In the South county area one has wineries to choose from for big spaces. But in Morgan Hill there is a restaurant that can boast that it has two areas to have parties. I was able to be part of a company party.

Mama Mia always had a big banquet room where I have djed a few times before. They also had a smaller room for small private dinners. Mama Mia did a genius thing and expanded that small room so it can hold bigger parties. On Saturday they had a band in their bigger room and they had me the dj in their newer room. They were able to add some flowers to the room to add a little color to the room. The party was served buffet style. The staff was on it in serving the party and keeping the space clutter free.

 They do have a private bathroom close to the back venue area but there are also the main bathrooms in the front that have more availability.

 One neat factor was even though a band was playing in the same restaurant I did not even hear any of their music. We were able to have two parties at one in close vicinity without the music interfering with each other. Another perk of the back room is that the back parking lot is only a few steps away so to decorate with flowers or to set up dj equipment is really easy.

 So now Mama Mia’s has two nice inside areas to host events and lets not forget their nice outside area so now it’s a triple threat in hosting nice events.

The City offers a perfect urban atmosphere with plenty of beautiful scenery. It is one of the top U.S. cities to get married in. What makes San Francisco so scenic are the spacious parks, the skyscrapers in the business area, and let’s not forget the San Frans’ icons cable cars and the Famous Golden Gate Bridge. San Fran is surrounded by water so it can provide many beautiful pictures. At San Fran, they have various types of gourmet food made from fresh ingredient to make any venue menu mouthwatering.

Temperature wise San Francisco cannot do no wrong. It may get a little chili at times so make sure you have light jacket in case you get married in the summer.

Half Moon Bay is a small town with big scenic views. There are awesome beaches, fantastic golf courses and delicious food. May to October would be the prime months to go but at the same time it does draw crowds of its beauty.

Napa has very stunning views of acres of vineyards. It is famous for all the wonderful wine that it produces. Restaurants produce fabulous food that go with Napa wine. Napa Valley towns are filled with nice boutiques and galleries.

The best time to go would be the summer and October. September may be hard to book since it is their busy time unless you really pre-book.

The thing to do is to go wine tasting. There are so many wineries to chose from. Guests do have plenty to do when they are going to your destination wedding in Napa.

How to Dj Your Own Wedding in the Bay Area?

A wedding is not something you just throw together and it takes planning and it takes plenty of money. What is one way to save money? Be your own Dj!

There are some worries one may have if they are doing the djing themselves. What happens if it sounds bad? What happens for your special songs are not found during the moment? Plenty can go wrong but being prepared is key.

Make sure you over-prepare the music so songs will not have to be repeated. Also needed are at least two speakers (don’t just get one), a mixing board, and a microphone. There are local av rental places that can drop off and set everything up for the wedding. On the same note, the equipment is rented so hopefully everything works as well as it should since it has had multiple handlers. The venue may have their own set up and it may be easier to use especially if the banquet manager is present to help with the set up. It would also be good to bring another digital player or a laptop with the music in case the first one runs out of battery or just stops working.

On your players settings make sure there isn’t a long gap of silence in between the transitions. A 5 second gap may feel like an eternity. Also play music that is on the disc drive or hard drive. Playing off the Wi-Fi can be tricky and not stable

There is a lot to consider when you are djing your own wedding. A lot can go wrong. Maybe reconsider hiring a professional dj to eliminate the worries and to ensure a flawless performance. Check out www.bwadj.com.

Do You Bring Back Up Equipment?

For weddings that are require ceremony, cocktail hour and reception sound I always bring 5 speakers. Two will be for the ceremony. Most ceremonies only require one but I bring two since I believe its important for everyone to hear the vows and the officiant and the bride and groom. So anytime there is a speaker issue I have 4 others to choose from. From the ceremony, I bring a lapel microphone, a wireless microphone and a wired microphone. Those are back ups to my back up mentality.

I bring two laptops with all the music requested. For some reason one is deciding to not work I have any one that can finish the job. Also I have a connection to hook up to a phone in case I need it so some odd reason. My laptops that I use are only for djing. I do not use it for internet searches. Their only purpose is to play music. For my back up I bring a mini controller incase my main controller malfunctions. It is a small tool that provides a big sound. I have my main headphones and I have regular earbuds in my back pack incase the main ones stop working.

There is no such thing as too few cables. I bring enough for 3 events. I have multiple speaker cables and extension cables that I bring for a great piece of mind. Sometimes the photographer wants to connect to my mixer and I give them the cable to use for that if they do not have it.

I always bring more than I am supposed to but I like to be two steps ahead. A professional dj job is to be prepared.

 San Jose is a big city with lots of people living close by to each other. I had an event this past Saturday and you never know if the party will be cut off early due to sound restrictions. My clients have been smart people when it comes to having big functions at their house. This is what they do.

They give their neighbors a heads up. One can invite them to the function or at least let them know that it maybe louder than usual and you will keep quiet after a certain time. It always good to have a good relationship with your neighbors because they can make life more difficult in general.

They make a good guest list. They do not invite everyone and their mom on their social media. They are selective on who they invite because one person who was not invited can totally destroy a party if they do not behave correctly.

They do not overindulge in beverages. It is great to have a good time but one has to be aware of what is happening to be a good host.

Make sure the dj does not have too much sound. The party is not for 400 people but rather under a 75. A dj can do a fabulous job with a couple of 8 inch to 12 inch speakers.

If you are throwing an event in San Jose, its good to have neighbors in the loop and have a good guest list of people you know and a dj who know what they are doing.

Congratulations on your wedding. Time to pick a date and secure a venue. You picked a photographer who did good work at your best friend’s wedding and the wedding dress looks perfect. The food is included in the venue package and you seem to be done. Wrong! You have to find the right wedding dj. Do you jump on Craigslist and select a Craigslist Dj? Not a wise choice. Finding the right wedding dj will take some research to make sure they have the skill level and affordable.

Djs that are experienced can become a wedding day of coordinator who have ran big events prior. They get the wedding on the proper path.

Do a Sit down with your DJ

A dj that will not meet with you is not worth your time. The Dj’s job is to serve his guests and it is important to meet up. At this you can work on your timeline or at least get it started then finalize it as it draws closer. A Dj is more than pushing the play button but has to make sure s/he follows the orders of events.

Formulate a timeline

A good Dj has an understanding of what a wedding timeline looks like. S/he can suggest one and the bride and groom decide how in which order they want everything.

Book your dj 6 months or more in advance.

Weddings typically happen on Saturday and there are only 52 Saturdays a year so the dj may be booked if not booked in advanced.

Black and White Affair Dj Services (www.bwadj.com)has been doing big events since 2004. Let us do your big event and let us talk about your big wedding day.

Los Gatos Lodge is a great place for any social gathering. Typically, I set up by the patio area inside but this last function I was in a different room. The room had a mobile bar and there was plenty of tables in the room. On the side of the room was a long table for the buffet and the desserts. I was scheduled to come in the middle of their cocktail hour to set up and they already had a wireless microphone and music playing in their internal system. Los Gatos Lodge would be an ideal place to plan a corporate event or reunion since they can run sound without a dj in case they did not have one or wanted to save money that expense.

It was a 45-year reunion from a local high school.  It was the class of 1974. I do always ask for a list after I send a list of my own to chose from. Usually what I do then I go and look at the top songs of all the years they went to high school so I search from 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974. I just do not just include the disco but the rock songs. I remember one reunion I did one member said that back in the 70s people were into rock or into disco. I was able to play both. I was able to accommodate requests from the party people at the event. Sometimes that is needed to play a gem that the class jammed to in their younger years.

It was a fabulous party and a lot of folks were dancing to the fun songs they selected.

There is so much to do in the Bay Area and there are many planners out there that can find you the right event space and vendors to make it stress-free for everyone. The planner’s job is to be organized and create the event based on your vision.

First and foremost, the company needs to know how much money can they spend on the event and it will help determine if they can afford the planner or not. Sometimes the company elects to have someone from their site with little or no experience secure a venue and also the vendors and hope everything goes well! But if budget allows then it is best to hire a professional who knows the field and knows which vendors can be trusted.

Do some online searches for Bay Area planners who have corporate experience. Pick 3 to 5 that stand out from the searches that you have done. Then it is good to reach out to them and find out if they have done similar events before recently and their level of experience. It would be good to connect with their reviews to see how good their prior work has been. Talk with the planner to see what ideas they have for your event and that would be a good way to see how experienced the planner is.

Once a planner has been selected then have them start on the planning right away since with more time often times equals better results with nothing being rushed. Working with planners, communication is key and check on the progress of your event since it is the company’s manager’s job to worry but the planner will keep him/her at ease!