Posted Saturday, April 21, 2012 7:33 PM
So remember William and Faith's wedding last fall at Loyola University...their video was recently released and it's amazing! It shows almost 10 minutes of the dancing at the reception and includes a step show from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Check it Out!
Click link below to watch: Reception starts at the 9:15 mark.
http://vimeo.com/33845278
Video produced by Blink of An Eye Productions.
Read William and Faith's Original blog post here: http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/blogs/kelwin/archive/2011/09/11/faith-william-bringing-tallahassee-florida-and-the-famu-crew-to-chicago-loyola-university-campus-chicago.aspx
Posted Saturday, April 21, 2012 6:32 PM
Performed at a great multicultural wedding last night at Cafe Brauer: a beautiful building with a great interior on the campus of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
The bride (Yvonne) is Nigerian and incorporated a number of traditional elements into the reception. Her parents and much of her family wore tradtional Nigerian gowns and as is the custom. She and her husband (Steve) changed into Nigerian wear in the middle of the ceremony to the fanfare of all their guests.
The music was a wide-ranging variety from Nigerian music by P-Square, Midnight Crew, Bracket, & D'Banj to The Gap Band, The Beatles, Maroon 5 & Tom Jones. I also played some long-playing Nigerian songs and everyone formed a line and greeted Yvonne & Steve while tossing up dollar bills.
Another highlight of the reception was a Kola Nut Ceremony performed by Yvonnes family. Here's a good description of the significance of the Kola Nut:
Kola Nuts
Kola nuts play an important role in African weddings. The nut, which is used for medicinal purposes in Africa, represents the couple's (and their families') willingness to always help heal each other. In Nigeria, the ceremony is not complete until a kola nut is shared between the couple and their parents. Among African Muslims the nut is also a symbol of fertility, and is exchanged with family members during the engagement celebration. Many African-American couples incorporate the sharing of a kola nut into their ceremonies, and then keep the nut in their home afterwards as a reminder to always work at healing any problems they encounter. -- Robin Beth Schaer
At the end of the night all of Steve's friends gathered around a requested some Earth, Wind & Fire, so I put together a great EWF set for them that lasted into the night. Everyone had a great time and felt like they had travelled around the world by the time the night was through. I always enjoy helping people all over the world celebrate!
Posted Monday, April 02, 2012 7:29 PM
3/31/12 -- Had an amazing weekend DJing for a couple at The University of Chicago's Quad Club - a private club on the school's campus. The couple (Missy & Tu) love to dance so I set it off from the beginning of the reception during the introductions with Taio Cruz "Dynamite", Chris Brown "Forever" and Rihanna's "We Found Love". They had a beautiful first dance to Jason Mraz' acoustic version of "I'm Yours" then we got the party started from the Father / Daughter dance. I started them off with The Temptation's "My Girl" and then faded into The Cupid Shuffle which got everyone out of their seats and onto the dance floor. From there it was my favorite time = PARTY TIME!!! The bride (Missy) is Fillipino so I threw in some music to do the traditional "Cha Cha" and then cranked it up with some Macarena. I did a nice throwback 80s set starting with Madonna's "Vogue" and adding in some Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Michael Jackson and Lisa Lisa. The family also loves Motown music so I did a classic soul set with The Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire and Aretha Franklin then blended in some current Hip Hop and pop favorites along with some 90s Hip Hop -- I had to throw in some "California Love" since the couple is from the west coast! The dancefloor was packed late into the night and everyone, including the photographers and club staff, we're rockin' the mansion all night long!
Posted Saturday, January 28, 2012 11:22 AM
Congrats to our WINNING "Four Weddings" couple, Erika & Kareem Hall!
If you tuned in (Season 5, Episode 5), you saw their wedding was a big success held in the penthouse of the upscale Hotel 71 in Downtown Chicago. Judges cited the music and the DJs ability to create a festive party atmosphere and keep everyone dancing as a major component to their victory!
I'm honored to have contributed to their Victory on TLC's hit reality tv show.
Enjoy Hawaii guys!!!
Click here to read a previous Blog post about the day with more inside scoop: http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/blogs/kelwin/archive/2011/09/05/erika-kareem-soca-calypso-dancing-in-the-clouds-with-the-four-weddings-tv-crew-hotel-71-chicago.aspx
About Four Weddings: Every bride thinks she's having the perfect wedding, but what if four brides agree to be guests at each other's weddings to decide which is best? Tune into find out as these brides score each other's big day for a fabulous honeymoon vacation prize.
Posted Monday, January 23, 2012 12:56 PM
{Chicago,IL} – January 23, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce DJ KEL-WIN! Events & Planning has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for DJ!
The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, DJ KEL-WIN! Events & Planning was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.
DJ KEL-WIN! Events & Planning is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.
“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate DJ KEL-WIN! Events & Planning for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”
We are happy to announce that DJ KEL-WIN! Events & Planning is one of the very best DJs within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.
For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/dj-kel-win-chicago/9f5e03cc96ce4856.html.
To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.
About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
Posted Sunday, January 01, 2012 12:39 PM
I often run into brides who when asked tell me their doing they're own wedding planning. Sometimes they have a Day-of Coordinator, and other times they anticipate doing 100% of the planning themselves, including orchestrating their big day. I find this to be a challenge for even the most organized bride. There are a million things that have to get done like: coordinating with the venue, selecting the caterer...florist...photographer...bride & bridesmaids dresses...invitations...choosing the cake...picking the beverages...conducting a rehearsal...scheduling the arrivals of all the key players...and of course hiring the DJ and picking wedding songs - and this is just a brushstroke of the many facets that go into creating the perfect day. Then on the day of the wedding, it is next to impossible for a bride to do anything but sit and "take it all in" with the demands of family and guests who want to offer well-wishes and take pictures. Without a professional in place to help navigate all this, sometimes brides who endeavor to plan their wedding on weekends or over their lunch break, set themselves up for failure.
As one colleague in the wedding industry put it "On your wedding day, you can either be the bride or the event coordinator. It is very hard to be both."
The beauty of engaging a professional wedding planner is that they lay out the entire process for you, allowing you to be creative and think about the big picture you want to create. They also have experience and relationships with vendors and they know how to negotiate contracts so that you get the most bang for your buck.
DJ KEL-WIN! is pleased to announce for 2012 that we now offer full wedding and event planning services! I'm pleased to welcome Sharon Patrice as our new wedding planner who comes with over a decade of event planning experience.
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Here are some of the services we now offer along with Sharon's Bio:
- Complete wedding advice & consultation
- Day-Of Coordination
- Timeline Scheduling & Budgeting
- Vendor Screening & Selection
- Coordination with Caterers & Florists
- Design Decor, Colors & overall style
- Tablescape Design
- Dress advice & consultation
- Food & Cake Tasting & Selection
- Stationary Design & Printing
- Invitation & RSVP Coordination
- 1 Full Rehearsal
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Sharon Patrice is the primary event and wedding planner for DJ KEL-WIN! Wedding Services. She brings over 10 years of professional event planning experience and has successfully executed numerous weddings, corporate, private & social events throughout the Chicagoland area and Northwest Indiana. She is an active member of the Association of Bridal Consultants. Some of her most notable venues include: The Signature Room, Rialto Theatre, & Galleria Marchetti. She is an expert at wedding planning and a blogger, writer and contributor for Examiner.com and New York's Wedding Salon. In addition to event planning she was also involved in the production of the Live show and DVD for the renowned gospel music group Shekinah Glory.
Sharon's philosophy is "'if we keep peace within ourselves, then we can also bring peace to others'. Therefore, on a day you’ll never forget, let us create PEACE by taking care of the details: the big details, and the small ones too." She's committed to creating a wedding day where every detail is covered so brides can be guests at their own wedding! She brings organization, creativity, passion, and innovation to create true dream weddings. To Sharon, no two clients are alike, therefore every package is customized to meet each client's unique needs.
Sharon also has a stationary design company "Design's by Shay" that provides custom designed invitations and stationary for our clients.
Posted by
kelwin
Filed under: African-American, Black, Chicago, indiana, south bend, michigan city, Gary, northwest indiana, wedding planning, hammond, indianapolis, wedding planner
Posted Friday, December 02, 2011 6:11 PM
I am often surprised when I speak to brides who have not budgeted for their DJ early in the process. Many, by the time they're ready to book their DJ are frustrated and shocked at the cost of their other vendors: caterers, for example can quickly exceed $10,000 in addition to the costs of the venue, plus the wedding planner and the many other players that go into a successful wedding can quickly blow the budget through the roof. One bride told me about chair covers that costs over $1,000 and another wedding planner told me about some decorative bows that costs $50 each (filling the room with those can add up quick!).
Weddings can be expensive but brides shouldn't expect to swallow the high cost that many vendors charge and then skimp on the DJ. I am often surprised when couples quickly want me to cut prices (sometimes to an infeasible level) when I consider what they're already paying for non-essential accessories. The music and the DJ is in many cases the main element of the reception and often the ceremony if the DJ is providing music here as well. Like they say, "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR". Many brides may not have worked with a DJ since college or the high school prom and may not understand that a professional DJ adds an element of professionalism, class and excitement to the evening that at the end of the night can be more important than even the food and beverages. Sure, there are low-budget DJs on the market and I repeat, "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR". When hiring a DJ, you want a professional you can count on and trust who will work with you throughout the entire process of song selection and bring his "A" game to your big day!
The importance of the DJ has been proven many times on the Four Weddings reality TV show on TLC that I was recently on. The winning brides with the most successful weddings usually have the best DJ. The color of the bows and chair covers are important but - come on - that's not what's going to make your guests marvel at the pictures they'll share on facebook having a ball on the dance floor!
So when you're budgeting for your wedding, don't blow the bank on everything else and forget the DJ. Booking your DJ early is important not just from a cost standpoint. Building a relationship is important for communicating the mood that you want your DJ to create for you and your guests. To me this is an integral part of the process. I love getting to know the couples I work for and often have the opportunity to make some custom mixes just for them. The more information the DJ has about you early on - the better the finished product out on the dance floor - every time!
The above picture is taken from a real DJ KEL-WIN! wedding in a restaurant on Michigan, Ave. in Chicago.
For more info, give me a call at 312.953.411 or visit: www.djkelwin.com/weddings
Posted Monday, October 24, 2011 3:59 PM
Like us on Facebook and receive a free CD of your wedding songs when you successfully book! Just reference that you heard about it on the blog.
There's always free music and promotions as well!
We LOVE Our FANS!!!
www.facebook.com/djkelwin