I got a call to do a Quince about a month before the event. A quince takes time to prepare since there is a lot to ponder. What events do we want to do in the quince? How traditional do we want it to be? 

  We were fortunate enough to have it at a spacious San Martin Home. We could be as loud or quite as we like and have as much light as we could since we had a lot of room to work with. 

We always need a grand entrance and the birthday girl came out with Turn Down For What. Right after that they went straight to the Baile Sopresa. Then we did a little dancing then we went into dinner. When dinner was announced the parents did a thank you speech for the guests. 

Then it was time to do some quince events. There was the shoe exchange which was sneakers into cowboy boots which was done with the dad and the quince. Then the crowning was done by the mom and the birthday girl. And finally the sisters presented the doll which was wearing the same type of dress as the quince.

After that then we did the 15 Candle presentation where 15 people who are significant were called up one by one to be with the birthday girl.

Then they had open mic speeches then we went straight to cake with the mananitas. 

After that it was party time with a mix of cumbias, pop, and west coast old school hip hop. 

I was all over the bay area for 3 holiday corporate events. Saturday we were doing a big internet company bash in Morgan hill. This is the 3rd event I have for the group. They gave me a lot of songs in their playlist of their liking. Mama mia served up a master meal. A few of the leaders spoke about achievements and talked about folks they wanted to hi light. We finished up the night on the dance floor.

The following day we were doing a corporate event in Fremont which was primarily Spanish music. This was the first corporate event where most of the music was Spanish. I started the event with a little xmas music then 15 min in when folks started showing up I then went with Spanish. I did throw in some old school classics in English. The boss was a young man and his assistant were running the events. They were running games for their employees for nice prizes. Later on they did a raffle and gave out prizes. The songs that got everyone grooving was cumbia and salsa.

Then on Thursday we had a real estate party. They know how to party and they did it on a weekday. It was at their office and they were very happy folks. It was supposed to be a 3 hour event but it was extended to an extra hour. It was all old school and r&b the whole night, No new music the past 5 years was played. There were no announcements and the theme was just to eat drink and be merry. All of them succeeded!

There is a new phenomon happening in the dj world. It is the ability to stream songs in the dj set. So djs can find a song not in their library and be able to play it at events. 2020 was the year to dj from the home and folks could take advantage of using their own internet to play virutually. They could rely on their home internet for stable internet use. 

Well now that the world is semi open. Folks are now getting calls to do events. Some places more than others and now Djs have this in their arsenal. How safe is it to Dj outside the home with this streaming service? It all depends on how strong the wifi is at the venue. If one is doing an event at a residence then the internet can be strong but if the venue is out of nowhere then internet maybe spotty. There is nothing worse than getting the beach ball of doom while waiting for a song to come on or if the song is cutting in or out while playing. 

Streaming might be the answer for the people who don’t have a music library. They wont need the time collect their music but all they would need is to type the song in the search bar. 

There are a few services that can work with your dj software. I prefer to use serato and have used beatsource and tidal. Tidal does have a bigger library and a bit cheaper than beatsource. But what makes beatsource different is they have dj friendly edits. That means they have an intro to make it mix friendly if that’s something someone is interested.

One of the best outside venues in the Gilroy area is Fortino Winery.  I do like the fact that the space is so open and it was outside. I also liked I could bring my 12 inch speakers and it can be heard at the other end with ease. One does not need tons of speakers to be efficient at Fortino Winery. Its also a cool place since they have a big open space and another space to hold events in case one needs a plan b. They can easily hold two events at the same time and even wanted to can hold another outside event at the tables by the front parking.  I had the pleasure to play there this past weekend. It was a school staff event and it was a good time. The music theme was simple and it was just old school. 70s 80s and 90s. Again the food was top notch. They also had a photo booth which was fun for the folks.

The following day was my birthday. Pre covid I would opt to not work my birthday. But this party had the makings of something special. I heard the playlist that consisted of Spanish classics and 80s music. I am a sucker for the classics and I felt I needed to be at this party. The hostess gave me a lot of artists such as Thalia, Alejandro Fernandez, Paulina Rubio to set a good vibe. I have to vote for South County as one of the best places to have a residence event. We had the volume at a good amount and we didn’t have to worry about neighbors complain about the sound. 

 2020 was a year in the dj wedding industry we like to forget. It started with a lot of promise then the lockdown happened. Folks had to wait for their big events so 2021 and 2022 are booking fast.  I have noticed more traffic on my website and people are looking to have events.

What do I recommend? I recommend getting your venue first and foremost. If there is no venue then there is no party can happen. Once that is secure its time to get your dj. Its good to have at least 6 months to prepare but folks have called with one month before and dates are booking fast. Saturday is by far the most popular day followed by Friday. So those days will be hard to secure if its short notice. But off days such as Monday and Tuesday will have way more openings. But if you have your heart on a Saturday and you try to get it a month before the event then you may want to look into having it early since some places may have availability. But being rushed out of your party to set up another party does not sound fun. Again off days such as a Sunday and you can start earlier and finish at 6 or 7 so folks can get enough rest for their day job the following day. 

Also consider the weather can be a factor if you have an outside event. If you do book an event and its outside make sure the venue has a plan b or inside option if the weather does not permit. In the Bay Area, weather can be factor but good venues always have alternatives.

Mid March 2020 something happened that never happened in my lifetime. It seemed like the whole world closed. All hospitality events stopped in California. I just did an event on March 6th and my corporate event on the 8th was cancelled. I had a big race event in April and that was cancelled. My weddings in the summer were tentative since everything was in the air. No one knew when this was going to end. 

 The answer was the vaccine and while that was being created all the weddings were one by one being cancelled. Its July 2021 and in California we are slowly opening up.

What has changed since early 2020?

Venues are now open to have events. Currently we are in our summer so its warm so many folks are opting to have events outside. A lot of folks in California I notice are still wearing masks even though they are vaccinated. There are few that neglect to partake in the maskwearing.

Dj will take requests but rather by getting a text of what to play. I have seen djs with nice posters stating how to request a song.

Djs are having microphone covers that they have to change after every speaker.

So you maybe wondering is it time to have a wedding in the Bay Area? There are many outside venues and the weather is unbeatable. 

Just select a dj that will do whatever he can to ensure the safety of all the folks that you care about in your wedding. Black and White Affair can be the dj for your grand event!

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A typical wedding reception is 5 hours long. One hour will go to the cocktail hour. That is when the bride and groom are taking pictures with their bridal party. The remaining four hours will be the grand entrance, the important dances, dinner and the open dancing.

A properly set up dinner will run from 45 minutes to an 1 hour 15 minute event. During that time the bride and groom will normally go table to table to thank the guests individually and be able to chit chat with their guests. Usually at this time, the photographer will be taking photos of the guests and the bride and groom at the tables. I have seen the bride and groom eat at the center table and the guests were going up to them and taking photos. Most of the bride and grooms opt to go to the tables. What usually happens is the bride and groom do not get a chance to eat their whole meal since they are visiting all the tables. Please make sure you get to eat since there is plenty of dancing and wedding to enjoy.

Keep in mind that if the wedding has a buffet it will take a little longer since folks are serving themselves and being excused table by table than if the waiters are distributing the food. Have the dj or the wedding planner excuse the tables if not people will help themselves thus slowing the process.

Is it uplighting necessary? Uplighting is a nice touch to any party. It does add a sense of classiness. It can also provide a club vibe to the venue.

Some djs offer it as an upgrade but also some venues are stepping it up and including it in their package. Typically, they are wireless so there is less wires so it looks classy and one does not need to worry about being close to a power source.

Uplights can be on the whole night and the remote can make the uplights flash different colors if they are synced. These lights have a 6 to 10-hour battery life. A color that is typical if the client does not ask for a certain color is amber. Amber is a very neutral color.   As opposed to the dj lights that turn on during the dance portion of the night. Ideally the dj does not want to turn those on during the first dance since it will make it difficult for the photographer to take good pictures. These lights can be sound activated and can flash different colors and the hopes of these lights are to draw people to the dance floor to shake a little leg. It would be beneficial to place them evenly around the room.

So are uplights necessary? No they are not. Do they add anything to the venue? It does add some charm to the room. Some venues are already beautiful none will be needed but it does create a vibe and can really look beautiful in some pictures.