Tag Archive: English Manor

Lindsay and Matthew Throw an Incredible Celebration on The Eve of Destruction

Written on November 15, 2012 by in Featured, Mike Walter - Blog, Uncategorized

If you know anything about my personal music taste you know my list of favorites artists goes like this:

1- Prince
2- everyone else

And as a huge Prince fan one of the songs I’m most proud of is “1999“. The way he captured that rare emotional logic that tells us: “bad times may be coming so tonight…Lets Party.”

It was that same emotion that pervaded the wedding reception for Lindsay and Matthew. This wonderful couple got married on October 27th. By that Saturday the local media was filled with stories of doom and gloom about an incoming hurricane.  Hurricane Sandy was its official name although the media in their never-ending race to come up with new and inventive names for disasters had already dubbed it Frankenstorm (It was arriving the week of Halloween after all). So as Lindsay and Matthew’s guests started to arrive at The English Manor it was with that same sense of impending doom that Prince and The Revolution sang of:

“We could all die any day.
But before I let that happen,
I’ll dance my life away.”

Lindsay and Matthew celebrating!

Well if you’re world were going to end tomorrow and you had one last party to attend, I’m glad I had the chance to DJ this one. From the first song of the night till the grand finale Lindsay and Matthew’s family and friends danced defiantly. Without ever saying it every guest had an attitude that said, “Oh no Mother Nature you ain’t raining on this party.”

While Hurricane Sandy was a “perfect storm” because of a confluence of meteorological events (I read that somewhere) Lindsay and Matthew’s wedding had a similar confluence for me. First of all I love working at The English Manor. It’s become almost my home away from home and I couldn’t be happier about that. The staff is awesome, the food superb, and they take such pride in their gardens that the outdoor area is the envy of any New Jersey reception site. Plus Lindsay and Matthew’s photographer was a man I’ve worked with for longer than either one of us care to admit. Emil Bartsche owner of Contemporary Image in Point Pleasant is, to put it mildly, an icon in our area. I’ll never forget the day so many years ago when almost every wedding photographer was telling me why digital photography would never take the place of traditional film, I stopped in to see Emil and he showed me how awesome his digital camera was and the pictures he was getting (not to mention the post-editing options that now were available to anyone willing to invest the time and money into them). I’ve always respected Emil for that. He was about a year or two ahead of that curve and as far as I can tell that’s the definition of being an expert in your field.

There were 2 more factors that made this night stand out for me. Lindsay and Matthew had hired our Video company to shoot their wedding and it just so happened Chris Monaco was the main cameraman. Chris is a great videographer as well as an awesome DJ (when God was handing out talents Chris apparently kept getting back in line) so DJing in front of Chris always brings its own unique set of nerves (oh, Chris also has a biting wit so one screw up in front of him can lead to a never-ending barrage of teasing – I’m happy to say I didn’t give him any fodder for new jokes).  And to complete the Grand Slam of nerve racking I just happened to be working with a guest DJ from Virginia named Wyatt Hill. I’d met Wyatt at a DJ convention over the summer and he’d asked if he could come up and check out an “Elite” wedding. Wyatt served as my music mixer at Lindsay and Matthew’s wedding and suffice to say when a guest DJ drives 600 miles to check out one of your events the last thing you want to do all night is explain how you usually get people dancing… Again I’m happy to say Wyatt got to witness and be a part of a pretty phenomenal wedding. Not just the Elite way but in true Jersey style!

Lindsay and Matthew were an awesome couple to work with.  Lindsay specifically loves to dance and she was on the dance floor almost all night.  As any DJ will tell you having a beautiful bride on the dance floor all night only makes our job about 10 times easier.  Because of Hurricane Sandy they were delayed leaving for their honeymoon but they did eventually get away to Antigua.  Upon their return Lindsay gave me this incredible Wedding Wire review:

 

I saw this picture on Lyndsay’s Facebook page and had to share it. Adorable!

My true wish for Lyndsay and Matthew is nothing short of a lifetime of health and happiness.

 

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Gina & Eric at The English Manor – June 9, 2012

Written on August 29, 2012 by in Featured, Jay Thomson - Blog

I knew right from the beginning that this was a special couple and that it was going to be an amazing night! I’ve been working as a DJ/Emcee for 12 years now and I’ve done my fair share of weddings. Because I’ve met with so many couples over the years, I tend to notice when a bride/groom has the “It” factor. Gina & Eric are the couple that everyone can’t get enough of. Both super kind, funny, and just know how to have a great time. We had a great time alright!

Ceremony was held in the beautiful gardens behind English Manor. If you’ve never been to the English Manor I highly recommend you visit if you’re shopping for a venue. From the manicured grounds, the amazing dining and service, this one wedding house and its superb staff are a winner every time. Back to Eric & Gina, I never met these two in person. I took care of all their details on BrideLive.com. This made the planning process much more convenient and stress free since they lived over an hour from our offices.

My first time actually meeting them was while they walked back down the aisle as husband & wife. They both looked fantastic, gleaming smiles, while family & friends erupted in applause. You could feel the magic in the air and I knew from the pulse of the evening we were just getting started.
Everyone made their way to cocktail hour while Eric & Gina and the bridal party finished up photos in the gardens with AbellaStudios.com who also had their skilled videographers on hand. The Elite team moved inside where Dave from Elite Extreme was just putting the finishing touches on the intelligent lighting package. Man these lights are incredible! We can change the environment of the room at anytime.  Nicole and I on the other hand warmed up our singing voices to perform for dinner. I was very lucky to have Nicole on the event with me as she is an exceptional talent who can sing Adele to Aretha Franklin and everything in between. Together we can sing our butts off! It’s a real treat to work with her.

Introductions were crazy good with the Bridal Party dancing in to “All I Do is Win” and Eric & Gina charging into the room to some heavy beats. During their 1st dance everyone stood and watched as if William & Kate were dancing outside Kensington Palace. Again, magic was in the air! After the formalities, it didn’t take long for the dance floor to pack up and it literally stayed that way all night long!! One of the highlights of the evening was a surprise dedication to Gina from Eric. With his cousin singing backups, watch now, Eric busts out “Nothing on You” by B.O.B. This boy is a playa lol The whole place went crazy! Gina was mesmerized by his performance. It just about put the icing on top of what was already an amazing evening with these two and their friends & family. It was an honor to be there and I can tell you the Elite team had just as much fun as the guests did! Enjoy you lives together Gina & Eric!

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Kelly & Anthony 5/12/12 @ English Manor

Written on June 1, 2012 by in Dominic Sestito - Blog, Featured
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Here at Elite we love every bride and groom that we get to work with. But if you ask any of our entertainers on staff they will tell you that you just click with some brides and grooms better than others. On May 12th, I had the great privilege of entertaining for the guests of Kelly and Anthony at the English Manor and they were just one of those couples where we clicked very, very well from the start.

Getting to work with the staff at the English Manor, as well as Lynn and Carrie from Elite Digital Images, is awesome in itself. But when you have a bride and groom that give you six requests and say “Throw a great party!”, you know you’re in for a good time. When I have a couple that just wants to party it takes a lot of the pressure off the day for me as a DJ, because I know that all they truly care about is their guests having a great time at the reception.
Once we were set up at the English Manor, I sought out my bride and groom to just say hello and let them know that we’re all set up and ready to go. On this day when I found Anthony and Kelly, Anthony pulled me aside in typical Italian fashion to settle the balance. Now of course I understand this, being Italian myself, even though I repeated to him over and over again that this could wait till ended the event. But he insisted on doing it right then and I just found it really funny.
This event was smooth all around and the guests wanted to dance and party. It really wasn’t like work for any of us. At the end of the event both Kelly and Anthony came up to me and expressed their gratitude for the job well done. What was important to me was that we had impressed them so much that Anthony literally took every single business card that I had on me that night to hand out to friends and family and anybody that he knew that would be getting married.
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A Great Celebration and a Unique Concept Sets This New Jersey Wedding Apart

Written on May 21, 2012 by in Featured, Mike Walter - Blog

When you’ve been DJing for 24 years like I have (I started in kindergarten if you’re trying to figure out how old I am by the way) it’s rare that you see something you’ve never seen before.  But at Heather and Will’s wedding (on a beautiful Friday Night in May at The English Manor) I got to see just that.  It was all the couple’s idea, it went over great and for me as a DJ it was the highlight of the night.  Intrigued?  Read on.

Heather and Will utilized the beautiful grounds at The English Manor for their wedding ceremony.  The weather was just perfect so besides getting married outdoors they also had their cocktail hour on the deck.  The English Manor takes incredible pride in their gardens and this was the perfect evening to show off all those flowers.  If you’re a couple that would like that “English Garden” feel for their wedding, complete with a wooden bridge crossing a small stream and incredibly beautiful flowers and trees everywhere, the English Manor is the place to have your wedding.

After the outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour, all the guests moved to the big room for the party.  And this is where Heather and Will’s unique idea kicked in.  Besides numbering each table, they had named every table after a popular song.  We had worked together on this to pick out just the right upbeat songs but it was mostly their decisions and I have to say they couldn’t have made better choices.  I called everyone’s attention to this early on and then let everyone know that when they heard their song we expected to see them on the dance floor partying.  The concept went over great, from the older tables who were given Aretha Franklin or Beatles songs to the younger tables that were named after some hot new dance tracks.  Every time I hit play and announced, “Table (fill in the blank) this one’s for you” there was a rush to the dance floor and the energy in the room lifted even higher.

I had the pleasure of working with our two sister companies here at Elite Entertainment: Elite Digital Images and Elite Video Productions.  Elite Digital supplied me the images in this blog and I can’t wait to see the finished product once our video division is done with the edit.  Chris Monaco certainly shot enough great stuff with a packed dance floor all night!

All in all it was a great celebration for a fantastic couple and I wish Heather and Will a lifetime of health and happiness.  And I promise to give them full credit in the future when I suggest this idea to couples who are looking for something different and unique for their wedding reception.

Elite Digital Images

Heather and Will Cross the Bridge at The English Manor

Elite Digital Images

One of the Table Songs that was such a Smash!

Elite Digital Images

Heather and Will Celebrate Their Wedding!

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The State of 2012 (thus far)…

Written on May 4, 2012 by in Featured, Phil Walsh - Blog

2012 is shaping up to be a really good year so far for me. I actually wound up having major knee surgery in early January and have recovered nicely since then. I was real excited when I DJ’d my first 2012 wedding on March 17th for Kathleen and J.J. They had their ceremony and reception at the Channel Club, and what a beautiful day it was for them. I remember telling them that the sunsets are gorgeous, and they took the time to get the perfect photo for their wedding album. They were a super nice couple who loved music, so they were really pleased with how their day went.

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!!

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