To have a good party is like a good business, you need good marketing. Usually it’s the folks who were in the student leadership spearhead the whole event. It would be ideal to form a committee since it is a lot of work and they can cover more ground in numbers. They can reach out to the school and advertise it on the marquee. They can create a facebook reunion class page to let folks know of the event. It would be great to send save the date notices by snail mail or by emails.

Plan to have the Reunion on a Saturday since it gives folks an opportunity to come to town  and not have the feel to rush back to their place of residence.

They find a dj that knows music for their high school period. Typcially the dj looks for the top hits the 4 years the students were at school.

There is no such thing as the older the class the less chance of them dancing. With a good playlist, people will be dancing. A good dj will keep the soft hits for the dinner portion of the night but save the floor fillers for the end of the night.

A good host will reach out to guests and ask for their favorite songs of their high school years and record the list and give it to the dj. Its best to send that list at least a week in advance so the dj has enough time to organize the music for the event.

When you think of the Double Tree you think of the warm chocolate chip cookies that come when you get your keys of your room.  Not only does the hotel provide good quality rooms but they host events at many sizes. This is the closest hotel to the hotel and it does have plenty of parking. I found staff to be very helpful. I did need some assistance and the bartender was able to get the right staff to help out

  I was doing an event for a L.A. company who was doing an event for their San Jose clients. While I was setting up in the room, there was a bigger room next to mine. They were having a casino night. There had to be like 300 people in the room enjoying the casino night. We did share the same wall and everything worked out well. The hotel coordinated the events so when one event finished the other one was going to start. After both events were done, staff removed the wall and the room got bigger so the Doubletree can  increase the size of a room.

My party had a bar and dancing There was about 80 people at the function that were coming in and out. It was a client appreciation party so they were taken care of with an open bar. We did not have dinner and we went straight to dancing. The hotel has multiple rooms and this one was not as big as the other ones but they had their privacy.

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.

How to Pick the Best Dj in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the San Francisco Bay, many folks plan all different kinds of events such as private events, weddings, and corporate events. Maybe years ago, you may have had buddies who dabbled in the dj field but you don’t know if they still are in the field. But you are throwing an event and you want a professional so who do you turn to?

Check previous experience

These days everyone loves looking at reviews. Check out the Yelp Reviews and Google Reviews. Take a look at their Facebook Business Page to see if they are doing events currently and if they post consistently.

Talk with them

Ask them how busy they are. A good dj is a busy dj. Yes, there are loads of djs out there but the ones that are working are the ones that are sought out. Communicate with the dj to get a sense of their professionalism. Ask them what is included in their dj package. Does the dj bring their own lights and microphones? How many speakers will they bring to the function?  How is their response time? Does the dj respond quickly or does it take days to email or call back?

Look at their Website

A good dj should have a website that talks about what they do and who they are. Does it look professional?

Listen to their mixes

A dj will have example of their mixes either on their website or a page dedicated to their mixes. You will get the vibe of the kind of music that he plays and style of mixing. Some djs can give out usb’s with their mixes and some can even give out cds.

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!

As for school events, the budget for school dances will not be as much as prom.  Typically it is held on campus to help cut on cost.

The question that comes often is what is the cost to hire a dj and what is included. The djs can bring multiple speakers and lights to fill up the gym. I have seen djs charge 100 to 150 dollars an hour for school dances. The dj has to get a playlist ahead of time so the dj can play the music that the students requested.

Schools should select djs that have edited music so they will not have their vice principal run to the dj booth demanding to change an inappropriate song.

Also on the checklist is to see the dj reviews on google and on yelp to see if they have done other schools and can see their successes.

It would be good to have the dj visit the school to show them where they are going to set up. Some schools are not labeled easily so the dj can be driving around and not knowing where to park to unload. Ideally they want to drive close by to unload all their heavy gear.

Last but not least please talk to your dj about their dj crew. It is good to have the dj have one helper but when they are bringing 3 to 5 people to do a 1 to 2 person job, it just is not professional and can be a liability to the dj company and to the school.

One of the most common questions we get is what is the cost to do a school dance. This question is a hard one to answer since there are many answers. In the San Jose area, there is a saturation of Djs. Silicon Valley is the mecca of tech so many folks dive in the technology functions of a dj. Long gone are the record players (Technics) that play 12 inch vinyl which took way more skill and more of a financial responsibility. These days it is so much easier to mix music with the sync button and downloadable music. This makes it easier for the buyer since they have so many djs to choose from.

Find out with the dj is legit. It may be hard to see which djs are professional when you first speak with them. Just be aware of djs who undercharge since they are cutting corners and why are they under valuing their service. A good way to detect the quality of the dj is to look up their online reviews. It proves what quality or lack there of service they have and the customer can feel confident in their pick.

Costs of Prom DJs

Since proms due have budget constraints, it is best to let the dj know to see if the dj can work with it or they can recommend somebody who can do it that that price. Since proms can be extravagant events I have seen ranges of 600 to 1200 for the 4 to 6 hour event. In different parts of the country they have different rates but when it comes to the Bay Area it is on the higher end.