I adore penguins.

No other way to say it. I think these lil’ guys are the coolest creatures ever. I’ve no idea why…. but I want a penguin bad enough that I’d sell a lung to get one. Even though we were still wrapping up homecoming season, when Edward and Stephanie said “oh yeah, there’s going to be penguins at our event,” I just had to be there.

Glad I did, too, because these two (the couple, not the penguins) were the coolest, most chill people ever. They just wanted a stress-free wedding where they could enjoy the company of their loved ones, have a good meal while enjoying some awesome 90′s alternative, and dance to an eclectic mix of music.

All this while enjoying the enchanting sights the Florida Aquarium has to offer. I’m not going to lie, load in SUCKED as I had to walk a long way, but the amazing staff did everything they could to make this as super comfortable as they could. This was my first time there, and they treated me like family.

Edward and Stephanie also treated me like one of their guests and let Carlos and I have just as much as fun as they did.

Truly, it’s an experience I won’t forget. I always tell each one of my couples to find an element that turns your wedding day into an EXPERIENCE…. and that night was a huge #WINNING in my book!

Pics and video below!

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!

Watch in HD!!!

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!!!

James & Joie Campbell had a ROCKIN’ wedding reception– need I say more?

When Joie’s mom, Marti Peavey (not related to the speaker family, hahaha), told me about James and Joie, I was really excited. This was not going to be an average wedding. They wanted to keep things simple, fun, and active. Joie gave me an eclectic, but unique, playlist with awesome artists such as Bob Marley, Sublime, Johnny Cash, Drake, Biz Markie, Easy-E, and A Perfect Circle— NICE!

Then she added Hendrix, Joplin, Zeppelin, and AC/DC– double nice!

Plus, they gave me cheese cake– ROCKIN’ NICE!

Kyle and I had a blast– check out some info below and then click below to see photos and a cool YouTube video!!

Highlights:

• Her maiden name is Peavey– how cool is that? lol
• Centerpieces were soup cans that had custom Campbell’s labels… check out the photos to see more! (Their last name is Campbell)
• First Dance: Bob Marley’s Is This Love
• Father Daughter Dance: Jimmy Hendrix – Angel (Acoustic, home recorded version) — YOU READ THAT RIGHT!
• We switched the girl who caught the bouquet with her brother while the James blindfolded the garter catcher.
• No lunch or dinner, instead there was a huge dessert buffet –mmm, mmm good! (No pun intended)
• Chalk on each table allowed guests to write messages to the newlyweds on the black paper drapes on each table. I really liked this idea!

Package Chosen: Entertainment Coordinator

Photos and video below!

Room layout at the Women’s Clubhouse in Zephyrhills

The chalk allowed guests to draw and sign the table drapes. This was a cool idea!

How cool is this???

First Dance!

Dancing begins!

Kyle, Joie, James, and myself!

YouTube video below!

Thanks again, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell– enjoy your honeymoon!

Wow— what an amazing reception– I’m still pumped up!

I’ll be honest, the day started in my least favorite form: a 115º heat index. Really, Florida… REALLY??? Kelly and I set up our awesome BOSE sound system along with our D’Elegance lighting and Starfield at the Bilmar Beach Resort in Treasure Island, Florida. While setting up, Kelly and I had a debate on whether Treasure Island is an actual city or a suburb of St. Pete… hmmm…

As we wired our setup to their TV system for the slideshows and music videos, the weather cooled down just in time for the ceremony… beautifully laid out by the beach.

While Kelly supervised the ceremony, I created an image in Photoshop to be shown on the screens as they walked in. It was their monogram laid out as “clouds” on the beach sky. A couple of guests were so impressed they even asked “when did the skywriter come in?”

Along starts the reception and the venue laid out sushi. Truth be told, it was the most delicious sushi I’ve ever had.  Kelly did the MCing and I did the DJing and lights… we’re a good team, this was a DOUBLE Entertainment Coordinator, lol.

The dancing started out like any typical Arnoldo/Kelly wedding (which is usually amazing).. but progressed into something even more….well… amazinger! We got requests for lots of gangsta rap (Snoop Dogg, Dre, 2Pac’s California Love), Old School (This is How We Do It, Jump Jump, Bust a Move), 80s Pop (I Wear my Sunglasss at Night, Walk the Dinosaur) and my personal favorite: FREESTYLE! I felt like I was working at the skating rink again (our good friend Tony would have a chuckle as he always made a joke about us being nothing but skating rink DJs, hahahaha).

You have to watch the video and look at the awesome photos that Kelly took. I must say, I am impressed.

Package chosen:

• Entertainment Coordinator
• Outdoor Ceremony
• D’Elegance Package
• Dance under the Stars
• Video Slideshows
• Music Videos
• Custom Ambients

I have to go now… but click the link below to look at even more photos! Ciao!

The setup:

The ceremony…

The most delicious prime rib in St. Pete!

Outside the hotel:

Dancing!

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

If God ever chose a personal chef for Heaven, the Hilton Resort in Lakeland, FL would be a strong contender. The food was amazing…. and even better than the food was the service… and even better than the service was Jason and Pamela Todd. First off, anybody that has fun to Lil Wayne’s Got Money remixed live to the NFL intro song shows the sign of a really fun couple. The moment we opened the dance floor up, Jason was out there having a blast and his wife soon joined. Keeping the floor packed was NO problem at all.

I love couples like these: fun, easygoing, and the kind that just want to enjoy their reception. (If that sounds like you, call me at 863.324.7333 so we can discuss YOUR party).

I did not MC this party though. Kyle Davis (www.DJKyleDavis.com <– his blog) did the MCing and half of the DJing. I tagged along and naturally brought my system. Jason nor Pam complained about the free upgrade to the BOSE system. (In the photos, you can barely see the monogram projector elegantly rigged on top).

We left from that wedding pumped up– so many weddings in 2008 were a blast, and I am so glad to see 2009 will continue that trend.

Check out the video by clicking below. No pics? OH NO! My iPhone ran out of battery.

Field trip for all of us! Kelly (MC) and myself (DJ) drove to the Leu Gardens with KC Enterprises Photography. Kevin and Jessica Hallmark were a unique couple who knew exactly what they wanted…. they were so busy they couldn’t give us a playlist of their favorite songs. It’s no big deal because we knew how to read the crowd… Kevin complimented us right away on the fact that we played all his favorite songs and not once did he have to request any one!

Karaoke was a big plus here as several of them sang unique songs: Manson, Bjork, Gin n Juice… you name it!

They also started the dance floor with the Time Warp and we did amount of swing music. I loved it! I’ve attached some photos below. I will post KC Enterprises’ blog later so you can check it out as well!

Oops, forgot to mention: the Leu gardens have little signs that identify each flower. Kelly took a photo of a sign and I Photoshopped it on the spot with Kevin & Jessica’s names. As guests walked in to see photos from the ceremony appear instantly on the big screen during the reception, they were surprised with the following graphic in between slide shows!

Package Chosen:

* Entertainment Coordinator
* Slideshow
* Live photo feed
* Music videos

Need a DJ? Want to contact me? Click here

What can I say about this wedding? I was BORN to do these… Stephen is from Puerto Rico and Monique is from Jamaica.

How many guests? 250+!

The wedding started amazingly, with guests dancing during the intro! Everythin was perfect– we went overtime, of course. I got to play some amazing reggae, soca, and calypso hits that I haven’t played in a while, as well as classic goodies and the best merengue and salsa you can imagine!

Some great hits of the night:

Tiney Winey, Dollar Wine, Follow Da Leader, Signal Di Plane, Baile del Beeper, Mississippi Slide, Double Dutch Bus, Fresh (Kool and the Gang), Parliament’s Flashlight.

Some cool things they had: Rum Cake, a Coffee “bar”, and Marble Slab ice cream “buffet”

Unfortunately their cake never showed up, however Publix Supermarket created a beautiful cake last minute!

This was at the Polo Grill in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. I bought a basic lighting backage, uplights, and monogram. The pictures and video do no justice on how big (and bright) the monogram was.

Click the break below to see photos and video!!!

Room with uplighting around.. again, the pics do no justice.

****************************

Setup

*****************************

*****************************

Marble Slab ice cream buffet.

******************************

THE PARTY!!

********************************

Monica (my wife and coordinator), Monique (Bride), Stephen (Groom), and myself.

********************************

Vlog!

Need a DJ? Want to contact me? Click here

I did a bubble party.. and it was my first video log, but there were too many kids and I didn’t want to post pics or video up.

I also did a corporate event Friday, but I need to remove photos with the kids.. again, safety reasons.

Friday was a fun wedding. It was a destination wedding. Wei, the groom, is Chinese and Eileen, the bride, is from the Philippines.

This was the first wedding where I did very little coordination, everything was handled through a coordinator who handled everything (and did a great job at it).

Lots of changes were made during the wedding itself, but it went along great! The floor stayed packed the entire time– I love weddings like these!

Click the break below to see photos and video!!!

The room and decorations. This was at the beautiful Wyndham Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Dancing

Hmm.. I took a few photos of my system, not sure what happened… I’ll look.

Chevy, myself, Eileen, and Wei.

I do have to mention a slideshow was done. It was created by Eileen, who is in the graphic arts, and I have to say it was the most beautiful slideshow I’ve seen. Seriously, I doubt I’ll ever see any slideshow that will impress me this much….

And alas, my video-blog!

Need a DJ? Want to contact me? Click here

After a busy Friday full of events I got to enjoy a great wedding Saturday!

Saturday I had a Hispanic/American wedding at the Cleveland Heights Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, Florida. Naturally, a bi-lingual DJ was requested. The groom, Javier, is Puerto Rican. Aaron (the bride) picked a great set of songs… we played everything latin, but we ended the night with some great old school rap, current top40s, and the last 30 minutes ended with classic rock and then trance and house.
We had a few glowsticks from a previous gig so we had some fun with those!

I’m amazed at how well the iPhone takes photos in complete darkness!

This wedding was tons of fun and I had a blast!

Click the break below to see photos!!!

Instructions on laying out the center-pieces. Very detailed and with pics!

Instructions were well-followed.

Setup. After a busy prom season, it’s nice not having to set up lights.

Yummy. Cake. Good stuff.

Another angle of the amazing BOSE system.

Right after dancing. Dinner was great– people danced during dinner, always a good sign!

Last 30 minutes! Woo-hoo!

My wife and I with the couple.

Need a DJ? Want to contact me? Click here

Great wedding! He’s Greek, she’s Mexican and they needed a careful balance of traditions.

We started with some Carpathian music and started the lead dances as well as family traditions… We had fun and they danced the entire night! We had fun with Cumbias, Huapangos, Tejano, etc!

Click the break below to see photos!!!

My assistant, Derek, and I chillin’ before the wedding.

Introductions

The monogram flushed in lights.

First Dance, with the bridesmaids (all little girls) doing a choreographed dance around John & Jessica.

Bouquet and Garter toss followed a fun Mexican tradition. The girls run around the bride until the music stops, Jessica then throws the bouquet.

John’s turned follows the same routine, but everyone picked him up and threw him up in the air instead!

Then comes the removal. This is a regional tradition.

Yes, there was a switch.. which was not expected by either of the families.

Traditional Greek and Mexican dances were done thoughout the wedding.

All the Greek music was on CD, whether it was mine or the families. The groom’s friend helped me with translation since I don’t read Greek

Need a DJ? Want to contact me? Click here

Congratulations to Keith and Lori Mixon! They were married at the beautiful Eaglebrooke Country Club in Lakeland, Florida! The weather was beautiful and nothing could be more perfect!
The family was lovely, everytime I introduced an event all eyes were on whatever I spoke about. During the first dance, there were no side conversations, no wondering eyes, just the bride and groom.

This one had real custom intros… each couple coming in had a 15 second story and the bride and groom entered right after a 1 minute love story. There wasn’t a dry eye, even our photographer told me she cried.

Lo and behold– people danced! It wasn’t a huge crowd dancing… they came in sets.

What I love about this wedding is that each photo really captured some great expressions from the guests, you can see the love and excitement in their eyes!

Click the break below to see photos!!!

*************

Last minute preparations….

Using those disposable cameras and putting them to good use!

.

First Dance– SIDEWAYS!

Right after the blessing…

Anniversary Dance.

First slow song to open up the dance floor…

Father of the groom steals the spotlight with the flower girl.

Hey– we danced!

One of the many line dances done. I think this was the Cupid Shuffle… we also did the Copperhead Road, Redneck Girl, and of course Cottoneye Joe.

Oh yes! Mac!

Doing that thing called DJing.

They were happy!