our DJ system. We took opportunity to proudly show them the capabilities of Serato Scratchlive and demonstrate how Wedding DJing can still be done with vinyl to provide club DJ entertainment techniques to a wedding reception’s open dance segments.

Serato Demonstration by DJ Dennis J

The event did not start until the patrons in that area were finished and the tables were removed to create a dance floor for the wedding reception.

Creative Music DJs set up at Candelas in Coronado

The reception went well. We started with toasts, and proceeded to first dance and a father daughter dance. For their first dance, they contracted us to develop a mix using several of their favorite songs, starting slow, moving to energetic, then back to slow. Interested in listening to it? Here it is!

Draft-DJ Dennis J-Ruby and Antonio First Dance by DJDennisJ

Open dancing started with some salsa and cumbia, per the couple’s requests. Throughout the evening, we mixed back and forth from latin hits to current club hits. The interspersing was received well, and even restaurant patrons were chanting to some of the songs and having fun with the wedding guests.

open dancing with the bride and groom having fun

Guests of the wedding enjoying the dance floor

The dance floor stayed packed all night long, which is always what we strive for. Several guests came up and requested songs of both American and Latin, and we were happy to play many of the ones requested. After the event was over, the Ruby and Antonio thanked us several times, and were happy to pose for some memorable pictures.

Dennis J and Jay Villaruel with Antonio

Congratulations to Ruby and Antonio, and thanks to both of them for inviting us to be a part of their special night!

Marina Village – Halloween Party for Staff and Friends

Client: Marina Village
Venue: Vineyard Room at Marina Village
Venue Address: 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109
Number of guests: 40+

Services Provided:  Halloween DJ, dance floor lighting, haze machine, secondary wireless sound system

The staff of Marina Village had their annual Halloween party at their own venue, in the Vineyard Room. The venue was decorated nicely, lots of spooky things hanging everywhere, and so many cobwebs that I was worried that one might be real! For music, we started with some rock, then progressed into a disco set which really got the dance floor packed for around an hour! Due to a rather assorted request list, I transitioned into some 80s rock music and to my surprise the dance floor stayed packed and they LOVED it! We also did a 90’s house set, a second disco set, and even an electro house set. The guests had a blast, and one of them even came up and asked me, “Just who the heck are you? You’re mixing it up like I’ve only seen in really expensive clubs!” Primo from Primo DJs (who had sub-contracted me for the night) came to my rescue, saying “He’s DJ Dennis J!”, which was all the explanation we gave them (keep ‘em wondering, right?).

At the end, we were told we would definitely be on the list of recommended vendors for Marina Village, and that they had an incredible time. Here’s a few pictures of the night.

DJ Dennis J at Marina Village (Rasta costume)

Marina Village Staff and Friends at the Halloween Party

Halloween Party Lightshow with Haze and Lasers

Marina Village Rocker and Ghoul

Air and Space Museum – Shelley and Shaun Donovan Wedding Video

Client: Shelley and Shaun Donovan
Venue Type: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Venue Address: 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego
Number of guests: 120+
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, uplighting, dance floor lighting, fog machine, secondary wireless sound system

Shelley and Shaun Donovan chose the Air and Space Museum in San Diego to be the venue for their wedding. The Air and Space Museum is a complicated venue– the round area, antique cars, and hanging metal planes create a unique environment where sound bounces all around, resulting in some very unwanted echoes. To mitigate this, we consulted with the bride and groom and it was agreed that a secondary sound system would be placed on the other side of the room. The second system enabled guests to hear announcements from anywhere in the room and cancelled out noise echoing. The use of the second sound system is highly recommended for events at this or a similar venue.

Secondary Wireless Sound System

Setup was smooth yet lengthy. My assistant Jay set up the dance floor lightshow, while I took care of the DJ system, and uplighting. Shelley and Shaun requested fog since the Air and Space Museum is one of the few venues in San Diego that allows the use of a fog machine. Their reasoning is that everything in the museum has been either shot full of holes or shot into space and then returned, so what could a little fog hurt? As you’ll see from the video, the addition of fog helped create some great lighting and effects!

Creative Music DJs, ready to begin the cocktail hour!

Uplighting on a palm tree, complete with custom shields

Uplighting used on a fountain in the center of the venue

Of course, this blog entry would not be complete without some video, right? Unfortunately, the acoustics of the San Diego Air and Space Museum didn’t make for good recording using our Flip Mino, so I’ve replaced the audio with one of the Bride’s favorite songs, and a recording of their thank you speech delivered to their guests after the toasts were finished.

The music choices for the night were varied, and somewhat eclectic. For the cocktail hour, we played ‘trip-hop’, which went over really well with the guests. Several commented on this ‘break from the norm’, all with compliments on the selection of artists and songs.

For dinner, we played a traditional playlist of music such as Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones, Etta James, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.

And for open dance, we stuck to an 80’s alternative theme, opening with David Bowie, and progressing to groups such as New Order, Billy Idol, Red Flag, and Oingo Boingo. This particular group loved it. One guest about a half-an-hour into the first open set, and stated, “I knew this was going to be a good night when you opened with David Bowie”.

It’s always a good feeling to know you can still rock an 80’s alternative set in 2009.

Thanks to Shelley and Shaun Donovan for including us in their celebration, and congratulations to them both!

Shelley and Shaun Donovan posing for a picture with Dennis J

More from Creative Music DJs

• Mission Valley Town and Country – Bakanowski Wedding
• Coronado Candelas Wedding – Ruby and Antonio
• San Diego Wedding DJ | Candelas Coronado - Antonio and Ruby Wedding
• Admiral Kidd Club Wedding – Shannon and Jason Fouts
• Linda Vista – Disco Party Video and Pics

Mission Valley Town and Country – Bakanowski Wedding

Client: Eric and Ashley Bakanowski
Venue Name: Town and Country Resort
Venue Address: 500 Hotel Circle North,  San Diego, CA 92108
Number of guests: 60+
Services Provided: Wedding Reception, standard dance music, Full lighting system (Eliminator Electro 3.1, American DJ Mystique, Eliminator Instigator 2.0, American DJ Sparkle,  American DJ Galaxian).

Eric and Ashley had their wedding at the wonderful Town and Country Resort in San Diego, CA. On the outside, this resort looks much like the hotels adjacent to it, but on the inside… it’s a whole different story! The resort is large, full of fountains and other landmarks, and looks great from all angles.

For their wedding, Eric and Ashley picked the Tiki Room, located close to the center of the resort.

This wedding was atypical because the bride and groom have already been married for a while. They got married in CO and had their honeymoon in Jamaica. They chose to have their wedding reception in San Diego, where the majority of the bride’s family lives.

Since there was no wedding, there was no bouquet toss or garter toss. I suggested to them that an Anniversary dance might spruce up the night and after explaining the basics of it the bride was all for it. I performed the Anniversary dance towards the middle of the night, with the winning couple being married 17 years. Everyone loved the dance and participation was enthusiastic throughout.

Towards the middle part of the open dancing segment, the bride came up and asked if we could go ‘club-style’ with the music. I was happy to oblige, and kicked the performance up a notch with 750 watts of crystal clear sound playing through four 15″ woofers, two horns, and an 18″ subwoofer. There were dancing lights everywhere, and I played a set of high-energy club music.  Afterwards, several guests came over to ask how many watts I was pushing, because it was really clean but also really LOUD! In all honesty, I use a Mackie M-2600 amplifier and didn’t even have it halfway up, but I just told them it was around 750W.

Some more pictures from the night:

Dallas and Jennifer McCastelin Wedding

Client: Dallas and Jennifer McCastelin
Venue Name: Paradise Gardens
Venue Address: 190 Wilshire Rd, Oceanside, CA 92057-3900
Number of guests: 120+
Services Provided: Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Reception, standard dance music, Full lighting system (4 American DJ Sparkle LEDs, 4 American DJ Rotopods, American DJ Aggressor, American DJ Vertigo, American DJ Tri-Pearls, American DJ Galaxian).

Dallas and Jennifer had their wedding at the beautiful Paradise Gardens in Oceanside, CA. The owner, Steve Hasty, claims this this beautiful tropical paradise as one of San Diego’s best-kept secrets, and we have to agree. Paradise Gardens is one of the most spacious and atmospheric locations we’ve had the pleasure of working in.

Highlights of the wedding included the bride arriving in a horse-drawn carriage provided by Carriages For Hire (which was later available for rides around the resort)…

a chocolate fountain provided by California Chocolate Fountains…

a wonderfully engaging toast by the father, and a grand exit in a 1929 Durant provided by Antique Autos For Hire.

We’re preparing a video of these highlights which we hope to have posted soon!