Some djs are prepared and send out an organized planner for bride and groom to fill out. I send that out and have couple complete it on Google docs so it can be edited at any time. I also include a long list of most popular songs to help out brides and grooms pick their music. 

If you are having a dj provide the ceremony music, I always recommend to have about 30 to 45 minutes of pre-ceremony music. I typically start music 30 minutes before the ceremony but sometimes the bride and groom need extra time or maybe some guests have not arrived yet. 

The Pre-ceremony music I mostly play instrumentals but it can be anything the bride and groom can cook up.

The Processional music can be 2 to 3 songs for wedding party, groom, and bride. 

The Recessional song would be the song everyone exits to.

In your song selections make sure you add the must play songs that you want at your wedding. Make sure to include songs that your guests and family would like also. Maybe you can include the old classics your parents would enjoy for the dinner portion of the reception. Keep in mind during the cocktail hour your family and wedding party will be taking photos so make sure your must play songs will be played after the cocktail time. 

On the same note, please let the dj know of what songs not to play. Maybe you do not want the Chicken Dance played so make sure the Dj does not play it. I never play it unless the hosts ask me to. There maybe a few songs on that list or maybe include a genre of what not to play. 

Throwing the bouquet has always been a tradition but with time brides have opted not to do it. Their reasons are that they want to keep the nice bouquet or they think that everyone does it so they don’t want to be cliché. Another reason is maybe they do not have too many female guests that are single. Weddings are what the bride and grooms want and it is not a cookie cutter event. No two weddings are the same. 

  If the bride decides to have the bouquet toss, I always suggest the bouquet two suggestions. The first one is to get a special bouquet to toss. Brides want to keep their original bouquet so why not toss one that is not your special one? The second suggestion is to to the bouquet fake out. The dj invites all the single ladies to the floor and he counts, one, two and three and the bride goes through the motion and does not throw it. Meanwhile the photographer is capturing everything on film. Then the second time the dj does the countdown the bride does throw it and the photographer captures more of the images. It does build a lot of anticipation and more action shots.

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Westin Hotel San Jose (San Jose)

Centrally located downtown. Very nice décor and staff actually helped me unload equipment. It is located in the heart of downtown. It is located close to San Pedro Square and close to the local night life. 

I have done two events at the Westin downtown. It is fairly easy to get to. There is parking underneath the building and they can also provide valet service. There is parking across the street and also garage parking a few blocks away. Parking underneath the venue is pretty expensive so the best bet would be to park on Third and San Carlos since it would be about five dollars.

The big event room is located in the first floor. Ideally if you are unloading items to take to the event then one would have to park in the front and unload the items then take them in then you have to park your vehicle. 

 Staff members were very cordial. I did speak with them afterwards and they appreciated the Spanish music that was played. 

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Do it Yourself Music versus a DJ

Weddings are not cheap. It is one of the most special days of a bride and grooms life and they want to share it with the special folks around them. Weddings can be very intimate and have under 50 guests or they can be extravagant and have over 200 guests. The hosts have to provide the food, the venue and the entertainment. Location is something people can not skip on since it’s a must to have the physical reception. All these guests got to eat so food has to be in the wedding budget.

After everything has been paid for its time to see if there is budget for the entertainment. Oh brother Steve has an awesome cd collection and he likes the same kind music that we have. Or maybe someone can stream music off their phone.

A dj is more than just a dj and a button pusher. They follow a timeline and make announcements to keep the guests in the know.  They see the crowd and keep feeding them what they want to hear to keep the dancefloor filled.

 Maybe you don’t want to have a dance party then having a friend play off their system. If one goes that route then make sure you have a timeline. A wedding planner can get you one or if you reach out to a dj then they can give you a sample template.

Which is better to have a friend doing music or having a professional dj?

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Menlo Park- Holbrook Palmer Park Wedding Set Up

I did a ceremony and cocktail hour plus dance for a wedding. For this venue, it would be beneficial to have an assistant to help set up the equipment. For the ceremony there is a power source to set up on the corner and the bride and groom walk down the stairs. Most djs could use one speaker for the ceremony but I opt to use two.

While the wedding party takes photos after the ceremony then everyone walks over to the dinner area for cocktails. The question that arises is how many set ups would one need for the reception area. People dance inside but the cocktails and dinner is outside. There are a few choices. If you wanted to make it perfect, then a set up can be done outside. One can have one speaker but I have to have balance and had two out. I had a microphone set up for the toasts and announcements. Another option would be to set up in the dance area and have the speakers go out to the cocktail area. It would save time in setting up but the dj has to be inside or he can have an assistant manning the music while the dj can mc in the cocktail area. And of course the dance area inside would have two speakers. Venue does offer in-house speaker system.

The Park is a huge park with plenty of parking. I would recommend going to the venue before hand so you are prepared for the set up. If you organize it well then all one needs are two set ups.

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I am a proud SJSU alumni and I like to keep tabs on my school. I had an opportunity to play at a fundraiser. They were at first going to have a band and have me be the start of the night but that did not pan out. I did not get a special playlist but I was told to play appropriate music for the night. A lot of the time one would play background music during dinner time so the guests can be able to talk. Then the end, the dj would play the festive music at a louder volume to get everyone to the dance floor and keep them on the dance floor.

The venue was an Elks Lodge in San Jose. It was right off the 87 so it was really easy to go to. They do have a stage area for the dj and a huge dance floor.  I unloaded my gear and took it to the stage. They had the baseball and softball players there to help with the service of the food.

I knew the most of the crowd was going to be 30 and up. Also I knew the players were more about 20 years old.  So for the dinner portion of the night I was playing mellow familiar background music. All the players for both sports were introduced. Once they did all the auctions and the raffles it was time to pump up the volume. I went with the classic dance jams that all ages would enjoy.

Did a birthday party on Saturday at the Los Gatos Lodge. This was an enjoyable party since the Birthday girl gave me songs that went through many generations. She had the music she grew up with and some current songs. She invited her family and friends to the celebration.

She did not want to give a speech but some folks gave speeches about her after dinner. Birthday girl was the first one on the dance floor and was dancing the whole night. It was definitely a good vibe that night and the dancing itch was in full effect. It did make the night go faster. It was a 6-hour event and cocktail and dinner only took two hours and the remaining 4 hours was straight dancing. We did not finish early and went straight to 11. I have to applaud the birthday girl and the guests who danced the night away. They were not teenagers but with their energy they seemed to be like them. I took all requests and even played some super new music then the guest realized we had to go back to the old school and we did go back to the old school. Because we know old school rules!

What birthday girl wanted was some up lighting.  She ordered 6 up lights and I spaced them around the room. Up lights do add some class to the room.

Staff was very nice and made sure I got to eat too. It was a quick set up and a quick close out. I was able to park in front of the venue and put everything away in my suv.

Not everyone can speak Spanish. What happens if you find a really good dj but his Spanish is non existent? I have been a part of many Spanish weddings. Some weddings playlist have been all in Spanish. There have been times where the bride and groom offered to have a guest make the announcements in Spanish. Most of the time they just want to make the grand entrance in their language then the rest of the announcements the dj can do. They mostly do that so that the last names are pronounced correctly.

My Spanish is ok but I do have assistants who speak perfect Spanish so if the bride and groom want that then I make sure that assistant is available.

Also what helps is to have a script of what they are going to say. Some people say they are professionals and want to wing it but I advise to have a script. When it comes to announcements I like to repeat what is being said then rephrasing it so the folks that are not paying attention can follow directions. I do not advise using google translator for the Spanish translation because sometimes its translated but it’s not the correct meaning. If a Spanish script is written then it should be translated by a fluent speaker. 

For most Spanish weddings, I like to play a lot of cumbias. It’s the cumbias that gets everyone out of their seats and onto the dance-floor. Best bet is to have a playlist from the couple with Spanish music. 

Call Black and White Affair to book your latin party. Always repping the bay and now in Southern California.