We hired DJ James as our wedding DJ and we could not be any happier that we did! DJ James is fun, energetic and a true professional. He knows how to read a crowd and keep the energy and atmosphere lively.

DJ James is so kind, humble and fun. He also MC’ed and made our wedding day so easy. He is accommodating and truly a pleasure to work with. Thank you DJ James! Our guests still rave about how fun and awesome our wedding was, notably the DJ behind it all!

Summary: He provides sound and lite lighting equipment, more hours, tailors music selection, creates/blends/overlaps music, has great communication, is responsive, gives attention to detail, is intelligent, competent, follows through, and is professional, yet personable, humorous and fun.

Details: (See below)

Price: Price wise, there is cheaper and there is more expensive, but his service is the best bang for the buck! The variety of services that he brings to the table, the amount of contracted time given to the event, his level of customer service, professionalism, responsiveness, attention to details and humor are top notch. Out of the DJ’s we canvased, there were DJs that were more expensive and provided less hours and all they did was DJ.

MC Services: He not only offered being a DJ but also being an MC. So rather than having to pay 2 separate parties we only had to pay 1. And we didn’t have to force the task on anyone family/friend. He took the time to get the pronunciation of everyone’s names and even practiced saying it. And he’s funny! He’s a good speaker (articulate and clear), lightens up the mood with his humor, and is very personable. His delivery and transitions were very smooth and natural.
Hours: He offered more hours, which we needed because we had music before the wedding as the guests were arriving, at the start/end of the wedding ceremony, during cocktail hour, and at the reception.

So in terms of general details and services (Price, Hours, DJ, MC), he was the best pick. I mention that first because that’s the first things being looked at during the initial screening process. But that’s only the start of the awesomeness!

What makes him top notch is in the details and refined/specific services. There were things we had done at the wedding and reception that other DJ’s may not have been able to produce but he had it all on lock.

Equipment: His DJ booth operated on battery outside, as the wedding was outside, so he was able to set up wherever was best without the limitation of having to plug in to a power source. (His DJ booth was very stylish and esthetically appealing; it wasn’t just equipment on a table with wires all over the place. Everything was hidden, stylish yet elegant and fit the esthetics of the event.) He provided microphone and speaker support to our live instruments and the musician’s looper that connected to his equipment as the wedding party walked the aisle. He played the karaoke version of a song while there was a live singer using his microphone as the bride walked the aisle. they used his microphone during the wedding for the Reverand and exchange of vows. He also providing lighting at the reception for the dancefloor and where the bride/groom were sitting so when the main lights went out the aesthetic lighting further enhanced the décor and served functionality as well.

Music splicing/mixing/overlapping: He cut specific parts out of 5 different songs and put them together to make one medley compilation recording that we used for the first dance as husband and wife. He provided it early so that the bride and groom had time to practice their dance to the actual audio that would play at the reception. He used the music we had listed and blended/overlapped/played clips of songs as we had requested so that we could get more songs in since the dance portion of the evening was short. So he didn’t just play a song from beginning to end which anyone can make a playlist and do. We got more songs in and it made our dance portion feel longer and we all enjoyed ourselves more as that was the let loose have fun now that all the programed stuff was over with.

Music Selection: We received a packet via e-mail to fill out, which ensured that the music we and our guests would enjoy. We were able to select what music we wanted to play at what parts of the wedding (prior to the wedding while guests are waiting, during cocktail hour, during dinner, during dance portion). I’ve seen at other weddings where there was no music plan and the DJ played whatever he wanted, and maybe great for a birthday party, but it was not music for a wedding event. But for this wedding event with this DJ, the music itself was awesome. After all we personally picked it. I’ve seen DJs were they just play you-tube songs, commercials and all! And DJs were the songs they played for special events were not appropriate (like a romantic, lovey-dovey song when there was an impromptu dance for the groom with the mother- yikes!). With this DJ all the songs for all the special events were on par. He played all the songs that we had designated as MP (Must Play).

Attention to Detail: With the packet he sent out, the wedding party’s names had to be itemized, which makes sense since he is MCing and has to introduce them. He even goes over how to say everyone’s name properly (pronunciation) and how would like them introduced (formally vs. informally). For ours, we included titles when our wedding party members were introduced (doctor, esquire, professor, retired, rank, etc) because that was what the groom wanted and the DJ followed through with the request.

Communication: He has excellent communication skills. We text messaged to get the email packet and set up a telephone appointment a few weeks prior to the wedding to review the packet and ask any questions we had and he had. We communicated primarily through e-mail and text messages and his responses were always timely if not immediate. (Tip: Help him help you. Set him up for success and he’ll set your event up for success. We were very particular and he met all of our requests gracefully.)
Competence: Since everything was planned, it was perfect. We had a packed program. We had a special 70th Anniversary Dance for the groom’s parents where we played their song. For their entrance we had a special song that held special memories and value to the elders of their family. For the bride’s father and mother we had a funny song in their native dialect. We had birthday celebrant to a dance to a birthday song. For the bride-father dance we played a song that meant a lot to the bride to dance with her father with. For the groom-mother dance, the mother was 90 years old and we used a song that was a favorite of hers and fit the occasion. We had so many different things happening during the wedding reception, performances that he provided music for. I e-mailed multiple updates to the program. I even texted last minute changes to the program the day of the event. He was able to hang with all the different activities and changes.

Follow-Through: But the perfection was not just due to the planning. What truly made things perfect and the overall event a success was in the execution and follow-through. Even the last minute changes were implemented. All the messages to deliver to the guests were delivered at the correct times (last call for alcohol, location for smoking & bathroom, instructions as to what is happening next/now/and how to go about doing it). Doubling as the MC, he was essential in keeping the program on track time-wise. Even though our program had very tight windows and we had a LOT of stuff to cover. As with most schedules, not everything strictly adheres to the time line. But even with small delays, we were able to get things back on track and got it all in while staying on schedule overall.

Conclusion: The event was amazing! And DJ James Vincent DJing AND MCing the event played an enormous roll in that. While he covered the front (playing the music and doing the MC stuff), I was able to do the background stuff like running to the performer to ask if she’s ready and then giving her guidance on what to do (“go to the DJ and tell him you’re ready”). The success of the night wouldn’t have been possible without him, he was a key player who we relied on heavily.

And honestly, even if everything hadn’t been so well planned out and we had left the bulk of everything up to the DJ, I have complete faith that DJ James Vincent would have provided and that we would have had a great time. Even with just the one phone call meeting, after discussing what type of music we liked he was already naming off songs that were going to be adding onto the list (at the time of the call, we had only identified the special event songs and hadn’t selected the dance portion songs yet). So after just the one phone call, he got it! He is intelligent to know what would be a good fit, he’s flexible and adaptable to meet the needs and roll with the punches, and he's funny, articulate and personable which are desirable traits for an MC to lighten and lead any event.

He was recommended to us by another DJ we had seen perform/know who was very impressive. However, he was unavailable for our event. So he introduced and connected us to DJ James Vincent. So even among DJ's in the profession he is recommended.

We were absolutely blown away by the service we received from DJ James. The wireless set up for our ceremony was perfect, his timing and pre-ceremony check in was perfect, the songs and energy he brought out to the dance floor. yep, perfect. I can not say enough good things about how DJ James made our special day a party to remember. There wasn't a minute that our dance floor didn't have a crowd on it. We asked for an even mixture of cumbias and 80s freestyle and boy did he deliver. As far as we, our family and our wedding party are concerned DJ James is the THE BEST DJ ON OAHU!

Words cannot express how happy we are.

Al and Jas