Events
Daniel’s Wild Portland Bar Mitzvah Party
Portland Bar Mitzvah DJ Rich Ellis performed at Daniel’s Bar Mitzvah party on Saturday, March 26, 2016, at the Multnomah Arts Center in SW Portland, Oregon.
About 150 guests came together to celebrate the occasion. As they arrived, I played a variety of upbeat background music before entertaining the kids with the gold coin game, name that tune and a rowdy scavenger hunt.
Daniel is a big soccer fan and his favorite teams are the Portland Timbers, FC Barcelona and Brazil. This made for a great game of pass the soccer ball with all three teams represented.
After dinner, a short video and toast, the energy level jumped dramatically with everyone coming out for ‘The Hora’ and chair raising.
A variety of fun hit music followed, including ‘Happy,’ ‘Uptown Funk,’ ‘Watch Me (Whip Nae Nae)’ and a few Brazilian songs, as requested by the family.
They could have danced all night, but with a little time left before we had to call it a night, Daniel wanted to play the game ‘Coke and Pepsi.’ The kids had a lot of fun participating, with a few acting as callers and judging.
Your friends and family were a lot of fun Daniel… Mazel Tov!
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Rich was excellent. He kept the kids engaged and entertained the adults as well. We really appreciate his enthusiasm and professionalism.” -Cam Williams (Daniel’s Bar Mitzvah)
- Event Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
- Event Type: Bar Mitzvah
- Event Location: Multnomah Arts Center
- 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
Storm Watching At Oregon Coast Wedding
Oregon Coast Wedding DJ Rich Ellis had the opportunity to perform at Kirsten and Christian’s wedding and reception on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the Inn at Spanish Head in Linclon City, Oregon.
The ceremony and reception were held in the El Toro ballroom on the fourth floor and I setup a second sound system for the cocktail hour held on the first floor in the Balboa/Cortez room. During this time the El Toro ballroom was reset for dinner and dancing, while the newlyweds and immediate family members gathered for photos.
The views for the ceremony were incredible, especially with the approaching storm.
Oregon Coast Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party Entrance: Thomas Newman – Wow (from Finding Nemo)
- Bride Entrance: Thomas Newman – Mae
- Communion: Leeland – Carried to the Table
- Bride/Groom Exit: Michael Buble – Everything
The bride and groom requested Frank Sinatra and Big Band for background music during the cocktail hour and Classic Jazz, such as Miles Davis, during dinner.
Oregon Coast Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Henry Mancini – The Big Blowout
- Cake Cutting: Maroon 5 – Sugar
- First Dance: Louis Armstrong – La Vie en Rose
- Bride and Father Dance: Nancy Sinatra – It’s For My Dad
- Groom and Mother Dance: I Wanna Be Like You (Monkey Song)- From Jungle Book Soundtrack
Following the formal dances, I opened the dance floor to all guests. A slow number brought out many couples and the energy gradually picked up as I played classics from The Beatles, Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire and more.
Everyone appeared to be having a great time dancing and a splash of current favorites, including ‘Uptown Funk’ and Dynamite’ really revved up the crowd.
Near the end, everyone joined hands and dance a circle around the newlyweds. It was pure joy and a touching celebration.
I appreciated the feedback during dinner and afterwards from the bride and groom on how much they enjoyed the music. Best wishes Kirsten and Christian and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“When we first began planning a wedding, music was possibly the most stressful factor for us, with so many different generations and personalities present. Rich Ellis took away this anxiety with his professionalism. As early as the first meeting, it was clear he understood the atmosphere we were going for and he accomplished it brilliantly. We were beyond pleased with the music, pacing, and flow of the ceremony and reception. We would absolutely recommend Rich to a friend. Thanks, Rich, for helping make our big day memorable!” -Kirsten Mason & Christian Buehring
- Event Date: Saturday, March 12, 2016
- Event Type: Wedding & Reception
- Event Location: Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City
- 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
Wilson High School Winter Formal Dance
A Masquerade Ball was the theme for the Wilson High School Winter Formal Dance as students danced the night away in the Pavillion Ballroom located on the Plaza Level of the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Downtown Portland on Saturday, January 30, 2016.
The dance floor was packed wall-to-wall nearly the entire night and everyone got their groove on to the latest hit music, including tracks from The Weeknd, Flo Rida, Selena Gomez, Justin Beiber, Fetty Wap and more. I spun some old school tracks as well, including ‘Yeah’ from Usher that received the biggest cheers of the night… amazing it’s still super popular 12 years after it was released.
Thank you to advisor Morgan McFadden and student Sophie Rubin for choosing PRO DJs. The Wilson High School Facebook page noted Wilson’s Winter Formal 2016 was a success! -Rich
Big Fun At January Corporate Holiday Parties
More and more corporate holiday parties are taking place in January instead of December and this year has been no exception. In fact, PRO DJs has performed at nearly as many company parties in January 2016 as we did in December 2015. With available meeting space and DJ availability at a premium before the holidays, this makes sense and we appreciate the opportunity to extend the season.
On Friday night, January 22, 2016, I was at the Marriott Hotel on the waterfront in Downtown Portland for a Vancouver, WA based construction company party. Over 200 guests attended and while they gathered for cocktails and dinner in Salon Ballrooms G, H and I, I set-up my sound and lighting equipment in Salon E and F for the afterparty scheduled to begin around 7:30pm.
The party room had the feel of a posh nightclub with accent lighting that included black lights. Pub games were setup in various places, including pool tables, foosball tables, air hockey, and dartboards. There was also a photo booth with props and of course, several bars and food stations.
With all the other activies, I surveyed the crowd to gauge when they may be ready to dance. After about 20 minutes, we had a few on the dance floor as they responded to Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ and ‘Billie Jean’ from Michael Jackson. Beyonce and Adele were also a big hit. A little later, a group of guests responded to a rock set that included AC/DC and Billy Idol before the dancing really took off with a mix of classics and current hits that included Earth, Wind & Fire, Justin Timberlake and Flo Rida.
The dance floor was packed when we stopped around 10:30 for the raffle drawing that included several $500 prize giveaways, so the guests didn’t seem to mind. Not everyone came away a winner, but they appeared to be in a great mood anyway and it wasn’t long before the dance floor filled again and stayed that way until we ended at Midnight.
Post Event Client Feedback:
“We had great feedback and I will definitely be in touch to secure the date next year.”
-Corey Anderson, Kiewit Infrastructure West Company
High Energy Bat Mitzvah Party At Holocene
Mazel Tov Maia! Portland Bat Mitzvah Party DJ Rich Ellis performed at her celebration on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at Holocene in Southeast Portland.
A nightclub can be a perfect place for this type of event. As guests arrived around 6pm, the feel and the energy was immediate and many people couldn’t wait, dancing during the background music 🙂
The kids were certainly ready to go and we got right to it with a number of games and contests, including name that tune and two wild rounds of the popular musical chairs scavenger hunt. We were loaded with prizes as well with 10 Starbucks gift cards and a bag full of giant candy bars.
After a slideshow, I invited everyone out to the dance floor for ‘The Hora’ and chair raising.
The high energy crowd really picked it up and had a great time dancing to hit songs from Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and more.
The kids also had a great time dancing to their favorite songs, including Justin Bieber’s latest ‘Sorry’ and Maia’s request for Fetty Wap.
Thank you dad Lee for the opportunity to perform at your daughter’s big night.
