Rich Ellis
Delightful Summer Day Lakeside Gardens Wedding
Rachel and David’s Lakeside Gardens wedding took place on Sunday, August 22, 2021 on a delightful summer day.
The weather was perfect for the ceremony outside at the Upper Gazebo where I was greeted by a resident swan as I setup my second sound system on the deck just outside the groom’s room.
Lakeside Gardens Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Groom Escort Bride’s Mother: Billy Idol – White Wedding (Part 2)
- Wedding Party & Bride Entrance: Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black – When I Said I Do
- Bride/Groom Exit: Wham! – Everything She Wants
Following the ceremony, guests moved inside the Grande Estate for the reception. While they enjoyed drinks and refreshments, I played a mix of background music from a variety of artists that included bride and groom favorites: Bob Marley & The Wailers, Jason Mraz, Faramarz Aslani and Brooks & Dunn.
Near the end of dinner, the newlyweds planned a surprise performance from local professional belly dancer, Aksana Danilava.
Lakeside Gardens Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Billy Idol – White Wedding
- First Dance: 311 – Love Song
- Bride/Father Dance: Tim McGraw – My Little Girl
- Groom/Daughter Dance: 311 – Amber
- Dollar Dance: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Feat. Kelis – Got Your Money
- Bouquet Toss: En Vogue – My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)
- Last Dance: Wham! – Everything She Wants
There were a lot of special events planned for this wedding, allowing only about an hour for dancing. However, the guests made the most of it, packing the dance floor for a set of mostly recent hit songs from the last decade.
Congratulations Rachel and David and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Just want to thank you again for helping us create a memorable night.” -David & Rachel Saber
- Event Date: Sunday, August 22, 2021
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: Lakeside Gardens
- Event Staff: Rich Ellis
- Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
- Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
- System Appearance: Excellent
- Sound Quality: Excellent
- Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
- Music Selection: Excellent
- Incorporation of Your Requests: Excellent
- Lighting Effects: N/A
- Equipment Appearance: Excellent
- Overall Customer Service: Excellent
- Planning Assistance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
- Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
- Would you recommend this service to others? Yes
Astoria Oregon Wedding The Loft at the Red Building
Tonnie and Dean’s Astoria Oregon wedding was held Saturday, August 21, 2021 at The Loft at the Red Building in Astoria.
With a great view of the Astoria–Megler Bridge in the background, the ceremony began around 4:30pm.
Astoria Oregon Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Bride/Groom Entrance: Alexi Murdoch – All My Days
- Bride/Groom Exit: Edward Sharpe & the Magenetic Zeroes – Home
The reception followed immediately afterwards and background music during cocktails and dinner featured a mix of the bride and groom’s favorite artists, including Khurangbin, Will Van Horn, Whitney, Paper Kites, Surfaces, Ray LaMontagne, Van Morrison and more.
Astoria Oregon Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Surfaces – Sunday Best
- First Dance: Van Morrison – Crazy Love
- Last Dance: Willie Nelson – The Party’s Over
With 40+ guests in attendance, the dance floor opened to everyone around 7pm and from the first song was very active until we wrapped at 10pm. Recent hits “Can’t Stop The Feeling” and “Uptown Funk,” were well-received, as well as the bride’s request for “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias. Older favorites were also popular, including a set of 80’s rock classics over the final 30 minutes.
Congratulations Tonnie and Dean and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Perfect Day For Bridal Veil Lakes Wedding
With extreme hot weather forecasted for later in the week, Zonna and Khang’s big day fell on the perfect day as the high was a comfortable 77 degrees for their Bridal Veil Lakes wedding and reception on Sunday, August 8, 2021.
The ceremony was held in the Gorge Overlook directly across the lake from the main reception area. With a separate sound system, I provided the music and a lapel microphone for the officiant.
Bridal Veil Lakes Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party and Bride Entrance: Pachebel – Canon in D
- Bride/Groom Exit: Vivaldi – “Spring,” Allegro, (from The Four Seasons)
Following the ceremony, guests were encouraged to discover the venue and walk along the path along the lake to the reception area. When they began arriving for the reception, I played a mix of background music for cocktails and dinner that featured favorites of the bride and groom. Artists included: Ed Sheeran, Dayglow, Beach House, Fleetwood Mac and others.
Bridal Veil Lakes Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Spandau Ballet – True
- Cake Cutting: Benjamin Longman – True Love Will Find You In The End
- First Dance: Andy Williams – Moon River
- Last Dance: Ed Sheeran – Photograph
Space was a little tight under the canopy, but many guests joined in for the opening slow dance ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Elvis Presley.
With about an hour left, we packed in as much party as possible and the floor stayed active to big hits ‘Twist & Shout,’ ‘Uptown Funk,’ ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ and more.
Best wishes Zonna and Khang! Thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
Submitted By: Khang Do
- Event Date: Sunday, August 8, 2021
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: Bridal Veil Lakes
- Event Staff: Rich Ellis
- Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
- Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
- System Appearance: Excellent
- Sound Quality: Excellent
- Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
- Music Selection: Excellent
- Incorporation of Your Requests: Excellent
- Lighting Effects: N/A
- Equipment Appearance: Excellent
- Overall Customer Service: Excellent
- Planning Assistance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
- Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
- Would you recommend this service to others? Yes
Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding Parkdale Farm
It was a perfect Northwest summer day for Destiny and Colten’s Mt. Hood Oregon wedding held at a family residence in Parkdale, Oregon on Saturday, August 7, 2021.
The ceremony was in an open field on the property that featured a view of the mostly cloud-covered mountain in the background. The bride arrived for the wedding in the groom’s corvette. After they were married, the newlyweds also made their exit in the same Corvette as the wedding party followed them out on foot.
Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party Entrance: Ruelle – I Get To Love You
- Bride Entrance: You Are The Reason – Daniel Jang Violin Cover (Calum Scott)
- Bride/Groom Exit: Kool & The Gang – Celebration
The reception followed in a large tent just a short walk away. Guests spent the next couple hours relaxing and enjoying conversation with family and friends. The newlyweds took most of their photos before their wedding, but there were plenty more to take with extended family.
For background music, Destiny requested all Country selections, including songs from Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton and more.
Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Nat King Cole – L-O-V-E
- First Dance: Tim McGraw – My Best Friend
- Bride and Father Dance: Steven Curtis Chapman – Cinderella
- Groom and Mother Dance: Lynyrd Skynyrd – Simple Man
- Anniversary Dance: Nat King Cole – L-O-V-E
- Last Dance: Bubba Sparxxx Feat. Ying Yang Twins – Ms. New Booty
The custom-made dance floor popped up off the grass like a stage, but many of the 120 guests in attendance were not shy and ready to have a good time. We kicked it off with the anniversary dance to celebrate all the married couples and then the first fast dance song from The Beatles, ‘Twist & Shout’ kept them going, along with classics and Country favorites like ‘Old Time Rock & Roll’, ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ and more. Guests danced late into the night for over three hours.
Congratulations Destiny and Colten and thank you Maid of Honor and sister of the bride, Brittany for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
Submitted By: Destiny Perron
- Event Date: Saturday, August 7, 2021
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: Mt. Hood Parkdale, OR
- Event Staff: Rich Ellis
- Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
- Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
- System Appearance: Excellent
- Sound Quality: Excellent
- Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
- Music Selection: Excellent
- Lighting Effects: Excellent
- Equipment Appearance: Excellent
- Overall Customer Service: Excellent
- Planning Assistance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
- Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
- Would you recommend this service to others? Yes
Whispering Waters Farm Washougal Wedding
Bethany and Sam’s Whispering Waters Farm Washougal wedding reception took place on Saturday, July 31, 2021 in Washougal, Washington.
Originally planned for the farm near the main road, the couple decided a few weeks before to move it to a location on the property right next to the Washougal River. This would require navigating a long downhill gravel road and a generator for power, but it was well worth it as this was the perfect place to celebrate a wedding.
Surrounded by trees that offered lots of shade to make everyone feel comfortable, a forecasted hot summer day was also tempered with cloud cover and a high of only 82 degrees. I arrived first and parked my car near the generator to block some of the noise.
The ceremony was held at a church in Portland at 1pm and guests began arriving for the reception shortly after 3pm. For background music, the bride requested music without words, so I suggested a mix of instrumental classic jazz from artists such as Miles Davis, Diana Krall, Count Basie and more.
Whispering Waters Farm Washougal Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Natalie Cole – This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
- First Dance: Andrew Blake and Caitlin Simone – From This Moment
- Cake Cutting: The Turtles – Happy Together
- Bride/Father Dance: Bruce Springsteen – When You Need Me
- Groom and Mother Dance: Melissa Smith – Seems Like Yesterday
- Longest Marriage Dance: Rod Stewart – Have I Told You Lately
- Bouquet Toss: Shania Twain – Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
- Last Dance: Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love
Between and the cake cutting and father/daughter dance, Bethany and Sam played the shoe game. I enlisted the help of bridesmaid Valerie and groomsmen Ben to read the questions and give it a more personal feel. The best responses are to questions where couples disagree or they are not sure how to answer. There was a lot of double shoe raising to questions like “Who has the wackiest family” and “Who made the first move?”
It was clear that many guests were ready to expend some energy and took off dancing right away when the dance floor opened to everyone following the Longest Marriage Dance.
Swing dancing was really popular with this group as they seemed to be swinging to nearly every song.
All guests, young and older, appeared to have a great time movin’ and shakin’ to a setlist that featured 80’s classics ‘Footloose’ and ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),’ along with recent hits, ‘Uptown Funk,’ ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’, ‘Shut Up and Dance’ and more.
As I was getting ready to leave at the end of the night, I appreciated the immediate feedback from the mother of the bride, who told me they had so much fun!
Congratulations Bethany and Sam and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“I was very happy. Rich stayed an extra hour. We danced and danced. It was so much fun.” -Ruthann Johnson (Bethany Johnson & Samuel Nicosio Wedding)
- Event Date: Saturday, July 31, 2021
- Event Type: Wedding
- Event Location: Washougal Washington
- Event Staff: Rich Ellis
- Quality of Customer Service via Telephone: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service via Internet: Excellent
- Quality of Customer Service at Event: Excellent
- Friendliness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Promptness of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Professionalism of your Entertainer: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Performance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Appearance: Excellent
- System Appearance: Excellent
- Sound Quality: Excellent
- Overall Volume Levels: Excellent
- Music Selection: Excellent
- Incorporation of Your Requests: Excellent
- Lighting Effects: Excellent
- Equipment Appearance: Excellent
- Overall Customer Service: Excellent
- Planning Assistance: Excellent
- Entertainer’s Cooperation with Other Vendors: Excellent
- Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
- Would you recommend this service to others? Yes
