Eddie and Amber saw us TWO years ago at a bridal show and said “we HAVE to have you… and the BOSE… and that sub!” They are a young, Christian, enthusiastic couple who had MANY ideas about an exciting New Year’s Eve wedding celebration with their closest friends and family.

So the challenge? The location was a church gym; A gym with a balcony that allowed some of the lighting to have a higher vantage point.

The easy part? I worked with Joette from Party People Celebration Company and Marilyn with Flowers by Marilyn. EASY WORK! These two ladies, coupled with Monica (my lead lighting designer) and Derek (senior tech) made the gym transformation super easy. I promise you won’t even recognize that it’s a gym!

Oh yeah, and there was a WICKED COOL balloon drop!!

So what did the lighting include?

• Well, we had 4 totems around the dance floor lit in a cool white (camera didn’t show it as cool) with a moving head on top of each one.
• Baby blue uplights adorned the entire room, even warming up the swag and drapes that Joette set up
• White trussing held scanners (which were used as spotlights), special requested effects lights, and dance floor floods. Trussing was lit up in wedding colors.
• The balcony held two leikos which projected a really nice pattern on the wall. The pattern rotated super slowly!
• The balcony also held floods which lit the entire area where the tables were placed. A couple of blacklights gave the white décor a very subtle pop. We didn’t want to saturate it.
• Blue and green stars grazed the area between the balloon drops.
• A blue liquid sky made a special appearance that transformed this beautiful wedding into a chic night club!

LOTS of beautiful pics and three videos… two timelapses and an event recap! What an AMAZING New Year’s Eve!!!!!!!

Oh yes, and a Snap Yourself Silly Photobooth added to the perfect ambiance!!!

First time lapse (from up high):

Second time lapse (floor level):

And the event itself!

Sometimes, simple looks better! Keith and Areej hosted their reception at the Winter Park Farmer’s Market (past Orlando). This is a former train station surrounded by brick, adorned sparingly but the charm is certainly visible.

They requested all white uplights and an all white light show, which blended perfetly with the venue.

Their family and guests were big partiers, dancing to everything from Top 40, club, oldies, and a large array of Arabic music, especially Dabke. Monica and I had a great time! Check out the pics and video below!

Package chosen:

Entertainment Coordinator
Uplighting
Dance Lighting
Under-Table Lighting

I gotta admit, this was a wicked cool wedding. Sean and Jennifer are an awesome couple who love to have fun and wanted to have a wedding celebration that reflects just that. With a very diverse playlist (Soulja Boy to Steve Earl), they were open to all ideas I had for them.

The Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club (Northside Lakeland) looked beautiful thanks to swags and drapes by Flowers by Marilyn. Our lighting décor also gave the perfect touch. Both Sean and Jennifer were awed by how beautiful the room looked!

Package chosen:
*Entertainment Coordinator
*Ceremony System
*Dance Under Stars
*Dance Lighting
*Full room uplighting
*Under-table lighting
*Pinspot Lighting (to highlight the cake cutting)

See the awesome pics and video below! Thanks to Tim Hicklin from Storybook Weddings for encouraging my wife to piggyback the camera behind his so we can take advantage of his camera light!

Parkway Middle is a longtime 4SO client, and every year is even more exciting! They host an end of the year dance for the 8th graders, and I swear it feels like a prom! The school goes out to decorate their cafeteria, students dress up in their best, and the energy is adrenaline-pumping!

This year, two students got on the mic to perform one of their favorite Pitbull songs. They were natural-born performers! Check out photos and video below!

Watch in HD!

Chrissy and Chas had some of the coolest wedding colors ever: Royal Blue and Silver. However, Sebring-based Kennilworth Lodge has a lot of brown colors in the room…. Thus they opted for our awesome blue uplighting to paint the walls as well as flood lighting to enhance the white linens and later create an inviting atmosphere on the dance floor. To complement everything, a classy monogram was projected in front of their head table.

The dance music was amazing, as I got to do a huge megamix of old-school bass music, including my favorite: 69 Boyz. The last song of the night was BEP’s “The Time (Dirty Bit)” and I got the opportunity to really mix with 4 decks as I dropped in several backbeats.. this is a must-listen!

Monica was also there handling our SnapYourselfSilly Photobooth while Jenny took some amazing photos!

Check out some of the photos and video I shot below!

Watch in HD!

Check out some great photos from the Electro-Lux Reception room for a homebuilder’s conference. No dancing, so no video to catch, this was a cocktail style event where everyone enjoyed good conversation. This was hosted at the Peabody Hotel– a fantastic location!!

I love doing military weddings.. and this one was no exception! Held at the Surf’s Edge Club at Mac Dill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, the weather couldn’t have been sweeter, the people couldn’t have been nicer, the Aramark-hosted food couldn’t have been better tasting, and the people couldn’t have been more fun!

The grand intro and first dance were a challenge as my sound system was behind  THICK curtain since a slideshow was to be played during dinner. However, it was no match for the BOSE sound system as the sound came through crystal clear!

Bonus: Once again, I got to work with Karen Lupica who helped make things flow extra smoothly. This wedding reception was nothing but pure party… I had such a blast!

=

Check out the photos and awesome video below!

Watch IN HD!

From Elegant to Latin-Flavor to Old School Freestyle to Rave to Crunk to CRAZY party.. in ONE NIGHT! WOW!

I must preface my overall gig log with the following statement: The Bella Collina in Clermont is HANDS-DOWN the most BEAUTIFUL place I’ve EVER been to. Designed with tribute to Tuscany and reminiscent of  many Italian heritages, this venue is a MUST-SEE!

Ron and Tharsis are an awesome couple, and I knew this right away after our sales consult. They knew exactly what they wanted and left me in control of the day to achieve their vision. The only thing I couldn’t stop was the rain, which didn’t allow for the BEAUTIFUL field to be used. It wasn’t a worry because the backup location, the lobby (with a beautiful fountain and scenic overlook), looked just as amazing.

The overall party was off the chain, that’s the only way I can describe it. We only had 45 minutes of dance time, but we crammed almost 2 hours worth of music in, thanks to some tight mixing, bumpers, and quick cuts. At the end, the family brought out a sound system, several instruments, and played Paranda music. The party did not end when the DJ left– that is a TRUE Latino family!

I had SUCH a great time and Ron and Tharsis treated Monica and I like family.. actually, their whole family did! Check out the AMAZING photos (second part also taken by wifey) and video below! Video shows lots of the mixing, of course!

Watch in HD!

Hmm, another wedding where the last name was Rodriguez, and they partied just as hard. Ironically enough, this was also at the Mystic Dunes where Juan and Kathy celebrated their Miami-style reception.

Danielle and Kelvin just wanted to party.. and party hard. With family and friends from Orlando all the way to Boston, the music list went all over the place. It was pretty cool going from Boston to the Romantics to Michael Jackson. Even Bon Jovi to Lil Jon… the sets were absolutely nuts! We had a special request for Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here and it packed the floor– good stuff!

A couple of vendor highlights…. I got to work with Orlando Harpist extraordinare Christine MacPhail. She’s amazing at her craft and seamlessly transitions from song to song and even takes requests! She’s like a DJ! Here’s a quick sample of my favorite song that she recorded:

I also worked with photographer Kim Chau who was very easy to work with! She did a great job!

No lighting at this wedding, but it didn’t matter, they came here to party regardless! Check out the photos and videos below!

Watch in HD!

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!)

And the video!

Watch in HD.

Ok, now I’ve been to Eaglebrooke MANY times, (How many? Click here for an idea!) but I have to say: this is the most beautiful set up I’ve seen at Eaglebrooke.

Then again, it should be. Natonia and Alfredo, with the help of Tarra Parnell, coordinator extraordinare, chose a dream team of Lakeland/Polk County vendors. Monica and I attended to music, lighting, and MCing. Jenny of KC Photography handled some exquisite shots. Tim and Patty Hicklin of Storybook Weddings took some cutting-edge video. Flowers by Marilyn did an amazing job with the linens and drapery and made Eaglebrooke look amazing. Beth and her staff did an amazing job, as always, offering top-notch service and food… and to top off an impeccable meal, a delicious cake was provided by Andrea of Sweetcakes!

The food… ohh man, you know I could go on for HOURS talking about how good it was. I’ll just say this: I had the salmon. The filet was easily a foot long, smothered in butter and light lemon juices, and fell apart the moment you looked at it hard enough. Delicious is an understatement here, folks!

Not only did it look beautiful, with our colorful uplighting and “Dance on the Clouds” feature, but it was a real fun party as you’ll see the video. (Lots of Latin music, too, helps being bilingual!) Three highlights are the soul train as the wedding party dance, Tarra’s son bustin’ out some MJ moves, and Natonia’s 90 year old grandfather moving it to some Earth, Wind, and Fire.

You just can’t rock any harder than that! Check out the photos and video below!

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Dance Floor Lighting
• Uplights
• D’Elegance Under the Stars, custom (Sans Stars)

And two quick videos.. the first one shows the First Dance, courtesy of Storybook Weddings!

The second video is the event log.. check it out!

Watch in HD, click here!

This was an early reception, spanning from 5 to 9… but after 9:00 rolled around, Charles and I were beyond tired! Why? This was a pure party crowd. Then again, I knew most of the guests from school or from the Lakeland Skate Center. Adam and Bethany were good friends, current clients (their wedding is in October 16, 2010), but Adam also works fun us… Sarah, Stephanie and Josh are all friends from back in the rink days; Sarah and Josh worked alongside me there.

I’m used to plenty of dancing during afternoon receptions; but this wedding transcended beyond that. Charles and I worked up quite a sweat watching this crowd. Even Michele and Rachel from R&M Photography were scrambling to get the action which spanned all over the Cleveland Heights Golf and Country club.

As usual, I enjoyed the food there followed by an amazing dessert by Its a Piece of Cake by Maggi. Delish! Thanks to Casey and Jeff for the extended invitation for the food!

So yes, check out the photos and AWESOME video below!! Please leave a comment– I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

And of course , the video! Click the link below it to watch it in HD!

WATCH IN HD

What an amazing couple… and they created the ultimate destination wedding! With her family hailing from the UK, his family from China, and guests from all over the world, Lindsay and Jayson were having a true United Nations wedding! That being said, lots of international music was requested. Black Eyed Peas, Amy Winehouse (yes, she has danceable tracks), David Guetta, Akon, Pnk, the Beatles, and many others were played/remixed live/thrown in as party breaks/etc!

No formalities except a cake cutting and first dance… this was 6 hours of pure party!

Sounds exhausting? Not really… thanks to the amazing Orlando Wedding Team, headlined by Allison, Francesca, and Laura. They were great to work with. As for food… the Lake Nona Country Club has to be the best in the area; Lobster Ravioli, cheese ravioli, sushi, and Asian-spiced prime rib filled me up and left me craving more by the day’s end.

JR Sterling and Perfect Sky Productions shot photos and video… and these guys are a blast to work with! I’ll be sure to post a link to their blogs!

So yes, check out the photos and HD video (thank you, iPhone 4) below.

And the video! To watch it in HD, click here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=412530994287&ref=mf

First, I would like to share a poem I wrote about Florida:

#*&^, It’s Hot.

I most certainly hope your life has changed upon reading my classical piece of Shakespearean rivalry!

In all seriousness, it was hot… but it didn’t stop Robbie and Shannon and their guests from dancing ALL NIGHT LONG. Shannon is Elizabeth Voss‘s sister and I still remember that wedding clear as day. Kelly and I were worried that it may appear to be the same show…. we had the same family and friends, so would music and style be the same? Nope!

After talking to Anne, the super-cool mother of the bride, we were assured that they would be polar-opposites… and yes they were. One had air conditioning, one was at the beach. Just kidding, of course; In all reality, the weather wasn’t that bad… the outdoor ceremony was breathtakingly beautiful and the reception site was beautifully done including the Chinese lanterns that lit up the room in a soft glow.

The mood was kept upbeat the entire night as we played slideshows and music videos during dinner…. ooh, and I forgot to mention that we played Soca during cocktail hour. You can’t beat that!

Just like Jeremy and Elizabeth’s wedding, everyone danced all night! We didn’t have a chance to shoot photos at this wedding, but Tina Sargeant, the photographer, will provide me with some to share– I can’t wait to see it!

Watch the video below and check out an amazing party– including a hot old school set featuring Snoop Dogg, DMX, and Biggie, some Jersey-style Fistpounding, and double-dutch jump rope… without the rope!

It was an amazing evening… I can’t wait for this family’s next big party! Tune in about a year from now to see it!

Pete and Erin did NOT travel all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio to Ruskin, Florida for a beachside ceremony to see rain stop it all. Nope. A little drizzle never hurt anyone– and in the sunny weather, the COLD rain felt great– guests loved the light sprinkle!

Fast forward to the reception… the food at the Little Harbor Resort was fantastic! A tender prime rib, amazing mini-crab cakes, coconut shrimp, and stir fry created a very eclectic menu that everyone, especially yours truly, enjoyed. The sunset was AMAZING. I hear many travel to this area just to see the sunset. I can see why!

As for dancing– they were NON-STOP! The requests were all over the charts so as a DJ, I enjoyed NOT sticking to sets. I was mixing from disco to country to rock to rap to dance mixes… it was crazy– even the bartenders were dancing behind the bar!

Check out the photos and video below!

Hardee High School is one of my fave schools because I truly feel welcomed there– the students and teachers always call requesting me by name. As a DJ, I love that feeling! (They email me every year asking what I would like for dinner… such a wonderful gesture!!)

Being a smaller school, their prom is not one of my usual 500-700+ crowds, but rather a modest 100-150; However, these 150 students came in with only one thing in mind: PARTYING. Just like every year, they create their own decorations and always surprise me with the amazing stuff they come up with. They’re a very creative bunch!

Check out their Video Explosion BLE (Black Light Edition) complete with Glow-in-the-Dark Bubbles and lasers. Photos were done by the amazing Alex Gilliard. Not only is he an outstanding photographer, but a close friend as well!

And as usual, Alex shot some bonus HD footage!

Oh man… this wedding was just crazy good!!!

Megan and Vince are such an outgoing couple! We shared quite a few laughs during our final consult. Megan told me her family loved to dance, and she wasn’t kidding: we had a 90 year old guest and her son who danced non-stop– including during the cocktail hour and dinner!!!

Vince is one of the most easygoing, fun grooms I’ve ever seen. He didn’t leave the floor the entire night. He introduced me to think group called Slightly Stoopid. It’s a former punk band now turned reggae group– and I loved everything I heard!

The Bok Tower was such an amazing place to work at! Rita treated me like family, even though this was our first time working together. The best part is I got to work with Terrie Lobb, who provided the most delicious food ever. She even had chocolate covered strawberries stuffed with cheese cake. It was TO DIE FOR!!!

Couple cool things… Megan decided to do the coolest photo shoot as she took over my role! Check it out!

Then we had a young man named Ashton who wanted to play Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.” I let him cue the song up and play it as he became DJ Ashton!

Check out the photos and video below! The first set of photos are mine, and the second set, marked with ©RM, were provided by  R&M Photography. They were the ones who referred Megan and Vincent to us. Thanks!

Package Chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• 4Bar Light Show
• Wireless Cocktail Hour System

Facebook seems haunted… here’s a YouTube video!

All day– as in 2 to 8PM!

Mark & I instantly got along as he’s a light tech as well. After our final consult, he asked to check out our warehouse and we geeked it up while Brenda shook her head.

The location was Bramble Ridge in Lakeland— a GREAT location for those looking for a pretty, budget-conscious building. The Karaoke and 4Bar Light Show were a hit… check out the photos and video below for more info!

One of the guests from last week, Bob, was a guest and he partied hard! BEP’s “I Gotta Feeling” got played a few times that night!

Charlie and Emily found us through a DJ friend in their home state, Kansas. When they called us, they said they wanted a fun, but elegant reception for an intimate group of 75 people. Ok– I’m game. Let’s go! Then they said that the location and dinner will be provided by Maggiano’s in Orlando.

Yeah. I’m ready. Let’s go!

They were very laid-back people with an awesome set of family and friends who were eager to make conversation with me until they arrived. I had a great time before and after they arrived!

Check out some photos and a quick video below– this is the last weekend you’ll see of my iPhone photos as my new camera arrives Monday! ALRIGHT!

Steve and Ashley threw an epic wedding— how epic? Well, the party didn’t stop even after they left!! I’ve been looking forward to this wedding since Kelly and I did the wedding for Steve’s brother, Russell, and his wife, Tiffany. I knew their family and friends were here to party and my prediction wasn’t off at all. Not only did they dance throughout the entire night… but even after Steve and Ashley left for their honeymoon in Maui, the party kept going for ANOTHER HOUR!!!!

For me, the most memorable part will be the energy the introduction contained. Wait till you hear how LOUD everyone got when Mr. and Mrs. Villarette made their first entrance!

Check out some great photos and video below. The last photo was taken by Heather Ahrens of HA! Photography.

The sound system… before cord cleanup, lol

Kyle, Ashley, Steve, myself!

And the video!!

Chris and Bridgette Waters were a lot of fun– it breaks down to being that simple. If you’re a baseball fan, you may recognize his name as he plays for the Orioles– but they were the most modest down-to-earth people you could meet. They just wanted to have a good time.

Now, I’ve been at the Peggy Brown Building in Lakeland HUNDREDS of times, even had my own wedding there, but the place has never looked as good as it did that night- thanks in part to Flowers by Marilyn. Marilyn and Bill did an amazing job with the  swags, linens, and head-table backdrop.

Michelle and Rachel with R&M Photography were not only incredibly fun to work with, but they also set up a backdrop in the foyer for guests to get family portraits taken and printed on the spot, compliments of Chris and Bridgette.

Check out some great iPhone photos and video below!

You can see our uplights highlighting the room, even in broad daylight!

Our simple “4Bar” light show flooded the Peggy Brown building and lit up the beautiful swag!

First dance. Check out the amazing monogram!

RIght in front is my brother-in-law, Nate, and his girlfriend Angela… turns out Nate went to school with Chris– small world!

Myself, Chris, and Bridgette!

And a video… I’m done with YouTube.. I’ll be using Facebook.

ARGH! I wish I had an assistant… just to film! I’m going to have to hit them up for a copy of their wedding video and I failed to capture the best parts from one of the most epic weddings of all time.

From my end of things, I got to try some new MC styles that involved a lot of audience-wide interaction off the mic.. of course, this would never work with 200+ person weddings, but I digress…

Patrick, Stephanie and I have been planning this party for MONTHS (just ask them, haha!) and it all paid off with a beautiful ceremony, a fun cocktail hour, the most amazing food I’ve had at a wedding (nothing beats home-cooked meals) and a packed dance floor all night.

Oh yes, and a three year old assistant! Caitlyn, the flowergirl, asked if she could help with the introductions…. it was cute and I couldn’t say no… (She’s the most adorable lil’ thing you’d ever seen). I let her start off the first dance and she felt like one-of-a-kind! She asked if she could be my helper and I realized I made a new friend.

She actually helped me dismiss tables, mingle with guests to get requests, and play music. The last part ABSOLUTELY amazes me… my set up was 200 feet away from the dance floor… not a problem if I have an assistant, but I didn’t have one of my guys with me… and my iPhone’s remote control program decided not to work today! However, Caitlyn was really enjoying her position as the head DJ for the night (I was assisting her mind you, lol) and she played all the music ON cue for each part of a VERY elaborate bouquet and garter toss (over 10 songs).. she hit every song in and out ON CUE.

Let me say this one more time… she hit the songs RIGHT ON CUE. SHE’S THREE YEARS OLD!!! Needless to say, it was the most amazing moment I’ve had as a DJ. Her parents are now on my Facebook, lol!

Such a great set of family and friends really made this wedding amazing… at the end, I enjoyed a conversation with her brother, Brian(who’s getting married– congrats), father-of-the-bride Tony, Patrick and Stephanie, and a couple other guests.

This wedding sparked something within me though… my love and passion for the wedding industry has grown anew…. stay tuned for some new ideas I’ll be implementing real soon!!

Check out photos and video below! The video does this amazing wedding no justice.. I’ll have to track more footage down!

Ceremony area.. it was later converted to the reception site in less than 20 minutes!

My setup.

Thank God I had the 4Bar lighting rig from the previous night’s gig… I needed it so I could see!

Caitlyn, getting her “wiki-wiki-phresh” on! She learned how a crossfader works and even did a simple beatmatch of two house songs…SHE’S THREE YEARS OLD!!!

We all hung out and had a good conversation during dinner and at the end of night…. Tony, Michael, Stephanie, Patrick, myself, Chris and Brian!

And now the video!

This is perhaps one of the most outrageous weddings that I’ve done. Not only did I keep the dance floor packed.. I created a second one, as well!

With the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne as their location, Claudia and Billy wanted a very special evening. Thank God the Florida humidity died down for this one, otherwise we’d have different results. What started out as a quiet evening inside the house ended up as a crazy party with two dance floors. The second floor formed BEHIND the speakers, where no one could tell any different in the sound, thanks to BOSE’s amazing acoustics.

With only 3 Indian guests there, we expected minimal requests for Hindi music (we talked about this with Claudia and Billy and they even requested some Bhangra). However after playing Punjabi MC and watching the floor go WILD we dropped a couple other Bhangra artists including Jazzy B and the crowd became even more intense. Mixing it into some Bollywood, starting with Jai Ho REMIX really sent them over the edge.

Of course, being Dominican, Claudia wanted lots of Salsa and Merengue. Billy wanted to make sure no “wedding music” was played and that this was a chic, styling, and modern wedding. Sandra Johnson (http://www.sjfoto.com) and her team did an amazing job and I can’t wait to see their amazing photography work!!

Check out the video and photos.. I think we achieved that goal!

I’ll brag here and say they were SO happy they wrote on our WeddingWire right after the wedding. With a 5/5 rating, they wrote:

Absolutely fabulous! My fiance and I were wary of hiring a DJ because of some bad experiences that some of our friends had during their own weddings where the DJs didn’t listen to what they wanted and just did whatever they (the DJs) wanted. I contacted several DJs early on in my wedding planning and the attitude of quite a few of them was “I’m the DJ and you’re not, I know what the guests like and you don’t.” Well it wasn’t the DJ’s wedding it was ours, and we knew what we wanted!! When I corresponded with Kelly Suit, it was a totally different experience. I could tell he was actually LISTENING to us and that his DJs would be willing to work with us to give us the wedding we wanted. The DJ for our event was Arnoldo Offermann and I can’t praise him highly enough. Our DJ and music have been the two things that we have gotten the most compliments on post-wedding. He had ALL our guests, young and old, dancing the ENTIRE night!!! It was awesome! We gave him a list of “must-play” songs and he totally had it up as he was working and played ALL of them. We had a fairly international crowd, and he played a great mix of Latin, Hip-Hop, Pop, Indian/Turkish, etc. He consulted us every step of the way, and if a guest requested a song that wasn’t exactly the type of music we wanted, he would ask us before playing it. There was a very obscure song that my mother-in-law requested from an old musical, and I found out after the wedding that Arnoldo had gone from CD store to CD store trying to get a copy of that song because it wasn’t available online. We only gave him this request literally the afternoon before the wedding and the song was played exactly as my MIL wanted it! Anyway, all these 5 star reviews didn’t come out of no where, they really are awesome!!!

Click below for some great photos and video!!!

Amazing how well the BOSE system hides in this beautiful setting!!!

Billy, Claudia, myself and Kyle.

Check out the video below:

Right now Hector and Liset are reading this and smiling ear to ear. You know how I know that? They’ve been reading every single one of A Premier Entertainment’s blogs (Mine and Kelly’s and so forth) and took notes on what they wanted for their own wedding. We’ve become good friends through Facebook and I knew that this would be a wild party by the time they walked in through the door for our final planning meeting!

Located at the Lion’s Eye Center in Ybor, the ceremony was elegant, but totally their style and paved the way for an amazing night to come!

Highlights:

• MARACAS!! (Watch the video)
• I had a heckler… but we got him right back! He was the life of the party.. I think he and Hector are troublemakers, lol.
• Awesome recessional to the wedding. The Lil Jon remix of Suavemente.
• A Puerto Rican and Cuban family mesh— how much crazier can it get?
• Delicious dinner thanks to Michael and his team with Affordable Catering
• A delightful candy bar station compliments of Chanda Janine Ford with Classique Soiree Weddings and Events. (Liset and Hector also won this at a bridal show– LUCKY!!!)

Package Chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator (Liset won a free DJ package through the PWG bridal show!)
• D’Elegance Lighting: Floods and animated centerpiece
• Ceremony System

As the evening progressed, the party only got wilder…. and then the maracas came out! Matt and I had a blast.. and Matt even got out there and danced with the crowd. Check out the amazing photos and video clip below!

The ever-elegant BOSE system with a custom lighting rig on top. My skirt had gone missing… luckily Kelly was at an event half a mile away and had a spare. Do you know how hard it is to make a table skirt for an 8′ table fit a 3′ and still look elegant?

The centerpiece light was run wirelessly from a corner of the room where it’s out of everyone’s sight.

Centerpieces…

Another angle of my system.

Classique Soiree set up an awesome candy bar!

The party begins!

Liset and her son, DJ. He went to JHS’s homecoming dance we performed at!

ARGH!!! I FORGOT TO GET A PHOTO OF ALL 4 OF US.

Check out the video below!!!

Sing Along, you ask? Watch the video and you’ll see what I am talking about!

Alan & Sheri George are an amazing couple– the only thing that could’ve topped this wedding was… well… um… I don’t know! As Pete and I were watching everyone have the time of their lives, singing along to every song I played, we both asked the same question: Where do I begin on this blog?? So much coolness happened, so I’ll describe everything one piece at a time.

Location: Eaglebrooke Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, Florida.
Food: DELICIOUS!!!!!
Cake Decorator: Piece of Cake by Maggie– it, too, was delicious!
Flowers: Not sure, but he did a GREAT JOB!!!
Photographer: Jenny from KC Photography. Who else?

Sheri and her family: She’s from New Jersey – they wanted 80s, freestyle, 90s, and top 40.. oh yes.. and TECHNO!!!!
Alan and his family: They’re from Texas– lots of country, rock, and 70s-80s.
Both of them: a non-stop party. At no point did the floor clear. It was crazy how they sang along to everytune!!!!!

Dinner:  I can still taste the mashed potatoes..mmmmMMMMmm. The Centerpiece Giveaway Game and the Alan & Sheri Jeopardy game were a hit!!!
Game Show: It went great! Categories where: Dating Life, Curious Georges, Alan Wrenches, My Sheri Amour, Wild Card

Dancing: A HUGE PARTY!!!! WOW! This video goes by quick because there’s only 15 second long clips… every song seemed to get them pumped up!!! They crowded around the TVs and danced while watching the music videos!

In summary: IT ROCKED!!!! You must watch the video!

Package Chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• D’Elegance Lights (Monogram,  Uplights [pink, yellow, and orange], dance floor lighting)
• D’Elegance Video with Music Videos, Slideshows, and the Game Show System

Check out the photos and video! Note: Photos were taken by KC Photography. However, they didn’t edit these… I played around in LightRoom until I get the final product from Jenny!

The setup…. Pete is getting some last minute details ready!

Bryant says the prayer. You can see the screen behind him with a custom graphic!

The game show is about to begin… the buzzers light up!

The game show begins! Guests laugh at the custom questions full of inside jokes!

The categories made everyone laugh!

“What’s that answer again…?”

“Oh… THAT’s the answer?”

Alan preps for a high energy garter toss!

Wait– isn’t it cheating if the Replacements are engaged???

Guests all focus on the excitement in the middle of the floor.. except for the guy in the red shirt, lol!

And now dancing!!!

The monogram! Sheri describes it as this: “We like it a lot! We decided it doesn’t stand for ‘Alan’ ‘George’ ‘Sheri’… it stands for Arnoldo’s Got Skills! Thanks again.”

Taken with my camera…

Pete, Alan, Sheri and myself.

And finally… a YouTube video!

Sharon & Jaryd’s wedding reception was totally unpredictable! When I met with them for their final consultation before the big day, I knew we were going to have a lot of fun– but they weren’t quite sure how many dancers would come out. Well it seems almost everyone did! After an awesome introduction (they chose the Halo 3 theme song) and the “Sharon & Jaryd Jeopardy” game show during dinner, everyone knew that Mr. and Mrs. Billups just wanted to have a great time!

The reception was at none other than the Peggy Brown Building, which is now SLAMMED with weddings since neighboring Magnolia Building is closed down for renovations. Diane’s Catering Company (DianesCatering.com) did an amazing job with the food. Sharon and Jaryd were very nice and invited me & Kyle to enjoy a good meal.

I also had the privilege of previewing some of their wedding photos, courtesy of Grant Thompson Photography (GrantThompsonPhotography.com), and I was impressed. They looked BEAUTIFUL. Sharon & Jaryd will surely love them!

One of the cool highlighs of the evening was the candy bar, which Sharon designed herself. She’s got more willpower than I do, because I would’ve eaten all of it! LOL!

Click the link below for photos and video!!

Highlights:

• Halo 3 Theme song for introduction
• Jeopardy style game show during dinner– complete with buzzers.
• One of the most energetic trains– during Love Shack!
• Fun Christian music played during dinner!
• Custom slideshows were played during the first, father/bride, and groom/mother dances!

Package chosen:

• Entertainment
• D’Elegance Video
• Game Show System
• Uplighting (No gels chosen, just white)

Pics & a YouTube video below!!

My system featuring the one-of-a-kind BOSE sound!

Uplighting highlights the building!

Little Chocolate Critters.. yum!

The infamous ice swan!

First Dance.

Kyle, Jaryd, Sharon, and myself!

Now the video!

Immediately following Collin & Jerrika’s amazing reception from the day before, Nick & Tammy’s wedding was not only just as fun, but officially marked the end of my “BEST WEDDINGS EVER” month!

First off, Tammy gave me a list of her favorite artists and songs, covering the greats such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, and even Ella Fitzgerald. This made an incredible cocktail hour list that defined her vision for her wedding: elegance, class, style, but fun.

As she danced with her father and Nick danced with his mom, they created special slideshows for them to be shown on our large LCDs hung elegantly with white trussing. I have to mention that to my knowledge we’re the only DJs in this area that offer REAL white trussing…Much more elegant than a large aluminum structure hanging in the middle of your reception room!

Mr. and Mrs. Edds created slideshows for their first dance as well as a few special surprises.

Monica and I had a special treat working with a wedding coordinator team who recently took on a new team member… Jessica Santiago is not only a family member on our church, but I also did her wedding (as well as Erica and Matt, who are related to her).

For the dance, 80s music really hit the sweet spot, as well as a large Michael Jackson Megamix. (RIP to the KING OF POP!)

And I must say…. the Lakeland Yatch Club is not only a beautiful room with an amazing staff (Thanks, Bill!) but their food is top notch. I enjoyed my Chicken Cordon Bleu (thanks for inviting us, Tammy & Nick!).

Andrea, president of Sweetcakes, managed to amaze us once again! You may recall from Jonah and Haley Brock’s wedding reception that she made a groom’s cake shaped like a deer’s head. This cake was incredibly realistic. This time, the groom’s cake was a dinosaur… you MUST see this. Andrea is truly the queen of cake design!

One last thing: a big thanks to Nick, who serves in the Air Force, for serving our country and keeping our freedoms… well, free. Your efforts always go appreciated and we keep you and your fellow men & women in our prayers!

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Dual LCD package with multiple slide shows

Now, mosey yourself to the link below to see photos and video. Photos are provided by Jenny from KC Photography!

As Nick & Tammy’s friends and family came in, this is was their welcome screen.

My wife setting up the last minute details. Notice the elegant white trussing.

Doin’ the intros.

Nick pulling his wife in for a kiss. The whip was a fun prop they used to tie in his favorite movie: Indiana Jones!

Andrea (Sweetcakes) made the coolest cake– ever!!!

IT’S EVEN GOT LIL’ CLAWS!!!

Dancing!

Myself, Monica, Tammy, Nick!

And a video!

A big congrats go out to Collin and Jerrika Aiken!

They wanted to have a PARTY from the beginning the reception started and party they did! The ceremony was moved indoors due to the rain, but that didn’t slow anyone down. Pete (my assistant) and I rearranged certain parts of the room to prep it for the ceremony.

Everything looked beautiful and the rain was just a sign of God’s promise to a new beginning in their lives.

The reception was great, featuring their first dance on clouds using our one of a kind system.

The dance crowd was small, but they danced large! Pete and I had a blast!

Package Chosen:

• Premier (Upgraded to Entertainment Coordinator compliments of APE)
• Custom D’Elegance Lighting Package with Uplights
• Lighted Columns
• Dance on the Clouds

Check out some amazing photos by KC Photography and a video below!

Pete and I by our setup as we clean up our area.

The setup for the head table/ceremony altar!

First dance on clouds… Mr. and Mrs. Aiken look in awe at the stars on the ceiling!

Dancing begins!

Pete, Collin, Jerrika, and myself.

And now a video!

Lots of videos and lots of photos on this blog post!!!!

Albert & Jenni remind me a lot of my wife and myself. Albert and I are both Hispanic, love music, but aren’t dancers. Jenni and Monica both love country music, are very outgoing… and all 4 of us love the Lord. We were going to work well together!!!

Albert lied to me though: for someone who said he doesn’t dance, Albert was on the floor the ENTIRE time! This was one heck of a party!

Their wedding reception was one of the most unique things I’ve witnessed. Here’s some highlights:

• Reception held at Windy Hill Ranch in a quaint little barn (quaint meaning HUGE, haha) with AIR CONDITIONING!
• The most unique first dance ever. They created their own choreography. IMPRESSIVE!
• No wedding cake– Blue Bunny Ice Cream instead– DELICIOUS!!!
• Father Daughter Dance was Disney’s “Under the Sea.”
• Very Unique garter removal, thanks goes to DJ Rob from Indiana for his help!!
• Bridal Party dance was the Chicken Dance, the ultimate cheese was made FUN again!!!

Monica and I had a blast watching everyone dance to anything that was thrown in the music. I got to play some songs I’ve never played at a wedding before… you’ll have to check out the video!! There’s a few photos and 4 short videos, because I had to separate all the awesome clips– definetly worth watching!!!!!

This continues my “Best Wedding Receptions Ever!” month and I can’t wait for the next two.

Package chosen: Entertainment Coordinator

Click below for photos and videos!!!

The Windy Hill Ranch in Apopka was decorated in celebration of Albert & Jenni.

My setup. The big white holes on the bottom left are the AC intakes.

My setup with the super-cool new 19″ widescreen monitor.

First dance!

Best wishes were written on a “clothesline” as well as a quilt– VERY unique!

Monica, myself, Albert & Jenni!

Now 4 videos!

The first video is the longest. It features a custom introduction and the first dance. Must watch!

The second video the father/daughter dance introduction as well as the opening of the dance floor!

The 3rd video is the bouquet and garter toss.

4th Video is the finale!

June kicks off the “BEST WEDDINGS EVER!” month!

Almost three years ago I did a wedding for Mr. and Mrs. Acevedo. This promptly led to creating an amazing reception for two more family members: Mr. and Mrs. Santiago. We got along so well that they invited me to their church, New Hope, in Winter Haven, FL. This has been the best decision in my life– I’ve finally found a church I can call home.

Fast forward to yesterday, Matt and Erica came to my office needing the wedding of the century. Knowing their family and friends, very little effort would be needed to accomplish this– and boy was I right. This was a party from the very beginning on out!

The photographer, Danny Cruz (with his son, Brandon) and Tim & Patti (with Storybook Weddings Videography) did an amazing job capturing all the special events. We felt very welcome not only as vendors but as guests by everyone there.

The ceremony was at Victory Church in Lakeland, FL and the reception was at the Lone Palm in Kathleen.

Highlights:

• Harry & Shannon Acevedo’s son, Davin, is 2 years old— he wasn’t even born when I met these two– how time flies!
• Very energetic introduction with a remix of Beegees with Lil Jon, Boom Boom Pow, and Right Round!
• MERENGUE!! NEED I SAY MORE?
• Lots of interaction without bordering on cheesy!
• My wife was there– despite her injured knee, she couldn’t lift anything up, but she handled the music very well! (I love working with her.)

Package Chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Extra Extra Extra Bass
• Uplights in Pink
• Extra Hour

It truly was a party– check out the many iPhone photos and videos, soon! As soon as I get footage from Tim, I’ll make sure to share it!

My setup… the pink uplights look orange thanks to the iPhone’s cam.

Cocktail hour arrangement… pretty hearty! Ha ha– get it? GET IT?

180+ people!

Preppin’ before guests arrive.

Uplights behind the candy buffet.

A beautiful cake by Karen (from Lakeland).. the tiers were THICK!

Everyone went for the Dove Chocolates!

The limo arrives. As you can imagine, the curb was NOT made for a limo that long to pull up. My eyes tell me this is a Lincoln conversion, judging by the chassis. Either way– it’s absolutely beautiful.

Dancing begins!

Tim, the videographer, getting his roll on!

Erica dancing with Anthony (the ringbearer).

As you can (slightly) tell, the uplights threw a hue of pink around the room!

Tim watching me DJ.

Monica, myself, Erica, and Matt.

And a YouTube video!

Erica & Matt– I wish you both the best! See you in church.. we love you guys!

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!!!

Check out the beautiful room without uplighting…

…. Now we plug in the switch and …

…to quote the Kool-Aid man, “OH YEAH!”

Elizabeth and Jeremy’s 1st Dance

James is delivering a well-written toast.

Showing off our LED uplighitng, it looks even better in the video!

Ann deserves the award for one of the coolest parents in a wedding!!

Can you believe this is a TENT?!?!

The happy, (and worn out), couple!! Congrats guys!!

And now, a YouTube video!

Josh & Jennifer O’Neal had a secret they didn’t tell me: they were BIG partiers! She told me she liked to dance, but she didn’t tell me that she & Josh could kickstart a reception!

The wedding started at the Hollis Gardens in Lakeland, FL. The ceremony was highlighted by two gentleman singing. Nathan sang Kenny Chesney’s Me & You while uncle Roy sang “I Do (Cherish You).” Wow.. they’ve got a set of pipes on them!

As for the reception, the catering was amazing!! Chef Terrie Lobb (who makes exquisite edible treats) reminded me why I love this job.

Fast forward to the reception: the sound was amazing. The Sorosis Building (also known as the Junior League Center) has nothing but wood paneling on the walls. Can you imagine what that does to the already-rich sound of my BOSE system? Oh yes, sound was at a perfection. The acoustic panels guaranteed NO echo or harmful reverb.

You have to check out the video located in the break below. Jenny, with KC Enterprises Photography, did a great job with the photos as always!

Highlights of the day:

• Great singing during ceremony
• The grandfather being the life of the party
• Everyone dancing to Soul Man
• The ending song

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Ceremony System
• Monogram

So check out the photos and videos at the link below! Leave a comment if you enjoy what you saw, please!

Ceremony was beautiful!

The amazing BOSE sound system provided enough sound without pulling away from the beauty that is the Hollis Gardens.

Grand Entrance– very unique!

Terrie Lobb’s amazing display. The palm tree is made from shrimp! MMmmm….

Each table was elegantly laid out….

Our system was cleverly hidden using plants that Jen & Josh provided. The sound was NOT affected!

The monogram!

Wiki-wiki-ing!

Dancing would not stop!!

Derek, my assistant, always does a great job coordinating and keeping an eye on the technical things while I focus on the music.

This, too, can be your DJ! lol

Don’t get me wrong– it’s never “all about the DJ” but who doesn’t like photos of cool equipment?

An overall view of the room before the party started.

This gentleman here was the life of the party! I hope I can be that full of energy when I’m his age. He really made the night!!

He did a great job doing the worm!

Josh shares some special father/son time. His son was adorable and was fascinated by the DJ equipment. I gave him one of my LED lights that we use as flashlights.

More dancing!

A great bouquet catch!

And now.. the replacement.

Bob, the videographer, was invited to enjoy some of the most delicious groom’s cake we’ve tasted!

Yes.. we were rockin’ out hard!

Monogram up close.

Myself, Jennifer, Josh, and Derek (his DJ name is now DJ Dent… long story, haha).
Check out the video below!!!

Have I told you guys how much I love Lake Ashton? Well in case I haven’t– you’ll hear all about it again!

Kristen came to us wanting an elegant lighting package; she was very worried that the lights would make her reception look like a nightclub. After she saw the D’elegance lighting setup, she knew that would never be the problem. The lights were set up so discreetly, you could barely see them until they were turned on!

They chose their uplights to be solid white, to keep the contrast at a minimum and have the centerpieces pop out a little bit more.

To make a long story short, this crowd knew how to party… they danced the entire time.. even as they were walking out for the grand exit!

As usual, were did the ceremony as well for Lake Ashton. Aside from the music, we coordinated the entire thing, so Kristen and Bobby were able to enjoy their own special day.

You have to click below to check out some awesome photos from the wedding, provided by the best photographer known to weddings: KC Enterprises. I’ll post their blog up, soon!

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Ceremony System
• Static Uplights: White
• D’Elegance Lights: Custom

The ballroom, notice how you can barely see the speakers and the light show on either side of the stage.

The lights in action!

Cupid Shuffle!

My wife, Monica, and the photographer, Jenny, from KC Enterprises photography!

And alas, an AWESOME video!

I absolutely love Lake Ashton… the food and service are stellar. It’s even better when you have AMAZING weather and the bride and groom are the best people to work with. Yup… this wedding went VERY well.

Christine and Blake wanted to have a good time… whether people danced or not wasn’t their main concern as much as it was making sure that everyone left with a smile on their face.

My wife and I enjoyed setting up, there was a member of Lake Ashton practicing for the talent show… he blessed us with his talents on the piano playing songs from Van Halen’s “Jump” to Queen to Disney… for the first time ever, I asked for a request!

The emotion flowed through Lake Ashton during the ceremony, Christine and her father, Davis, were so excited that they shared tears of joy before David escorted his little girl down the aisle.

The reception was  a blast! The photographer, Sofia (http://www.PhotographyBySofia.com), was a lot of fun to work with and I hope to be sharing some of her photos here soon! Christine and Blake worked really hard to plan their special day to make sure their guests felt special, too… and I think they achieved that goal!

The uplighting was awesome… we designed it to change colors throughout the evening…. during dinner, they alternated between their wedding colors.
Check out some great iPhone photos as well as a cool YouTube video. The lighting setup was elegant (no trussing, no ugly tripods, but it flooded the room with color… even the uplighting changed color according to mood!)…. YouTube doesn’t do a great job of keeping the video as bright as it was originally, so click the HQ to see a better quality video.

Package chosen:

Entertainment Coordinator

Colorchanging Uplighting

Light Columns

Dance Under the Stars

D’Elegance Lighting

Ceremony System/Coordination

Kyle MCed this wedding and I let loose DJing tonight! WOW am I still pumped up! The energy was through the room from the moment we walked in those doors. It was a beautiful sunny, yet breezy day at the Hollis Gardens and Magnolia building.

I really wish we shot more video because the crowd really turned this wedding into a night club… well, nightclubs WISH they could turn into this wedding. Mixing the hottest music remixed to house/break beats, the floor wouldn’t stop moving.

I want to focus on this picture for a minute:

What do you notice? Look how elegant the DJ setup is. Megan and Jesse wanted the head table in front of the stage with us behind them… they were confident that our setup would be clean and discreet so their photos would not be ruined. The small-footprint lightshow is part of our new D’Elegance series and has JUST AS BIG AN IMPACT as our normal light shows. Look how elegant it sits on top of the 4″ thick BOSE speakers.

The uplighting changed colors throughout the evening and was synchronized to the music and mood.

Package Chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• D’Elegance Lighting (Dance Floor Lights, Monogram, Static Uplights)
• Upgraded static uplights to color-changing, wireless uplights
• Reception Under the Stars
• Ceremon