While we love blogging about each event, sometimes our friends in the industry beat us to it.  The good folks over at LAstyleUnveiled have put together an awesome recap of the event.  Check out the amazing pictures at the link above.  

Thanks for letting us celebrate with you guys!

We had an awesome event last night for the wedding of Tina and Akshay.  The wedding was at the Marina Del Rey Marriott and had 300 of the couple's closest friends and family. As a DJ, theres no better feeling that a rocking dance floor packed with the bride and groom and the people they care about.  We feed off the energy of the crowd and it gets reflected in the music, the emcee'ing and almost everything else.  

The crowd last night loved to dance, and we loved to make them.  The dance floor was going for well over three hours.  Thanks for letting us share the night with you guys!

Our good friend Dina Douglas over at AndrenaPhoto.com just put up new pictures from the gorgeous wedding of Taju and Cinal, held a few weeks ago at the Long Beach Marriott.  Special Occasions LA was proud to be the DJ for this amazing event.  There were over 800 people at this very creative function.  Congrats to the lovely couple and great job on the photos Andrena!

Thanks to all of your votes we were voted #2 in Los Angeles for best Wedding DJ in the myfoxLa.com Hotlist. 

There were over 25,000 votes cast and we appreciate everybody who took the time to vote for us.  Look out for SpecialOccasionsLA in 2010 all over California this summer!

Click here for a full list of winners!

South Asian weddings will generally always have some Desi music (Bhangra, Bollywood, Remixes) that gets both the young and older crowds on the dance floor.  The music puts a heavy emphasis on the tabla and dhol, old school drums that have been keeping the people of the region moving for centuries.  New songs are out every day, but the time tested classics always rock any party.  In recent years, artists such as Jay Z, Jay Sean and others have taken notice with their own songs combining the best of eastern and western music. .  Make sure your DJ does the same!  

Our friends over at Special Events posted this great article about hiring a wedding planner.  The same principles apply for selecting your DJ, Photography, Video and basically any vendor for your wedding.  A great yet simple read for anybody starting this exciting planning process. Our favorite quote:  

Yet the shortcomings of the newbie planner show up in time. "I hear all the time from my vendors all over," Lopez says, "that the florist, photographer, band emcee or head captain ends up taking over the event to keep it on track with planners that are not experienced."

Read the full article here.

One of the most important things to look for in a DJ is someone who can mix the music so it's constantly got the party moving.  An abrupt changed in tempo or song selection can clear the dance floor, and the mood of the party.  Make sure your DJ knows how to mix and doesn't just cut music, or let one song fade out before bringing in the next.   Below is a sample of a hip hop mix we recently put together...Bhangra/Indian to come soon!

Please see below for tips to make sure your special night gets fun before it gets boring

You've planned for this night for a long time.  You're friends, family, coworkers, that guy you don't like but want him to see how successful you've become, they're all in the house.  The dinner has arrived without a hitch, and it's only a matter of time before the band or DJ takes your party the rest of the way. The night isn't complete however without you addressing your guests, thanking the special people who made it all possible and maybe doing some dances/sketches along the way to make it memorable.  However, if you let these festivities go to long, you'll be wondering why everybody has left or fallen asleep by the time it's ready to get the party started. 

Having seen hundreds of these over the years, we've put together a list of tips on how to make sure the memories are made both during and after this critical time of the night.

1) People have short attention spans...keep it simple.

We've worked with comedians, actors, entertainers, and even a few magicians.  All say the same thing: Your audience has a short attention span, so make sure you utilize it.  It's understandable that you want to thank your mom, your dad, your fiance's parents, siblings, coworkers, best friends, and so on.  However chances are the other 300 people you invited aren't going to get a shotout and will probably wonder if the open bar is still popping.  Think about when you watch a video on youtube.  If it hasn't got your attention within the first 20 seconds, are you really gonna sit there for the next 5 minutes? 

We just recently launched our client tools section, which can be seen under the Clients menu above.  All SOLA clients get access to our exclusive features such as music searches, availability checkers, event planning assistance and much more.  Client logins are generated upon confirmation of an event booking.  Check it out and let us know any feedback you may have.

Our friends over at Elysium put together this great video Mona & Sanjay's wedding in Orange County.  Special Occasions did the DJ'ing for this awesome wedding.  Great job guys!!