These venues are www.bwadj.com favorites I have played the past year or so. I based it on how awesome the venue is and how fabulous the staff is. 

Favorite Bay Area Venues I have been a Dj At 

Los Gatos Lodge (Los Gatos)

They are my most favorite spot. They can provide an outside venue for a ceremony and also have a nice outside area to have cocktail hour. They do have multiple rooms for events. The staff rocks and do a great job taking care of guests. A great place for birthday parties and high school reunions. 

Dave and Busters (Milpitas)

D and Bs is close to my home and close to my heart. Staff is super fun. Before the guests showed up they were dancing while working. Fun group. Staff helped me take my gear. Packages can include catered meals and game cards for guests. 

Gilroy Gardens (Gilroy)

Gilroy Gardens is a huge venue. They do offer two big venues for weddings. They can offer rides and games to guests as part of a package.  Its so big that I lost a dj table and staff told me if they found it they can drive it to me. What service!

Alexander by the Sea ( Palo Alto) 

Best food I have had in a long time. Everything just melts in your mouth. Staff did help me with my gear which was a good help since we had to go down stairs. Good place for small events or corporate functions. 

Vinyl Room (Burlingame)

The past two new years I have played there. It has a good fun atmosphere.  The biggest decision of the night is to play the biggest song of the year right after the countdown. Last year it was G- Eazy No Limit and this year it was They can hold private events there.

Double Tree San Jose (San Jose) https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-san-jose-JOSE-DT/index.html

Very nice staff and able to hold huge events.

SF Marathon (2 street locations)

I played at two different spots in the city but the best was by the bridge. I was able to go as loud as I want and the runners would get down when they ran by. 

Westin Hotel San Jose (San Jose)

Centrally located downtown. Very nice décor and staff actually helped me unload equipment. 

Mama Mia (Morgan Hill)

They have a nice outside area with a water fountain and a nice indoor venue space. Staff is accommodating. 

Palo Alto Country Club (Palo Alto)  

Very nice golf course. Staff took care of me when it started sprinkling and saved my equipment. 

There are many reasons to have a destination wedding. Maybe the bride and groom had the dream of getting married by the ocean or even the Golden Gate Bridge! When you do get married locally it is easy to meet local vendors and venues to see whom you would pick for the location and vendors. When you are doing a destination wedding, visits to vendors and venues can be more limited due to the distance.

For brides and grooms looking for an easier way to book their venue and vendors in the bay area then they can select an all-inclusive packages to lessen the stress. In these packages, the venue with décor and catering can be included. Open bar anyone? Venues can set up tables and chairs and take them down. If the ceremony is held at the venue, some venues will provide seating, the arch, wedding rehearsal and recommend officiants.  While some venues may be able to provide the sound for the ceremony or recommend the right dj for that.

Speaking of the right dj, Black and White Affair (www.bwadj.com) can set up the ceremony with multiple speakers to ensure everyone can hear the vows and the officiant no matter how big or small the ceremony is. Need sound for your cocktail hour? That is an easy fix for Black and White Affair. As your Bay Area Dj, we can travel anywhere in the Bay area to make sure your destination wedding happens as smooth as possible. We can also do video calls to make iron out all the details for the wedding.  Let us provide the sound track for your Bay Area destination wedding.

August is a busy month in the dj world. Pretty much all my Saturdays in that month I have an event scheduled. I had someone ask about the first weekend in August for a Gilroy Wedding but I already have an event booked. I made it my duty to make sure they found their vendor. I sent them suggestions of people I know who know their craft. A day later I get a phone call for a wedding in Berkeley on the same day. Maybe love is in the air? So I did make an extensive list of other quality djs they should inquire after I reached out to them to see if they were available. The question is why do I put the effort in it after I know that I will not do the event? I know how frustrating it is to find quality folks to do parties and I want to show the guests what good djs can do. Of course I would love to do the event, but I can not do two events at the same time. I do make it my duty to follow up with the guests after I send them my selections to make sure they have a good dj for their event. 

So the lesson is always book your djs right away especially in the San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy area. The summer months are full of birthday parties and private events and other weddings so it’s best to preplan to get the highly sought out djs. True there are many djs out there but it is best to get one with a good history of good performances and service.

The Wedding is all about the bride and groom. Typically the couple is taking pictures while the guests are enjoying the cocktail hour. First the bridal party is introduced to the guests. Before the wedding, BWADJ makes sure that everyone is in the correct order and makes sure they pronounce everyone’s name correctly. While prepping the bridal party, Bwadj goes over the names of the bridal party to their liking. There have been times where the bridal party were partying and sometimes have a short attention span. During weddings, something always pops up such like the flower girl is too shy to be in the party or someone else from the bridal party is not present so a new order will have to be written. 

With the bridal party coming into the venue, a festive song is pumped through the speakers. Some couples opt to get both first name and last name of the bridal party announced while others just opt to just have their first names announced. In some cases, the dj may announce, “ Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome the bridal party. Let’s put our hands together for them!”

Once all the bridal party is at their table, then the music is turned off. Bwadj gets everyone to stand up for the grand entrance. The new Mr. and Mrs. Smith is announced with their own theme song blaring in the background. A dj can say, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you all have been waiting for. Put your hands together for the new Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  Everyone is standing and clapping and this is one of the most memorable events of a wedding being introduced as the new Mr. and Mrs. 

Powered By Scotland Clothing LLC >>

Black and White DJ services (www.bwadj.com) went local around the Down Town San Jose area. It is called Mexico Lindo (https://www.mexicolindoycantina.com) Downtown San Jose Venue and they have a back area for private parties (https://www.mexicolindoycantina.com/private-party-venu). There are a few Mexico Lindos so make sure it is the one on Race Street. Mexico Lindo provides full service event planning with food and entertainment. When I got there, I had to set up next to their dj set up. At the venue, they host dancing and karaoke.  The venue itself from the looks of it can hold up to 75 guests. They specialize in Mexican food and seafood.

The night was full of old school music. This was not your cookie cutter music event. It was all about the old school such as 80’s and 90s r&b. 

Staff was pretty friendly. Food was good. They served salad, beans and rice and 3 different kinds o f meat. They did have horcata at the serving table. In the banquet room, they had a full bar. 

Venue was able to accommodate dj. This venue would be good for small gatherings. They do have a built in dance floor.  Tables can easily be removed to open up the dance floor. Also it already had its dj light system. There are bathrooms located in the room so it makes it convenient instead of travelling to the restaurant part of the establishment.

It is easier to find a Dj that plays English music. If you do find a good Spanish dj make sure you do not lose their number since they are harder to find. Some djs do play Spanish but it is not their strong point. They cannot tell the difference between a banda song or a cumbia. They have the know what type of Spanish music you need for the dinner portion of the night. 

With the newer Spanish music, the one that gets people moving is raggaeton.  Artists like Bad Bunny and J Balvin are filling up the airwaves. 

A good Spanish DJ can put a little of different kinds of Spanish music. They can have a classic merengue song by Elvis Crespo, Suavemente. Then they can eventually throw in a Salsa song by the Salsa Queen Celia Cruz such as La Vida Es Un Carnaval. One of my favorite cumbia artists is La Sonora Dinamita.

It also makes a difference where the guests come from. If the Spanish folks were from Miami then they would want more Salsa. If a lot of the people were from Texas then they would like the artist Selena. It makes a huge difference if the dj knows where the guests come from so they can prepare. 

A favorite for all parties would be the line dance Payaso De Rodeo and No Rompas Mas Mi Pobre Corazon which is a Spanish Version of Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart. 

A lot of the people who appreciate the classic Spanish Music would love Vincente Fernandez, Jenni Rivera, Juan Gabriel and Mark Anthony.

If you are looking for a Latin/ Spanish dj then go to www.bwadj.com or

call 408-768-4904 for your fiesta!

I had a  quincenera event in Saratoga this past Saturday at a banquet Hall (http://ilcsaratoga.org/hall-rental/). I have done all Spanish parties before but a quincenera is very similar to a wedding. Like the grand entrance for the wedding party and the bride and groom, thequincenera court and the quincenera are announced. Like a wedding, a quincenera does not have mandatory events. It is all based what was planned. We did not do the crowning of the quincenera since she already had a crown. During the party, the queincenera was presented with a doll. We had cake cutting on the timeline. One of the biggest event is the waltz by the court. Usually it takes months of practice. They have a formal waltz then often they have a surprise dance which is more modern and hip. There is an event called the changing of the shoes. This is when the dad gives his daughter new shoes as a symbol of the daughter going through a transition. Then after we had the father daughter dance. Just like a wedding, we had toasts and thank you speeches planned out. Our last event was the Last song meant for the Dad, Mom and special people. 

The banquet hall was attached to a church. It was decorated with nice drapery. I had a very good playlist that the quincenera gave me. On the list there was not too many spaniish songs. A good tip is to have Spanish music ready for the quincenera. I had a lot of cumbia, and banda for the night. Overall it was a fun night. A mariachi started the night then I was able to finish it. 

Maverick Event Center in Half Moon Bay (https://maverickseventcenter.com)

This is one of the most beautiful ceremonies visually I ever been a part of.  The ceremony area is close to the reception area. The grass is well kept. You can actually hear the cute otters in the ocean. From the looks of it, one can have a wedding with 60 to 80 guests in the grass area. 

It was a wee bit windy so we opted to use the wireless microphone since the lapel would pick up too much of it.  I also included a wired microphone next to the officiant. Two days early I got my hands on QSC CP speakers. They are way lighter than the other qsc speakers I have but makes it convenient for ceremonies since it does not require super loud music. I like having two speakers than one in ceremonies. I know it is not necessary but it just sounds so much better.  The officiant did an excellent job with the ceremony. Alison (www.ceremoniesbyalison.com) was an awesome storyteller and it seemed like she knew the bride and groom personally from how well she told their story. 

The reception area was well decorated. They had a candy area for guests to stock up on sweets. The staff was nice. We were able to play music at a good volume. It is good to watch the volume because to be considerate of neighbors. 

Overall, Mavericks Event Center is a nice venue to have events at in Half Moon Bay. Keep in mind during the summer months beware of beach goers so allow yourself more time to get to the destination. But the view of the ocean and the ambiance is worth the extra drive.