Venue Review: Coyote Preserve & Golf Club

Coyote Preserve & Golf Club is tucked away off of the US23 service drive between Center Rd and White Lake Rd.  You can see the entrance from US23.  The entrance winds back a few miles through a nice private subdivision and leads to the clubhouse.  The building is very nice and even the chairs are elegant enough that covers might actually detract from the look of the venue.  The room was decorated beautifully in splashes of yellow and grey.  I had never been here before this event, but Anthony and Renae picked a beautiful location for their reception.

 

We also provided a photo booth for this wedding, which was a huge hit.  The bridal party was so excited, they used it before their grand entrance!

 

 

 

 

The food was excellent and gets a big thumbs up for presentation!  I haven't seen a fruit display this nice, since I was on a cruise ten years ago.

 

 

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate prior to dinner and it was pouring down for about an hour.  On the bright side (pun intended), the sun came out afterwards and the photographer was able to get them out quickly and get all their photos done in just 30 minutes!  The golf course has numerous photo-perfect areas for pictures.  I saw a few of the pictures that were taken and they were amazing!

 

 

The Dipzinski's had a wonderful day and were a pleasure to work for!  The guests were all very polite and really enjoyed dancing the night away.

 

Here's some video from the last song of the night.  Feel free to add my page on Facebook!

Post by The DJ Guy.

Due to next week being the 4th of July, there will be no venue review.

Have a great holiday and stay safe!

Venue Review - Arnoldo Banquet Hall, Riverview, MI

Today's review is a bit different from the ones I've done in the past.  It's not often that I book photo booth services and not DJ services, but it happens.  When it does, I run the photo booth and give my guys the day off.  On a Friday in May, this was the case, so I headed out to the Arnaldo Banquet Hall in Riverview.

The Hall itself is very "over the top" with a circular ceiling that has twinkling stars and blue lighting to the fountain and faux marble columns that line the lobby area.  They must have spent a fortune on the 12 HDTVs behind the bar, but then decided they would look better if they were behind a waterfall that runs over a plexiglass window, placed in front of them.

On this occasion, I did not get the chance to eat.  But don't worry... this isn't my first time here.  I was here about 5 years ago for my high school reunion and the food was nothing to write home about (I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars).

I was also looking forward to this for one other reason... I can sit back and take in what another DJ is doing.

 

I made a list of all the pros and cons of this particular DJ.  While the setup is clean and professional looking, there isn't much else that I can add to the list of pros!

This room has the unfortunate layout that forces the DJ to the far corner of the room, with tables placed directly between the DJ and the dance floor.  I've stated in the past how this is completely inappropriate and creates an impossible situation for any DJ to overcome.  Guests should NEVER be seated in front of speakers and lighting the dance also becomes a challenge.

Lucky for this DJ, she only had one light to begin with.  That's right - ONE LIGHT for the entire dance floor!  You'll notice it's sitting on the table instead of being up in the air, where it can be angled down, over the tables and actually hit the dance floor.  I've seen DJs that only use a few lights in the past and for some reason, they think that putting them on the table is acceptable (it's not, it's quite amateur).

She has a lovely twinkling LED backdrop that sells for no less than $400.  Aren't you glad she spent money on a backdrop instead of lighting the dance floor?  She's obviously trying to draw attention to herself.  But if that's the case, she should be standing and not sitting the entire night.  There's a reason for that too...

After hearing her dinner music, which was a compilation of "weddings greatest hits" (including Love Shack, Old Time Rock & Roll, White Wedding, Baby Got Back and MORE!), I was curious to take a closer look.  She was using a desktop computer with WINDOWS "FREAKING" MEDIA PLAYER!!!!  No DJ software, no controller, just a keyboard and mouse.  This explains why NONE of the songs were ever mixed together, why sometimes there was 5-6 seconds of silence between songs and why some songs seemed to suddenly get cut off and another one started abruptly.

"DJ Trainwreck" also managed to fumble through introductions without welcoming guests and getting them seated and forgot to cue the song for the bride & groom's intro!

THIS is what the fabulously low price of $499 will get you for your wedding!  If that's what you want, you could probably just hire a friend to do it with their ipod and they might even do a better job.  People like this give professional DJs a bad reputation and I just want to let everyone know that there ARE professionals like myself that will exceed your expectations - EVERY TIME!

At least one thing went right for this couple... they had a great photo booth that everyone enjoyed and memory scrapbook they can look through for years to come.

(end)

 

The PINK PARTY is this Thursday (June 12th)

Come on out to downtown Howell from 5-9 to celebrate a great cause.  This is one of the few public events I do through out the year and it's a great chance to see what I do.  Unfortunately, I don't MC this event as they have a separate MC, but I'll be playing music right next to the courthouse on the stage between various events.  I also light the historical courthouse up in Pink at 9 PM!

The Pink Party is a town wide fund-raiser to raise funds for St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Livingston for supportive care and breast cancer research. the Pink Party is an after hours adult, town-wide ticketed event for retail shops to help raise funds for a great cause, invigorate a small downtown and strengthen our sense of community. Proceeds will be donated to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Livingston. Tickets can be purchased in advanced for $25 at participating businesses.

The Pink Party is a ticketed  event for adults. You must have a passport (ticket) in order to receive giveaways, specials, etc. from businesses. Items are limited and on a first come, first serve basis. Remember, this is for a great cause and will help so many!

Your ticket includes:

• A generous discount at participating retail stores
• Food & Wine Tasting
• Massage Stations
• Queen of the Night Awards for Most Creative Pink Outfit
• The parade of men
• Groups purchasing 8 tickets or more at one time will be escorted by a tuxedo wearing, handsome James Bond type. He will be with your group to open doors, carry shopping bags and umbrellas, fetch coffee and remind you of just how fabulous you are!
• Festive Party-like atmosphere throughout town
• Roaming entertainment
• Belly dancing
• The DJ Guy
• Zumba
• Live music and entertainment on the main stage
• Special handouts on the courthouse lawn

Look for another Venue Review next week!

Venue Review - Oak Pointe Country Club, Brighton, MI

On May 10th, I finally made my way over to Oak Pointe Country Club in Brighton, MI.  I've have at least half a dozen inquiries about weddings for this location over the years, but many either changed their venue or didn't book.  While I have no idea what they charge for a wedding reception, I can surely tell you it is on the higher end of the scale.

The ceremony took place just outside and was picture perfect...

The inside was elegantly set with this year's seemingly popular colors, purple and grey...

The Events Director, Kendall, was very helpful and showed me where to setup and get power (which was down a bit from where I was setup).  My setup was a bit unexpected for them.  They usually don't see DJs that have their own light up booths.  I got quite a few compliments on that through out the night and it fit right in with the classy look of the location.  Each one of those cabinets behind my setup is a "private wine cellar" for country club members to rent.  I'd guess that isn't cheap either, but I also think it was not only a bad spot to put them, but also a bad idea not to put a power outlet somewhere along the floor in this area.

The food and service were top notch... here's what it looked like.

The Groom made the table center pieces, cake and cupcake displays from birch, giving it a slightly rustic feel.

The reception hall at Oak Pointe is pretty spacious and allows for two additional wings to be opened (each with a bar) if needed.

Overall, it was a great night and guests didn't want to leave.  The last picture was taken after the lights came back on.  As you can see, there were still nearly 50 people there, who would have kept dancing had the hall allowed them.  I was willing to stay, but the next day being mother's day, the hall had to setup for brunch in the morning.

 

 

You can find full details on Oak Point Country Club at their website:
http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Oak-Pointe-Country-Club/Weddings-Events/Weddings

 

Look for new venue reviews and blogs posts every Sunday at noon!

 

Venue Review: Wheatfield Inn (Williamston, MI)

Last Saturday I returned to the Wheatfield Inn. This is quite a unique location, perfect for smaller weddings of 150 or less.  While I believe they accommodate more than 150, it is not done ideally, seating the remaining guests outside on the patio, under a tent.  The ceremony location (just off to one side of the large patio, is beautifully backed up to a stream.  A steel and wood bridge crossing the stream makes an excellent place for wedding photos.  The inside hall of the Wheatfield Inn has a very high ceiling and seems spacious even though the head table is usually setup on the dance floor with the DJ setup behind the head table.  This seems a bit awkward, but once dinner is done, the head table is broken down and there's plenty of room for dancing.  I think this could be improved on by placing a semi transparent curtain behind the head table during dinner hour.  While the DJ might feel like the man behind the curtain, the pictures would surely look much better.

Here's some pictures from Sean and Victoria's wedding:

The Wheatfield Inn may not be for everyone, but it certainly offers a unique and intimate setting for a wedding and reception.  Catering is usually done by outside vendors and in this case, I misplaced the business card for the caterer.  The food was good, but average so I won't bother with details.

Zurecki Wedding - a reunion of sorts and a total blast!

So last year, when an old friend from my days of going to the club and DJing at various clubs in Detroit and Ann Arbor approached me about doing his wedding, I was not only excited, but honored that he picked me.  Jason (or JZ as we all called him), is good friends with several of the DJs that used to work at the clubs.  As it turns out, there were several of them in attendance at the wedding and even a few in the bridal party.

I don't normally travel out to Shelby Township that often, so I'm not doing a full blown review on the venue.  I will say that it was beautiful, the food was excellent and other than some conflicts with the adolescent valet kids, the services were top notch. The name of the venue is Cherry Creek Golf Club and it's located near 24 mile and Van Dyke.

Jason and his beautiful new wife, Elisa

What a great toast by the "dude of honor"!

First dance: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

Bridal Party Dance: Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

It was good seeing a LOT of old friends.  This is possibly the most fun I've had working a wedding in a LONG time.  Some of the night's songs included: Sisters of Mercy - Temple of Love, Dead Can Dance - The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove, Assemblage 23 - Let Me Be Your Armor, Iris - Annie, Would I Lie To You, Covenant - Dead Stars, Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy's Song and so many more!

Congratulations Jason & Elisa!