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!

Often in the DJ community there are many arguments about what makes a DJ. Many old-school turntablists say you still need to use turntables or some form of controller… not just pressing buttons on a laptop. However, I’ve seen many DJs who keep a floor packed without beatmixing and with just one button on a computer.

I personally use a computer with a controller, and I can tell you I can outmix anything I could do with CDs or Turntables.

With this thought in mind, take the following at note. I went skating today, which means I busted out my raggedy, dying, need-to-replace skates– they still work… and they probably do better than 80% of the skates out there. Quality never dies, lol. The DJ there uses Microsoft Windows Media Player. 

We always make fun of him, but not because of his choice of DJ software, after all he also uses high-end Denon CD Turntables and always manages to trainwreck his mixes. Even then, that’s not why we pick on him.

The crowd is 99% preteens to teens. I think I’m the only person there that’s old enough to drink, hahaha. Adult night’s are always on days when I’m working so I’m stuck skating on teen night. Many of the patrons are jam skaters (people who skate to the beat of the music and have set routines).

The DJ doesn’t read the crowd very well: he played rock songs NOBODY recognized (not even I), rap music with profanity, and obscure music that made everyone shrug their shoulders. Of course, when it came time to make announcements everyone ignored him as there was little respect for him. His attitude could’ve been a bit better– unless you were a single girl, you were not going to get any kind manners from him.

Since he would rather stay outside or talk to girls, he ignored the 10 second gap between each song. We watched in amazement as people kept leaving the floor.

Here’s why we laugh: he calls himself a DJ.

With the description I have given you, would you call him a DJ?

No?

So why believe anyone who says they’re a professional DJ?

Where’s the proof?

Don’t ask a DJ what he uses to mix with– that’s irrelevant, what’s important is his style.

• Does he read crowds?
• Does he take requests?
• Can he mix the music with a smooth transition that will keep the appropriate level of energy on the floor.
• Can he earn respect on the microphone?
• Will he be too busy flirting with girls to do his job?
• Is he courteous to everyone, including those who are less than pleasurable to talk with? (I’ve had my fair share of those)

I’ve also had the delight of talking to an amazing bride who’s doing very thorough research. As a matter of fact, she may be reading this right now. We’ve communicated several times, and even though she likes our company, she’s still researching before she makes the decision! Right on! If she chooses us, I know that she’ll be 100% confident and appreciative of what we will offer for her wedding day.

She has also gone as far as asking for proof of the DJs availability. Whether it’s YouTube, a DVD, or any form of video. Peter Merry’s Book The Best Wedding Reception… Ever!, talks about how every DJ should have a highlight reel (or numerous ones) as well as UNCUT footage. I can take the worst wedding DJ and make them look phenomenal on tape– it’s all about editing skills– so ask for raw footage.

As the aforementioned bride has done, ask for proof of MCing style. While the wedding you see may not be your wedding, a good MC should be able to shape your style into the event.

Is this a shameless plug for our company’s YouTube page? Well– yes… but many DJs in the area have videos, too. Remember, ask for real event footage, not testimonials (really, who will post a BAD testimonial), not demo reels (people dancing with music layed over), and not a generic reel. Ask to see their MCing, mixing, and interaction with the crowd.

Don’t ask to see them at an event… if they say no, it’s because they don’t want to invite people to someone’s special day, not because they’re hiding something.

One last thing– EVERY DJ can provide proof of their work. Even if they don’t have someone to film every event, they’ve worked with a videographer at some point. That videographer can provide a sample video. There’s just no excuse.

After all, you wouldn’t buy a cake just because it looks pretty on a photo without ever tasting it.

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!!

Photos were taken with my wife’s new phone…

The brains of the whole setup… my main rig which controls music, on the right is my Mac which serves as backup and also a sound board for remixes. On the left (not seen) is the rig that controls the lights.

The trussing on the right…

The trussing on the left….

A big zoom in of a small portion of the big light show

Derek (on my left), myself, and Ray. My wife took the photos.

The party begins!

We design our light shows with safety in mind. Even with the lights off (for dramatic moments such as announcing King & Queen), our blacklights flood enough light to allow the administration to view everything comfortably.

By the way, if you have a newer PC, hit the HQ button on the YouTube video… YouTUbe always darkens the videos.. it was a lot brighter than this!

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

What better a way to end this busy week than a GREAT afternoon wedding?

Celebrating their ceremony and reception in the cozy Kennilworth Lodge, Abraham and Roxie knew exactly what kind of ceremony they wanted… even before we met!

Choosing many traditional things, they still wanted to add their own spin on things. For example, Roxie isn’t a big fan of cake so instead they opted for a cheesecake and dessert quiche buffet… it was DELICIOUS! Not to mention that all the food was provided by Simply Trish… Trish’s food is amazing!

Another unique touch was the open bar’s selections… the menu of drinks were laid out under the traditional “something new, something blue, something borrowed” phrase seen at many weddings.

I’ve posted my iPhone photos, but will soon post up the photos given to us by Kurz Studios.. they were great to work with and took some great shots!
(http://kurzstudiophotography.com)

Derek, my DJ, and I never laughed harder than at the beginning of the wedding…. we saw two grandmothers chatting to each other as they sat in their wheelchairs waiting for the ceremony room to open. One of them looked up and asked “Do you want to drag?”

That made my day.

The crowd was awesome and they were ready to dance… which was awesome, especially for an afternoon wedding. Enjoy iPhone pics and videos below!

Package chosen:

Entertainment Coordinator w/Bi-Lingual DJ
Ceremony System