Chicago Wedding DJ 630-372-TUNE (8863)

October 24, 2009

Dupage County DJs

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Recently Dupage County DJs  Ameritune played at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle for the wedding of Rebecca Nowell and Madison Beresford. The ceremony was right there on the grounds, and it was a beautiful place to get married. Neither the banquet room, or the ceremony location wereeasy to get to, as far as a roady’s  point of view, so I would advise anyone working here to allow for at least an extra hour and one half  for set up. Fortunately, that’s what I allowed for and I needed every minute of it. For me, this was not a regular ceremony, I was really running sound for their very talented musicians. First there was an Uncle playing Classic Guitar for Prelude, followed by a keyboard and vocal (brides sister) duet before the processional, back to the Uncle on Guitar, then another guitarist/singer(groomsman) during the ceremony, and I provided a couple of songs on CD for the recessional, and we all beat the rain by about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, I left the camera in the truck for the ceremony, so I can’t show you how beautiful it was.

After the ceremony, I had just enough time to pack everything away and schlep it the 1/4 mile or so back to my truck, while the guests had cocktails indoors at the visitors center. The dinner and dancing room was gorgeous and overlooked one of the many ponds at the Arboretum. During the day it is a cafeteria style restaurant, but it really transformed well to a beautiful venue for the reception.

Dancefloor was packed all night
Dancefloor was packed all night

There were several touching, and funny toasts and dinner moved by at a slow pace, it took a little too long to finish so we started dancing before everyone was done with desert. Wow did these people come to party! When a Bride and Groom are so deeply in love, it seeps through every nook and cranny at the reception- a great feeling of joy was buzzing in the room. It wasn’t the alcohol either, because this was a Christian wedding and there really wasn’t a whole lot of drinking.  There were many highlights, but one especially funny moment was when the grooms’ sister got even with her brother when she had me play “Like A Virgin” and dedicate it to her brother on his wedding night. I played it right after the serious song that he wanted me to dedicate to her, so it really was quite funny.  Apparently, he did something similar at her wedding, lol…. 

If you like the YMCA then we like the YMCA

If you like the YMCA then we like the YMCA

The YMCA is about 50% requested that I don’t play these days, but Rebecca and Madison wanted it. Almost every song that I played packed the dancefloor and people were just in fun mode. This is why I love DJing!
Everyone stayed till the end
Everyone stayed till the end

 If you are planning a wedding at Morton Arboretum, or anywhere in Dupage County, or the Chicago area, We’d love to be your DJ and Video company! Call us at (630) 372-TUNE (8863) and see why brides from The Knot voted us best of weddings for the last 3 years!  Read more tips and wedding stories here Chicago Wedding DJ

October 7, 2009

Hilton Lisle Naperville

Last weekend, Ameritune’s Al Mitchell played at the Hilton Lisle Naperville for the wedding ceremony and reception of Sandy Condon and Sean Bordenave. The ceremony was at 3 pm in one of the downstairs meeting rooms.

Sandy, Sean, and their moms

Sand Ceremony with Sandy, Sean, and their moms

The ceremony was simple and elegant, then they went for pictures for a couple of  hours while the guests retired to their rooms or the Hilton bar upstairs. This is most unusual for an on-location ceremony, normally they are back to back with the reception. It makes for an easier time for the Bride and Groom to do it this way, stretching their day out a little and not being so hectic trying to get pictures done in not enough time. I took advantage of the down time to set up for the reception, while RJ, Ameritune’s videographer, traveled with the wedding party for pictures. I was grateful for the break and after setting up, relaxed for a bit after finding a local Starbucks.

Frozen Martini Slide

Frozen Martini Slide

Cocktails began at around 6pm and were accompanied by some outstanding hors d’ouvres served butler style. They had giant, and I mean GIANT shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms and a few other goodies along with a martini luge. The bartender poured the premixed martini into the ice sculpture at the top and it came out of the little silver spout on the right, nice and cold. Not my style, but many of the guests were enjoying martinis. The father of the bride was having a great time with all the guests. He had some stylishly cool Pink Floyd black gym shoes on that looked very comfortable. 

Mr and Mrs Sean and Sandy Bordenave

Mr and Mrs Sean and Sandy Bordenave

Sandy and Sean are unique and creative people, so their wedding was bound to be different and fun. One highlight was the “Carlton off’” dance contest between two of the guests. Carton was the conservative brother on the sitcom Fresh Prince.

Carlton Off Dance Contest

Carlton Off Dance Contest

These guys danced to It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones. They were very dorky, and everyone was in stitches! Another unusual dance was for Sean and his sister, dedicated in memory of their recently deceased father. It was a touching moment that brought tears to my eyes as well. Later, Sandy’s Uncle entertained us all by singing a couple Bobby Darrin songs with a Karaoke disc that he brought along.

Brides Uncle singing Bobby Darrin
Brides Uncle singing Bobby Darrin

I was ready for him to be really bad, but I was pleasantly surprised- he was really good. This guy was a pro that was obviously used to performing, and he knew how to sing in a mic. All in all Sandy and Seans wedding was a great time, and I’ll have to tip my hat to the banquet staff at the Lisle Hilton. They did a great job and the food was tops. Al Mitchell from Ameritune is available for your special occasion and includes live dinner music and intelligent lighting at no extra charge. Call (630) 372-TUNE (8863) for more info. Read more tips from Chicago Wedding DJs about Naperville weddings on our blog

 

October 5, 2009

McHenry County DJs

If you are looking for McHenry County DJs , Ameritune are the best  around. Reasonable pricing and outstanding quality. Recently we played at D’Andrea Banquets in Crystal Lake, IL for the reception of  Jennifer and Julio Riviera. They actually had the ceremony a few months earlier and delayed the reception a few months. I had never worked in the “G” room at D’Andreas before and was suprised at how large it was. I think it will hold 225 at least. Jennifer and Julio had about 150, so there was plenty of room.

Jennifer and Julio Riviera

Jennifer and Julio Riviera

 The guests were evenly split with half being Mexican and the other half American. It was a bit of a challenge to play music for two very different cultures, but I alternated and found a good mix. I would go in 15 minute increments and just rotate between styles. It’s traditional for mexican weddings to have a dollar dance, but we did it a little differently. Traditionally, you  pin your money on the bride and groom, but nobody had any pins, so we had the Best Man and Maid of Honor be the collectors/pimps. They each had an envelope and guests would hand the money to them when it was their turn. It lasted about 4 songs, and gave everyone a chance to dance with the bride and groom.

Groom tossing!

Groom tossing!

Another Mexican tradition is to toss the groom in the air, and hopefully catch him. This is similar to the Jewish tradition of hoisting the Bride and Groom in chairs, only no chairs for the Mexicans. The guys had a good time with this, but I’m not sure Julio was trusting them!  A good time was had by all and once again, a great event at D’Andreas. For booking info call (630) 372-TUNE (8863) to read more blog Chicago Wedding DJ