Walnut Grove Weddings, the DJ’s perspective with wedding video clips.
Posted by Jason | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
This season, our DJs have been elevated to preferred vendor status at Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch in Moorpark, California. This is a beautiful spot for a wedding, because of the uniqueness of the Walnut Tree Grove which makes you feel 1000 miles from Los Angeles and the gorgeous surroundings of rural and pastoral settings in Moorpark. The wedding ceremony can be held among the beautiful trees and the reception area has recently been remodeled to include a huge dance floor, a large stage built of stone and brick with a fireplace as the central focal point. Otherwise, the grounds are fairly simplistic and are a blank canvas for your wedding or private event. The exclusive catering on the property is done by none other than Command Performance Catering and they always do an amazing job at all of their events. The facility sales and events coordinator is Michelle Spring with Mia Bella Weddings & Events Call Walnut Grove today at 805- 558-8279 for more information.
There is a noise ordinance at this property, since the events are held completely outdoors. Be aware that although we don’t seem to have any problems with complaints there, if you’re having an enormous wedding and want to “blow the roof off the building” this might not be the place for you, you might consider a hotel ballroom or private event facility that is indoors.
We’ve included a few videos of Weddings at Walnut Grove that we’ve shot from the DJ’s perspective, we hope you enjoy! If you need a great DJ for your Wedding in Los Angeles or Ventura County, please give us a call, we’d love to help!
Walnut Grove Wedding Showcase and Open House
Posted by Jason | Filed under Announcement, Ventura County Wedding Reception Venues
The 2nd Annual Bridal Showcase at Walnut Grove presented by Command Performance Catering will take place on Friday, May 14th, 2010 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm.
Walnut Grove is formerly known as Tierra Rejada Ranch in Moorpark, now simply known as Walnut Grove, and Weddings at Walnut Grove are spectacular!
Elegant Event Entertainment will be the Master of Ceremonies and DJ’s for this Ventura County Wedding Showcase and Open House, come by and say hello to our very popular Ventura County Wedding DJs Jason Jones and DJ Chris Mortillaro, the founders of EEE. If you need a Wedding DJ, we’d love to speak with you about your upcoming event!
Reservations are requested in advance by calling (805) 523-3232 or via email tina@cpcatering.com or contact Michele at Walnut Grove (805) 558-8279.
Here is a list of vendors that will be at the Wedding Showcase.
DJ / Master of Ceremonies – Elegant Event Entertainment
Cake – Skiff’s Cakes
Cake – Jana’s Creative Cakes
Florist – A Beautiful Day Productions
Invitations – An Occasion to Celebrate
Photography – Kimberlee Miller Photography
Photography - Alex Neumann Photography
Videography – Mr. Loki Productions
Hair/Makeup – Beau Ideal Beauty
Harpist – Jazz Harp Records
DJ / Photo Booth – I’m A Girl DJ
Wedding Coordination – Mia Bella Weddings
Vintage/Classic Rental Cars – Classy Chassis
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
Moorpark Country Club, a great location for a Wedding.
Posted by Jason | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
I hope my reviews of Wedding locations in Southern California aren’t all beginning to sound repetitious, but I must say, this summer our company has been working at so many great wedding and banquet facilities that I felt the need to write about each of them. I honestly can’t think of any bad things to say about these venues and while I know they are all distinctly different, I want to share with you why I like each one of them individually.
Moorpark Country Club is no exception, I really like it there. Located on a beautifully manicured golf course in the hills of Moorpark, California, this facility is a great venue for your wedding or any event. The scenery is great, the hills are beautiful, the banquet room is large but very nice. The Ceremony location is on the property and features a gorgeous and intimate gazebo with lots of mature vegetation and landscaping. The grounds and facilities are above par, no pun intended!
I was honored to be the DJ at Pamela and Eran’s wedding on August 23, 2009 and it was a perfect day for this bride and groom. I must admit, the service at the country club is stellar, the banquet manager Jarvis is one of the kindest and most accommodating people in this industry, every Bride and Groom will love him. Director of Catering Anna Padilla is also great, she has had many years of experience in the Wedding industry, having a great career at a few of the premier properties here in Ventura County, she has exhibited vast knowledge and great professionalism in her field. Anna is passionate about what she does, and so is her staff at Moorpark Country Club , which is why our company loves to work there!
This wedding was a perfect example of cohesion between great wedding vendors in Ventura county, we had Suzie of Your Neighborhood Florist working her magic with the flowers, our great friend Josh Beller of Mi Belle Photography who also provided the photos for this article, Moonlight Video Productions shot the live action, the beautiful cake was provided by For Heavens Cakes, and of course, providing the entertainment was me, DJ Jason Jones of Elegant Event Entertainment! Read the rest of this entry »
A Sherwood Country Club Wedding; from the DJ’s perspective.
Posted by Jason | Filed under L.A. Wedding Reception Venues
I gotta tell ya, I honestly love my job, I love our company, and I love working with so many great people, clients and colleagues alike. On September 5th, I was the Wedding DJ at Sherwood Country Club for Toni and Maxx, and I absolutely love it there. It’s a gorgeous place that reminds me so much of many of the venues and country clubs in my home state of North Carolina, or even many parts of Virginia. The clubhouse has a Georgian or colonial style architecture, built with tens of thousands of bricks and adorned with gleaming white trim and moldings.
Sherwood CC is manicured so well, you’ll think Disney World moved to Westlake, California. One thing is certain, if you’re having a Wedding here, your photos will look amazing, because there isn’t an inch of this property that isn’t picture perfect. Although it seems annoying at first, all of the vendors like myself are required to wear dress slacks and a collared shirt to set up their gear. No shorts, t-shirts without collars or denim allowed. But, that’s fine with me, I always wear a nicely tailored suit while DJing a Wedding, so I change into that after the set-up is complete.
As pristine and ornate as Sherwood is, you still have permission to party and have lots of fun, and Maxx and Toni’s Wedding was no exception. They even had an early wedding, which ended well before evening, and it was still a blast. Unfortunately, many early weddings are not the most fun, but I honestly have to say, this one rocked! Of course, some of the credit goes to the DJ, right? But truthfully, this was a great group of guests, which always makes my job easier. The guest list included 2 other couples whose weddings I have DJ’d recently. I’m beginning to see the positive residual effects of Read the rest of this entry »
Bride and Groom’s First Dance Idea: A Candlelight Dance?
Posted by Chris | Filed under Wedding Planning
A few weeks ago I was the DJ for Tony and Niya’s wedding at Hartleys Botanica Gardens, one of our most frequented Wedding Reception sites in Ventura County. This couple had several unique ideas at their wedding, but most impressive was their very different approach to the Bride and Groom’s 1st dance. Everything was prearranged with me, the Master of Ceremonies, so I knew how to organize this special moment to make it easy for the guests and perfect for the Bride and Groom. We had all the guests, 150 in total, come up to the dance floor and make a big circle around the floor where the Bride and Groom would soon bask in this beautiful limelight. Then, the guests were given candles to light from the unity candle. The end result was truly moving. This was one of the prettiest 1st Dances I have ever seen in over 17 years of working as a Wedding DJ. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, you may want to consider this idea. You will need to check with your venue first, and most likely you’ll need some type of fire permit. I can’t offer much more advice on that but I can tell you that a Candlelight First Dance is stunning and truly unforgettable! Just take a look at that photo again.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Backyard Wedding, Executed Perfectly!
Posted by Jason | Filed under Event Planning Tips
There’s something about having a wedding on your own property that can be really special and unique. But, don’t assume that any old backyard will do. If you’re planning to have a backyard wedding, I hope you’ll get a few ideas from the following story about a wedding that our Ventura County DJs were hired to perform for Susan and Thad’s big day in Ojai California in mid-August.
A few tips for pulling off a successful Backyard Wedding:
1. Have the catering done professionally.
Our clients used Green Acres Catering in Simi Valley, CA and had a variety of gorgeous fruit and cheese trays beautifully displayed on the back porch as well as passed appetizers during the cocktail hour. The main buffet line was set-up under very nice tents on the driveway, BBQ style, and the caterer even grilled the food on-site! It smelled and tasted wonderful.
2. Hire a Professional Mobile Bar or Bartenders.
Catered Cocktails of Ventura were hired to provide Bar service, and they did a great job. The family didn’t have to tend to any food or drinks all night, and the beverage cleanup was done by the professionals as well!
3. Make the Ceremony Unique and Sentimental
The couple asked their friend Sonya Shelton, founder of “Being Present To Win” to officiate their wedding ceremony. Sonya is a leadership and spiritual guide as well as an ordained, non-traditional minister. She incorporated Buddhist traditions in this truly beautiful ceremony. Read the rest of this entry »
Planning a Los Angeles Wedding? Create a Timetable.
Posted by Chris | Filed under Wedding Planning
I was going through the web today looking for content and I came across this blog. Planning a wedding, the timetable I asked myself, “are brides creating a timetable these days?” Recently its seems that DJs are among the last vendors to be booked. We have received calls from clients asking us to DJ their Wedding with less than 4 weeks to spare before their event. In this time-table linked above, the author suggests booking your entertainment or DJ about 6-9 months prior to the event.
In an effort to help our clients, I would like to suggest a few reasons why you might want to consider booking a DJ (especially some of the more competitive Los Angeles DJs) well in advance of your event. Although I have done it numerous times in my career, as a DJ, I don’t like to just show up and play music the day of your Wedding. The DJ likes to get a feel for your vision for your Wedding, and it takes time and communication to carry that out. We will often speak with the venue or your other vendors to arrange and organize the timeline and flow of events, we spend time collecting and arranging music, we set and take meetings or phone consultations with bride and grooms, etc… If you wait until the last minute to book your DJ, it leaves us little time to prepare your entertainment and to make sure that everything runs smoothly. I’m confident that all of us at Elegant Event Entertainment can easily pull off a great Wedding even if we have very little time to prepare for it, but it is so much nicer to have that time to bond with my clients and help them realize their dreams for the perfect wedding.
Furthermore, my services as a DJ are based upon my availability. Many Brides and Grooms do book their DJ well in advance, and they often have the pick of the cream of the crop for DJs and Entertainment Companies that best suit their needs and budgets. Our company only hires very talented and experienced Wedding DJs, but each of their personalities are different. If a client waits too long, they may not find that match with the DJ they’re looking for, simply because the DJ has already been booked. Read the rest of this entry »
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,