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Category Archives: The Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Chelsea and Brian (Carnegie Museum)

What really makes a wedding day a “Once In A Lifetime” event?  I feel what makes the wedding day unique is the  fact that this particular group of friends and family will never gather together again to celebrate the love of the bride and groom.  Chelsea and Brian’s wedding reception at the Carnegie Museum Music Foyer was an over the top celebration, thanks to their fun and energetic guests.

Getts Bosiljevac Wedding

The Carnegie Museum is one of my favorite wedding venues in all of Pittsburgh.  Beautiful and elegant, the setting suited the newlyweds perfectly.

Chelsea and Brian knew exactly which music would get the dance floor going.  A mix of mostly newer music with some great wedding classics mixed in through the night kept guests of all ages partying all night.  I had a blast being a part of this amazingly perfect evening, and couldn’t be happier for Chelsea and Brian as they head to St. Lucia for their honeymoon.

Wedding DJ Playlist

Dana and James (Carnegie Museum Wedding DJ)

One of my favorite things about weddings today is how couples are ready to incude only the the music and events that meet their style and tastes.  Dana and James planned  a day at the Carnegie Museum in Oakland, which began with great elegance in the Hall of Architecture and ended with an epic modern dance party in the Music Hall Foyer.

Rozum Wood Wedding

Dana and James chose to have contemporary piano music for cocktails and dinner, which matched perfectly with the beauty of the Music Hall Foyer.  After a few special dances, it was time to get the party started.  The newlyweds chose mostly music from the past decade, which was a perfect match for their wild and energetic guests.

The dance floor remained a crazy celebration all the way up until the last minute of the evening.  Afterwards, everyone made their way to the front of the museum for a sparkler farewell before Dana and Jim headed off for their honeymoon in Cancun.

Wedding DJ Playlist

Jaime and Matt (Carnegie Museum Wedding DJ)

Often when I meet with prospective clients for my DJ service, they’ll ask just how much the music for their wedding reception can be customized.  I always assure them, that if they choose, they could pick 100% of the music to make their day exactly as they wish.  By the time the wedding rolls around, some couples have chosen only a few selections, but there are instances where I get to work with couples who are passionate enough about their music choices to supply me with all the songs I’ll need to make the day a total success.  This weekend at the Carnegie Museum, I was able to help Jaime Azzara and Matt Lagoy put together an amazing, romantic, energetic and unique playlist for their beautiful Pittsburgh reception.

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The Carnegie Museum is one of my absolute favorite Pittsburgh reception venues.  The beautiful marble in the Music Hall foyer is always stunning.

Matt and Jaime worked extremely hard on choosing music that not only reflected their taste and style, but also was guaranteed to get everyone up and dancing.  I created quite a few custom mixes for the occasion, so we were sure to be able to fit in all the songs that the newlyweds wanted to hear.

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As the guests watched from the balcony of the museum, Jaime and Matt had their first dance together.

After dinner, we wasted no time getting the dance floor going, and the celebration began!

As a wedding dj, it’s fun for me to work with a couple as passionate about music as I am.  I’m thrilled they put their faith in me to make sure everything went as they had planned.  I want to send big thanks and good wishes to the newlyweds as they leave for their Hawaiian honeymoon.

Lindsay and Jason (Carnegie Museum Wedding DJ)

This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to perform at a wedding reception that included all of my favorite things about being a DJ.  The wedding and reception of Lindsay Daldoss and Captain Jason Hall was held the day before Memorial Day at the Carnegie Museum Music Hall Foyer in Pittsburgh, PA.  The first of my favorite things about this day was the happy couple.  Lindsay and Jason were fun, relaxed, and just awesome to work with.

Military Wedding DJ

Secondly would be the Carnegie Museum.  The Music Hall is simply breath-taking and is easily one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh to DJ.

Carnegie Museum Wedding

Obviously, music plays a big part in every reception. Lindsay and Jason were so fun and relaxed that they gave me tons of freedom to choose the right music to make the day romantic as well as a big celebration for all their friends and family. The results were a fun mix of jazz standards (cocktails), coffee house rock (dinner) and great dance music that kept everyone up on their feet.

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If you haven’t figured it out yet, this was a military wedding, which again, goes on my list of favorites.  It’s such an honor to get to DJ for the men and women who serve our great nation.

Of course, everybody loves a full dance floor!

military Wedding DJ

I also loved the opportunity to see Jena and Michael Hutchison who had me as their DJ a little over a year ago!

I really could go on and on about how many things I loved about this day.  Ultimately, the thing I loved most was that Lindsay and Jason chose me as their DJ to help them celebrate their new lives together.  The newlyweds are now off on a well deserved honeymoon before they resume their service to our nation in their new home in Korea.

Laura and Greg (Carnegie Museum Wedding Reception)

Last night I was fortunate enough to DJ at one of my favorite Pittsburgh venues for one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever met. It was a beautiful day for the wedding of Dr. Laura Catena and Dr. Greg Novotny, held at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh
Laura and Greg practiced their first dance so that it would be unique and memorable. It was a tango that they executed perfectly, all the guests went wild when they finished.

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

The music was a great mix of classical, swing, oldies and dance songs. Laura and Greg also allowed their guests to make requests to keep everything fun and exciting.

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I can’t say enough about how the spectacular museum makes for a beautiful and elegant evening.

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

Laura always has the most amazing smile. Simply fabulous.

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

All of the guests were very fun and friendly. Everyone had a wonderful evening visiting and dancing.

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

Novotny Wedding DJ at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh

Laura and Greg are off on a well deserved trip to the Bahamas. It was great to get the chance to get to know them and their wonderful families. This is the type of people that makes me love what I do.

Eunie and Frank (Carnegie Museum Reception)

Next year I will celebrate the 25th anniversary of my first DJing performance. (Ok, I was 15 so I’m not sure how much of a performance it was, but my mother did pay me $25). The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the many receptions I’ve played since then is this: Always listen to the client. While my experiences have helped me help people make music choices that create an amazing reception, there is nothing more valuable then the input of a Bride and Groom. I was reminded of this lesson again this past Saturday at the reception of Eunie Suh and Frank Popp held at the Carnegie Museum Music Hall in Oakland, PA.

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Eunie and Frank held a traditional and stunning ceremony at the museum’s Hall of Architecture before the guests made their way down the hallway to the Music Hall.

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I can’t say enough about how fantastic the Carnegie Museum works as a wedding and reception venue. The surroundings are truly breathtaking. The entire staff, led by Andrea Verosko, makes sure that every detail is absolutely perfect.

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During cocktail hour, Frank & Eunie held a small Korean ceremony which honored the members of both their families. While the guests watched from the Music Hall’s balcony, Eunie’s brother, Yulgene explained the details of the unique and sweet service.

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Frank and Eunie planned most of the details of their wedding from their home in New York City. They had very specific ideas for the dancing portion of the evening and we were able to coordinate their ideas through phone calls and online. While the music list they submitted to me did not contain most of the ‘typical’ Pittsburgh wedding songs, I could tell that they had taken the time to create a list of songs that their guests would enjoy. The results were spectacular. The dance floor was completely full throughout the evening, during many songs that I have never had the opportunity to play for a wedding crowd before. Their playlist contained a wide variety of fun upbeat music that really made the evening feel extraordinarily customized just for this group of friends and family.

After dinner, while Eunie danced with her father, Frank joined them with Eunie’s mother.

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Once the music started the guests grew more excited with every song that came on. I had the best time using the songs from Frank & Eunie’s list… they knew their guests’ tastes so well!

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Eunie and Frank truly knew the songs that would make their wedding day perfect. They had people fly to Pittsburgh from all over the world to celebrate their marriage, and they knew songs that would be fun and familiar to everyone. While it’s easy as a DJ to fall back on reliable dance song ‘standards’, I always remember to listen to my clients who personally know the people who are going to be running to the dance floor for a particular song. Having such a unique dance playlist made a spectacular ending to a wonderful day.

After all the excitement of pulling off the perfect wedding & reception, the newlyweds are now headed off to Africa for a two week honeymoon safari in Tanzania!

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