The set up was pretty easy. You can park next to the club house to set up. I was able to load all my gear next to the shade while I separated where the ceremony gear went and the reception gear went.

I was given one power outlet to set up two set ups. We had to use an extension cord to give it power. It was 105 degrees and we asked for an umbrella 3 times and on the third time I offered to carry the umbrella myself.

They had us on the corner of the reception area with the speakers facing the dance floor which was outside. The dinner area was behind us so we had to had the speakers face the dinner area so we were playing music with speakers facing us. There was a building structure in front of us so the dance floor was not 100 percent visible.

The bar area was in a different room so we had to physically round everyone up to get them ready for the ceremony and get them seated for the reception.

Beauty of the place it did get a good score.

The outside dance floor was nice.

But for a dj it was not very practical.

To fix it I would have an outlet close to the ceremony area.

I would have the dj set up in front of the dance floor outside with two other speakers with one in the bar area and one in the dinner area.

I would speak with the bride and let her know what would work for you.

This is the second time I have been at this venue. The first time I was in a bigger room and this time we had a smaller event but it still was a big fun event. The guests were able to sit down and had their dinner while I played pop tracks. The venue was able to provide a projector and they hooked up to my system so they can play the video with sound.

The staff was very helpful and nice. The restrooms are set up for the members but for these events anyone can use the facilities. They are very nice and there are free samples of everything to use which is a treat.

We had a nice dance floor and we had a nice view of the outside.

I did enjoy this party since most of the music was Spanish. But overall this place gets a good grade as a venue. It is very easy to set up. You do have to go up stairs but not much. Staff is very nice and the atmosphere can be very festive. I do recommend weddings and private parties here.

Right before new years I got to be part of a private party. It was from a family I djed before at a different venue and they wanted to celebrate different events since everyone was locked down for so long. Miss L gave me a good list to work with. She had a lot of songs she grew up listening to plus she had different family members share their list with her. It was a mix of old school and good dance music. We traveled from the 50s sock hop era with stops with 70s classic rock, and 90s dance. 

 The event was at the Double Tree at the Pruneyard in Campbell. They had a banquet room on the second floor. They had around 7 tables and there were under 30 folks in attendance. There was a dance floor there. It was cute since the staff wanted to put a table on the dance floor for appetizers and Miss L was not going to have it. She was like we are going to dance the whole night so please move the table elsewhere. She was right. Dancing was happening the whole night. Double Tree even had my silverware ready on my table but I did not have a chance to eat since there was always someone dancing. Typically, you play music with low to medium energy during dinner time but we were putting up the energy in high gear. 

  Venue space was nice and staff was very courtesy. Guests were polite and loved to dance. It was a good night!

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. 

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.

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.

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.