Music Maestro Blog

‘Congratulations!’ to Geoff & Brie who were married this past Saturday. The venue was beautifully decorated by family and friends and the reception was MC’d by their friend Gordo; it was a real family affair. The very unique cocktail and dinner music was a potpourri of tunes by the B&G’s favourite artists such as: The Oh Hellos, Freelance Whales, Trampled by Turtles, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Coeur de pirate, to name a few. Even the first dance and first few slow dance songs were sung by their friend and Juno nominated artist Craig Cardiff; what a voice! Definitely check him out… Now on to the party… Since the slow songs were already taken care of, my job was to get the party started so that is exactly what I did! I am happy to report that the reception was a blast! Their guests had so much energy, a real DJ’s dream… They also had no problem making requests and there were a ton of them! Fortunately, I was able to work them all into the mix. The B&G ‘snuck out’ early to start their honeymoon while the rest of us stayed and kept the party going strong until… the venue informed us that is was time to ‘shut it down’! Thanks again to Geoff & Brie for putting their faith in me to rock their reception, it truly was an honour.

Many congrats to Susie & Jeff who were recently married on Granville Island. What a wonderful day it was! I can’t think of a better setting for a true west coast wedding experience. ♥

This just in. Thanks everyone!

Vancouver, BC – February 4, 2013 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading online wedding marketplace, is thrilled to announce that Music Maestro DJ Service has been selected as a winner of the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards® 2013 in the DJ Category in Vancouver, BC.

The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards® 2013 are given to the top local wedding vendors in more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on professional achievements from the previous year. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients. As a Bride’s Choice Awards winner, Music Maestro DJ Service is highlighted within the WeddingWire Network, which is comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.

“Each year, WeddingWire looks forward to celebrating the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Network,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Now in its fifth year, the Bride’s Choice Awards® program continues to recognize the elite wedding professionals who exemplify a commitment to quality, service and professionalism. These businesses were chosen by our bridal community for their responsiveness and dedication to their clients over the past year. We are honored to recognize Music Maestro DJ Service for their impressive achievements within the wedding industry.”

For more information about Music Maestro DJ Service, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/music-maestro-dj-service-port-moody/fa0b0905e9cb3757.html

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards®, please visit www.WeddingWire.com/brides-choice-awards.

Many congratulations to newlyweds Shawn & Michelle! There were many emails exchanged between myself and Shawn, our ‘out-of-province’ groom as well as a couple of face-to-face meetings. In the end, what we were left with was a perfect day! So what if the weather didn’t cooperate for an outdoor ceremony, the inside of Swan-e-set just so happens to be as beautiful as the grounds are. The ceremony was held in front of the fireplace in the Sunrise Room. As for the main ballroom, it looked gorgeous!

I was also hired to provide accent and ambient lighting or as I like to call it, mood lighting. Staying true to their wedding colours, the pillars were lit with high-power blue uplights while the ceiling was washed in a soft purple. Alternating blue and purple uplights extended down both wings of the ballroom. Once the sun went down, it looked amazing!

The meal to follow was delicious with Executive Chef Chris Lee nailing it as usual. My advice to anyone having their wedding at Swan-e-set is to order the Beef Tenderloin as your carved selection; trust me! It is sooooo good… Your guests will all talk about it for sure!

Once the dancing started, I got to alternate sets with a family friend’s band. With them playing Brown Eyed Girl, Old Time Rock’n Roll, etc. and me playing the current hits as well as Portuguese and Italian songs, everyone had a great time! I only wish it could have gone on longer as there were so many more songs I wanted to play…

Before I forget… I finally got to work with esteemed photographer Erin Gilmore, my old pal! Check her out at: www.eringilmorephotography.com I’m going to have to hit her up for some real photos!

Running the show at Swan-e-set was their own wedding coordinator, Carlee; always a pleasure!

If you are reading this, Shawn & Michelle, I would like to wish you ‘all the best’ as you begin your new journey together as a married couple. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your very special day.

Congratulations to Rob & Dawn and a BIG ‘thank-you’ for allowing me to be a part of their special day! It was great working alongside Kate from Fairy Godmother Weddings: http://www.fairygodmotherweddings.ca/ who was their coordinator for the day. The weather was kind of sketchy that afternoon but thankfully we were able to go ahead with the outdoor ceremony. With Wedding Commissioner Gaylene Shapka officiating, it was perfect! The reception later started with an awesome ‘Grand Entrance’ set to Jump (For My Love) by the Pointer Sisters, announced by yours truly. The bountiful meal was handled by Cosmic: http://www.cosmiccatering.com/ complete with desserts and coffee. I almost forgot… Their wedding cake created by: http://www.mozartbakery.com/. To be honest, many wedding cakes look good but do not taste very good. As for this one, oh may goodness, it was sooooo delicious; yum!!! Everything flowed smoothly and once the dancing started, the party took off! Over the course of the evening, I managed to play tons of Dawn’s favourite songs and even got to hear her sing Bette Davis Eyes which was fantastic! I loved Dawn’s energy on the dance floor, it was definitely her night to shine! I would like to thank Dawn & Rob for making me feel like part of the family and wish them ‘all the best’ as they journey into their new life together as a married couple.

For an incredible place to host a wedding reception, check out the Roma Hall in Queensborough, New Westminster: http://www.romahall.com/ There you will experience some of the best Italian food the Lower Mainland has to offer in a newly renovated hall. The hall will hold ‘up to’ 250 people with round tables. They specialize in sit-down dinners and their service is top-notch. Just tell the club ‘President’ Rino Bellini that Steven Milani from ‘Music Maestro’ sent you!

Wow, what a great way to start off the season of Christmas parties! I had the pleasure of DJ’ing for Costco Port Coquitlam this year at Meadow Gardens Golf Club in Pitt Meadows. With close to 300 people in attendance, it was a good time! I used a Martin Acrobat intelligent lighting fixture to shower the ceiling of the venue with snowflakes to give it that extra Christmassy feel; talk about feeling festive! After the fantastic buffet dinner, we had live entertainment provided by Tanoa Fiafia, a Hawaiian dance team. They put on a great show and even got the staff involved as you can see in the photos. When the music started for dancing the ladies hit the floor and that’s all she wrote! From Top 40 to Classic Rock, it all got played. There were tons of requests for songs by Taio Cruz, Van Halen and Justin Bieber to name a few! We shut it down at 1 AM and made sure everyone that needed a cab got one. Which was a good thing since there was a Counter Attack Road Block set up just on the West side of the new Pitt River Bridge.  Remember, stay safe this holiday season and please don’t drink & drive. Thanks Costco for allowing me to ‘Rock’ your staff party.

‘Happy Holidays‘ everyone!

Wow, what a great night! Many congratulations to Samantha & Justin as they begin their new life together as a married couple. I felt honoured to be a part of this special celebration and merging of cultures. The indoor ceremony was beautifully performed by Marriage Commissioner Gaylene Shapka; love her! The bride and her ‘crew’ entered to a specially edited version of Opening by Linking Park, very cool! After the ceremony, the guests were treated to appies and drinks while the wedding party was off doing photos with their fantastic photographer Charlie Vowles.  The Grand Entrance was expertly introduced by ‘yours truly’ (ahem…) and was capped off by a very cool Lion Dance! The energy and excitement that this spectacle brought to the reception was incredible to say the least. We then moved into dinner, which was a delicious buffet, followed by a couple speeches and the cake-cutting. The First Dance was Then by Brad Paisley which was beautiful… Next was a parents’ dance and then the party busted loose! Not only did Samantha ‘talk the talk’ but she ‘walked the walk’! Or is it ‘danced the dance’? Whatever the case, she danced and danced and danced with her crew constantly by her side! Going through my photos, it was hard trying to find one where she was not present or one where BM Jen didn’t have her hands up in the air; you go girl! I am sure that their fantastic videographer, Ariane (Capture Video) got it all in HD for them to watch later! I mixed everything from 50’s Jive tunes and 80’s to some serious ‘Old School’ Hip Hop and Top 40; awesome, simply awesome! And let’s not forget the Bhangra music that had the groom and one of the guests hoisted high into the ayer! Good times… good times…

Photographer: http://www.lifestylephotography.ca/

Videographer: http://capturevideo.ca/