Ben Lomond Wedding at The Barn at River House

Nestled in the scenic mountains of Ben Lomond, The Barn at River House is an unforgettable wedding venue that perfectly blends rustic charm with modern elegance. From the moment guests arrive, they’re welcomed by the stunning mountain views and a beautifully maintained property that sets the tone for a magical day.

The venue itself is thoughtfully designed. The barn’s interior is surprisingly elegant — not your typical rustic space. With its high ceilings, refined woodwork, and stylish lighting (including some very classy ceiling fans upstairs), it’s clear this venue was built for celebration. The bathrooms are modern and pristine, offering comfort without sacrificing the barn’s aesthetic charm.

The ceremony took place outdoors, framed by lush greenery and mountain air. It was a heartfelt moment officiated by the groom’s father, who offered touching insights into the couple’s journey. It added a personal, emotional touch that everyone appreciated.

Following the ceremony, cocktail hour was held outside with smooth Rat Pack classics playing in the background, creating a timeless and romantic vibe. Guests then made their way inside for the reception. A grand entrance and heartfelt thank-you speech kicked off the evening, followed by a delicious dinner and emotional toasts.

Highlights included a touching mother-son dance, a romantic first dance, and then — the party really started! From 7 to 9 PM, the dance floor was alive with energy. The crowd was ready to celebrate, and the music kept the momentum going all night.

If you're looking for a wedding venue in the mountains that offers both elegance and a great atmosphere for celebration, The Barn at River House in Ben Lomond is a top contender. It’s truly a place made for unforgettable moments.

This weekend, love was in the air at a beautiful wedding in Los Angeles, where Eric and Jessica tied the knot in an unforgettable celebration filled with family, friends, and music that captured every emotion.

The festivities began as the DJ arrived at 4:00 PM to set up for an evening of dancing and joy. By 5:00 PM, the romantic sounds of a live mariachi band filled the venue, delighting guests until 6:30 PM. Right after, the energy shifted with the grand entrance — the wedding party made their debut to “Safaera” by Bad Bunny, followed by the couple’s entrance to “Eoo,” also by Bad Bunny.

At 6:40 PM, heartfelt toasts were made, with Eric and Jessica thanking their guests for sharing this special day. Dinner followed at 7:00 PM with a carefully curated 25-song Spotify playlist, creating the perfect ambiance.

By 7:45 PM, the emotional first dance took place to “Diez Pasos Hacia Ti.” Eric shared a sweet dance with his daughters to “Sea of Love,” and Jessica danced with her son to “Photograph.”

Dancing kicked off at 7:55 PM with a high-energy Spotify playlist, leading into the 8:30 PM cake-cutting while “Dream a Little Dream” and “Die with a Smile” played. At 8:45 PM, guests enjoyed the garter toss to “Titi Me Preguntó” and a fun bouquet toss to “La Peinada.”

The evening wrapped with a romantic money dance to “Marry You,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” and “Y Llegaste Tú,” saving “Just Like Heaven” and “Memories” as the perfect songs to end a perfect night in Los Angeles.  Lots  of reggaeton  and  cumbias.

Recently did a wedding downtown San Jose at a brewery. The brewery was in a different area and we had the whole outside to ourselves. We had a nice shiny dance floor where we held the ceremony. The ceremony was a tad bit behind schedule but we were able to catch up with all the events scheduled. The officiant had a nice ceremony and we learned more about the couple. After the ceremony we were supposed to do cocktail hour but since we were behind we jumped right into dinner without missing the beat. Sometimes you need to go with the flow.

  The playlist had a lot of hits on it. The groom liked indie music so we played a lot of that. I was not familiar with his kind of music but I made sure I played it. We even went Bay Area music which was easy for me. I did like how we went all over the place to keep the guests on the dance floor.

  Overall it was a fun intimate wedding. Guests were able to get their requests in and we played it then and there. We didn’t do the all typical wedding events. We did the toasts and the first dance plus father daughter dance and mother son dance. Sometimes we shorten the songs but they danced to the whole songs. Not all weddings are the same not they should be. All weddings shims be customized to each couple. We did not do a grand entrance since the couple was already at the venue.

 No two weddings are ever the same. Each wedding we do is costumed for the couple. When planning my latest wedding then we found out the wedding was a non dance wedding. I have never done one before but I was willing to take it on. As a dj you are trained to build a dance floor and keep on building it with the progression of playing good dance music. But then again every wedding is a custom wedding and I wanted to be a part of it.

  Typically, when you work on a wedding you have 2 to 3 hours of open dancing. But when you are not having dancing at all period you have to schedule other activities. I was in charge of finding out some fun games for the wedding. I did share some ideas with the couple and they opted to do family feud and some music trivia. So I went to find some really good family feud questions and saw some episodes to remind me how the game went and went over the rules. As for the game trivia I looked at the top hits for a certain decade and also got come classic TV show theme songs. It would bring back the good ole days.

 I was prepared for the game activities. During the actual wedding, the couple spent a lot of time in the photo booth. We ended up doing the bouquet toss. We did have a sparkler exit. There were two lines of guests with sparklers and the couple walks down. It wasn’t too dark yet but it still looked nice.

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 We are having a heat wave during this month of September. Heatwave or not I always talk to the planner about having some sort of shade for my gear. With extreme heat, it can cause the speakers to shut off and also the computer will not play music.

  We were having a nice outside ceremony. Right before the ceremony everyone was trying to cool down in the bar area and were reluctant to go outside. The venue did provide some umbrellas spread out amongst the chairs.

 The ceremony had two officiants with some who specialized in the Jewish culture while the other focused on the Spanish component.

It was a nice blend of two cultures and the bride and groom left the ceremony with a festive Spanish song.

  For the cocktail hour, we played Spanish bolero music. Bolero is like slow tempo Spanish music. It was love themed. Again everyone was in the bar area and not in the reception area. We had to round everyone out to the reception area so we can do grand entrance.

 Bridal party came out to Big Energy by Latto while the bride and groom came out to Through the Fire by Chaka Khan. We had Spanish and English announcements. We had a bilingual emcee.

But we can tell everyone wanted to dance. And we gave them what they wanted: Lots of Salsa and Spanish hitters to get everyone moving. Of course Bad Bunny was requested and they got him. Bride and groom got a confetti send off which made an awesome picture.

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Sometimes you may think why not have a grand event in your back yard. I have to say most backyards may not be as fancy but if you live in the south county area some folks have more real estate to have a grand event. A few months ago I did a fun quincenera in San Martin. The house had plenty of acres and a nice paver area for the dance floor. Last week, I returned to the house and they now had overhangs to provide needed shade and lights. It gave it a really nice look. The place could consider maybe having more events since its so spacious and there is plenty of parking but that is besides the point.

We had the ceremony as the groom’s dad was the officiant. Five minutes before the ceremony we played the military wake up call to get everyone in their seats. Ceremony was a nice one then it went straight to the cocktail time. There was no grand entrance since bride and groom didn’t leave the area to take pictures and were able to partake in the cocktail hour.

We did the first dance to pantera and there were many parent dances. Then the rest of the night we had open dancing. There were some guest performances with folklorico dancing and grandma and niece had a duet. Then we had a surprise jam session with the groom on his electrical guitar. Truly a very talented family. No two weddings are ever the same.

Lori and Tim had a fabulous wedding at Fortino Winery.  Weather could not be any better. What was a treat was with the shade installed on the grounds it was not hot for the ceremony and reception. Fortino Wineries has to be one of the best outside venues in the area since it has a lot of space and a good shelter from the sun. They had a nice ceremony in the grass area by the Officiant Frances. She did a fine job. They incorporated a Japanese tradition of planting a grape wine together. 

Grand Entrance consisted  of the bride and groom and mother of the bride with best man and maid of honor. 

Cocktail hour was only 30 minutes and the great food was served. Dinner had a good r&b vibe during the meal. 

A few toasts were made and one was made via recording that was very touching. The first dance was a special one. It started off as a country song then it turned into C + C Music Factory song with the lyrics Everybody Dance Now Looped 4 times. Folks were able to join the couple with their first dance. Right after dinner it started to get dark. So we arranged to get some uplights to add some color around the venue. Venue is already pretty but the uplights add accents. They were lined up with the trees and bushes. Uplights always add a nice touch. They are a classy touch and it gives the area a new vibe. 

Music was very diverse. It was a lot of old school throwbacks. It was a mix of 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.

Matt and Stefanie had a beautiful micro wedding at a Monte Serrano Residence. It was decorated beautifully that you would not think it was a residence but an actual venue. They had around 7 long tables wrapped around the house. We had enough volume for everyone to hear the toasts but we did not go too loud for the neighbors to call for loudness. 

They were married elsewhere and brought the party to Monte Serrano. 

 They kept their wedding events to the minimum so they can really focus on the toasts and the dancing. There was no bouquet or garter toss. I do notice of late a lot of couples are opting to not include all the wedding events. They can decide what to keep and what to drop. Bride and groom came in with the Chicago Bulls theme song. Knowing the Bulls dynasty, it’s a very epic intro song. 

The caterers were from Irvine. I know why these folks came up North for this wedding because their food was outstanding. I overheard one wedding guests say she had been to many weddings but never had food this good. I agree it was top notch food. 

The toasts were good ones while the best man, matrons of honor, and the dads of the bride and groom spoke. I truly enjoy listening to toasts since you able learn more about the bride and groom. 

We had plenty of dancing. A lot of the songs were fun throwback songs. The song of the night was Chumbawamba. I can honestly say I never played that live anywhere but this night and it was a hit.