Boston DJ - 5 Star Events Disc Jockey Company
This weekend was a crazy one. Dave and I had 5 events between us and Creative Uplighting had another 3. 🙂
I’m gonna start with pics from my most recent. The reception took place at Balleymeade Country Club and was a fantastic day. I’m still beaming from the groom’s multiple mentions that it was the best day of his life. Thanks Bryan & Colleen, I was so happy to play a part in it.
The weekend started with Pat & Leanne Commander’s Hoosic Club reception in Milton. Pat prepared an extensive list of eclectic songs that fit his group perfectly. Some standouts that I’ve never had requests for before included Bob Dylan’s “If Not For You” & the Arctic Monkey’s “Baby I’m Yours”. Pat also requested several songs by Iron & Wine songs I had never heard of. Strangely enough Bryan & Colleen cut their cake to Iron & Wine’s “Such Great Heights” a song that would also make a fantastic first of last dance song.
The third week in July brought record heat & humidity. July 23rd was the tail end of a scorching heatwave and the wedding day of Steve & Kate Peters. We were in the carriage house of Linden Place, historic, beautiful, majestic but very, very hot. The staff at LP were great at accommodating the uncontrollable heat. Never have I seen so many fans at a wedding. But still it was HOT!! You would think that the heat would keep the crowd from dancing but nothing could be further from the truth!! These people were soooo much fun!!! Check out the pics below.
100 Degrees & a packed dance floor!!
This came in from the parents of the bride:
“Thanks again for the exceptional DJ service you provided for my daughter’s wedding this past weekend. Despite the heat you had people up dancing all night long. Everyone remarked what a wonderful time they had. You are even better than advertised!”
John & Connie McCarthy
Oh, big props to Blackstone Catering of Middletown, RI. I had never eaten lamb before – I actually didn’t think I liked it. Well Blackstone converted me and it was one of the best meals I have ever eaten at a wedding. Delicious!!
Tonight Dave and I participated as Wish Granters in the organization Wish Upon a Wedding.What a rewarding experience!! Wish Upon a Wedding is a wish granting organization that provides weddings and vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness and serious life altering circumstances. To my friends in the biz, if you feel like giving back I encourage you to visit http://wishuponawedding.org/ and become a Wish Granter. You won’t regret it.
For this event we provide uplighting for a wedding at the Lars Anderson auto museum.
It was great to work with some friends in the business, including: Elizabeth & Adrienne from Gracie Lou Events – www.gracielouevents.com (fellow A-List Winners), Espresso Dave – http://www.espressodave.com/, Photographer Jill Person – http://www.personkillian.com, & Karen Hasenfus of the Larz Anderson Museum – http://www.larzanderson.org. All are amazing in their fields and I would give each the highest endorsement.
Ok, we’ve finally got some great shots of our new lantern lights in action. If you haven’t been following along, my ProDJpc partner Paul Gormley & I have been perfecting, in our opinion, the only “useable” battery powered light source for paper hanging lanterns. Through my lighting company Creative Uplighting, we’ve used just about every available light source. It was so frustrating because nothing we could find worked well enough to meet our standards – either the lights looked like they were barely on, they glowed with an unnatural bluish tint, or they died out midway through the party. Of course there are plug in solutions but running extension cords isn’t always practical and can be very time consuming. I’ve seen tent companies who charge $50 per lantern just to make up for the hassle involved in running all of the cables.
I love the way lanterns look, so with Paul’s help, I set out to find a solution. My requirements were simple. First the light would have to be bright enough to compete with plug-in lights. Second, it’s much easier to set up in advance of the party, before the tables are in and set up. That means the lights would have to last considerably longer than the party. Lastly, the fixtures would preferably be rechargeable.
So as you can see our product is here and the results are clear. These lantern lights are fantastic!!
This past Tuesday, July 26th, City Voter announced the results for “Best of” in the wedding categories. 5 Star Events was a late nomination for Boston’s Best Wedding DJ , matched up against many popular, seasoned pros. Also in our category were several of the larger multi-dj companies in MA that perform hundreds of events per year. For Dave & I to pull out a win, we would need our base of past & present clients, wedding professionals, & friends to step up and vote. I’m appreciative and humbled to say they did & in great numbers. With 31 nominees in the running 5 Star Events captured nearly 30% of the vote. So a big thank you to everyone who voted. It means the world to us!!
After participating in nearly 2500 weddings, I really appreciate ones with an interesting story line & soundtrack. This one certainly fits the bill!! Abby & Kyle met over the internet playing the adventure role playing game World of Warcraft. The couple prepared a set list based on their love for the game as well as some of their favorite fantasy/adventure movies like the Lord of the Rings & Star Wars. It started with when Kyle and his Groomsmen processed at the ceremony to the “Imperial March” – Darth Vader’s theme and culminated after the last dance with a light saber battle in which all the guests participated.
Special thanks to my friend Karen Hyde of Great Beginnings Events for pulling together all the details. Marcia Goodwin of Stonehurst the Robert Treat Paine Estate was a gracious host. And Two Chefs Are Better Than One prepared a delicious BBQ menu.
The season’s heating up!! It’s nice to have back to back, Friday/Saturday weddings again. Tonight was Rob & Kelly Costa’s and it was lots of fun!! I got to work with my good friends Tim Briggs of Visions Forever (www.visionsforever.com) and Jenni V (http://www.jennivphotography.com/).
The Canoe Club did a stellar job accommodating a last minute change in the weather, moving an outdoor ceremony for 175, inside. They had just enough room & time to pull it off. Nice work Stacy & Jill!!
In my opinion a successful reception comes down to details. So as a dj I pay very close attention to the little things. I make a point to ask lots of questions and take notes about everything. Last year, I found a great tool to help in my effort to “get it right”.
It’s called the Livescribe pen. Let me tell you, this pen is the ultimate gadget. If you take notes for school or work this should be on your “must get” list. I think it would also make a great gift for any of your wedding attendants if they are into tech. Basically the pen does two things, first it records digital audio through its built in microphone, and second it records pen strokes with it’s internal camera. The result is a complete audio and written recording of a meeting that can be played back in real time. If you connect this device to a computer, you see your notes as you’re writing them and listening to what’s being said at any given moment.
What makes this device even cooler is that if I point the pen to any word or drawing on my notebook page, it will replay the meeting from that point. This is amazingly helpful on so many levels. Say in our meeting, the bride pronounces her last name. I can replay it and hear exactly how it sounds so I can get it right, exactly. Any details that might escape memory or don’t get written down are recorded and can be played back at a moments notice.
See it in action here:
[jwplayer config=5StarPlayer file=http://www.5starevents.com/wp-content/uploads/LiveScribe.mp4 image=http://www.5starevents.com/wp-content/uploads/LiveScribe.jpg]
Day 2 was as much fun as yesterday. There were lots of amazing wedding pros to see, and bunches of engaged couples to size them up. The food was amazing and included some tasty treats. Sue Zahner and Tastings showed off her delicious creation – the sugared bacon wrapped bread stick. I’m not sure of it’s name but it was delicious. And it definitely was the single most talked about part of the event today. I’m a BBQ fiend so I was excited to be next to Blue Ribbon BBQ. They were serving up pulled pork & chicken as well as mashed potatos & corn bread. I’d be lying if I said I only visited once. If you are a “foodie” this would have been a nice take in. Honestly too much to mention.
My friends Michelle Arruda-Devoe, Demiche owner, made the model brides look amazing check out the pics below. Honestly Michelle is one of the best in the business and one of my favorite people. If you haven’t locked in your hair & makeup artist, give Demiche a call!!
Vows models - hair and makeup by Demiche
OK I’ve been saying Spielberg but we settled on Quentin Tarantino. The Oscar goes to Jeff Brouillet of Jeff Brouillet Films. So I dub him the Quentin Tarantino of wedding films. Seriously his work is a cinematic experience. Films of people you don’t know getting married will make big burley men, and even a soft pudgy dj, cry.
I can’t leave without mentioning my friend Nicole Pirani of Blooms of Hope. Nicole offers beautiful flowers & a whole lot more. She gives half her proceeds to charity!! Thankfully I was charity today. She gave me a beautiful tulip bouquet to bring home to my wife – very thoughtful.
If it’s possible, the Commander’s Mansion Wedding Faire was even better than last year. If you have the day off tomorrow, I highly recommend a visit. The hours are 1-4 and the fee is $5 at the door. The food is fantastic, prepared by some of Boston’s best caterers and there are many fantastic wedding professionals to visit with. My thanks goes out to Tammy & Rae at Commanders for such a fun filled afternoon.
Many of my friends in the business were there. Jay and Nanette Kenney were in the room adjacent to me representing their company Photobooth Favors (photoboothfavors.com)
Dave and I (Creative Uplighting) supplied lighting for the awesome Beantown Bride lounge. What a fun idea Brittany & here team at Beantown had. They transformed the stately Taupe room into a funky lounge with comfey lounge furniture, high top tables, fun linens, a photo both, candy bar and of course our trendy LED uplights.
If you haven’t visited beantownbride.com. It’s the only blog dedicated exclusively to Boston Weddings and Boston Brides.
