Bunn DJ Company

No, that’s not a typo above. This was the wedding of Parag and Shivani Shah (not related obviously). They are a great couple and had their ceremony and reception this past Saturday at Brier Creek Country Club. Kristie Taylor and the crew there do a fantastic job every weekend! I missed the ceremony, but was told it was a very traditional and beautiful Indian ceremony. I saw the guys loading out the rentals, and they looked amazing. Afterwards, the guests were ushered out of the main room to Palmer’s Cove where they enjoyed food and drinks for a couple of hours while the room was turned over. As they came back into the room, I was playing a cd that Parag’s mother gave me, Ravi Shankar. It was perfect for the setting! The tables were set with lovely floating orchids and beautiful wrapped gifts as favors. I went into the hall, went over the names one more time and got ready for the intros. They went great and I don’t think I butchered anyone’s name…bonus! Next came a welcome from the father of the groom, a hilarious slideshow roast by the sister of the groom (Mona) and brother of the bride (TJ). After that we did the cake cutting, their first dance, and a thank you from the father of the bride…all of this before dinner! The dinner was an amazing Indian cuisine buffet that everyone seemed to enjoy. As dinner ended, it was time for me to work my magic. I will have to say that Parag saved me on this gig. He provided me with 4 CDs with awesome Ballywood and Hindi music on them! I listened to them the week before so I was able to check their speed and figure out the other “secular” songs they would mix with. And you know what? I pulled it off! This crowd came to party and they had a ball, in fact, so did I! Challenging, but so worth it. Thanks Vinny (Parag) and Shivani!

The beautiful fall Mums were blooming on each table at the Sheraton Capital Center in downtown Raleigh. Susan Blakesley and Martha Upchurch decorated the Ballroom and are always wonderful to work with, as I have been there many times before.

Michelle and Alvin’s reception began promptly at 5pm, with the couple entering to the JXL Remix of Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation” followed by their first dance to “Such Great Heights” from the Garden State soundtrack. It shouldn’t surprise me that more and more couples are being introduced to movie soundtracks. This song was great and several bridesmaids and guests asked what the song was. Make no mistake, everyone knew the song and unmistakable voice of Louis Armstrong when the Bride and her Father danced to “What a Wonderful World”.

Dinner followed, then the heartfelt toasts from the Maid of Honor and Best Man. Michelle and Alvin picked two wedding cakes and cut them to “How Sweet It Is” from James Taylor, and the dance floor opened to Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing”. Another great song that the couple chose! Soon after Etta James’ “At Last” was the song for the Anniversary Dance, in lieu of a Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss. They chose to present the bouquet to the couple that was present at the reception that was married the longest. The “winning” couple were just shy of 30 years. Congratulations!

The highlight of the evening was when Kelly the photographer, who is a close friend of Michelle and Alvin’s requested a photo with all the NC State Graduates. Of course I couldn’t resist pulling out the NC State Fight Song for such an occasion! Thus resulting in the resounding college-esque hoots, hollers and singing! As unexpected as it was, I should have known this would take place. The guests loved it!

Thank you Michelle and Alvin! Your evening was a blast and I am very happy to have taken part in it!

I set a record this past Saturday! The longest reception I have ever DJ’ed! 7 hours straight and let me tell you, they would’ve kept going if I hadn’t pulled the plug. Let me start from the top, this reception took place at Starmount Forest Country Club in Greensboro, NC. I introduced the huge bridal party to the Stones’ “Start Me Up” and it really set the tone for the night. After the intros, Christine and Tyler went right into “Me and You” by Kenny Chesney. Next up was a dance for Christine and her dad to “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw, and Tyler and his mom danced to “Music of my Heart” by Gloria Estefan and NSync. The cool part about the parent dances was that during both of them, slides played on a big screen of the bride and groom growing up. After the parent dances, there was about a 15 minute slideshow of some amazing photos of the bride, groom, their familes, and friends. Mr. Nitz, the father of the bride, then gave a warm welcome and blessing before the doors opened to the room with the food stations.

The guests enjoyed all types of great food and then we had some amazing toasts from several guests and family members. The cake was cut immediately following and then it was time to PARTY! The first couple of songs set the mood, and people got going soon afterwards. It was a full on dance party from then until the end. As I was wrapping up the night, Christine’s mom came up and said “Can you stay afterwards if people come back in after the glow stick departure?” I said I would, but was thinking there’s no way these folks can go another hour. Sure enough, after Tyler and Christine left, about 30 or more folks came back in and I cranked it back up! It was a hip hop old school/new school set and they loved it! I finally had to pull the plug after 7 hours…my ears were bleeding, lol. What a great reception, I loved it, and I hope that Tyler and Christine had as much fun as I did!

Melinda and Keith’s reception was one of those that as a DJ, I wished would never end. Great atmosphere, wonderful guests, great music selections and greater requests. Their 27 member bridal party entered through Fearrington Barn’s doors to the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” and changing to The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” when the couple made their way amid cheers to the dance floor to their first dance of “Stay With You” by John Legend.

The great Nat “King” Cole’s duet “Unforgettable”, sung with his daughter Natalie was the version that Mindy chose to dance with her Father. After the welcome and blessing, the tables were released to make their way through the buffet. Uncle Ken Bagwell made an entertaining and well thought out toast to the couple, followed by the Maid of Honor, Molly Jensen. Molly actually saw me DJ another reception a few months ago, and the couple were excited when they heard how much fun Molly had.

Fearrington’s new baker made an AMAZING cake that was cut to Ray Lamontagne’s “You Are The Best Thing”. The couple was then joined on the dance floor by the guests to “Build Me Up Buttercup” by the Foundations. The party was on, with a packed dance floor, which stayed that way until the end of the evening!

Mindy threw her bouquet to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”, just before Keith removed and tossed the garter to “Wild Thing” by Tone Loc. Among their dance selections were Michael Franti & Spearhead’s “Say Hey (I Love You)”, Ryan Cabrera’s “True”, and Bon Jovi’s epic “Livin’ on a Prayer”. The couple allowed me to personally choose their last dance song, and I didn’t let them down with Michael Buble’s “Crazy Love” from his new album. What a great song to sum up Mindy and Keith’s new life together.

Thank you guys for being who you are, and allowing me to join you on your special night. Michael Moss, a newcomer to the area in photography recorded the event, check out his stuff below!

Sometimes weddings take months for the DJ to plan, and sometimes, the bride has everything already planned and is extremely organized and makes the DJ’s job super easy. Holly and Michael’s was the latter. Due to an unfortunate event with some other DJ company (who shall remain nameless), Holly was faced with a wedding date in less than two weeks and no DJ. That’s where I came in. Holly was the most calm bride under this amount of pressure that I’d ever come across. She already had her wedding planned out right down to one of the most organized music lists I’d ever worked with. The setting was Caffe’ Luna on a Sunday evening. We started off with introductions of the bridal party to the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”. Then Michael and Holly had their first dance as husband and wife to Jack Johnson’s “Better Together”. After one of the best dinner buffets in the business, some great toasts were delivered. Then the new family quilt was displayed. Several people were sent a piece of material and were to decorate in their own personal style. Then the Grandmother took all of the squares and put them together into a one of a kind quilt. This will be cherished for many years to come. Instead of a traditional cake, Holly and Michael had cupcakes for everyone. And not just regular cupcakes, some REALLY GOOD cupcakes. Yes, I had to sample. Some great dancing followed and Holly’s father Frank was showing off dance moves never seen before. A great time was had by all. The dance floor stayed packed with some great oldies, Motown favorites, and even some current dance music. Ashley and David from Story Photography were taking pictures and I can’t wait to see the samples. Good luck Michael and Holly!

N.C. State University Club was the setting for Karen and Wortham’s Reception. The place was decked out in red right down to the Mr. and Mrs. Wolfpack on top of the cake. We started off with introductions which led us into the first dance for the newly married couple. Their first dance song was Josh Turner’s “In My Dreams”. Then into the Father/Daughter dance where Karen danced with her father to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”. Soon after that, Wortham danced with his mother to “Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. After dinner, some well thought out toasts were provided by Lauren Huffman, Tripp Polen, and Karen’s father Joe Donaghy. Then the cake was cut with James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is” playing in the background. Then the open dancing began and the floor stayed busy the rest of the night. Karen tossed her bouquet to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and Wortham tossed the garter to David Rose’s version of “Stripper”. Last song of the night was The Spaniels’ “Goodnight Sweetheart” which was followed by a Sparkler exit. Carolina Media Star was capturing the images. A perfect night in the heart of Wolfpack Heaven.

This past Saturday was the ceremony and reception for Amy and Heraldo held at the lovely Barclay Villa in Angier, NC. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, 70’s and sunny! Their ceremony took place out back and we handled the audio for the officiant, Rev. Jim McKinnon from my hometown of Wilson, NC! He did a great job and has an awesome booming voice. Immediately after the ceremony, the guests were ushered around the house to the pool area for cocktails and Henry Goodman, the violinist from the ceremony strolled around and played. The introductions took place soon after the guests entered the ballroom which was totally decked out by Donna from Flowers on Broad Street. As usual, the bridal party came down from the massive staircase and Amy and Heraldo went right into their first dance “At Last” by Etta James. Amy’s dad gave a nice welcome and Rev. McKinnon gave the blessing before the great seated dinner. After dinner, we did the toasts and cake cutting (great job Blue Moon) and then Amy danced with her dad to “How Do You Fall in Love” by Alabama and then Heraldo and his mother danced to “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King. Next up-open dancing! These folks hit the floor ready and willing to party! I loved it. After about an hour we did the bouquet and garter toss to “Single Ladies” and “Another One Bites the Dust” and the more dancing! It was a great dance party and the night ended with a shower of sparklers. The pictures below are from Summer Gibbs. She was great to work with! Thanks to the new Mr. and Mrs. Navejas and congrats!

We are finally pleased to announce that our lighting packages are ready for public consumption! We have been working hard on collecting the perfect gear and staff to make your ordinary ballroom transform into something incredible! Contact us if you are interested in receiving more information on our packages. The top photo below is from Azul Photography and are of a wedding that we did at Sitti where their basement dining area definitely needed lighting. Check out the amber glow we created using our LED uplighting. Beautiful! The other photos are from Shane Snider Photography where we set up our lighting demo this past Monday night at the Crabtree Marriott. We lit their Salon A,B,C room with about 18 LED par can uplights (which can change colors at the touch of a button) and then set up our “Dance Floor Max” package which included two loaded light “trees” with intelligent fixtures and LED par cans. The Bunn DJ Company “play button” logo on the wall is actually projected from a light fixture loaded with our custom cut gobo. You could do yours with your initials, wedding date, or both! We look forward to lighting your event!

Last Friday I had the pleasure of DJ’ing a party for an awesome friend, Susan Tollefson. The occasion? Susan recently won Nation’s Next Top Model Home with her amazing interior design savvy! Check out the official website to see some of Susan’s work. I am pleased to say she has worked on both my home and my office! Check out the “Past Work” section on the website and you’ll see some shots! Congrats again to Susan and thanks for having me at the party which took place at her sister’s house here in Raleigh. One of my favorite parts of the night was when Susan’s friend presented her with the GIANT check!

Sarah and Ben’s reception took place on a Tuesday, yes a Tuesday, at a place that I had never DJ’ed before, The Barrington House in Dunn, NC. This place is great! It is a gorgeous old restored home with surrounding property perfect for ceremonies. Their day was rainy so the ceremony was moved inside, but everything else that day worked out perfectly. This reception was very small, but was really well done due to the amazing vendors on hand. I was there, of course. But also heading up the event was Cara Zuehlke and her team from A Southern Soiree I think that the bride and groom lived in Kansas, so Cara pulled this whole day off long distance. She delivered! The location, food, flowers (great job Fresh Affairs), photos, and DJ (wink!) were spot on! After their short, but sweet ceremony by Barbara Lodge, the guests had cocktails while Cara Galati with F8 Studios finished the photos. Next, we gathered the guests in the main room of the house for the couple’s first dance, a surprise…It started out with “Better Together” by Jack Johnson, then broked into “Thriller” in which the bride, groom, and a bridesmaid all did the Thriller dance! Then, it went back into “Better Together”. Thanks to Randy Bennett, one of my DJs for creating the mix! Dinner was served and it was Southern style! Amazing food, I even got to eat for once. After dinner and parent dances and the cake cutting (Great job Sweet Memories), I opened the dance floor, and for a small crowd, several of them broke it down! Some wild dancing was going on in that old house for sure! I had a great time and wish Sarah and Ben the best in their new life together. Check out the pictures from Cara Galalti!

Early afternoon with the fall colors falling from the trees was the setting for this Halloween reception and was only full of treats at the RTP Hilton. Danielle Oberlender and her staff are always wonderful to work with, and Ali, Rachel, and Sam from Bliss by Sam dressed the grand ballroom perfectly.

In addition to providing DJ services, Joe Bunn DJ Company also provided the ambient lighting for the ballroom, which created a surreal atmosphere fit for celebrities. The grand entrance song was none other than Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage” followed by the couples first dance to Van Morrison’s “Someone Like You”. The buffet opened in the ambiance and the wedding party and guests were greeted with dinner from the hotel’s kitchen. Toasts from the Best Man and Bride’s sister serving as Maid of Honor followed dinner and then on to the cake cutting, which was cut to the Santana and Dave Matthews song “Love of my Life.” Stephanie danced with her Dad to Darius Rucker’s “It Won’t Be Like This for Long” and The Beatles “In My Life” was the song that Eddie chose to dance with his Mother to. The dance floor was then opened to brand spanking new single from Journey called “After All These Years”. It is a wonderful song, especially for weddings and sung by their new singer Arnel Pineda. Shortly thereafter, we tossed the bouquet to Martina McBride’s “This One’s for the Girls” and tossed the garter to “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top.

The evening ended to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” and the couple made a grand bubble exit to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” which has just become the most downloaded song in music history. Congrats to Stephanie and Eddie!

Paul and Melissa of the Wake Forest Portrait Shoppe recorded the event and I will post the photos when I receive them.