I love destination weddings– and this one had a twist. Most people celebrate their reception in Florida to go near the beaches, but Samantha and Terrance live in the best place for beautiful beaches: BAHAMAS. They wanted a change of scenery, so they chose the Lange Farms in Dade City. Now this is pretty cool, I think. The Lange Farm is a large venue, but still has a very quaint feel. It’s secluded, so there’s no traffic, and has a large outside area. Unfortunately it rained, which put the ceremony inside and cancelled the bonfire (where we were going to play Junkanoo music).

Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are so awesome that they didn’t let this detail ruin their day– they partied hard and made sure everyone, even the vendors, felt welcomed! Gino and I had a blast… check out the pics and videos to see a bit of the party and mixing. I got to jump from Reggae to Soca to Top40… it was a blast!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

Wedding afternoons can be a challenge because the broad daylight may hinder the dancing atmosphere…. but that wasn’t true for John and Diana’s family. It was a small wedding reception, held at the Leu Gardens in Orlando, but they had a great time regardless!

The reception really started off once the toasts began. John’s best man, John (there were lots of Johns at this wedding reception), put together the most creative wedding toast that had everyone, including me, rolling on the floor laughing.

I had to capture this speech…. it was priceless. Check out the audio clip below:

Several guests were from El Salvador, so they needed a Hispanic DJ (I’m from Costa Rica) that could play their Hispanic requests of Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia Salvadoreña. I had a great time (and awesome food provided by John Michael Catering) and the Orlando-based Leu Gardens is always a beautiful place to DJ a wedding reception! Check out the photos and video clip below!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

I don’t think the Royal Plaza in Orlando knew what their venue could be REALLY transformed to…. heck, I didn’t even know. With my amazing team (Monica, Derek and Charles), we created an out of this world experience for Cypress Creek High!

What did they get? Amazing lights around the entire dance floor, black lights, glow in the dark bubbles, stars on the ceiling, clouds during the King & Queen dance, spandex pulls, a photo booth, video screen with live video and ambients to complement the music videos, uplights, color-changing tables…. annndd, get ready for it: The most powerful lasers available for school dances. (Update: We’ll be offering an even bigger pair in blue for multiple colors!)

The students were amazing and the energy level was beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Check out the photos and video below!!!

(The video is very shaky… apologies ahead of time, but there was so much energy that everyone, including my crew, were jumping!)

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

…. Florida is very hot. Enough said. It must’ve been about 100º in the middle of the night with all the dancing.

Did it stop anyone? Nope. They only danced faster, harder, and sang a LOT louder! This is by far the most high-energy wedding I’ve ever done. Scratch that, make it the most high-energy event you could imagine!! I have a few schools that I’m going to have to tell to step their game up in terms of energy!

Then again, Derek and I knew this was wedding was going to end in epic proportions (the last song was Peanut Butter Jelly Time). Irene is Greek and George is Mexican…. you heard right, two amazing families who are KNOWN for being in a culture that throws parties often shut down by authorities.

I’ve done Greek weddings. I’ve done Mexican weddings. They’re always loud, proud and lots of fun! I even did another Mexican/Greek wedding that required me to get 18 hours of sleep the next day in order to recoup. However NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, could have prepared me for this night… there was just SO MUCH ENERGY!

Located at the beautiful Bilmar Beach Resort, where Justin and Megan had a very similar-paced reception, music was flying in and out of cue. How fast-paced where we? 18 songs in 15 minutes… the second video shows you this megamix. This wasn’t a rarity, this was ALL NIGHT with the exception of Greek music which should never be mixed. Leave culturally-revelant traditions alone, I always say!

Check out the amazing photos, then videos below!! MUST WATCH! Treasure Island (or is it St. Pete Beach?) will never be the same again!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

Eric and Robyn are a lot of fun! Though their wedding was in the afternoon, with the Florida sun shining bright, it didn’t stop them from dancing!

Good thing, too…. we need to continue my “BEST WEDDINGS EVER” Month!

You have to see the videos to believe how many people danced in the middle of the afternoon. The location, colors, setting, and everything was perfect and seemed to really fit their personalities!

First, the location was the beautiful Huntington Hills in Lakeland, Florida. Denise is one heckuva Chef, and her staff is always prompt, effective, and smiling! The big windows allow plenty of sunlight to come in, but their effective AC system keeps the place comfortable. It’s amazing how many weddings one has to do in a Florida Summer before you really appreciate air conditioning.

The colors were chocolate and apple green elegantly splashed throughout the whole room.

And of course, Maggie made the cake. It was delicious– you’re darn right I had some. Yum!

Lots of unique things were done, and I want to share a couple:

• Father Daughter Dance: The Hokey Pokey — the ultimate in cheese became something fun and special for Robyn and her father Bud
• Families were encouraged to bring in their own homemade cookies for a “cookie buffet.” It was very unique and delicious! Any wedding with Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal is a good wedding!
• Instead of a guestbook, there were cards to be filled out. Guests were able to fill out their best wishes in these cards, seal them up, and place them in the bowl.
• This wedding was another example of using colors wisely. Their wedding colors matched Huntington Hill’s signature colors perfectly!

Package chosen: Premier, upgraded to Entertainment Coordinator compliments of us.

Check out some great photos and a video in the link below!!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

The 4SO and Thrill Da Playa & HB Fraternity tour continues onto Cypress Creek High’s “I Promised You the Stars” Prom 2009 hosted at the Wyndham Palace in Orlando, Florida.

After speaking with the SGA about their concerns with their last DJ and dance, I knew we had the perfect recipe to take it to the next level. Adding Thrill da Playa from world-famous group 69 Boyz was the extra special ingredient that really stirred the night. (You can tell I’m hungry as I write this, lol)

The setup was beautiful and was going to utilize our dry ice “dance on the clouds” system with our starfield laser (the original Blisslight, not a cheap knockoff laser). However, complications with acquiring a fire permit would not allow the use of that. CCHS was not worried, they knew that we would still deliver an amazing light show without haze and help carry their theme without the dry ice.

That we did!! We worked our butts off to make sure every corner of that room was lit! Even if all the lights went off, we had enough black lights to illuminate every part of the ballroom. It looked great!

Dinner was fun as we entertained the students using a very customized playlist and entertainment “secrets” we use to keep everyone on their toes. You’ll see in the first video how loud the room got when we announced that it was time to dance.

A mostly Hispanic school, we played reggaeton, Salsa, Merengue, and sprinkled in a few bachatas. We didn’t deny the large Jamaican population as we played smash hits like Dutty Wine, Signal Di Plane, Follow Di Leader, and my personal favorite: Welcome to Jamrock.

A surprising big hit of the night was *N Sync’s Bye Bye Bye. Don’t believe me? Check out the YouTube video!

This was my last prom for 2009, but the 4SO tour continues on to many other schools.

So click below and see all the photos we took as well as some video highlights. They’re short videos!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

Perhaps the most stunning prom I’ve ever been a part of. Hudson High School transformed the Harborview Center in Clearwater into Club 0Nine, the hottest nightclub in Florida. Our setup was beautiful– I could ramble on and on… but you have to see the photos and the videos.

There is one really cool thing we have to talk about: the surprise concert. My boy, Thrill da Playa (from 69 Boyz) joined forces with the 4S0 2009 Prom Tour and we merged tours together for a few special clients– this one being the first. The place went INSANE! The staff, teachers, admins, and all the kids danced along with classics such as “Tootsee Roll, The Train, and Fresh Prince of Bel Air” as well as his new hits “Good Girls, Ery’Body Rock, and Slide.” OH YES THIS WAS A BEAST!!

Another cool surprise was Bob Moore Entertainment. Bob is a great friend and a swell entertainer– he brought  in his new toy. A graphics laser system. Watch the videos for amazing shots!

In the VIP room we adorned it with black lights. That was all that was needed. Mr. Casey and his committee did a great job with the room setup.

Trust me when I say no nightclub in Florida has what Club 0Nine does. NONE WHATSOEVER. I feel sorry for the prom next door.

Package chosen: Custom, but here’s some small details.

• Overhead truss setup
• Giant disco ball
• Intelligent light show featuring 50+ lights
• Starfield
• Haze (didn’t set off the fire alarm, of course)
• Concert by Thrill da Playa (for booking, call us at 877-994-4200)
• VIP Room setup with black lights and separate sound system.
• Custom designed logo projected on wall
• Custom website for shoutouts and requests
• 2 Custom Commercials
• Shoutouts from music artists
• Graphics laser
• Yours truly lol

Photos stolen from Kelly’s blog and the videos are of course mine.

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

Wow, what a wedding!

To the future couples reading this, take the following tip: if you don’t want dance floor lighting, but still want the most unique of atmospheres, choose color-changing uplighting!

Very few DJs in Florida have color-changing uplighting, and this is one of the many reasons Elizabeth and Jeremy Voss knew we were the right DJ company for them. Being in the middle of prom season, I was worried that my “high-dance energy rush” I’ve been stuck on may be a bit too much for the wedding. Alas, the opposite was true. These people were here for two reasons: 1) to celebrate a once-in-a-lifetime moment with Mr. and Mrs. Voss 2) to party, and party hard!!

Ashly with Olivier Events did a great job creating the room setup– you have to check out the photos! She helped Jeremy & Elizabeth create some details that really made the wedding pop. One of my favorites was choosing a Norwegian Brand of water, Voss, to serve guests. I had to find out if Jeremy was associated with the company (same name)…. but it was just a [really cool] coincidence.

When you click the link below to see the photos, hijacked from Kelly’s blog, and the video, be sure to pay attention on how much the uplighting changes the room ambiance.

Speaking of Kelly, he was the MC for the event whilst I DJed and took care of the lighting. As always, he did an amazing job customizing every part of the reception. I will brag here, I rocked the house! I can’t lie there– I left the wedding pumped up and energized even after helping break down 42 cans of uplighting. That’s a LOT of cable! Cypresswoods is an easy load-in/load-out… not to mention their food is exquisite and service is out of this world!

By the way, just to throw in a shameless plug (no punintended) on how energy efficiency: the outside setup had 12 cans of uplighting and our BOSE system setup to handle the 200+ guests as well as our console (computer, mixer, CD player, peripherals, etc) and everything ran on ONE outlet! This is a huge advantage to anyone who’s doing a wedding outdoors where power is limited OR where the hotel charges and arm & a leg for power.

Highlights of the evening:

• The uplighting!
• Tri-location setup: cocktail, dinner, and dance floor all in different sections.
• Very elaborate decorations
• Hip-Hop was the preferred genre here, but everyone of all ages got down to it!
• Old Time Rock & Roll is still the ultimate party starter song!

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Color-Changing Uplights
• Static Uplights with custom colors
• Compact Dinner Sound System

Now click below for photos and video!!!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

After Frankie’s Sweet 16 Friday, I was pumped up for Freedom High School’s prom. FHS was once told by a competitor that we DON’T have the best light show in Florida… it looks like we debunked that myth pretty quickly!

Choosing from our most popular series of packages, the Showstopper, this Orlando school chose one of my favorites, the Showstopper³. Featuring over 70′ of trussing and a 20′ wide screen; (not diagonal people, 20′ wide)!!!  The lightshow was amazing… I won’t delve too much into technical details but let’s just say you HAVE to watch the video!

Freedom is a very unique school; despite the urban population, the students LOVE techno, pop, and dance music… with the usual Rap, Reggaeton, Salsa, Merengue, and Reggae.

A couple highlights:

• Worked with the new Principal, Dr. Borders. A very nice person to work with and very eager person to help create an amazing prom.
• Ms. Light (the sponsor), did an amazing job finding a great balance between DJ, decorations, and location. This really was a perfect event!
• Complete DJ thing next: Almost 300 amps of power to play with!! I only needed 100, but the extra was always welcomed.
• 20′ screen.. need I say more?
• Very little grinding thanks to high energy mixes and 1000 glowsticks!!
• The kids did the Hokey Pokey– I kid you not… it was remixed in with the new dance craze, Stanky Legg.
• Mr. Youtz did a GREAT job with the Senior Superlatives… there were some unique categories!
• My crew! My wife (Monica), Derek and Ray are amazing workers who put 1000% into this job.. no matter what it takes!
• The ending!! Watch Part 2!!

Enough blabber.. watch the video & photos! I LOVE this school!!!!! CLICK BELOW FOR MORE!!

Click here to see photos and videos from this event

It’s supposed to be the happiest day of your life… so why do you feel so stressed? There is no such thing as being born a Bride/Groomzilla…. it’s just what happens when you don’t take the stress out. So what can you do?

1) CHILL OUT!

Whenever you begin to feel stressed out, take a breather. Go enjoy a movie, a walk in the park, or visit a spa! Stressing out is not going to fix anything nor will it put you and your fiance in a good mood for the wedding. You should never have to associate feelings of stress and dispair with weddings! Whatever you do to relax, just make sure it has NOTHING to do with your wedding. So CHILL!

2) Being emo can be nerve-wracking!

One minute you’re super-excited about your wedding cake. The next minute you’re upset because you can’t find sashes in your wedding colors! Then you’re excited because you found beautiful photography, but suddenly you realize you’re behind in your planning. ARGH! How is it that you haven’t pulled all your hair out yet? This emotional roller-coaster can set you off in a frenzy!

It’s going to happen and it’s perfectly natural! Find someone to vent to… someone who ISN’T your fiance. Find someone who isn’t stressed out about the wedding and ask them to help you think with a clear head!

3) Trust God.

Enough said there. The best way to deal with the stress is to just pray… but beyond that, talk to your pastor. You and your fiance will learn A LOT about each other in the next few wedding planning stages… be sure to attend a marriage class.. not to mention the state of Florida will give you a discount on your license if you do! SWEET!

4) This is why you hired….

…a professional. Don’t stress about the day-of wedding timeline. Talk to your entertainer/coordinator about your concerns on creating the perfect day and let he/she handle the rest. If you can’t trust them to do this… find a new one. If they’ve done this plenty of times, they’ll have a plethora of ideas to help you!

The same applies for photos, cake, food, etc. You hired a pro— let them help you! Give them the vision of what you want and let them handle that stressing out stuff.

5) A wedding planner doesn’t plan YOU.

Wedding planners and coordinators are great people to have on your team.  Again, trust them to handle the stress and take their advice the best way you can… they do this several times a year and you’re only getting married once! However, they can’t control what you do…. so prioritize! If they’re helping you step-by-step with wedding plans then there’s no worries, but if you only have day-of coordination (or none at all) then you need to sit down and come up with a schedule of what’s the most important things to you, then make sure those are checked off FIRST.

6) The day before the wedding should not be the day before the wedding.

DO NOT, I repeat: DO NOT use the day before the wedding to finalize all details. Work as hard as you can to have everything done at least 3 days before the wedding. Why? Because you can enjoy these three days to lose ANY stress/jitters you may have. Spend time with your friends… go to a movie, beach, SOMETHING FUN! You should be looking forward to your wedding… not wishing you had one more day to finish planning!

7) CHECK!

If possible, pay all your vendors two-three days before the wedding! If you’re anything like me, signing paychecks will induce stress. If you plan on tipping (and you should, lol) make sure to do it in cash. Have everything separated in envelopes for easier management.
CHECK! LIST!

I’ll make this one short: DJs have checklists. Caterers have checklists. Planners have checklists. Do you? No? MAKE ONE!

9) Internet and friends are dangerous!

Have a question about your wedding? While asking your friends is important, their suggestions may reflect their style and not yours. As for the internet, stay away unless it’s coming from the keyboard of an established vendor! The best wedding tips come from the professionals you’ve hired and learned to trust. They will work hard to build rapport with and get to know you. They will apply this information to any info/tips they give you!

10) Weddings are NOT a barometer of happiness.

Can something go wrong at the wedding? Maybe. Possibly. So? Roll with it! Marriages aren’t perfect, but they will be held strong if you have faith! Weddings are living, breathing creatures and just because something went wrong doesn’t mean your marriage will go bad. Did you show up? Did he show up? Did you say “I do?” Did he say “I do?” Then you’re good to go— you’ve accomplished the mission: the rest is just icing on the cake.

Brides and grooms: don’t stress! As vendors, we’ll do everything we can to take that stress of you… but ultimately it’s up to you to make sure you don’t stress out. Don’t confuse stress for anxiety… you will be very anxious for the day you’ll be standing on the altar.. and who can blame you? Just remember to ENJOY your planning… as you’ll only do this once in your lifetime, too!

Did I forget a tip? Leave me a comment!!