Events
Salem Bar Mitzvah DJ At Convention Center
Salem Bar Mitzvah DJ Rich Ellis performed at Nathan’s Bar Mitzvah party on Saturday, July 8, 2017 in the Croisan Creek Room at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Oregon. This event began at 7pm with dinner background music.
The room handled the 100+ guests comfortably for dinner and dancing, but there wasn’t enough room for some of the games. I noticed another (empty) room adjacent to this one and checked to see if we could use it temporarily. And so all the kids joined me there for rousing versions of Coke & Pepsi and Running Tic Tac Toe.
We then returned to the main ballroom for one more game that the parents could watch and be involved with, a scavenger hunt, before opening the dance floor with ‘The Hora’ and chair raising.
Nathan’s family really wanted their guests to dance and posted signs around the room encourging everyone to participate.
There was no need to worry though as most everyone joined in the fun and danced to a variety of fun hit music… everything from ‘Happy’ and ‘Uptown Funk’ to ‘Play That Funky Music’ and the ‘Cha Cha Slide’. Nathan loves to rock though and his requests for Green Day and Fall Out Boy were well received, plus his metal-loving grandmother was super excited to dance to Judas Priest’s ‘Livin’ After Midnight’ 🙂
Mazel Tov Nathan and thank you parents Deb and Mike for choosing PRO DJs.
Big Time Portland Bat Mitzvah Dance Party
DJ Rich Ellis had the opportunity to perform at Anita’s Bat Mitzvah Dance Party on Saturday, July 1, 2017 at Congregation Beth Israel in Portland, Oregon.
Anita’s dad Ben had the pleasure of selecting the artists for the background music. For cocktails, he wanted an R&B, World, Afro Cuban vibe that included artists: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Baba Maal, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Amy Winehouse and more. For dinner, he suggested aoustic rock and mellow pop music, including artists: Nirvana unplugged, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Natalie Merchant, Pink Martini and others.
Before dinner, the plan was for the kids to play some games, but the photo booth and henna tattoos proved too much of a distraction. Following dinner was a slideshow and family toast.
Next, Anita introduced and talked about her family and friends during the candle lighting ceremony and then ‘The Hora’ got everyone out of their chairs immediately to begin what turned out to be a big time Saturday night Bat Mitzvah dance party.
The floor was packed for nearly every song from start to finish and the 200+ guests in attendance brought the energy for big hit songs, ‘Happy,’ ‘Uptown Funk’, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ and more and my scheduled peformance time was not enough, so an extra 30 minutes was added to keep the party going.
Mazel Tov Anita and thank you Lolly and Ben for again choosing PRO DJs. I had the opportunity to perform at sister Ava’s Bat Mitvah in 2015.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Rich was wonderful to work with. He met our needs thoroughly and was incredibly flexible as the course of our event changed from what we originally thought. He helped us a great deal with
timing of certain things we wanted and also completely went with the flow when needed. He stayed on a bit longer as our guests were fully on the dance floor still at the end of our agreed time! Rich is incredibly professional, super friendly and is an excellent DJ. This is the 2nd time we have hired him to DJ an event and we were very pleased both times. I have since recommended Pro DJ’s and will continue to!” -Lolly Jamerson and Ben Sandler (Anita’s Bat Mitzvah)
- Event Date: Saturday, July 1, 2017
- Event Type: Bat Mitzvah
- Event Location: Congregation Beth Israel
- 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
Picturesque Summer Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding
Sonna and Ryan’s Mt. Hood Oregon wedding took place at the residence of the bride’s aunt on Friday, June 30, 2017. The bride also grew up in the Parkdale area and returned home from the muggy heat of Oklahoma to celebrate her big day in the comfort of a perfect Northwest summer day.
Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party Entrance: Piano Guys – A Thousand Years
- Bride Entrance: Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
- Bride/Groom Exit: Heavy D & The Boyz – Now That We Found Love
Since the tables and chairs were already setup for the reception, 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.
Mt. Hood Oregon Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Stevie Wonder – Signed Sealed Delivered…
- Cake Cutting: Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself
- First Dance: George Strait – I Cross My Heart
- Bride and Father Dance: Trace Adkins – Just Fishin’
- Bride and Stepfather Dance: Rascal Flatts – My Wish
- Groom and Mother Dance: Trace Adkins – Then They Do
- Bouquet Toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
- Garter Toss: Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
- Last Dance: Neil Diamond – Sweet Caroline
It was perfect timing as the dance floor opened to everyone at twilight. With around 80 guests in attendance, most passed on a slow dance to warmup, but were not shy about hitting the dance floor for the first fast dance song. The Beatles ‘Twist & Shout’ brought many out to the tiny dance floor, that quickly overflowed onto the grass for the tracks that followed, including: ‘Happy’, ‘Cupid Shuffle’, ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ and more.
Congratulations Sonna and Ryan and thank you Maid of Honor, Mille for recommending me. I had the opportunity to perform at her wedding two years ago.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Rich did a fantastic job! He was prompt and helped walk us through each step of planning in regards to processional music to first dances. He brought all of his own equipment and set up/broke it down himself. We really appreciated all of his hard work and for guiding us on our special day! Highly recommend.” -Sonna Winkel & Ryan Scott Weddle
- Event Date: Friday, June 30, 2017
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: 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
- 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
Hot Late June Camp Angelos Wedding Corbett
The temperature was pushing 100 degrees on Saturday, June 24, 2017 at Gina and Blake’s Camp Angelos Wedding in Corbett, Oregon.
The ceremony began a little after 3:30pm and a nice breeze made the heat a little more tolerable for the 150+ guests.
Camp Angelos Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party Entrance: Piano Guys – A Thousand Years
- Bride Entrance: Brian Cain – Canon in D
- Bride/Groom Exit: Etta James – At Last
The reception followed inside the air conditioned lodge, but some chose to hangout outside. I brought a second sound system for the ceremony and continued playing music outside for a little while. The hot weather eventually drove everyone inside.
Background music for the cocktail hour was a mix of summer party and family reunion music as requested by the newlyweds. During dinner, they wanted Rat Pack hits from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and others.
Camp Angelos Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Ray LaMontagne – You Are The Best Thing
- Cake Cutting: Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself
- First Dance: James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
- Bride/Father Dance: Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful
- Groom and Mother Dance: Ben E. King – Stand By Me
- Bride/Grandfather Dance: Nat King Cole – Unforgettable
- Bouquet Toss: Meghan Trainor – Dear Future Husband
- Garter Toss: Ginuwine – Pony
- Last Dance: Chainsmokers & Coldplay – Something Just Like This
As the reception moved into the evening, many guests began to move outside to the inviting shady front deck and impromtu photo booth setup on the back deck. This provided some competition for the dance floor, but the many who wanted to dance couldn’t stay away for long and the dance floor was mostly packed for long stretches.
‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Uptown Funk’ and ‘Cupid Shuffle’ were crowd favorites, along with the 2017 song of the summer, ‘Despacito’.
Congratulations Gina and Blake and thank you to Blake’s brother Josh and his wife Destiny for recommending me for this event. I performed at their wedding in August 2014.
McMenamins Edgefield Manor Wedding
Barb and John were married on Saturday, May 20, 2017 inside Blackberry Hall at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon.
This classic venue remains ever popular with couples planning their weddings. Many choose to have their ceremony in the meadow behind Blackberry hall, then the reception inside. But on this warm and sunny day, Barb and John chose to hold both inside since our waterlogged winter and early spring made the grass extra soft.
For the bride’s entrance music, Barb asked me if I could edit the song ‘Marry Me’ by Train to remove the lyrics that reference ‘getting the nerve to say hello in this cafe.’ She loves the song and all of the lyrics applied to her experience, except that line. I was happy to oblige and the final edit sounded like it was supposed to be that way, so success 🙂
McMenamins Edgefield Manor Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Weding Processional Entrance: Roy Todd – Radiant As A Bride
- Bride Entrance: Train – Marry Me (Edit No Cafe)
- Bride/Groom Exit: James Taylor – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
Following the ceremony, it was a perfect evening for a stroll on the Edgefield grounds as the hall was reset for the reception. When guests returned, I played a variety of background music selections that included artists Colbie Callait, Jason Mraz, OneRepublic and more.
McMenamins Edgefield Manor Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: AC/DC – Thunderstruck
- Cake Cutting: Maroon 5 – Sugar
- First Dance: Trisha Yearwood – How Do I Live
- Groom and Mother, Bride and Father-In-Law Dance: Rascal Flatts – My Wish
- Bride and Mother Dance: Van Morrison – Brown-Eyed Girl (Call all brown eye girls to floor after about 30 seconds)
- Money Dance: Barenaked Ladies – If I Had A Million Dollars
- Anniversary Dance: Anne Murray – Can I Have This Dance
- Last Dance: Brad Paisley – She’s Everything
After the formal dances that concluded with the anniversary dance that revealed the bride’s aunt and uncle were married the longest at 50 years, the dance floor opened to everyone around 9pm. The lights remained on for the first 20 minutes or so, but that didn’t stop many in this group from movin’ to the classics and recent hit songs, such as ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Hey Ya’ and ‘Twist & Shout’.
I played everything from ‘Stayin’ Alive’ to ‘Uptown Funk, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’, ‘Celebration’ and more. Blackberry Hall was rockin’ the final 90 minutes of the reception… even some passersby took a look inside to witness the action when the doors to the dance floor area opened later.
Congratulations Barb and John and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Rich was great! He spent an hour on the phone with us organizing our wedding details. He is very professional and kind. I am very satisfied with our experience with ProDJs and Rich.”
-Barb & John Pemberton
- Event Date: Saturday, May 20, 2017
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: Edgefield McMenamins
- 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
