Wedding Reception at the Renault Winery - Egg Harbor City

Ambient DJ Service had the pleasure of performing at Mindi and Peter's recent wedding reception at the Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City.  What a perfect day for a wedding - sunny and warm with a hint of fall crispness in the evening. The couple learned of Ambient DJ Service from one of our preferred vendors, the Shrewsbury Strings, who performed the onsite ceremony music and referred our services.  Thank you Tony!

The Renault Winery offers a unique and intimate setting for a wedding reception.  Guests enjoyed cocktail hour in a wine cellar known as the Burgundy Room, walking through a wine casket to get there.  The wedding reception was held in the Vintage Room, an old-world style room that includes wine caskets.  The service was friendly, and the food delicious.  

Ambient DJ setup in the Vintage Room

Wine Casket entrance to the Burgundy Room

Mindi and Peter love good music.  There was to be no line dancing, no Kool & the Gang's Celebration or any other "cliche" wedding DJ fare.  With such great natural character in the room, we opted to use very sparing dance floor lighting, opting for a clean setup with a white facade backlit in yellow to match the flowers. 

Key tracks for the evening included:

Run This Town - Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West (Grand Entrance)

Theme from Superman - John William (Grand Entrance of Bride and Groom)

As Time Goes By - Frank Sinatra (First Dance)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - "Iz" (Father-Daughter Dance)

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Robert Flack (Mother-Son Dance)

First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes (cocktail/dinner)

Here Comes My Baby - Cat Stevens (cocktail/dinner)

We're Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes (cocktail/dinner)

Everyday - Buddy Holly (cocktail/dinner)

Just One Thing - My Morning Jacket (cocktail/dinner)

Let's Go Crazy - Prince (Kick-off song for Open Dancing)

Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts (dedication to Jack!)

You are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne (late night ballad)

The Seed (2.0) - The Roots f/Cody Chestnutt (open dancing)

The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga (open dancing)

No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses (cakecutting song)

Bro Hymn - Pennywise (grand finale)

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Strahlendorf!

ABOUT AMBIENT DJ SERVICE

Ambient DJ Service is a boutique-style mobile DJ company that provides customized music and entertainment throughout New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and New York City.  Ambient DJ Service is a consecutive year winner of the WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award and has been featured in DJ Times Magazine.  To learn more about our services, visit us on the web at www.ambientdj.com or our WeddingWire portal at www.weddingwire.com/ambientweddingdj

Album Review - "Tony Bennett - Duets II"

Tony Bennett is an all-time favorite vocalist of ours.  He is cool, classy and still singing well at the age of 84!  Another plus, Bennett also is an avid tennis player and a fixture in the crowd each year at the U.S. Open in New York City.

In September, Bennett released his much anticipated follow-up album "Duets II" featuring performances with superstars including Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Amy Winehouse, John Mayer and even Lady Gaga.

Bennett's voice and jazz stylings are still strong and pleasant, despite his age.  Yet, when paired with younger artists at the top of their game like Buble and Groban, Bennett's voice sounds a bit thin.   The duets on the album offer fresh interpretations of American classics.  In duet form, Bennett trades licks with  his fellow vocalists, followed by exciting harmonizations on choruses.

The most moving track on the album is the duet with Amy Winehouse on "Body and Soul."  Sadly,  this was Winehouse's last recording before her untimely passing in July.   Winehouse's voice is huge, and the harmonies thrilling as her sultry voice takes the lower notes on the thrilling harmonizations.  Goosebumps!

Other standout tracks include:

The Lady is a Tramp - w/ Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga would make a wonderful cabaret singer, and her talent cannot be underestimated!)

Don't Get Around Much Anymore - w/ Michael Buble

Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Loves Me) - w/ Queen Latifah

Speak Low - w/Norah Jones

This is All I Ask - w/ Josh Groban

One For My Baby (and One More for the Road) - w/ John Mayer

While many of these songs would be disqualified from a wedding playlist based on their bittersweet lyrics, the entire album would be fabulous for a dinner party or romantic evening at home with somebody special.  We love Tony Bennett and Duets II!  

Three key Bennett tracks for a wedding include:

1) I Left My Heart in San Francisco

2) The Best is Yet to Come

3) The Way You Look Tonight (downtempo and more romantic than Sinatra's performance)

To view the full tracklisting or purchase the album on Amazon, click here. To read Ambient DJs' tribute to Amy Winehouse, click here.

Wedding Reception at Brooklake Country Club

On August 19, 2011, Ambient DJ had the pleasure of performing at the wedding reception of Stephanie and Sebastian held at the Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, NJ.  Stephanie and Sebastian  were introduced to Ambient DJ Service at the wedding reception of their good friends Eric and Ji-May last November.  

The Brooklake Country Club features beautiful views of a golf course.  While setting up, the skies darkened, and a spectacular lightning storm ensued.  The power went out momentarily, but then kicked back in with the venue's backup generator.  My laptop computer and CD players were acting strangely after the power issue, but fortunately there would be no technical issues this evening.

Our DJ package included a two person DJ-MC team, fourteen uplights, and presentation of two video slideshows on a large screen.  The first slideshow, running on a loop as guests entered the ballroom, was of Stephanie and Sebastian's engagement photo shoot - a grueling nine hour shoot with many wardrobe changes that was held in Taiwan.  The second slideshow was set to music and featured childhood photos and images from the couple's travels around the world.

Engagement Photo Shoot in Taiwan

Each table was named with a male and female name... such as "Lucy and Ricky" or "Adrienne and Rocky," based off a popular movie or television show.  The groom designed a table game played after dinner where tables had about 3 minutes to guess the show for each table name.  With the reception filled with brainiacs, there were numerous perfect scores, and a tiebreaker question was asked.  Guests at the winning table all took home gift cards.  The game was fast-paced, interactive and fun!

Lightscaping at the Brooklake Country Club

Stephanie and Sebastian have an inner circle of friends who know each other well and have a great time celebrating.  They love to dance and party!  After clearing the hurdles of the various formalities, the reception transitioned into a high-energy dance club environment.  Perhaps one of the greatest compliments to a DJ is when guests opt to continue dancing when the dessert is served.   The dance floor action was outstanding and this party is a shoe-in for Ambient DJs' annual list of "Top Ten Parties of the Year"!

Key songs for the evening included:

Back to the Future Theme - Entrance of Grandparents

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance) - C&C Music Factory (entrance of parents of bride)

I Like it Like That - Tito Nieves (entrance of parents of the groom)

Izzo/In the End - Jay-Z versus Linkin Park (bridal party entrance)

Fancy Footwork - Chromeo (entrance of bride and groom)

You are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne (First Dance)

Suavemente - Elvis Crespo (party starter)

Daddy's Angel - T. Carter (Father-Daughter Dance)

You're the Inspiration - Chicago (Mother-Son Dance)

Fooling Mode (from Naruto) - Cakecutting

Shots Through the Heart - Bon Jovi vs. LMFAO

Together Forever - Rick Astley (closing song)

Thanks Stephanie and Sebastian for entrusting us to perform at your special day!

For more information about Ambient DJ Service and its award-winning wedding DJ services, please visit us on the web at http://www.ambientdj.com