Saturday, November 20^th, 2010

Tonight, I was DJ’ing a wedding for Glenda and Wayne at the Edmonton Faculty Club, which is located on the University of Alberta Campus.  I have been in this location numerous times in the past, but today was the first time I was on the main floor of this venue.  The venue is located on Saskatchewan Drive at approximately a hundred and fifteenth street which is easy to locate, parking is very affordable and often free, and is very accessible from all points of view.

The bride and groom, on this day, asked me also to provide ceremony music, which is becoming more and more of a norm where people have their ceremony and reception in the same location and also sometimes in the same room.  On this day, both the ceremony and the reception were held in the same room, which made my job slightly easier not having to set up sound equipment in two different rooms.

Upon arrival to the location, the faculty club, for the most part, is one of the harder venues to get equipment into and out of, especially if you are in the upstairs room.  Lucky enough, I was in the downstairs room, which simply required me to roll my equipment down the hallway and into the room.  The faculty club is well- known in Edmonton for its fine dining, and in my mind, is in the top five venues in Edmonton to eat at, but I will get to that in a little while.

While arriving to the faculty, the general manager was on staff, greeted me in a very friendly manner and welcomed me back, obviously recognizing me from the times I have been there in the past.  It is always great to be treated as a guest when one arrives to a facility even though I am a contractor.

The ceremony started at 5.30, with a marriage commissioner and a friend of the family officiated the ceremony.  I found this to be very dynamic for the person who was a friend of the bride and groom provided a level of intimacy that you just do not get from a marriage commissioner.

I never met the bride and groom prior to this day, and they straight away impressed me when they greeted me immediately when they came to the room. They also made sure that I was looked after from every respect as to where I was placed in the room to set up, as well including me for dinner, which often, as DJs, we are overlooked.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, and for me, the interesting part of the ceremony is when they had three friends singing and playing guitars for parts of the ceremony and as well, a niece of the bride, was playing piano prior to the actual ceremony starting with background music.  I always find live music to add such vibrancy to almost any function, especially a ceremony.

After the ceremony, the reception began immediately, and the staff at the faculty club proceeded to flip the room from a theatre setting to tables and chairs in the area used for the ceremony.

Dinner then began about seven o’ clock, it was a three course plated service, and the meal was exceptional.  In fact, the dessert was probably the best dessert I have ever had and I have probably eaten out over 600 times in this business of being an Edmonton DJ.  I give thanks to the chefs and the people who planned that meal, as it was truly magnificent.

On that note, of the meal, the one thing that is disappointing in a plated service is sometimes, the staff doesn’t know or was not trained with the proper etiquette of service, and the only thing I noticed is that the staff served the men or women in whatever fashion they want.  As to my understanding, proper etiquette, especially for a higher end facility like this, would be that the women at each table are served first, and the men served last.

Throughout dinner, the speeches were given between each course, and I have to say that these are some of the finest speeches I have ever heard. The mother of the bride truly stole the show with a poem that she did.  Actually, it turned out that she rapped the song, the poem out, and everybody was snapping their fingers along with her to create a groove and rhythm.  It was by far one of the most entertaining things I have ever seen or been a part of.  The laughter, at times, was so loud that she had to stop and wait for them to stop laughing so she could continue with her poem.

The bride and groom had one thing in mind as they planned their wedding – for their guests to have an enjoyable evening.  That was clear from every aspect of whatever they may did and the dance was a big portion of that night and it placed a great value on that, and we worked hard to provide a level of music that everyone would enjoy.

As the bride and groom were having their second marriage, and they are close to 50 in age, it was clear that the older staff would work and did work most of the night.  Anytime I tried to play a request that was newer, it unfortunately did not work.

The dance floor had people on it the whole night through and everyone in attendance had a great time.  I special thanks go out to the staff that the Faculty Club as they made sure I got back my battery and charger for my camera that I had accidentally left behind.

Beautiful, glamorous, and fancy wedding dress, inspiring wedding ceremony, Hollywood like photos and video coverage made you think that you have the most perfect wedding of the century, when out of the blue you suddenly heard the music that ruined your dream wedding. Wedding day is one of the most memorable events in one’s life but the question is, is it really for the best or for the worst? Most people don’t take much thought of it but having a great wedding DJ to cater for a wedding event can make a huge difference. The songs being played by the wedding DJ radiates an impact to the wedding attendees, especially for the newlywed couple since their own love story can be related to the songs being played.

    
Here are the tips to consider when hiring a wedding DJ:

A great wedding DJ knows that it is the most important event in your life and treats it as one. He also makes you feel that you are the most precious person in the event. The success of the event is his success and he goes an extra mile to achieve it.

A great wedding DJ must look and acts professional, he dresses appropriately for the event and treats everyone with respect.

A great wedding DJ plans and correlates with you to know what music should be played and those that will not. He also offers advice and suggestions on things that will create a perfect atmosphere in the said event.

A great wedding DJ does not directly invite the guests to go to the dance floor. He does it by capturing the crowd’s interest and playing the music that they want.

A great wedding DJ makes a quality sound using high quality sound systems. He plays the music just right, not too loud neither too soft.

A great wedding DJ delights and impresses people. He does not just play music and perform but he entertains and makes everyone feel that they are being considered concerning the kind of music to be played and enjoyed by them.

A great wedding DJ is ready to accommodate any special request by the bride and groom and even from the guests.

A great wedding DJ is prompt and always in action. He arrives on time and always ready to entertain everyone.

A great wedding DJ should always have his alternative plan when unexpected things happen such as emergency cases on his part, breakdown of instruments, or transportation concerns. In this kind of situation, the DJ must assure that the equipments needed in the occasion will be brought in the event.

A great wedding DJ makes a perfect blend of music and announcements. He knows when to turn on the microphone and when not to talk. He talks in a very clear, smooth and professional manner.

Your wedding day should not only be memorable to the bride and the groom but to the guests as well since they are sharing the most noteworthy occasion of their loved ones. The tips above are useful and functional guide in choosing a great wedding DJ to create an alluring, classy, having a sweet, and an inviting ambiance of music; indeed a perfect wedding ever.

Edmonton Wedding DJ

A great party for some great friends.

The two easiest parties to do are family dances and kids birthday parties.   Turning 8 is great and having a dancing is even better.  Kids are great as they just want to have fun and have no inhibitions when it comes to doing just that.  All of the kids came to have fun and fun is what they had.

With all the lights and sounds you would find at a school dance we gave the birthday girl the full meal deal.  Add in all the classic songs you can think of from the Hokey Pokey to the Limbo you have the elements for a great party.  At the end of the dance there was a candy toss and the birthday girl opened all her presents to end off the afternoon.

Please see the video below for highlights of the day.

Calgary Trail South Edmonton Canadian Tire at the Sawmill Banquet Facility.

This event was exactly what a corporate function should be.  Good people, good food and lots of fun.  Last year I also was the DJ for Canadian Tire and even though it was a really good party it ended a little early due in part to it being held on a Sunday.  This year management agreed to close the store early on Saturday which in turn led to a more successful party.  As some of the employees had spouses and partners that normally would have to work on a Monday morning, therefore causing them to leave the party earlier on a Sunday that if the party was held on a Saturday.  Needless to say this year’s holiday party was way more successful than last year.

I would like to thank the staff at the Sawmill Banquet Facility for being very accommodating to my style of DJ.  As an Edmonton DJ many venues can be a challenge to work at.  Maria Baert was very helpful with a number of things that evening to make my job easier and is well better.  The Sawmill Banquet Facility is a very nice venue on the east end of Edmonton just off 34th Ave and 76 St. 

The room was split in half to accommodate two smaller events.  For me this was the exact same room we were in last year.  The only thing I like to do one in this room is placed my DJ equipment in the middle of the dance floor along the false wall that separates the two rooms.  This creates a better look and feel for the dance floor and allows me to interact with the crowd in a far easier fashion.  In order for me to do this the buffet line had to be moved slightly away from the wall it was great to see the staff willing to make this adjustment happen.

Leaving start at about seven o’clock and everyone was in good spirits right from the get-go.  I recognize the a lot of the same people from the year prior which makes it more enjoyable for me as a DJ to work with people over and over again.  We played a fun Christmas game in order to pick the order of the tables for the buffet line and that went over very well.  Dinner was very well done, buffet style, with lots of items to choose from.  What I really liked about the buffet line was that each item had a name tag so you knew exactly what the item was.  There are a lot more fussy people today than ever before in this allows them to know exactly what they would be eating.

We started the dance right around nine o’clock and coordinated our dance start time with the room next to us.  This is a great idea to prevent music, which is normally played at a higher volume for a dance, from being heard overtop of someone else trying to speak and do speeches after dinner.  The venue was right on top of this issue making sure both events were the best they could be.  We had a full dance floor right from the get go and what really made this party great were about six people that really liked the dance and got the ball rolling which in turn made everyone else want to dance.

You can tell that everyone really get along quite well with everyone else as a good part of the night everyone was dancing in a circle as one or two people showed off their moves in the middle of the circle.  This normally happens when you have a group of people that like each other and like to have fun.

The highlight of the night was when one of the gentlemen dancing decided to take off his sweater in a mock striptease.  Everyone was cheering and laughing as this all happened and it truly elevated the party to another level as I do not think this is normally something this person does on a regular basis.

It is nice like this to continue to make me want to keep being an Edmonton DJ.  Thanks again to the staff and management at Canadian Tire for having me back this year and I hope to see y’all again next year.

Please see below for some video highlights from tonight’s event.

It has been 2 years since the last time I was with my friends at Davis and Company and boy it was good to be back.  The weather outside was frightful and inside it was delightful with great food and friends coming together to celebrate everyone’s favorite time of the year.

The Hotel MacDonald is the most beautiful venue in Edmonton at the best of times; and this time of the year takes it too a whole other level.  The Christmas decorations are so well done and really add to the look of the hotel.  So much so that people were taking pictures of each other in the lobby in front of the great tree and reindeer.

As an Edmonton DJ it is always great to DJ at the MacDonald Hotel and tonight was as good as always.  Over the years I have gotten to know some of the staff and on this night a couple of people were there that I have gotten to know.  A special thanks to Chris for his unequalled service and helpfulness.  He treated me like a guests rather than the hired help and that says a lot about him and the MacDonald Hotel.  If other venues could understand this it would server them well as I have customers that call me and ask what is a good venue to hold a function at and I always mention the Mac.

Dinner was served just about 7:30PM, which was a little late, because of the poor road conditions making people run late getting to the location.  Dinner was, simply put, amazing and I could not have had another bite as I over did it.  It was great to sit a relax and enjoy a great meal and my dinner guests were great to visit with and we had a great conversation over dinner.

After dinner we had a couple of quick speeches and the highlight of the night was 2 things.  1st was the slideshow and video presentation that the interns put together.  There were a few slides shown on the screen that were doctored in Photoshop that had everyone laughing as the interns made jokes about the office staff. 

The video presentation followed the slideshow and that was a spoof in the TV show “the Office” and boy was it funny. It must have taken days to put that together and was one of the best presentations I have ever seen and all I can say was the bar has been set high and will be hard to beat.

The 2nd thing was the “Family Feud Game” where 2 teams were picked and competed against each other to answer a few fun questions about the staff and partners based on how well they new each other.  This was very well done and the MC did a great job of preparing the game in advance.  I will be sure to recommend this to other companies in the future.

The dance got started about 10:00 and it was just like old times.  Since I had been with this group before and had a good understanding as to what they liked and that was a good starting point and we were able to hit the ground running.  There were lots of requests and everyone just seemed to cut loose a little and have some fun and relax, something we all need to do once and a while.  What I love about the Hotel MacDonald is the atmosphere in this room.  With a great look and feel and add in great lighting control you can really set the tone for an inviting dance floor where people will want to be.

Please see the attached video for some highlights of the day from “Edmonton DJ” 

December 19, 2009 – Edmonton Corporate Christmas Party for WIKA Instruments Edmonton

It is great to back with WIKA again this year to do their Christmas party.  They are a great group of people that like to have fun.  In order to elevate a party to a higher level we decided last year that we would add in a couple of games to make things a little more interesting.  Corporate functions can be a bit of a challenge as the employees bring a spouse or guest and since they don’t really know anyone they can feel a little out of place.

My goal is to add in some activities that help to break the ice and get everyone to relax a little more so they intern enjoy themselves and stay a little longer.

Last year we decided to play “golf”.  Simply put everyone that comes get a chance to go golfing and every time you sink a putt (best of 3) you get entered into a separate draw then everyone else.  It went over very well last year and everyone lined up to play and it was great fun as everyone cheered and sometimes booed for the person putting.  We decided to leave the golfing in this year and see what happens.  The funny thing is that I think that it was better this year than last year and that is because people knew how it worked and it was so much fun as people that never really golf came up and gave it a try and when they sunk a putt everyone cheered and it was ton of fun.

For dinner we played a game to pick the table order. Santa Bingo is a fun game that is more luck then skill but is better then simply picking number out of a hat.  The fun part was the ribbing people where giving me as we did the game as there was a lot of banter which turned out to be a lot of fun.

Dinner was very well done at the Radisson Inn.  The Radisson is a really nice venue to hold a function at, but is one of the hardest venues to get equipment into and out of.  Also, with the dance floor at the opposite end of the room from the entrance to the room make it even a longer distance for an Edmonton DJ to have to move their gear. Also, the room is quite nice but is in need to painting and a little T.L.C. to keep it current and maintained.

After dinner we played 2 quick rounds of “Name that Tune” and this was great fun as everyone was involved and engaged making it a lot easier to do.  I had a volunteer run my computer which really sped up the game and me running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

The highlight of the night was when myself and 2 managers and the president of the company performed a rewritten version of “Kenny Rogers – the Gambler”.  We did a rehearsal before dinner and that went off without a hitch and we had an almost flawless performance but we all had a little bit of the nerves.  I think the 4 of us had more fun doing this then everyone watching.  I think it is great to see management step outside the box and have a some fun.  I hope we can talk everyone into doing this again next year.

We finally started the dance about 9:30 and we had people on the dance floor the whole night thru.  It was the ladies that really got the ball rolling with some line dances and top 40.  We mixed in a few slow songs, as anyone can dance to a slow song and by 12AM we had a good core group of people left and I played their requests and we had a great time.

Please see the attached video of some highlights of the day from Edmonton Disc Jockey.

It was great to be back with Leduc Junior High for their winter formal.  This is one of my favorite functions to do each year.  I really enjoy doing school dances as the kids just love to dance and have fun, I wish my adult parties were more like this. 

The staff at Leduc Junior High again show what great people they are.  This is an outing where the students must be dressed appropriately, no blue jeans allowed.  First, they all go to a movie at the local theater and then come to the Denham Inn in Leduc for a semi-formal lunch followed by a dance.  Mrs. Ponich was telling me that when they got to the movie theater that some staff did not make in that morning and some of the students that work there on a part-time basis jumped in too fill those spots to allow the function to go that much better.  This really shows the quality of the students at Leduc Junior High.

The students and staff all arrived about 11:30 am to the the Denham Inn and even though it was a bit cold outside everyone was in good spirit and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Everyone was very well dressed and not a hair was out of place.  Lunch was served buffet style and it was a good mix of Chinese food. 

Right after lunch we jumped straight into the dance and we started out with some songs from their social dance program at the school  Dancing is such an important party of our adult life and knowing how to dance is a great thing to know.  As and Edmonton DJ I have been with Leduc Junior High for years and I am always surprised how enthusiastic the students are when it comes to social dancing.  In fact, more kids were on the dance floor for the social dances then for the top 40 dance hits.  Even funnier, is that a lot of the requests were for more songs that were “older” like the “YMCA” and “Macarena”. 

There were lots of door prizes, good food and dancing for everyone.  I really enjoyed myself and hope I have the privilege of being able to come back again and again.  One of the staff at the Denham Inn stated during setup that she still remembers coming to this event and stood out as a great memory from her junior high school days. 

Please see the enclosed video below for some highlights of the day.

November 15, 2009

Twice a year the Hudson’s Bay Company at Southgate Mall hold a special evening for their customers to come into the store after hours and enjoy themselves.  The winter extravaganza was very well attended with lots to do and see.

People were already getting into the Christmas spirit as I was hired as an Edmonton DJ to play Christmas music and provide a microphone for the draws.

The store and mall were all decorated for Christmas which really helped with the atmosphere.

Everyone in attendance was visiting and enjoying themselves and patiently waiting for the amazing door prizes to be given out at the end of the evening. 

What can I say but wow.  There were so many door prizes that started in value from $100 and went up to $350 with 2 grand prizes. 

At about 8:30 everyone gathered at the entrance to the Bay and the door prize giveaway began.  There was lots of cheering and screaming as the winners were announced and claimed the prizes.

Please see the video below for some video highlights of the evening.

Cahahoo Alberta

This was our 3rd year DJing the Calahoo Volunteer annual dinner, dance and silent auction. 

This is one of my favorite functions each year as it is a great function with great people all having a good time.   This is truly one of the hardest place to get into and out of as the room is on the second floor and there is no elevator.  In order for me to get into the room the organizers provide me a couple volunteers to help me carry my equipment up the stairs and back down at the end of the night.

It is a casual event with people attending for as far away as Bruderheim. Everyone has come for some good food, good music and to visit with good friends.  The silent auction is one of the highlights as there are a ton of great items donated via the community and supplies for the fir department. 

Dinner started about 6 PM and is a simple home cooked meal that covers the basics.  It would be great to see a little more variety and maybe some chicken for those of us that don’t eat beef.

The silent auction ran until about 9 pm and then the items were given to the winning bidders and a lot of money was raised in support of the local fire department. 

The dance got started right after the auction and it was a good mix of people dancing to all formats, from country to rock and the newest songs.  One of the highlights from the dance is when we took a break from the dancing to play a couple of games that were both competitive and extremely entertaining.  The Walla Balla and Toilet Plunger games were a big hit that brought out the competitive side of the guests and had everyone in stitches watching from the slide lines.

From there the night just got better and better.  Eveyone danced and had a great time until 2:00 AM. 

Please watch the video below to see all the hightlights from this years event

September 19, 2009

If you are considering booking your next funtion at Snow Valley you NEED to read this post by Edmonton DJ.

Being an Edmonton DJ for almost 10 years has taken me into almost every venue in and around Edmonton and Snow Valley for the most part is pretty decent location for a function.  Except on September 19, 2009.

Lets start with the good stuff.

My bride and groom (Carrie and Jason) were awesome people to work with.  I did all my communications with Jason and he was easy to get along with and open to working together to make their wedding the best that it could be.

Even though it was a little cool out that day, the ceremony was out side the front door of the Lodge at Snow Valley.  Providing the music for the ceremony generally adds about an hour to two of extra work for most functions.

The bride and groom had provided me with all the songs that were required for the ceremony prior to that day.  This made it very easy for me to provide sound for the ceremony.  The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to make sure that the justice of the peace wore a wireless lapel microphone.  This would have made it easier for the guests to hear and therefore enjoy the ceremony that much more.

The bride and groom did amazing job at planning their wedding in providing some of the most interesting and well planned details I have ever seen at a wedding.  As you will see from the photos provided herein the bride and groom spent a lot of time creating a very unique and creative wedding experience.

It started at the ceremony with the program that was passed out prior to the ceremony.  The program was actually designed by the bride, as she is a graphic designer.  The program had all types of interesting tidbits about the bride and groom along with crossword puzzles and games that could be played to pass the time both waiting for the ceremony and in the reception hall.  I had never seen anything like this ever before and would recommend stealing this idea for your next function.

The ceremony went off nearly perfectly.  The only thing that could have been a little better was the weather as it was a little bit chilly that day, therefore making it a little uncomfortable for those attending.

This is only the beginning of the uniqueness and creativity the bride and groom provided on this day.  As soon as you walk in the front door was the sign in table.  It turns out that the bride and groom, in the early days of their relationship, went to a lot of movies and therefore tied the movie theme into their entire wedding.

The seating arrangement was a beautifully designed and laid out table arrangement using movie themes with everyone’s name that was assigned to that movie and the table then had the associated movie placed at that table so you were then able to know where to sit.

Also at the sign in table were some photographs that were placed into a picture frame in the form of a film strip.

Once you made your way upstairs into the main room of Snow Valley you noticed again the attention to detail.  The bride was a country girl and the groom was a city boy, there had table tied in the country theme with a wooden fence placed behind the head table.  It was simple, yet elegant, and really made the head table standout.

Each table had a DVD with a movie jacket and DVD label custom made for each table with the names of the guests at the table printed on their, and as well some other details for the evening.  Each DVD was associated with the seating chart from the main floor and was used as a table number for each table.

After the ceremony the guests were permitted to come straight into the room.  Everyone couldn’t stop talking about all the details the bride and groom had taken into account for their wedding day.

The master of ceremonies did a great job of leading the evening’s festivities with some very entertaining stories and good jokes.  Dinner was then served buffet style in the adjoining room making it a lot easier for the staff at this venue to be less disruptive by not having the buffet line on the dance floor.  The only challenge with dinner was that they ran out of perogies.  I cannot remember the last time I had seen a facility run out of food, and especially pierogies, addin you can simply boil some more BUT thet did not.  Lucky enough this happened with about the last three or four people, including myself, going through the buffet line.

Speeches were short and sweet followed by a very well made slideshow that was put together via the bride and groom.

Shortly after speeches we moved into the first dance.  The bride and groom had decided to do something a little different.  They decided to use “AC-DC – Hells Bells” as their first dance song.  This definitely caught everyone off guard but really broke the ice and set the tone for the entire night.  With a good number of requests and the bride and groom being on the dance floor most of the night helped to produce a great reception.

Now the bad Stuff.

September is a great month to book a venue like Snow Valley where there is a tremendous amount of glass.  This is a venue, in my opinion, should never be booked in June, July or early August.  As nice as it is to look out the windows the challenge one faces is that there is too much light coming into the room until the sun falls which can be as late as 10:30 p.m. at the end of June.  This poses a challenge when getting people to dance as most people have a fear of being watched and generally like the room a little darker which generally leads to a better dance early in the evening.  I have done functions in the past in this room in early July and they generally don’t really get going until the sun falls.

I really do think a Snow Valley is one of the better Edmonton venues except for one thing.  Maria, is the lady that looks after/runs this facility and is truly one of the most difficult people I have ever had the displeasure of working with.  As an Edmonton DJ, I have been to this venue a number of times prior to this function and have always had very few issues in the past.  The biggest challenge is that Maria thinks that the DJ should set up in what I would consider an inadequate location for the type of show my customer has paid for.  When I arrived at the Hall I let her know that we were there and it was good to be back.  I then proceeded to set up my show in a location that would provide both the best sound and allow me to interact with the crowd.  The location I chose to set up my rig had no impact on any other component of this function.  It did not impede the movement of the guests in or out of the room nor did it detract from the look of the room.  Maria came to me when I was nearly finished setting up and asked if that’s where my rig would remain and my response was simply yes for the reasons I do stated above.  She then proceeded to ask you for my business card, politely at that point, upon which I gave her one and as she walked away she turned around and told me that I would never be allowed to return to this facility.  As far as I can tell the only reason she said this is because I did not set up my show in the location upon which she wanted me to.  I simply set up my show, where I had discussed with my customer prior to that date, where I felt would produce the best possible party.  This is the first time I can remember I was treated so poorly as a vendor coming into a reception facility.  It should be the goal of all parties involved in this industry to work together, and to provide the best possible environment for both the client and their guests on that day.  This is clearly not the case at Snow Valley.  My customer and other DJs have also stated that Maria can be very opinionated and rigid when it comes to planning or working at this venue.

I can only say that this was my experience on this day and had been to Snow Valley a number of times before without any incident, what is funny, each time I was there in the past I have set up in the exact same location without any incident or objection from Maria.

Please click on the Edmonton wedding DJ highlights video below to see Carrie and Jason’s special day.