Wedding Gig Log - Dancing Under the Stars at Nassau Inn

On Sunday October 9th, Ambient DJ Service returned to the Nassau Inn for the wedding reception of Steve and Julianne.  The couple booked us relatively late after learning about our services at R. Mario Fine Clothing in the Princeton Forrestal Village (R. Mario is the only menswear/tuxedo shop that we recommend!).

After providing music services at the offsite ceremony in Princeton, the reception party commenced in the evening on the second floor of the Nassau Inn in what is known as the Palmer and Witherspoon Rooms.  The Palmer Room is a cozy dining room, and the Witherspoon room is a connected room with a space for the DJ and dancing.

DJ Gregg Ambient and DJ Spinz provided a tag team effort for this celebration.  For lightscaping, we provided blue uplighting via Chauvet Color Strips, and staying in a similar color scheme, projected moving clouds and twinkling green laser stars onto the ceiling using an effect known as the Bliss Lighting Effect or "Dancing Under the Stars".

Experience the Ambience!

Sunday evening weddings can sometimes be duds, as guests are tired or else focused on returning home to get ready for work on Monday morning.  In the case of Steve and Julianne, despite being Sunday - and despite the fact that we were somewhat disconnected from the guests, the dancefloor action was excellent all night long! During dinner, guests enjoyed a slideshow of Steve and Julianne's professional photo shoot.

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Chen!

Key tracks for the evening included:

Life in Technicolor - Coldplay (Grand Entrance)

Imperial March (from Star Wars) (Grand Entrance)

Star Wars Theme Song (Grand Entrance of Bride & Groom)

First Dance #1 - Flightless Bird - Iron & Wine 

First Dance #2 - Let's Stay Together - Al Green 

100 Years - Five for Fighting (video slideshow)

Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (Steve serenades Julieanne)

Falling in Love With You - Elvis Presley (slow dance)

Jasmine - Min Huifen (classical Chinese music, dinner)

New York, New York - Frank Sinatra (group dance)

Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan (open dancing)

Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO (open dancing)

Can You Celebrate? - Namie Amuro (final song)

Thank you Steve and Julieanne for entrusting us with your special day! Special thanks to photographer Dariusz Kobajlo from JDKProPhoto who provided photography on a very special day in his own life... his 40th birthday - what dedication! (the photo immediately below is courtesy of Dariusz).

DJ Gregg Ambient poses with Julianne and Steve!

DJ Spinz & DJ Gregg Ambient is always a winning Combo!

ABOUT AMBIENT DJ SERVICE

Ambient DJ Service is mobile DJ entertainment company based in the Princeton, NJ area that provided customized, unforgettable wedding DJ services for its clients.  Please visit us on the web at www.ambientdj.com.

To read about another one of our unique Nassau Inn wedding receptions, visit this link.

4th of July Weekend Wedding - Christopher & Pauline

On Saturday July 2nd, I performed at the wedding reception of Christopher and Pauline at the NorthamptonValley Country Club in Richboro, PA.  Pauline learned about Ambient DJ while attending a wedding that I performed at several years ago at the Nassau Inn in Princeton.

Chris and Pauline reside in Georgia, and all of the preparations were done via e-mail and phone.  It was nice to finally meet the happy couple in-person!  Bucks County, PA is beautiful country, and the venue club had a relaxed country ambience on this beautiful warm, sunny day.

Unique touches for the couple's celebration included:

* a comedic video slideshow re-creating the couple's courtship and engagement, played just before their grand entrance;

* dramatic grand entrance of bride and groom to Sirius (use for Chicago Bulls), with basketball jargon such as "man in the middle" and "power forward" used;

* Moving speeches by the fathers of the groom and bride, with family members translating from Korean and Chinese into English, respectively. A special moment came when the groom's father was having trouble reading his speech, and the groom joined him, with cellphone flashlight in one hand, and the other hand draped over his dad's shoulder;

* A freshly-picked peaches station for party favors;
* A dinner station that included an eclectic choice of leg of lamb!;
* A sparkler send-off - what a great touch for 4th of July!

The dancefloor kicked in hard at the appropriate time, with the bride and groom in the center of the action.

The happy couple celebrating with family and friends

Cute Cake Topper

Party Favors - Freshly Picked Peaches Station!

Sparkler Send-Off!

Ambient DJs' Radiance Package

Key tracks:
* Sirius - Alan Parsons Project (grand entrance)
* Lucky - Jason Mraz with Colbie Callait (first dance)
* Jai Ho! - A.H. Rahman (party starter)
* Cupid Shuffle - Cupid (line dance)
* Firework - Katy Perry (seasonal selection)
* Tearin' Up My Heart (Boy Band throwback)
* What is Love - Haddaway (90s throwback)
* Another Night - Real McCoy (90s throwback)

Special shout-out to photographer Erika Manzano from Captured by Erika who was a pleasure to work with.  You can check out her website and awesome blog here

Wedding Gig Log - Meredyth and Mike, Nassau Inn

January weddings are a rarity. However, Meredyth and Michael took the plunge, scheduling their event for Saturday January 8th. Meredyth is an attorney and Michael is a physicist of Russian heritage who currently teaches at Princeton University. The challenge identified by the bride was creating a music and entertainment program that would stimulate a brainy crowd and not result in a dull party.

The wedding reception was held at the Nassau Inn at Palmer Square in Princeton. The Nassau Inn is one of my favorite venues to work at given its location, classy Ivy league charm, professional staff and great food.

The area was hit with a nice snowstorm the day of the wedding, and it continued to snow through the afternoon. Palmer Square, with its big Christmas tree, looked magical. I am sure that Meredyth and Mike's photos came out great. Kyo Morishima, an amazing photographer who is recommended by the Nassau Inn, said that he enjoyed shooting in the snow.

The reception was held in the second floor - picture dark hardwood floors, oriental rugs, poinsettias and a cozy fire. The reception party then moved into the Palmer and Witherspoon Rooms. This is a unique space, as there are two sections. The larger section is a dining room. Adjacent to the dining room is a smaller room for dancing (and the DJ booth); there is a double doorway that connects the two rooms and is left open. The challenge of this layout is that the DJ is somewhat isolated from the guests; the benefit is that the back room is an exclusive party zone where the volume can be pumped up after dinner. Ambient DJ provides uplighting in the dancefloor area (pictured below), creating an inviting space to lure in dancers!

The grand entrance came off flawlessly. Guests packed the dancefloor area, awaiting the bridal party and newlyweds. Each bridal party member had a special song. The new Mr. and Mrs. Romalis entered to the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling," then enjoyed their first dance to Dean Martin's "Sway" complete with a ballroom routine and dip for the grand finale! To recognize the groom's Russian heritage, a traditional champagne toast was followed by a vodka toast!

The groom came up with a very creative idea for centerpiece giveaways. Each of the eight tables, in addition to having a floral centerpiece, had a Stirling Engine (pictured below). With a heat source (such as a candle), these engines fire up! To determine the winner, I worked with Meredyth on creating multiple choice questions that would stimulate a crowd of lawyers, physicists and engineers; sprinkled with some questions about Princeton and pop culture. For example - what is Princeton's most famous ice cream establishment? What year did Einstein emigrate to the U.S.? Which Supreme Court Justice hails from Trenton, NJ? A question about Lady Gaga. The game was well-received!

The dance party kicked in hard for the final 45 minutes or so, with a non-stop mix of dance music. The reception had a good party vibe throughout. The guests had a great time (as did the DJ!). Congratulations Meredyth and Michael!