So I was fortunate to be at two different Marriott’s in two different cities and I was equally impressed with both Hotels. On Friday, I was in San Ramon Marriot. I had to park in the back in the dock of the hotel to unload my equipment. I was greeting by multiple workers. Most of the time I am ignored but it feels good to be greeted. In the back of the hotel they have rules to remind the employees. It just reinforces the concept of good customer service. On the sign, it mentions to smile to customers and also greet them. When I was unloading some employees asked if I need a bigger cart to help unload. Through out the night, I had to stay close to my mixer to make sure there was no feedback so I could not go out to eat but one of the employees asked if I need a drink and made sure I was hydrated.

  To have good customer service helps a venue become great. They hotel had 3 sources of entertainment going on at one time consisting of a band and two djs. In the room we were at we had a few chrismas trees that were decorated. They had outlets for power but also had power boxes incase I need more juice. Only a few places I have seen have that option of getting more power from the power box so it is good to have rather then not to have.  

   We had two events in two different Marriott’s and both of them excelled in customer service. Both places were elegant and the wait staff was very cheery. It was also nice that at the end of the event the staff was not trying to eagerly have me leave the premises with my equipment. Overall a top notch experience with a very good hotel chain.

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.

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!

Menlo Park Wedding Venue Holbrook Palmer Park

Up the 101 there is a pretty park that can hold weddings and private functions. Included is a ceremony area that includes trees and stairs great for pictures. One can hold a small intimate wedding at the venue. Then they can walk about a 150 steps to get to the dinner slash cocktail area which is an outside area. It would be an ideal for a summer gathering. There is shade for the outside the dinner slash cocktail area. 

I was part of a beautiful wedding celebration this past Saturday. I set up in the corner of the ceremony in the shade which I was so grateful. Classical music from Bach and Beethoven was the pre-ceremony music but the rest of the music was so unique. It was by far a very custom event and not your cookie cutter ceremony.  In the procession, a dancer gave her interpretation of a catchy muppet song. The officiant was a friend of the bride and groom and he said great insights about the couple. The couple had touching vows that they shared with their guests. 

There were many highlights of the night but one that stuck out was the bride wanted to dedicate a song to her new husband. She was able to arrange an instrumental and sing a beautiful song in front of everyone right after the thank you speech. It was a big surprise for everyone. Everyone knew the bride can sing but no one knew she was going to give them this treat.

Close to the SF Airport is a wedding venue for anyone who needs to have a reception in the San Francisco Area or the Peninsula. One can be married at a San Francisco church and do the reception in San Mateo since it is so close. They did have a nice courtyard area where people can have a small ceremony or if they wanted to have cocktail area. It was a beautiful day so it was nice to be serving drinks outside in the August summer. 

The wedding reception itself was small and very personable. Around the facility, they had up lighting that added a special aura to the room.  16 up lights were used to surround the whole venue. 

As the dj, I wanted to be close to the dancefloor and the Marriot made it happen. We were able to produce a pretty gobo to project. We did have enough space to include a 7-foot screen and a projector. 

What I liked about this place was we went a few minutes over and the staff was not rushing us out nor tell me to stop on the dot. They let me play the last slow song of the night. Also one of my favorite vibes of the night was the positive energy on the dance floor. The wedding had a mariachi for dinner but I provided the tunes for dancing and it consisted of Spanish music (cumbia and salsa). So the majority was Spanish music and the rest of the music was old school funk. The Couple knew how to have a good time and provided the positive energy in the room.