The wedding I DJed recently for James and Alexandra (or Jimmy and Alex as they preferred to be called) was one of the rare nights that started wild and crazy but never tipped the scale to drunk and obnoxious.  That’s a testament to their family and friends and the fact that everyone was there to truly celebrate for this awesome couple.

Their wedding was May 12^th and as I drove that afternoon all the way up to The Basking Ridge Country Club I was so happy for Jimmy and Alex – the weather was just perfect.  When you think “Beautiful Spring Day” this is what comes to mind: 70 degrees with a mostly sunny sky.  Someone said once that rain on your wedding day is a sign of luck (and Alanis Morissette called it “Ironic”) but in my opinion great weather on your wedding day is really lucky!

Jimmy and Alex had picked out more than enough music for the night.  In fact when Alex’s Maid of Honor commented during her toast that the couple had picked out all four hours of music I chimed in with: “five hours actually.”  And while most of the music they selected was good, solid party music, there were a few songs on the list that I questioned.  Did they want me to play Toto’s “Africa” during dinner, for example?  And where could I hide “Walking on Broken Glass” so as not to clear the floor.  “Oh, No!” they insisted.  “We LOVE these songs and will dance to them!”  Ok then, I thought, let’s see about that.  Well, that’s how great a party Jimmy and Alex threw.  Even “Africa” and “Walking on Broken Glass” and Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On” kept the dance floor packed!

I had the pleasure of working with Dan from Lloyd’s Fine Photography.  I bump into Dan from time to time out in the field and we always get along well and enjoy working with each other.  This night was no exception.   I asked him after the wedding if he could send me some images that captured the energy on the dance floor and he provided me with this awesome collage:

I was so happy to be a part of this great celebration.  I know Jimmy and Alex are beginning their married life by settling down in Maryland but I hope some of their friends and family members book me for their future events so I can this special couple again.  Congratulations Jimmy and Alex!

With the Dads in Suits and the girls in Poodle Skirts we kicked off the party to some top 40 kid’s favorites.  We played a ton of games and audience participation dances, and the girls all got to participate in the Hula Hoop and dance contests to try and win some prizes.

The dads were also treated to watching two NCAA Final Four games:

Kentucky (69) vs Louisville (61)

Kansas (64) vs Ohio St. (62)

In all everyone had a great time at a very special dance.

Alison and Brian – March 23, 2012
This was a night to remember at The English Manor, not only for myself but for Alison and Brian. I don’t think their dance floor was empty the whole night. It is so awesome when I get a crowd that loves to dance, even if I’m trying not to dance them. THEY DANCED TO ANYTHING I PLAYED, from Runaround Sue to Party Rock. I had this one couple come up to me shortly after dinner and said, “We’ve attended a lot of weddings over the past year and we usually leave right after dinner to get back home and relieve our babysitter.” I said, “Well, you’re still here.”  They said, “We don’t want to leave. We just got off the phone with our babysitter and told her not to expect us till late.” I was so taken back by that compliment. To know that I am the one making people stay because they are having the time of their life makes me feel unbelievable.  As far as Alison and Brian, they were overjoyed on how their reception went and couldn’t thank me enough. They ended their night with 2 songs – Bohemian Rhapsody into The Time of My Life from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I’ve never ended with Bohemian Rhapsody before, and I gotta tell ya, these people sang their hearts out!!! I thanked Alison and Brian for having the kind of guests they did. Great Wedding!!

Alex and Kay – April 21, 2012
(singing) Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me (singing). Yes………I DJ’d on my birthday and loved it. When you’re 38 and don’t want anything except music and a great party, Alex and Kay’s wedding was the place to be. They had their ceremony and reception at The Water’s Edge in Sea Bright. Once, again it was a beautiful day, and I love it when the weather cooperates for a bride and groom. Alex and Kay were laid back and left the music selection pretty much up to me. I won’t forget the Best Man’s speech, in which he had a hilarious video he showed to Alex and Kay. After the toasts were done, everything was pretty much left up to me to find the right tunes to get people up on the dance floor. The guests just poured on the dance floor all night and dance it away. They ended the night with one of my favorite artists, Michael Buble’s – “Save the Last Dance”. After that, Alex came right up to me and shook my hand, and a couple days later I received an email expressing their thanks again.

As I said before, the 2012 wedding season is shaping up to be a great year. I’m excited to meet my future brides and grooms. The weddings I talked about above were only just a few of the ones that I have DJ’d. So long for now, I’ll be back with more. God Bless!!

We played all the popular Audience Participation and Line Dance songs including, “Cha-Cha Slide“, “Cupid Shuffle”, “Electric Slide”, “Cotton-eyed Joe”, “Macarena”, “Hands-Up”, “Dollar-Wine”, “Hot-Hot-Hot”, and “Apache”.  The kids loved the hats, sunglasses, Hawaiian leis, and maracas we gave out.  We also played lots of new music LMFAO, Rihanna, Drake, One Republic, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Black Eyed Peas, Avicii, Calvin Harris, and Adele.

We finished off the night with some group pictures of all the students up on stage to go in the year book.  It was a really fun and energetic night.

I had a chance to work with Katie and Jesse from the beginning. From the sales appointment all the way to the  last dance they are a great couple and knew exactly what they wanted. They had a vision for their wedding and we made it happen. Katie and Jesse warned me that they had a wild and crazy crowd. Although most brides and grooms say that it’s not always true but in this case are newlyweds were exactly correct.

Intros went off without a hitch the crowd cheered as a bride and groom entered the room. First dance was great, the parents dances were heart felt, and then after the first course we couldn’t push these people off the dance floor if we wanted to. As the time past the end of the event got closer and closer Katie and Jesse actually thought about extending the party extra hour. But due to the fact that they had already book shuttles to pick up the guests it was going to be hard to do that . Nicole and Don at Clark’s Landing huddled together came over to me. They told me to keep playing music until the shuttles couldn’t stay longer and had to leave . We played 15 or 20 minutes more and everybody had a great time. Even the staff at cl it was a great way to end a party for a great couple!

Bill Kubeck’s surprise 50^th Birthday Party certainly lived up to Donald Trump’s words.  Not only was his party at Trumps Golf Course in Colt’s Neck, NJ, but it was on St. Patrick’s Day, and there was an Elite Entertainment Disc Jockey (Yours Truly) and The Two River Band (T.J., James, Mike, & Will).  Donna, Bill’s wife who planned the surprise party was definitely “Thinking BIG”!

The party started off with the Cocktail Hour where guests were treated to green beer (in honor of St. Paddy’s Day) and champagne.  Once our guest of honor arrived – walking in to a thunderous “SURPRISE!!” and greeted and thanked his guests, everyone made there way into the main banquet room where The Two River Band kicked off there opening set.

Throughout the night we traded sets between DJ dance sets and Band sets, each lasting about an hour a piece.  Some of the special highlights were Bill & Donna dancing to there wedding song and Donna and their son giving a special thank you to the guests and congratulations to Bill.

In all it was a great night, with lots of dancing, singing, eating, drinking and especially “BIG” fun, and helped make a very memorable party for Bill as well as all the guests including myself.

Thank you to Donna, T.J., James, Mike, Will, and the staff of Trump Golf Course for an amazing night, and Congratulations once again to Bill on his 50th.

Kathleen and Marc March 31st 2012 Photo by Jennifer Starr http://shutterstarrphotography.com/

I’ve always said I prefer working with clients who get involved in the music and planning.  I’d much rather sit with brides and grooms and brainstorm and come up with a collaborative approach to the entertainment on their day, incorporating their tastes with my experience.  I don’t remember a wedding where this came to fruition more than Marc and Kathleen’s on March 31^st at The Vanity Fare.

When I met with Marc and Kathleen in early March they were already beginning to formulate some cool and unique ideas for their reception.  As we began to delve into the details I could see that this couple wanted a fun and different party.  For example, they had a great twist on throwing the bouquet and garter.  I’d invite all the women in the room to the dance floor (not just the single ladies) with the invitation: “Come on up if you want to get lucky tonight.”  After  a moment to let that sink in, I then explained that Kathleen was throwing a bouquet with lottery tickets attached.  We did the same for the guys with a garter and lottery tickets.  It just so happened that the record setting Mega-Millions lottery had been drawn the night before so I ad-libbed to the guys, “if any of you won the 680 million dollars last night please don’t come up to the dance floor… let someone else win some money this weekend.”

Marc is a big KISS fan and so he wanted their grand introduction to be with “Shout It Out Loud.”  Like most songs, “Shout It Out Loud” has an instrumental introduction then goes into the first verse.  This is usually not the best layout for bringing a couple in to because usually the chorus is the best, most recognizable and highest energy part of the song.  “Shout It Out Loud” is definitely an example of this.  So I made an edit of the song (listen to it hear on SoundCloud) and Marc loved it.  He also asked me to introduce them the same way KISS gets introduced at their concerts so when it came time for the bride and groom introduction we hit the song and I laid it on as thick as I could: “Alright New Jersey… you wanted the best bride and groom, you GOT the best bride and groom . . .” It was definitely a first for me and after 23 years of DJing that’s not easy.

One of the things I noticed was how often Marc and Kathleen slowed danced throughout the night.  Besides their first dance they must have slow danced to probably eight other songs.

Kathleen and Marc Celebrate their Marriage Photo by Jennifer Starr www.shutterstarrphotography.com

Plus they got their meeting and greeting done early so for the last 3 hours of the reception they were on the dance floor the entire time!  I’m not even sure if they ate dinner.

I had the pleasure of working with a photographer and videographer that I had never worked with before:  Jennifer Starr of Shutter Starr Photography and a great guy named Andrew of Stomping Bread Productions.  They both stayed till the very end of the night and continued shooting right up until the last song (which I have to be honest I don’t always see).  Jennifer was also nice enough to send me a few images for this blog.  If you are looking for a photographer for your wedding you should definitely check her out.

Speaking of the last song of the night, or I should say the last songs of the night,  Marc and Kathleen scripted the final 25 minutes of their celebration.  My music mixer Dan Fumosa commented about how perfect the 5 songs they selected were.  We went from Van Halen’s “Jump” into all 8 and half minutes of “Paradise By The Dashboard Lights” complete with a “Women versus The Men Sing Along.”  From there we did two more awesome sing-along songs “Sweet Caroline” and “Don’t Stop Believing” before ending with The Blues Brothers version of “Everybody Needs Somebody.”  It was the perfect ending to a night that had been both fun and unique.

/Paradise By The Dashboard Lights Was a Highlight of the Night Photo by Jennifer Starr www.shutterstarrphotography.com

]]> http://www.eliteentertainment.com/2012/04/05/marc-and-kathleen-throw-an-incredible-celebration-to-start-their-married-life/feed/ 2 http://www.eliteentertainment.com/2012/04/04/if-the-bride-could-have-worn-green-she-would-have/ http://www.eliteentertainment.com/2012/04/04/if-the-bride-could-have-worn-green-she-would-have/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:00:30 +0000 Tom Monaco http://www.eliteentertainment.com/?p=2479 I had the opportunity to work a wedding on St. Patricks day and what a party it was. The bride and groom, Tara and Robert, and their families are all Irish so it was double the celebration. From beginning to end people danced, sang, laughed, and partied. You could just feel the love in the room.  Their reception was at the Basking Ridge Country Club, where I’ve worked plenty of times before, and I love it there. The staff is so much fun and it looked like they fit right in with the crowd.

I remember speaking with Katy on the phone when she was first inquiring about our service. She was so pumped because she had just booked at The Crystal Point and reserved their “Winter Wonderland Package”. We work with The Crystal Point a lot and our Two Person Package is actually included in their Winter Wonderland Package so Katy and Alex wanted to come to an Elite Private Show to select their DJ. After they attended a show they pulled me aside to chat and they were extremely impressed with the entire staff. While chatting Katy actually said,  ”We wish you were open on our date” but I knew right away why I wasn’t.

I thought to myself  ”You will be at the Crystal Point, just around the corner from home, Katy and Alex are going to be a blast to work with, you have your own wedding coming up to pay for, plus you are gonna be 32, you are already old”. So I turned to them and told them I was blocked off for a personal day, but I would gladly open myself up for their wedding. Katy was super pumped, but when she found out I was working on my birthday for her wedding she was wowed. I reassured her I would definitely be there and we would have  a blast.

Fast forward to the night of the wedding, specifically the last hour of the party. It was a good party all night long but what happened next floored me. Now it’s rare that I am even speechless, but when Katy and one of her bridesmaids grabbed the microphone and got everyone in the room to sing “Happy Birthday” I was wowed. It was a great moment I will never forget.

Katy doing some quick photos before intros