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 »
Bridal Premier Hyatt Westlake Plaza Bridal Show January 2011: Come meet our DJs
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
Well friends, it’s that time again. Time for the Wedding Season to crank up after the Holidays have ended and all of the newly engaged couples set out to plan the biggest day of their lives! In an effort to make that process a little easier, many Brides and Grooms and their friends and family attend one of the many Bridal Shows in Los Angeles.
For the 3rd consecutive year, Elegant Event Entertainment DJ Services will participate as an exhibitor at the Westlake Hyatt Bridal Show produced by Bridal Premier.
In addition, this year, we’ll be announcing all of the raffles for Door Prizes, so make sure you stop by and say hi and listen out for your name to be called by our co-founder Jason Jones, a familiar voice that’s been heard in thousands of radio and television commercials all over the world.
Here are the details:
BRIDAL PREMIERE- Wedding Showcase
Sunday, January 16, 2011, 11 AM to 3 PM
Hyatt Westlake Plaza
880 S. Westlake Blvd.
Hyatt Westlake Village, CA 91361
For more info or ticketing information click here: Bridal Premier Website
Please come by our booth and say hi, pick up a brochure, and consult with our very talented and experienced Wedding MC/DJs. We’ll be offering great discounts to those in attendance. We’re located in the ballroom, right near the booths of our dear friends from Hartley’s Botanica Gardens and Maravilla Gardens.
Happy Planning and Best Wishes on your Wedding in 2011 or beyond!
2010 Year in Review from Elegant Event Entertainment
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
On behalf of myself and our co-founder Chris Mortillaro, I wanted to write a quick 2010 year in review for our business and the Mobile DJ Industry in Los Angeles and Ventura County.
All I can say is “Wow, what a year it’s been!” In just our 3rd full year in business, Elegant Event Entertainment had a wonderful year, and we believe we’ve weathered the storm of the worst economy in decades. In 2010, our Wedding DJs in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties performed at 97 Weddings throughout Southern California. In addition, our LA DJs were spinning music and helping organize the entertainment at over 20 corporate and private events. By those numbers alone, it’s easy to see that the vast majority of our business comes from Brides and Grooms, which we are very proud of, however, we’ve really tried to step up the corporate MC/DJ model of our business as well and that seems to be coming along nicely. I was surprised to see as many corporate Holiday parties this year as we had, considering that the past several years have been very barren for company parties in terms of hiring DJs and entertainment. This, we feel, is a good sign for economic recovery.
Overall, our DJs performed at 118 events, up from last year’s total of 98, and up from only 64 events in 2008. More importantly, we’ve done that with very little paid advertising. This is the thing I most want our readers and clients and shoppers to see, that our company is growing because of our grassroots efforts to build the incredible network of vendors and past clients who continue to refer us to friends, clients, family and anyone else who needs a DJ in Los Angeles or surrounding areas of Southern California. We’ve been blessed to work with so many wonderful people and I feel we’ve done a great job for all of those clients and vendors which is why they continue to refer us. Our DJs are among the best, the most experienced, the most passionate and knowledgeable in the industry and we’re proving that by our substantial growth and the impression we leave on venues, vendors, clients, and the thousands of people who attend our events.
I also admit that we’ve stepped up our Social Networking as well, and we certainly feel that has helped our business, and particularly our Brand, grow in the Wedding Industry in Southern California. If you haven’t joined our EEE Facebook Fan Page, please click the link and “like” us!
In other EEE News, I wanted to point out a few venues where we worked the most in 2010 and these are among our favorite Outdoor Wedding Venues in Los Angeles and Ventura County. The always beautiful Maravilla Gardens saw our handsome faces for 12 weddings and the magical Walnut Grove at Tierra Rajada Ranch saw us DJ for 14 Weddings. Thank you so much to those venues and their staff as well as Command Performance Catering for the great work they do at both of those venues.
As for music in 2010, a quick note, no pun intended. I loved a lot of the music that was Read the rest of this entry »
LA Wedding DJ Makes Videos for Brides and Grooms as a surprise gift. Top 3 videos win Contest!
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
We recently held a contest for our Brides and Grooms who had videos posted by us on Youtube. The Brides and Grooms with The Top 3 Wedding DJ Videos, or videos with the most views (counted on December 15th, 2010), were awarded prizes.
Read more about our Wedding DJ Video Project at the bottom of this article, after the videos.
And Here Are The Winners!!
1st Place: Chris & LaShelle Bay with 356 total Views!!
Wedding Date 5/23/10
Location: Calamigos Ranch
2nd Place: Katreena & Michael Colato with 332 total views!
Wedding Date: 6/19/10
Location: Westlake Village Inn
3rd Place: Shannon & Tom Brennan with 308 total views!
Wedding Date: July 10th, 2010
Location: Maravilla Gardens
And an Honorable Mention to Cheryl and Michael Mio with 299 views!
Wedding Date 7-31-10
Location: Old Ranch Country Club
Cheryl and Mike’s wedding was awesome! So great in fact, we published a blog about their wedding, and the Video is there for you to see! Click the link to check it out : Old Ranch Country Club Wedding
We implemented a new and exciting feature in 2010 for many of our select clients. Using the technology of HD video cameras that fit in your hand, and quick editing software “iMovie” for Mac, our DJs were able to secretly capture some of the key highlights of many of the weddings we performed, and with an hour of so of editing, we published those videos to Youtube and posted them on Facebook, for our clients, friends, family and others to see. Using Social Media as a tool to get video footage of the highlights of someone’s wedding online in less than 48 hours in some cases, our clients and their friends and family were able to see the video using Facebook and linking to Youtube. We received so many amazing compliments from our Brides and Grooms and their guests, most of whom had no idea we were shooting any video. We provided this as “icing on the cake” for those clients, and it was a win-win-win situation, which is what we’re all about! The venues that are showcased in the video as well as other wedding vendors, and our services as DJs, really helps show potential clients what we’re all about. And of course, it makes a great gift for the Bride and Groom.
In all, we cranked out about 46 little Wedding Videos in 2010, which was about half the number of total Weddings we performed. We apologize if we weren’t able to make a video for your wedding, but, we simply didn’t have time to make one for each and every wedding. We are very pleased to say, Your videos were viewed over 7,000 times as this article was published!
We’ll try to continue to make these short videos for weddings in 2011 as time allows, and we hope you enjoy them! To see the rest of our Wedding DJ Videos, click here LAWEDDINGDJ Youtube Site
Happy Planning!
Maravilla Gardens Wedding Showcase and Open House
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement
On Friday, April 30th, 2010 from 6-9pm, Elegant Event Entertainment will exhibit our Ventura County Wedding DJ Services at the Maravilla Gardens Wedding Showcase. This will be an Open House event, allowing Brides and Grooms to view the beautiful property in an evening setting, to see precisely what their wedding day will look like. Attendees will also have an opportunity to taste the marvelous creations of the exclusive catering company Command Performance Catering. In addition, there will be numerous preferred vendors on hand to answer questions about the services they provide. These Services include Photographers, Cake Bakeries, Florists, and DJ Services provided by Elegant Event Entertainment. 
The venue will be staged with numerous event rentals to give Brides and Grooms great ideas to enhance their guests experience for the wedding. Attendees will have a chance to view table settings and linens, tents and canopies, upgraded lighting, lounge style seating, and much more.
The lush gardens and intimate setting of this gorgeous Ventura County Wedding Venue is located in Camarillo on Santa Rosa Road. The property, which once belonged to the Camarillo Family, later purchased by the Maravilla Family who have owned it since the early 1970′s. Their expertise in Gardening and Landscape design led them to begin hosting weddings at the property in 2003, and now, they accommodate up to 60 Weddings per year.
Maravilla Gardens is yours and yours alone for the day of your wedding, only 1 wedding is allowed per day on the property, which makes this facility unique and sought after in Ventura County. The venue is located just 50 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and you’ll never feel further away from the hustle and bustle of city life. For more information about this facility or if you would like to attend the Open House please contact Command Performance Catering or Maravilla Gardens for an invitation.
If you need DJ Services for your special day at Maravilla or any other wedding venue in Southern California, please feel free to fill out our no obligation contact form. On behalf of all the vendors involved in this showcase, we hope to see you this Friday and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to work with you for your very special day. Best Wishes!
Vendors Attending the Showcase:
Elegant Event Entertainment
A Beautiful Day Productions
Yamaguchi Flowers
Skiff’s Cakes
Pastries by Vreeke
Courtyard by Marriott
Evening Entertainment
Mr. Loki Productions
Rev. Barbara Laughray
Kimberlee Miller Photography
Alex Newman Photography
Photography by Charise
A Rental Connection
Belle of the Ball Designs
LA Photobooth
Our Top 5 Best Picks: Los Angeles Garden and Estate Wedding Sites
Posted by Chris | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
So, you’ve determined that a Garden-Style Wedding is what you’ve always dreamed of and you decided to have your Wedding Ceremony and Reception at the same location.
There’s just one problem. How in the world do you choose from so many great facilities and gorgeous locations? We’ve put to together a short list to help you look closely at some of our favorite locations as wedding DJs. Through the years Elegant Event Entertainment has performed wedding DJ services at many garden and estate venues. We happen to like these 5 a lot.
These venues do not appear in any particular order: They all made the grade! Keep in mind, the locations listed are primarily outdoor venues, consider tents in colder or wetter months, and also consider that July, August, and September can be brutally hot, set your event start time late in the afternoon and early evening. Don’t make grandma or anyone else endure the heat.
1. Maravilla Gardens- located in the Santa Rosa valley and minutes from the 101 this family owned nursery is a real treat for your Wedding Venue. This property features a fully outdoor Ceremony/Reception experience with tenting as an inclement weather plan. The added bonus here is the full service on site exclusive catering provided by Command Performance Catering Group. Maravilla Gardens is a gorgeous setting, in the hills with great views and the Gardens are amazing, you can save big money on flowers, you won’t need much more than centerpieces and minor accouterments here. Able to accommodate up to 350 guests, yet intimate enough for a gathering of any size, this site is suited for weddings, family reunions and corporate events. Their on-site coordinator and their owners are wonderful and they are extremely accommodating to vendors and guests. Music stops at 10:00pm here.
2. Hartley Botanica- This site is located in Ventura County and is a real gem, offering garden weddings and receptions. You have to see these gardens, truly a fantasy land here. The catering is offered exclusively by Command Performance Catering Group. We really like the setting here, for outdoor and garden weddings, it certainly does not disappoint. One of the best. You can find pricing on their website or call them for custom quotes. Our services are well respected and accommodated here as well. Music stops at 10pm.
3. Bella Victorian - Elegant Event Entertainment founder Chris Mortillaro has performed for many Weddings and parties at Bella Victorian, he loves it, our clients love it, what else can you say? Though this is a winery, it feels like an estate or garden wedding facility. The owner is great, she helps with coordination and works extremely well with our DJs. The grounds hold up to about 200 guests and accommodate Ceremonies and Receptions. And of course, you can have wine tastings here as an added feature to your event. This place is just very unique, like most of the locations on this list. DJ’s Catering is fabulous as well. We love the staff and it’s always a great time for our clients.
4. McCormick Home Ranch- Just over the Santa Rosa Pass and right off the 101, this is an ideal location for your event. You’ll have the option of having a ceremony in a garden, your cocktail hour in a private backyard setting, and reception under huge Eucalyptus trees in front of a gorgeous country colonial style home. You can bring in all of your vendors here, and we are unsure of the details on that for this property, but our experiences working here have been really stellar, no matter who catered it. This is just an absolutely beautiful location for a wedding or private event. They accommodate about 250 and music stops at 11pm.
5. Saddlerock Ranch- The Santa Monica Mountains never dissapoint. This is another location off the 101, up a mountain, and far away from the hustle and bustle…and although it can be a little difficult logistically, it is truly stunning. They have gardens, meadows, views, vineyards and very private settings. They can accommodate up to 5,000 people here…can you imagine? Most parties are up to 400. No noise restrictions here either, a big plus for the wild parties!
If you are an experienced wedding DJ who loves working to serve the needs of your clients, 