Events
June Crag Rat Hut Wedding Hood River Oregon
With a stellar view of Mt. Hood on a perfect late Spring day, Lauren and Tad’s wedding and reception was held at Crag Rat Hut in Hood River, Oregon on Saturday, June 10, 2023. The ceremony and dancing later were held outside on the paver stone patio.
Crag Rat Hut Wedding Ceremony Highlights:
- Wedding Party Entrance: Gregory Alan Isakov – Amsterdam
- Bride Entrance: Hozier – Like Real People Do
- Bride/Groom Exit: Queen – You’re My Best Friend
Guests gathered for dinner inside the large event room on the main floor. This area has a small built-in sound system with a cordless microphone and receiver. For background music, I connected my iPad and played a variety of selections chosen by the bride and groom. The same playlist also played via my main sound system outside during this time.
Crag Rat Hut Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: Father John Misty – Real Love Baby
- First Dance: Leon – Leon’s Lullaby
- Bride and Father Dance: Rascal Flatts – My Wish
- Groom and Mother Dance: Van Morrison – Days Like This
- Last Dance: 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up
There were 75 guests in attendance who were loaded with energy when the dance floor opened to everyone just before 9pm and the twilight with the mountain in the background made for a magical evening.
I played a variety of familiar hit songs including “September”, “Hey Ya” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, plus the newlyweds requests for Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”, Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and Rednex “Cotton Eye Joe”.
Congratulations Lauren and Tad and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Weekend Fun At Oregon Zoo “Zoo Brew”
PRO DJs once again had the priviledge of spinning the hits at the Oregon Zoo “Zoo Brew” with two DJs both nights on Friday, June 9th and Saturday, June 10th, 2023.
DJ Rich Ellis had the entry plaza Friday night and DJ Rod Krause on Saturday night. DJ Steve Marker performed both nights in Polar Plaza.
As attendees were making their way out near the end of Zoo Brew, many stopped where they were to dance… sometimes there’s no escaping a good beat.
It was a fun weekend with a great crowd.
Alina’s MJCC Bat Mitzvah Celebration
Alina and her friends and family had a great time at her Bat Mitzvah celebration held at Mittleman Jewish Community Center in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
As guests arrived, I played a variety of background music selections that included family favorites “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears, while the kids enjoyed the photo booth and Henna tattoos.
Following dinner, I led the kids with some games (Would Alina Rather?, Scavenger Hunt, Coke & Pepsi) before inviting the adults to join us on the dance floor for the traditional “The Hora” with chair raising of Alina.
This was a small gathering of around 50+ guests, but there was plenty of energy on the dance floor the entire evening. Everyone had a great time dancing to fun hit music that featured many classics requested by Alina… “Footloose”, “Funkytown”, “”Let’s Go Crazy” and more.
Mazel Tov Alina and thank you dad Warren for choosing PRO DJs!
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
“Rich was a fantastic DJ and emcee. He had a great plan even when we didn’t, and did an awesome job keeping both the kids and the adults engaged and entertained. Awesome!”
-Warren Dabney (Alina’s Bat Mitzvah)
- Event Date: Saturday, June 3, 2023
- Event Type: Bat Mitzvah
- Event Location: MIttleman Jewish Community 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
Events at Hunt & Gather Catering Wedding Portland Oregon
Krista and Bernie’s wedding reception was held at Events at Hunt & Gather Catering in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Following the ceremony at a private residence, guests began arriving at this Pearl District venue around 5pm. Background music was a mix of upbeat love songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s as requested by the bride. I played selections from Marvin Gaye, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates and more.
The groom suggested upbeat Indie pop love songs be played during dinner, including Vampire Weekend – We Belong Together, Fruit Bats – When U love Somebody and Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Events at Hunt & Gather Catering Wedding Reception Highlights:
- Grand Entrance: American Authors – Best Day Of My Life
- First Dance: Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love
- Last Dance: Taylor Swift – Lover
The dance floor opened to everyone around 8:20pm with Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”, that was dedicated to the bride’s father, who passed away eight years earlier.
I played a variety of hit songs with a focus on the newlyweds favorites from the late 90’s and early 2000’s, along with Top 40 hits. Guests had a great time dancing to “Hey Ya”, “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”, “Pump Up The Jam” and more.
Congratulations Krista and Bernie and thank you for choosing PRO DJs.
Post Event Satisfaction Survey:
Submitted By: Krista Kennedy
- Event Date: Sunday, May 28, 2022
- Event Type: Wedding Reception
- Event Location: Hunt and Gather
- Event Staff: Rich Ellis
- Overall Performance Rating: Excellent
- Would you recommend this service to others? Yes
Naomi’s High Energy Bat Mitzvah Party At Congregation Beth Israel Portland Oregon
Naomi’s high energy Bat Mitzvah party took place at Congregation Beth Israel in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
Guests arrived from the ceremony and Havdala held across the street around 6:20pm. I had a variety of music selections playing in the background, but that didn’t last long as the kids were ready for games before dinner, including Naomi trivia and her request that we play Coke and Pepsi. She is a big fan of Taylor Swift, so we changed the team names to Taylor and Swift 🙂
Dinner started around 7pm. With many family members visiting from Detroit, I was asked to play a variety of softer Motown hits as background music for dinner. After Naomi’s parents welcomed everyone and toasted the Bat Mitzvah girl, I invited everyone out to the dance floor for “The Hora” and chair-raising.
The kids were wound up all evening, but the parents joined in as well for a good time dancing to favorites “I Gotta Feeling”, “Dancing Queen”, “Cupid Shuffle” and of course, plenty of Taylor Swift.
Mazel Tov Naomi and thank you mom Marah for choosing PRO DJs.
