I was talking to a group about prom. Someone suggested a place that was like known but not really on the radar. I told them that prom should bring excitement. When students mention the name of the place that they want to brag about it to other students who go to other schools. Capital Club is a prom venue student will brag about. It is located in the heart of downtown San Jose. There is plenty of underground parking under the venue. The venue is located in a hotel on the 17th floor so prom folks can admire the wonderful sights of downtown.

  I did a birthday party recently and it was a huge success. The venue can be separated by walls so it can be a bigger place or smaller based on the event. At the beginning of the event everybody was on the balcony enjoying the view. It was a good place for guests to talk while overlooking the city. Capital Club has an excellent friendly staff. They helped me by getting a cart for me and made sure I had some appetizers. They even validated my parking. They really know customer service. I felt really taken care of.

I feel a successful prom can happen at Capital Club. It has all the ingredients of what a prom venue should have. Its location cannot be beat. The views has to be one of the best prom views I have seen. It has a classy look to it. And staff really know how to treat their customers. You cannot go wrong with Silicon Valley Capital Club. Please see my update review of Capital Club.

I am always in the Gilroy area but if you go down a little more south for about 11 miles there is a nice little town called San Juan Bautista. It is a pretty town with a nice vibe tied to it.

Black and White Affair teamed up with South Valley Internet for a family fun event. South Valley Internet is spreading its wings and hitting more areas outside of Gilroy and Morgan Hill. It was an easy set up at Vertigo Coffee Roasters. This is not your typical coffee shop. You can get some beer in the shop and have it outside. The outside area did have a fun party vibe to it.

  I loved this event since I was in charge of the music vibe. We went straight old school and kept it like that the whole time. We did some classic 90s hits and sprinkled some 70s rock then had to do some disco. At events like this I don’t want to play the typical songs that all djs play. I know it’s a good night when people come up to me and tell me they haven’t heard these songs in years.

  SVI raffled out a new ipad and Vertigo gift cards. The folks who came enjoyed the home made ice cream and pizzas that they were giving out and people loved the artist who was drawing guests.

If you are having any event and want to make it memorable please call Black and White Affair

Society may have slowed down during the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean everything has to stop – including your dreams of nuptial bliss. Especially now that the pandemic is waning, it’s time to get back to planning one of the most magical moments of your life. Choosing the right venue is paramount to making this happen. But, there are many pieces that must come together to make a location perfect. Today, Black and White Affair DJ Services has a few things you should keep in mind when it’s finally time to decide where to say, “I do.”

Your Budget

Your budget is one of the top considerations, especially if you're a young couple just starting out and will be paying for your wedding on your own. Luckily, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to throw a party everyone will enjoy. For instance, If you don’t have a nice chunk in savings, it might make the most sense to scale back and get married at home.

This money might be best put toward new paint, a gazebo, an outdoor kitchen, a new patio, or other upgrades that will enhance your wedding day as well as your quality of life. Whatever you choose to do, keep itemized receipts so that if you plan to sell your home; your appraisal may not account for upgrades if you can’t justify them.

The Approved Vendor List

Now that you have your budget under control, it’s time to look at venues that fall within it. But, just because it’s affordable on the surface doesn’t mean that it’s right. Some venues require that you use their vendors, meaning the service providers can charge whatever they want.

Location

Location is another key consideration, particularly if you have guests coming from out of town. If you’re planning to get married well outside of the city center, know that there may be fewer hotels available for overnight lodging. According to The Knot, your out-of-town guests are responsible for paying for their own rooms, so try to be budget conscious and choose a location that has plenty of accommodations within half an hour.

Theme

Now for the fun part: choosing a theme. Make sure that your venue is the perfect backdrop for your vision. This might be a fairytale, garden, bohemian, rustic, or modern. If you choose rustic, a metropolitan hotel probably isn’t the right choice. Similarly, if you’re going for a modern look, a barn venue simply won’t have it.

Memorability

You will most definitely remember your wedding day, but if you are shooting for something a bit more unique than a traditional venue, think outside of the box. The Green Wedding Shoes blog acknowledges that there are many amazing places to get married throughout the United States: a treehouse, a towering bridge, an antique store, and a historic basilica are just a few ideas.

Time Availability

The vast majority of us will plan on getting married on a Saturday; it is, after all, the most convenient. But, you might prefer to say your nuptials on a Thursday or Friday evening or Sunday after church. Contact your preferred venue well ahead of time to make sure that you will have the availability that you desire. The same goes for if you plan to hold the reception on-site and party until the wee hours of the morning. The last thing you want is for your wedding coordinator to put the kibosh on the fun at 11 PM.

The People

Choosing a venue is one of the double-edged swords of the planning process. It’s incredibly fun, but also incredibly stressful. Now that the pandemic is mostly behind us, though, it’s time to make your dreams a reality. Hopefully, the tips above can help you make the most of your search. Whatever you choose, congratulations on your upcoming celebration!

Black and White Affair DJ Services focuses on bridging the gap between club dj and the mobile dj experience to provide custom playlists and tons of energy. Call 408-768-4904.

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I have noticed big changes in the wedding format. Long gone is the typical wedding with the standard events. This is a new age and it is the have it your way wedding. Keep in mind that this is one of the biggest events in the bride and groom’s lifetime so they should have the say on what should take place.

Long ago a lot of wedding were done at a church or religious building or courthouse. Now folks are getting married at a venue so the dj can provide sound for the officiant and the ceremony music.

Grand entrance is done 99 percent of the time. Usually the bride and groom and taking photos during cocktail hour then when they are done they are announced. But I have been noticing that bride and grooms are just announcing themselves and occasionally the wedding party.

Money dance is far and few. I have not done many of those of late. Folks are moving away from that. In case you don’t know, the money dance is where the bride and groom dance with guests and guests give donations to the bride and groom. It’s a nice gesture since the bride and groom are busy during the wedding but it gives time to have one on one conversations.

Garter toss and Bouquet toss are not really happening. Most of the weddings I am doing now are smaller thus there can be less single people so a lot of couples have been skipping that.

All and all, the bride and groom can opt to do events or not do them. I never tell them they should do an event since I want them to enjoy what they are doing. Keep in mind, this is the bride and grooms’ party so they can have it their way!

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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.

Party was very nice and they had a party planner that set up chairs and the coolest thing I saw there were was hot taki stand.

Every party is never the same. And of course I had one that was way different when it came to music programing. The night started off with 90s alternative. It’s a rarity that we go that route but there is a lot of good music back then by Alanis Morrisette and Green Day and Sheryl Crow. Then when it was dance time we went Spanish music.

The classic Spanish music I went for the last hour. The crazy thing was the whole night no one requested any songs till the last 10minutes. They did give me an awesome list to work off.  Again no party is ever the same. I see their list and use their list and try to add songs that would feed that vibe.

Timbiriche was the group of the night. Also Intocable was well appreciated. It seemed like these songs were sung by the guests. We did sneak in some modern English dance songs but the songs of the night had to be Spanish.

When it hit 11, we had to stop the music but the guests went back in the house to continue the party. Songs that were getting down to after were Ven Bailalo by Angel Y Khriz, Meneaito by Gaby, La Botella by Mach and Daddy and Atrevete Te Te by Calle 13. These are definitely party songs that can get the party rocking.

Think Black and White Affair for your latin party events.

I would usually do the sound for graduation for Mt. Madonna in Gilroy. I did it 2018 and 2019 then the world was closed for a bit. 2020 and 2021 there were no graduations for the public. This year we were now open and we had a nice graduation celebration in Gilroy. Students invited their guests to come to the celebration.

It was not too hot for this graduation. I brought two 15 inch speakers and it was enough sound for the amphitheater. I used my older 15-inch speakers since they can take a licking and keep on ticking. Even though I had the tanks working for me I had a few more speakers in reserve in my car. Back in 2018 the Gilroy heat took out one of my speakers. Luckily I had another that took its place for the event.

Thirty minutes before the graduation I play the preceremony music while the graduates are getting situated. This time around I went will old school that everyone knows and did something different. I threw in acoustics of songs that everyone knows. I was playing Ed Shereen songs and Rihanna covers.

I like the graduations at Mt Madonna since they have a rose dedication ceremony. The graduates give a rose to someone who was there for them. I play a 3 minutes song, which is plenty of time to find that special someone to give the rose to.

At the end the graduates officially graduate and its party time. I played a festive song and threw in a Spanish banger just to finish things off.

I remember seeing the cost to do the audio for the graduation ranging from 3k to 7k. Some schools have big classes so therefore there are more guests that come to the grand event. Some local school were posting their costs and I was blown away. For me, it was a lot since schools pay thousands of dollars (schools do a lot to raise the money) and do not get to keep the equipment.

There has to be a more economic way to have these services. One thought is since there are so many schools, the district can contract with 2 or 3 big av services to ensure a loyalty discount. 

Another consideration is maybe looking for a local amphitheater.  They are built to carry sound. You could rent audio gear for 300 to 700 dollar to take care of the sound. (Probably need 4 speakers depending how big the school is. I do a local high school and it only requires 2 speakers. 

Another thought is to do it in-house. At this local high school they installed (2) 15 inch speakers and put them on 30 foot poles. Also they installed wireless Shure microphone with a fin to cover more ground. Of course there is cost to install the system and  pay for the system but the past 3 graduations at that school here was 0 cost for audio services. Yes, it’s a smaller school but the idea still works.