Events

Summer Season Starts With Big Canby Wedding

Published June 25, 2015 | By Rich Ellis

Nearly 250 guests attended Erika and Ryan’s Canby wedding and reception on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Oak View Acres in Canby, Oregon.

The weather was perfect on the eve of the first official day of summer and the ceremony held outside featured a spectacular view of Mt. Hood.

Canby Wedding Ceremony Highlights:

Wedding Party Entrance: Taylor Swift – Love Story (Acoustic)
Bride Entrance: Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
Bride/Groom Exit: Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars

Following the ceremony, I moved my sound system inside, but the giant sliding doors remained opened so guests could enjoy the nice evening outdoors and inside.

Background music for cocktails and dinner was a mix of acoustic and cheerful songs, as requested by Erika. The playlist included selections from Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, OneRepublic and more.

Canby Wedding Reception Highlights:

Grand Entrance: Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
Cake Cutting: James Taylor – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
First Dance: Sleeping At Last – Turning Page
Bride and Father Dance: Krystal Keith – Daddy Dance With Me
Groom and Mother Dance: Johnny Cash – In My Life
Bouquet Toss: Shania Twain – Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Garter Toss: Shania Twain – Jimi Hendrix – Foxy Lady
Last Dance: Van Morrison – I’ll Be Your Lover Too

The feel of a warm summer night appeared to make everyone feel good and ready to have a good time as the dance floor packed immediately for the first open slow dance and then really got going to the fun fast songs, including the newlywed’s requests for the ‘Cha Cha Slide,’ The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson and more.

A good mix or favorites from the past and current hit songs, such as ‘Shut Up and Dance,’ Uptown Funk and more kept things movin’ non-stop.

Congratulations Erika and Ryan and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.

Posted in Events, Wedding

Portland Bar Mitzvah DJ At Tiffany Center

Published May 11, 2015 | By Rich Ellis

Mazel Tov Ethan! Portland DJ Rich Ellis performed at his Bar Mitzvah celebration on Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the Tiffany Center in Downtown Portland, Oregon.

Guests began arriving in the Crystal Ballroom on the 2nd floor around 6pm to a variety of background music that continued through cocktails and dinner.

As expected, the kids finished eating first and began to get a little restless. With the dining area positioned around the dance floor and Ethan’s mom hoping the background music could continue for the adults during dinner, I suggested taking the kids to an open area on the other side of the room to lead some games that did not require music. She agreed and about 30 young people had a great time with the football vs. soccer team race (Ethan loves both sports), Sharks and Minnows and a balloon stuffing contest.

I then returned to the stage and opened the dance floor with a mother/son dance (Fiddler on the Roof – Sunrise, Sunset) before launching into ‘The Hora’ and inviting everyone out to celebrate Ethan with the chair raising.

The party was off and running with both kids and parents dancing together the rest of the evening to everything from ‘Celebration’ to ‘Happy.’ There were also a lot of swing dancers with this group and they showed their stuff to ‘In The Mood’ and ‘Jump Jive ‘An Wail.’ A solid mix of classic hits and today’s best music kept everyone in a good mood and made for a fun evening.

Thank you mom Shira for choosing PRO DJs.

Post Event Satisfaction Survey:

Event Date: Saturday, May 9, 2015
Event Type: Bar Mitzvah
Event Location: Tiffany 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: 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

Posted in Bar Mitzvah, Events

Oregon Wedding DJ At Green Villa Barn

Published April 27, 2015 | By Rich Ellis

Oregon Wedding DJ Rich Ellis had the opportunity to perform at Elena and Byron’s reception on Saturday, April 25, 2015 at Green Villa Barn in Independence, Oregon.

The ceremony and reception were held in the main ballroom with a video slideshow planned for the start of the wedding. Live music for the ceremony was provided by the Willamette University Apollo Quartet while I monitored the microphones.

The newlyweds wanted anything Rat Pack for background music during cocktails and dinner, including Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, and Big Band/Jazz such as Glenn Miller and Dave Brubeck.

Oregon Wedding DJ Reception Highlights:

Cake Cutting: Average White Band – Cut the Cake
First Dance: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – Dream a Little Dream of Me
Bride and Father Dance: Bruce Springsteen – When You Need Me
Groom and Mother Dance: Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World
Bridal Party Dance: Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
Bouquet Toss: Meghan Trainor – Dear Future Husband
Garter Toss: Henry Mancini – Pink Panther Theme
Last Dance: Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight

Following the formal dances, I opened the dance floor to all guests. It was a great turnout and perfectly set-up the surprise swing dance lesson that followed, led by Elena, who is a dance instructor in her spare time.

Everyone appeared to have a lot of fun dancing to the classic hits and current favorites, including Byron’s favorite, Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams ‘Happy,’ the latest smash ‘Shut Up and Dance’ and more.

I appreciated the feedback received afterwards from the father of the groom… “Thanks so much for the superb job you did at my son’s wedding. The music was spot on and helped make it a great evening!” -Tom Farley.

Best wishes Elena and Byron and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.

Posted in Events, Wedding, Wedding DJ

April Wedding at Royal Oaks Vancouver

Published April 13, 2015 | By Rich Ellis

Anna and David were married on April 11, 2015 at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington.

The day before it was a dry, sunny day, but it rained that night so a tent was a good idea, as they were going to have their April wedding ceremony outside on the back deck rain or shine.

Right before the ceremony began, a dark cloud appeared directly above and dropped a heavy shower, but fortunately stopped on cue as the ceremony began.

April Wedding Ceremony Highlights:

Weding Processional & Bride Entrance: Pachelbel Canon in D major – Violin (eXquisite version)
Bride/Groom Exit: Ray LaMontagne – You Are the Best Thing

Everyone moved inside for the reception, where I had a second sound system setup playing background music as guests walked in. The newlyweds requested ‘Brat Pack; Frank Sinatra/Tony Bennett type music for cocktails and dinner.

April Wedding Reception Highlights:

Grand Entrance: Pharell Williams – Happy
Cake Cutting: Weird Al Yankovic – Eat It
First Dance: David Gray – This Years Love
Bride and Father Dance: Van Morrison – Into the Mystic
Groom and Mother Dance: You Light Up My Life (Performed by cousins of the Groom)
Bridal Party Dance: Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Bouquet Toss: Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Last Dance: Beatles – In My Life

During dinner, all 70 guests were seated in the upper dining area at Royal Oaks. This opened up the entire lower area, where I was setup and is mostly dance floor, to just me and the cake. Following the toast, I made sure to invite everyone down to the lower area to witness the cake cutting and First Dance and this led to a great turnout when the dance floor was opened to all guests.

Anna, Dave and their friends and family enjoyed the classic oldies, including a swing dance, as well as the latest hits and a heavy dose of 90’s Hip Hop as requested by the bride and groom.

I played everything from ‘Billie Jean’ to ‘Footloose,’ the ‘Cupid Shuffle’ to the latest smash, ‘Uptown Funk.’ The floor was spacious enough to hold everyone there and at times, it seemed like every single guest was dancing.

Congratulations Anna and Dave and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.

Post Event Satisfaction Survey:

“Rich was timely, professional and best of all he had us on the floor dancing! What an awesome job!!!” -Anna Niichel

Event Date: Saturday, April 11, 2015
Event Type: Wedding & Reception
Event Location: Royal Oaks
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

Posted in Events, Wedding, Wedding DJ

Cat Themed Portland Bat Mitzvah At RefugePDX

Published March 30, 2015 | By Rich Ellis

Mazel Tov Rena! Portland Bat Mitzvah DJ Rich Ellis performed at her celebration on Saturday, March 28, 2015 at RefugePDX in Central Eastside Portland.

As guests arrived, I played a variety of background music while a continuous slideshow was displayed on a giant screen next to me.

Around 100 people, including 30+ kids enjoyed a casual dinner, but Rena and her friends didn’t come to this party for that… they were ready to have some fun playing games and they had a great time with the scavenger hunt, Coke & Pepsi, Hula Hoop Trivia and more.

Rena volunteers at a cat shelter, so some of the prizes were beanie baby cats. These were a big hit with the kids, as well as Gelato gift cards.

This energized group also danced together to just about everything, but especially recent hits, such as ‘Uptown Funk,’ ‘Shake It Off’ and more.

The party ramped up a little more with the ‘The Hora’ and chair raising and the adults weren’t shy about joining in as they seemed to enjoy the new music as well as the classics.

Thank you mom and dad Michelle and Mike for choosing PRO DJs.

Post Event Satisfaction Survey:

“Rich was fantastic! Kept the kids engaged and moving – Sprinkled in some fun stuff for the old people too!” -Mike and Michelle Alberts