Derek of Lake DJ was AMAZING! We cannot express how happy we are that we chose Derek as our DJ for our special day. Not only is he a great DJ, who kept our guests dancing the entire time, but his Master of Ceremonies services were more than we could have asked for!! There was no need for our day-of coordinator to stay much longer after the ceremony because from there, Derek had it all handled! He moved us through the event timeline from cocktail hour, to dinner, through speeches, caking cutting, first dances, the bouquet toss, and exit so flawlessly. Our guests all had wonderful things to say about him! Also, my husband and I aren't big dancers and are kind of awkward when it comes to dancing, so we wanted our first dance song and parents dance song to be cut shorter. Derek made these song edits beforehand and sent them our way for approval. Also, toward the end of the night I realized that guests hadn't been taking our wedding favors that we set out. I asked Derek if he could make an announcement and he was so great and made several announcements, which made guests end up grabbing almost all our favors. He was a joy to work with and we could not recommend him more!

OH MY GOODNESS IS DEREK AMAZING OR WHAT!!!!!!! He was by far the best DJ we have ever dreamed about. He was more than a DJ when my Coordinator was gone for the evening he jumped right in and was on his job and always asking me how i was doing and if i needed anything he made sure he gave me enough time before my first dance, father daughter dance, bouquet toss & cake cutting. My entire family could not stop raving about how awesome Derek was if you are in between a few DJ DEREK is the one to pick without a doubt you wont be disappointed!

Derek Tarpey was a great DJ and we couldn't have asked for anything better! He was very professional, organized, prepared, responsive, and a nice guy. He played the songs we asked for and his song choices otherwise were perfect. He even made us a few CDs with our wedding "soundtrack" which we have nostalgically listened to. Your DJ can really make or break your reception (and ceremony), and Derek did not disappoint. His personality and sense of humor is perfect for any crowd. He also knew our venue well (Edgewood) and knew our vendors as well. He worked with all staff/vendors to ensure everything flowed smoothly and exactly as we had asked. Our first dance song was cut off before the end, so be sure if you want a song played in its entirety that you specify this. He uses his professional judgment and reads the crowd to determine how long a song should play (and is usually spot-on). Thanks, Derek, for the most perfect wedding!!

Derek was great. He kept everyone well informed as to what was going on next, where to be, etc. He worked well with our photographer to make sure he was able to capture everything. Did a great job of playing songs we wanted and not playing anything off our do not play list. Would def. book him again for another event!

Wow. Where do I begin? I had a destination wedding so I just started calling DJs out of the phone book. In talking to quite a few I picked Lake DJ based on a short phone conversation. I can't tell you how glad we are that I made that choice. Derek and his wife came as a team and made the whole event run so smoothly. They were extremely helpful with the whole process; they took all of the stress away during the reception. They were attentive and kept me involved in a really relaxed way. No pressure or stress. The DJ plays a huge roll in setting the tone and our tone was perfect. The speakers and equiptment were great too, every song had amazing clarity! Our guests raved about our DJ after the event. They even made us CDs with all of the music played during our ceremony and reception. I could keep going, but I think I made my point. They were AMAZING! I reccomend Lake DJ to everyone!!!

Derek was simply amazing. We actually never met before the wedding, but every vendor I spoke to in Lake Tahoe said that Derek was the best in town. I can say without a doubt that they were all right! I reserved Derek's services and made requests via email as we were coming from out of town. We had a custom cut song for our first dance and some fairly obscure song requests for both the ceremony and reception. Everything went perfectly. Derek also handled a few "surprises" planned by our friends and manage to rework the schedule to accommodate sunset pictures and cake cutting without any disruption to the flow of the wedding. We also reserved the photobooth service with the DJ services. This was an amazing addition. We ended up with a scrapbook full of notes and silly pictures of our friends instead of a traditional guest book. With just a rough timeline and a rather unusual list of song requests, he made the whole ceremony and reception run smoothly. He really was a wedding coordinator/DJ/host/calm moral support all-in-one on our wedding day.

Derek was a pleasure to work with. He is fun and very responsive to all of your needs. He coordinates with all of the vendors to ensure that everything runs smoothly and keeps the music going all night long! I would recommend him and his wife ANYTIME!

We booked Derek for our wedding on October 23, 2016 in South Lake Tahoe. Going in we had no idea what to expect, as we had never met Derek in person. We live in the Chicago area and his communication through e-mails was unreal. He was able to create a solid playlist from our music preferences, keep the crowd dancing, and be mindful of the bride and grooms music choices.

My wife and I have attended upwards of 50 weddings during our time together and he was hands down the best we have heard. Highly highly recommended.

Derek should be your choice for DJ at your wedding. His professionalism and level of service were so far beyond what we had hoped that it blew us away. We had been having a horrible time with our other vendors, and were at the point of just eloping if anything else went wrong prior to meeting with the DJ. Communication was effortless, and felt so from the very first meeting, where our half hour discussion extended to two hours before anyone realized it. At the wedding, he played all our varied songs in a flowing manner, worked in requests from our wedding guests, kept the party on schedule to hit all our activities, and even helped the bride sneak in a bagpiper to surprise the groom! All the guests loved him, and have discussed using him for their future weddings. Derek was really able to keep the focus on the wedding couple, without leaving anyone out of the party. At the end, we were given a mix of all the songs played at the ceremony and reception in order, for us to enjoy and relive the moments. His wife was even one of our photographers. Derek was the best choice we made with the event!

Derek with Lake DJ is an outstanding DJ for any event you can imagine. He was incredible with our whole wedding party and really took charge of the day and kept everything on time and on track. He played incredible music, mixed perfectly and the dancefloor was packed all night. If you're getting married anywhere in Tahoe, hire him, you'll be glad you did!