Boston DJ

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:
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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.

What a weekend!! Since this wedding was a good drive away, I thought I’d bring my family along and we’d stay for the night. We rented a room at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Marriott hotel which was about a mile from the Exeter Inn. My wife and kids stayed behind enjoying the pool and Historic Exeter while I went to work. We were seriously gone for only a little over 24 hours but it seemed like a mini vacation.

Before I go any further, I have to say we loved the Fairfield Inn & Suites. We found the hotel to be immaculate and everyone that worked there to be extremely pleasant & friendly.  We especially enjoyed the complimentary breakfast!!

Now on to the wedding. What can I say, it was awesome!! It was my first time at the Exeter Inn and everyone there, especially Shannon Cote the catering sales manager, was accommodating and helpful. The food was excellent, I had the beef,  and the room was perfect for the 80 or so guests that were in attendance. I don’t think the guests traveled too far to get to the reception but the Inn and the historic town gave it a very “destination wedding” feel.

I’ve worked several weddings with Janet & Mark’s friends and I knew it would be fun, but these people were there to party!! Once the dancing started, it didn’t stop. I think I may have played 3 slow songs for about 3 1/2 hours. The crowd was mostly younger and the music was mixed to suit. We covered all the current Kiss 108 hits & club anthems as well as quite a few old school classics. Some crowd favorites included Diamond Girl by Nice & Wild, Buffalo Stance by Neneh Cherry, Be Faithful by Fatman Scoop, and Juicy by Notorious B.I.G..

Here are some photos below. If you’ve been following my blog, I’ve been working on my photography skills. My pics seem to be getting better every week thanks to my friend, genius photographer, Doug Bradshaw of Bradshaw Photography. He’s been showing me the ropes and has been very patient. 🙂 If you are in need of a very talented wedding photographer he should make your short list, seriously, he’s brilliant.

The latest edition to my camera bag is the Demb Flip-It.  It was created by an amazing local photographer – Joe Demb. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for a wedding photographer, he’s no longer for hire. He’s now using his camera knowledge to invent products for the photography masses. His device “turns the harsh shadows of ordinary flash photography into portrait-like lighting” (quote taken from his website) . I find that it takes images that would normally look flat & gives them dimension.  I could see the difference right away in my cameras display. For $28 (the cost of the flip-it)  I’m really happy with the results.  If you’re a professional photographer or a hobbyist like me, I highly recommend checking it out!!

Here’s a some pics from a Bat Mitzvah at Hotel Marlowe. Great time had by all!!

And what an amazing space. Maggie Kirk my liaison  from Hotel Marlowe could not have been more accommodating. We had are own “green room” stocked with soda, snacks, dinner and a tasty cheesecake from the Cheescake Factory!! Could life get better?

It could and it did. 🙂 From beginning to end the party-goers danced, danced and danced some more. What a night!!

A killer request list and a packed dance floor made Justin & Elizabeth’s Atkinson Country Club wedding a dream dj job. The bride & groom kicked off the party with Bruno Mars and the dance floor was jam packed till the end. Check out the slide show for proof!!

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Steve & Liz have an amazing story. 20+ years after high school they reconnected by chance through Facebook. Their FB chats led to an engagement and todays heartfelt & emotional wedding ceremony and reception.
Amateur photos in this slide show taken by me, Greg Hodges of 5 Star Events Disc Jockey. I was also spinning the tunes:-) Professional photos by Doug Bradshaw (bradshawphotography.com). Video cinematography by Tim Briggs of Visions Forever (visionsforever.com). Both are amazing professionals!!

Here are some of the detail shots from Amanda & Craig’s wedding. They spent a ton of time planning for this wedding and it was truly amazing. After the event, I heard the Black Rock servers mention that it was the funnest of all the weddings they had attended!!