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.

We believe in prompt responses. Setting up an event can feel like a second job and it can cause some stress. We believe to make the process as easy with possible. We are accessible by text, phone call or email and respond quickly. If folks, ask for quotes then we make sure they get it right away and we do not sugar coat anything. Our job is to make your wedding planning easier.

We help build playlists. We do not play the same old music at every event. We send out lists to our clients and the most popular songs and they pick their favorites and can add some other songs that are not on the list. Each party has its only playlist and they are never the same. We tend to get the requests a week before to ensure we can find the requests in time for the event.

We have played at night spots in the bay area so we had to be able to read different crowds to throw more energy at the dance floor. Not every crowd is the same so we have our experience to keep the party going and keep it going the whole night.

We believe in having back ups to our back ups. We make sure everything is in tip top condition but for some reason something is not sounding well then I have an alternative or two to make it sound better. Often times it is using another cable or connecting another controller to the set up. We always have another computer for those just in case scenarios.

 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.