Pittsburgh Wedding DJ for Weddings and Receptions. Disc Jockey in Allegheny County

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Beth and Michael (Twelve Oaks Mansion Reception)

Best Wedding of the YEAR! Ok, first wedding of the year… but really, playing the wedding of Beth Makarevich & Michael Van Gelder is going to be a tough act to follow. Beth & Mike live in Washington DC, and have spent a great deal of time traveling the world, but chose to have their wedding here to be close to family and friends.

The wedding reception was held at the Twelve Oaks Mansion in Mars, PA. This is a relatively new wedding venue in Western Pennsylvania, but the event staff and coordinator, Bethany Santa, did an amazing job making a perfect evening for everyone. Beth & Mike took advantage of the photo montage service I offer, and the video was able to play beautifully on the 3 large LCD monitors that the venue offered in the cocktail area.

Beth and Michael have a great passion for music and seemed to really enjoy customizing the music for every aspect of the reception. This makes it fun for everyone, including me. Their cocktail hour contained a unique mix of French styled music and dinner music included requests that guests were able to suggest when completing their RSVP cards (such a clever idea!)

A big trend lately is for people to come up with special names for the guests tables. Beth & Mike’s take on this trend was to have each table feature a unique name that was part of a special story about the themselves. One side featured the “title” of the place or event. The reverse side told the story. This really gave each table a unique tale about the couple that they may have never heard before (yet another clever idea!).

One of the biggest challenges for newlyweds is making time at the reception to visit with friends and family, but to also have time to get the dance floor to enjoy themselves and celebrate. Beth & Mike might have danced more than any couple I’ve seen in a long time. It was great to see how much they enjoyed dancing to the songs they had chosen. They clearly knew what their friends would enjoy hearing… the night ended much too soon!

The New Mr & Mrs Van Gelder are off to celebrate their union in France… after so much dancing and celebration I’m sure their going need the R&R. I was thrilled to play a part of such a extraordinary reception.

by EricTags:

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Mandy and David (Moon Holiday Inn)

I honestly hate it when the wedding season ends. I’m so lucky to spend week after week going to great parties and being part of people’s most special day. I think it’s why it’s taken me so long to wrap up this last post from my last wedding of 2008. The Saturday before Christmas I had the wonderful opportunity to play for the reception of Mandy Muntean & David Kondik at the Holiday Inn in Moon Township. It was a fantastic way to end the year, Mandy and David were really easy going and planned a day that was a great time for everyone.

There’s always a question when you have a wedding so close to the holidays of whether to acknowledge the season or to incorporate it into your big day. I was thrilled that Mandy and David found ways to include some beautiful elements of the Christmas Season while still keeping things very elegant. They also decided to use Christmas music for cocktail hour and dinner which kept the atmosphere festive and fun.

The snowflake ice sculpture on the cookie table was huge!

I had been the disc jockey at Mandy’s sister Amy’s wedding a little over 2 years ago. It was GREAT to be able to see the Muntean family again. They love to party and celebrate!

I always tell people that if the bride and groom dance, EVERYONE will dance. Mandy and David spent LOTS of time on the dance floor and really helped to keep their guests in the party spirit through the night.

David and Mandy were amazingly attentive all evening. It was clear all night how important it was for them to spend time with all their guests and made sure that everyone had a great time. I’m sad to see the wedding season close but I was glad to end the year at such a fantastic reception.

by EricTags:

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2008 Year in Review

by EricTags:

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Darla and Matthew (Circuit Center & Ballroom)

The wedding season is starting to wind down for 2008, which makes me kind of sad. I feel so blessed to be a part of so many wonderful celebrations. Last Saturday I played what turned out to be an extra special day for me when I played at the reception of Darla Lewandowski and Matthew Abel at the Circuit Center & Ballroom in Pittsburgh.

Darla and Matthew chose some great songs for their special evening, but also gave me some room to include a variety of songs throughout the night for all the guests to enjoy. You know it’s a nice mix of music when people compliment the dinner music!

The Circuit Center is a beautiful and large venue that was divided in half for the cocktail hour. This created a nice lounge type area for the guests to enjoy themselves before the entire room became opened for dinner. The high ceilings in the room make it feel extra spacious.

During dinner, Darla and Matthew asked their guests to sing them a love song instead of clinking glasses to make them kiss. I thought the poem they put on each table was a cute way to let the guests know!

I discovered the day of the wedding that many years ago, I worked with Matthew’s mother at Pittburgh’s public access TV station. They had even been at MY wedding, and it was so great to see Carol and her husband Peter again. It goes to show that sometimes things happen for a reason, it made the day extra special that I was able to be a part of their big celebration.

I met another, much newer couple that night too. (that’s all I can say about that)

Darla had been referred to me from another DJ who was unavailable to play at her reception, so I have to say thanks Jodi of Accents Unlimited. I can’t say enough how glad I was to perform at Darla and Matthew’s wedding. It was wonderful getting to know them and their families. At the end of the night it was clear to everyone that they been part of an absolutely perfect day!

by EricTags: Pittsburgh

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Kelly & James (Airport Marriott Reception)

This past Saturday was the wedding of Kelly Smith & James Faddis at the Airport Marriott Hotel. Kelly and James came up from Maryland to have their Wedding here in Pittsburgh, and they worked extra hard to make sure every detail of their big day was absolutely perfect.

Kelly & James had some wonderful ideas for the music of the evening and even made lots of music choices for the cocktail hour and the dinner music. As you can see by their song list, it made for an awesome mix mostly from the 80’s & 90’s. It was fun watching Kelly sing along all during dinner.

The Marriott displays custom lighting on the dance floor, such a great touch!

Kelly & James had three wonderful toasts by members of the bridal party, but I’ll have to say that one of the best men, Ricky, gave a really funny toast really help set a relaxed and fun tone for the rest of the evening.

I was instructed to play YMCA for James’s father, and man did it pay off… that man sure can dance!

I had met Kelly a little over a year ago while I was setting up for another wedding at the Marriott. She was there finalizing the arrangements and came to check out the room I was setup in. I can’t say how happy I am that our meeting then led to such a great time at her and James’s reception. Thank you for letting me part of your extraordinary day!

by EricTags: Pittsburgh

Monday, November 17, 2008

Julia and Daniel (Balaz Eventz)

Last week I had the honor to play at the wedding reception of Julia Wenzelburger & Daniel Danka. The reception was held at Balas Eventz in Ellwood City. Julia and Daniel were a fun, modern couple who were ready to party and dance from the moment we first met.

All of my clients are granted access to a special client area where they can choose the songs for their reception. Julia and Daniel gave me an amazing song list that gave me lots of room to play their most important songs, but also lots of choices to play what kept their guests dancing.

Click here to see the playlist from the reception

I was also hired to make a photo montage that we played at the reception on the big screen. I love getting to know a couple even better by seeing photos of them growing up. Julia and Dan were adorable even as kids!

After everyone had a good cry over the cute baby photos it was time get the dancing started. The bridal party spent most of the evening on the dance floor!

This was the first serious debut of my new light show. More on that in a later post.

I got a little special surprise when I was setting up, turns out the bartender at Balas was my old friend Sy. I played Sy’s wedding over 8 years ago, it was great to catch up with him before the big event!

Julia and Daniel were all over the dance floor all night long, it really helped energize all of their guests. They were so wonderful throughout the entire planning process and during the reception that I was thrilled to help make their day such a wonderful success.

by EricTags:

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