Los Angeles Wedding DJ Company Celebrates 5th Year in Business
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
It’s hard to believe we are beginning our 5th year in business branded as “Elegant Event Entertainment”. I’m Jason Jones, the co-founder of this company, and I wanted to write a little bit about how we formed and what we’ve accomplished to date. Perhaps you’re a Bride or Groom looking for a DJ, perhaps this or other articles on our Blog will help you in making your decision. We hope you’ll enjoy and appreciate this short story of our recent successes and we welcome your comments and appreciate your support.
In February of 2006, I moved from a small town called Asheville, North Carolina to Los Angeles. I was self employed as a Wedding and party DJ in Asheville since 2000, I had been a professional voiceover actor since 1996, and I owned a small house painting business which I started in 2001. My businesses were beginning to thrive, but something was amiss in my life. As much as I loved my hometown, my friends and family, and the work I was doing, I felt I needed a change of pace. From the time I was a very young boy, I dreamed of moving to Hollywood. Obviously, a lot of people dream the same dream, but I felt I could come here and make it work out, whether in the entertainment industry, or some other type of business. I had no idea how big the wedding industry was in LA, but I would soon meet my business partner and we would be swept away in a stream of success in the world of Los Angeles Weddings. Read the rest of this entry »
Come Meet our DJs at the Bridal Premier Showcase at Westlake Hyatt January 15, 2012
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement, Wedding Planning
It’s that time again! Wedding Season is just around the corner and thousands of Brides and Grooms will be attending Bridal Showcases in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks and all over Southern California. Our Wedding DJs at Elegant Event Entertainment will be exhibiting at the Bridal Premier Showcase in Westlake Village, which we’ve done for many years now.
Our DJs have already booked over 60 weddings for 2012, but we have many more dates and DJs available and we would love to add you to our growing list of over 600 extremely satisfied brides and grooms who’ve chosen us as their Wedding DJ in Los Angeles and Southern California since 2007.
Come by and say hello to our founders DJ Chris Mortillaro & DJ Jason Jones (check out our Headshots and Bio’s before you go so you’ll recognize us) and speak with us about our services, or set a time to meet with us in a one-on-one, quiet setting. Feel free to fill out our online contact form as well and make a note that you’ll be attending the Showcase.
And if you need Uplighting for your Wedding in LA, we’ll have our exclusive Wireless LED uplights on hand to demonstrate. Once you see them, you’ll definitely want them at your Wedding!
The Bridal Premier Showcase is located at Westlake Hyatt and takes place Sunday, January 15, 2012, 11 AM to 3 PM
Hyatt Westlake Plaza, Westlake Village
880 S. Westlake Blvd.
Westlake Village, CA 91361
please contact Bridal Premier for tickets!
Event Expert offers tips on when and how to hire a DJ for a Party or Special Occasion.
Posted by Jason | Filed under Event Planning Tips
So you’re having a party? Great! Everyone loves a Party! If you’re trying to decide if you should hire a DJ for your party, I’d like to help. Here at Elegant Event Entertainment, our DJs make the bulk of our living as Wedding DJs, but we all still DJ for parties in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California, a ton of them in fact. Since so much of our marketing is directed to Brides and Grooms, I thought it was time to write an article for those of you who are having a party or special occasion which might require a DJ Service. I speak for all of our DJs when I say, We believe Every Party would benefit from hiring a DJ…but…I’m going to give you some tips on how to decide if you really need a DJ, and if you do, what you need to look for and questions you should ask when hiring a DJ for a party. Read the rest of this entry »
Bridebop.com Interviewed Elegant Event Entertainment for tips on How to Choose a Wedding DJ
Posted by Jason | Filed under Tips for Hiring a Wedding DJ
In a recent interview published on prominent wedding planning website Bridebop.com, our very own DJ and co-founder Jason Jones was asked for his expert advice on “How to Choose a Wedding DJ”. After being chosen as the DJ for over 500 weddings of his own, and helping Brides and Grooms choose one of our other DJs for hundreds of other weddings, we’re pretty sure he knows a thing or two about the topic and Bridebop.com thought so too, and published this great article.
The interview includes tips and information such as:
- How to Determine the Style of DJ/MC you’re interviewing.
- Picking music with the DJ, what type of music he/she recommends, and about making requests.
- Learning more about The DJ’s Audio and Lighting Equipment and what you’ll need
- Pricing and Services offered by the DJ
- And lots more
Click Here To read the Full Article
Happy Planning, have fun searching for the Best DJ for your event, and Best Wishes to you!
Maravilla Gardens Weddings, Where Magic Happens
Posted by Jason | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
Maravilla Gardens is a family owned and operated, Outdoor Garden Wedding Facility in Camarillo, California, located on Santa Rosa Road just a few miles from the 101 freeway and about 50 minutes from Downtown LA. I feel that it still qualifies as a Los Angeles Garden Wedding Venue, and it’s one of the best.
As one of only 2 Preferred DJ Companies at this property, I thought it only appropriate to write a review article of their facility, especially since we know it so well. I want to bring a perspective of someone who works there all the time as an outside vendor
Our DJs have had the privilege of working over 75 Weddings at Maravilla Gardens in the past 5 years and I have personally DJ’d almost 50 of them myself. I know this property and it’s owners and staff like it was my own family estate, and believe me, I wish it were! This place is truly magical, it embodies the spirit of “family” and togetherness, joy and celebration, and offers it’s guests a truly intimate and personal feel, as if you were in your own backyard having your wedding, only if your backyard was filled with beautifully manicured gardens and lawns overlooking the Santa Rosa Mountains and rustic rolling farm fields.
It’s owners are Jo & Tony Maravilla, husband and wife and owners for over 40 years. They’ve raised their children here, and their daughter Jen is now working as the on-site wedding coordinator and with other aspects of the business. Tony is the master gardener, and he gives so much love and attention to the grounds, you can feel the love he’s poured into every flower, plant, shrub and tree.
Jo is the business manager and she is currently the main contact person for the business. She’s been tireless and instrumental in the growth and success of this beautiful property since they turned their attention from their nursery business to providing their property for weddings. There really are no 2 nicer people in this entire wedding industry and I’ve been blessed to work with them as much as I have, and every client of ours says the same thing about them.
As for the property, it offers 3 distinctly separate areas for Ceremony, Cocktails, and Reception. You begin your tour by walking from the parking area to a paved path and look to your left to see the cage of doves cooing beside a great little putting green, a huge hit for the gentlemen. There are restrooms and a private Bridal Suite for the Bride and her attendants to be hidden from view and to dress in the cool air conditioning!
The ceremony site opens on a large and lush green grass seating area surrounded entirely by trees and shrubbery. The Ceremony Stage is a large concrete, step terraced alter large enough to accommodate a very sizable wedding party, yet intimate enough to support just the Bride and Groom if you have a small wedding. You can place your own chuppah, or decorate an arch with florals for the ceremony. 
In addition, the facility rents a large shade cover to protect your guests from the sun during the hotter months, and it looks great from a design standpoint as well. The musicians or DJ set up just to the right of the stage on a small raised concrete pad outfitted with electricity for your sound system, which your DJ or musicians or minister must provide. Our DJs can play all of the music you need for your ceremony, as guests arrive to be seated they are greeted with citrus flavored water and music of your choice. We’ll play all of your entrance and exit music as well as any music you want during the ceremony. We can also provide the microphone for your minister. We’ve found that the accoustics here are good enough to place 1 wireless microphone on a stand and we can hear the minister/officiant as well as your vows. If you have a reader or singer, we can provide a separate mic for them. Read the rest of this entry »
Add Cheese to your Burger, say NO to the Cheesy Wedding DJ!
Posted by Jason | Filed under Wedding DJ Advice
Our Los Angeles Wedding DJs recently exhibited at the Bridal Premier Showcase at the Hyatt in Westlake California, as we do twice each year. Every Bride or Groom we speak with at these shows and elsewhere seems to have 1 common concern about their wedding DJ, and that is, “We Do NOT Want a CHEESY DJ!!!”
So, if that’s truly the case, I wonder why so many DJ companies still present themselves as the same old Cheesy, bad joke telling guys forcing you to endure an overkill of personality with silly props and flashy lights and 80′s costume jewelry. I suppose it stands to reason why our company is doing so well, because simply put, we are not cheesy. We’re a bunch of regular guys with an extraordinary passion for music, an extremely high level of experience in providing a top level DJ/Emcee service for our clients, especially Brides & Grooms and their families, on one of the most important days in their lives.
I say we’re regular guys, and I mean we don’t have to dress in costumes, wear makeup and flashy jewelry, tell jokes with horrible punch lines, or sell you crap you don’t need. I admit, I’m not a used car salesman, none of us are…we develop packages and upgrades that people need, and we won’t force you to spend money on fluff that cheeses up your wedding.
We do offer a very classy, fun, yet low profile lighting option, such as our NEW Wireless LED Up-lighting, which has been a huge seller for us and makes any room or space look amazing. There’s no big silver metal trusses and a bunch of tape and wires all over the room!
When our DJ’s are in front of all of your friends and family, we look our best, always well groomed and wearing a suit and dress shirt, sometimes a tie, depending on the location and style of your wedding. Let’s face it, if your wedding is in a garden or outdoor location, it should have a more romantic, elegant yet relaxed, fun, and even perhaps a rustic appeal. There’s no need for all the Club lighting and a DJ wearing a tuxedo with a sequin vest (heaven help me! I’ve seen DJs still wearing this early 90′s get-up in 2011!) Read the rest of this entry »
The Alcoholic’s Guide to Weddings
Posted by Jason | Filed under Wedding DJ Advice, wedding tips
Did I get your attention with the title? I should begin by saying, I don’t mean to offend anyone by using the term Alcoholic lightly. I take alcoholism very seriously and have been personally affected by many problem drinkers who I care about. But I am seeing a lot of problem drinking at Weddings these days. There hasn’t been one specific incident that caused me to write this article, but rather a collaboration of numerous occasions where binge drinking at a wedding struck a personal chord with me and compelled me to write about it.
I don’t want you to think I’m a prude, believe me, I am nothing of the kind. However, as someone who has been a part of so many weddings and celebrations, I can tell you that over drinking never turns out well for anyone, no matter what. Even the slightest “overindulging” can really effect the outcome of one of the most special days in a person’s life. As a Wedding DJ in Los Angeles and Southern California, you can imagine I see a lot, especially over the course of a decade and almost 500 Weddings. But the one thing I see over and over again, is the “mistake” of over drinking at a wedding.
When I’m DJing a wedding, I’m stone cold sober, watching everything that happens with eyes wide open. My role as Wedding DJ is to help the people party, but not to “party” with the people. That’s our policy at Elegant Event Entertainment, No Drinking On The Job!
My biggest observation in recent years: It seems that a lot of people don’t know how to simply enjoy a few drinks, and rather, feel the need to binge drink when they’re celebrating.
I’ve seen Groom’s pass out in the stall of a bathroom before the 1st Dance, Father of the Bride falling down stairs, a Bridesmaid attacking another female guest, a Bride throwing up in the planter in front of a nice country club as all the guests were stepping over her to leave, an uncle trying to attack me and my assistant! The number one most common thing that happens at weddings is someone who is drunk will make an inappropriate speech or comment during a toast, which is sometimes funny but most of the time in bad taste. I heard about a photographer who got drunk and passed out in their car while photographing the wedding rings, and the Bride and Groom were sure she’d run off with their rings. I saw a groomsman kick out someone’s windshield. I once had a Groomsman tell me he was having his last hooray as he was knocking back shots, he was heading to rehab on Monday. I was actually happy for him, but also concerned that he wasn’t going to make it to Monday! In all my experiences, Never have I seen something go drastically wrong at a wedding where alcohol wasn’t involved, or wasn’t the Main culprit.
So what can you do as a Bride or Groom or as someone helping to plan a wedding, to limit the possibility of having your event marred by alcohol? Below is a list of things I think you should keep in mind, regarding alcohol, as you plan your most special day.
1. Do not encourage Binge Drinking at your wedding: This isn’t your bachelor or Frat party! Don’t start drinking heavily with your friends before you even arrive at your wedding. It’s tacky, and it’s setting you up for a failed wedding. This is one night where you need to pace yourself and limit your intake. In most cases, your friends and family will follow your lead and will also limit their intake.
2. If one of your Bridesmaids or Groomsmen brings a bottle of liquor or a flask, ask them kindly to leave it behind. This isn’t the time to have a hard liquor drinking competition. Utilize the drinks at the bar, there’s plenty enough there without needing to conceal bottles of liquor.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Weddings at the LA Music Center
Posted by Jason | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
Our DJs have an opportunity to work at different Wedding Venues in Los Angeles nearly every weekend, and occasionally we like to write about some of the more interesting venues in LA. Recently, I had the opportunity to DJ a Wedding at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the LA Music Center in downtown Los Angeles and was pleasantly surprised by many aspects of this venue. As a Wedding Vendor, I have to admit, I often worry about the logistics of working events in urban areas and tend to prefer some of the Garden Wedding Venues out in the more rural parts of LA and Ventura counties. Obviously, the more commercial the venue, the more problems vendors tend to have with parking, traffic, load in, etc… However, the parking for the LA Music Center is quite easy. The Bride and Groom will need to reserve parking for their vendors and guests, but the parking attendants were very accomodating to my needs as a DJ with all my equipment to have to load in and take up to the 5th floor Ballroom where the wedding was held. The staff were all very nice and accommodating as well and I found the service, food, and atmosphere to all be really great.
And speaking of atmosphere, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is adjacent to the amazing architectural gem, the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry. The concert hall and the entire campus of the LA Music Center create endless backdrops for brilliant Wedding Photography, like these by our friend Heidi Ryder Photography. The interior of the ballroom is spacious and can be divided by air walls. You can host your both Ceremony and Reception here, and the floor to ceiling windows offer ther city scape in the background to accent the event throughout the night.
I’ve included a highlight video at the bottom of this post, that I put together for Bride and Groom Alexis and Mitch whose wedding was held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion back in March. Take a look at some of the interior footage of the ballroom to see what your wedding might look like in the space. Add Wireless LED Uplights which we are now proud to offer to help accent the room with splashes of colored lighting.
Our thanks again to the staff of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the LA Music Center, please contact them for more information about their facility and if you need DJ services, we’d love to help! Happy Planning.
How to Keep Kids Busy at Your Wedding
Posted by Jason | Filed under wedding tips
SO, you’re having a wedding soon and you’ve just realized that about 25 of your guests are under the age of 12. What can you do to include the kids in the celebration without babysitting or being worried about them on your biggest day? Although we generally recommend hosting an “adult” reception, we understand that large families might have no other option than to bring children, especially when family members with lots of kids have to travel a great distance to attend your wedding…there are no kennels for kids, yet! But seriously, if you have several children attending your Wedding, you’ll want to have some activities for them, and you need to plan this in advance. There’s nothing worse than 20 screaming, bored, confused children running around disrupting the special moments of your wedding.
In our everlasting search for great wedding planning resources, we found a terrific article on The Knot.com to help anyone who is planning a wedding where lots of children will be attending. The article focuses on 15 different ideas to occupy and entertain kids at a wedding. Click Here to read the article on the knot.com
Credit to Wendy Paris for writing this great article.
Credit to Photography by Charise Proctor for the photo in this post
Wedding Music Mistakes and Professional Tips
Posted by Jason | Filed under Event Planning Tips
No matter what you’ve done to prepare for your Wedding, remember this: Music Enhances the Memories!
You’ve purchased a Beautiful Wedding Dress. You’ve spent thousands of dollars on Photography and Flowers and Food. You picked the absolute perfect Venue to host your amazing wedding. But after all of that, your Wedding will be judged by how entertaining it was and if the music was good or not.
Music is the most important enhancement of any event, especially weddings. So, if you’re considering a Band, a DJ, a string or brass group to play live music, or all of those combinations, here are a few tips to think about that will help you make decisions and add the great finishing touches to your Wedding.
1. Don’t dance alone for too long!
When it comes to those traditional pre-arranged dances such as the first dance or father/Bride dance, you don’t have to stay on the dance floor in the spotlight throughout the Entire song. The DJ/MC or Band can do several things to make this moment a little shorter without being obvious. Have them make an announcement to ask others to Join you on the dance floor, or the Emcee will simply ask everyone to applaud you as the DJ fades the song and moves right on to the next scheduled dance. If you’re asking people to join you on the floor half way through a song, be sure to ask a few couples ahead of time to be prepared to get up there and get the rest of the crowd into it.
2. Silence isn’t beautiful
Every Wedding Ceremony needs music, especially the crucial period just prior to the start of the ceremony, approximately 20-30 minutes. As your guests arrive, you need to have music playing, possibly a hired musician or the DJ playing pre-recorded music. If you choose a DJ, you can play anything you want! Sometimes our clients choose classical chamber music, or strings arrangements of Popular songs such as the group “Vitamin String Quartet”. You can also choose acoustic music like Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, or Jazzy hits of the 20′s 30′s and 40′s. Either way, this sets the mood for what the evening is going to feel like, but Silence is not an option. Even in the most serene setting, a Wedding is a celebration and should be accompanied by great music!
3. Before you hire a musician, think about the Space!
If you are having a beach wedding ceremony and you hire a harpist to play, it’s possible and quite likely that unless the harp is amplified, the sound of crashing waves and wind will drown out the instrument. In fact, this could even be the case for a string quartet. Ask the Venue coordinator what the acoustic limitations of the venue are and instead of a harp, maybe you hire a DJ to play amplified pre-recorded music, or hire a sound system for the harpist to apply a microphone to her performance. These are things to consider no matter if you’re on a beach, a mountaintop, near a waterfall, or in a large church.
4. The Church has Rules!
If you’re having a Church Wedding Ceremony, remember, even if you’re a Member, it’s not just Your Church. There are almost always rules regarding music when it comes to churches and synagogues. Many locations require you to Read the rest of this entry »
If you are an experienced wedding DJ who loves working to serve the needs of your clients, 