Noah’s Event Venue – Center Auburn Hills, MI Wedding Tour

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Noah’s Event Venue is in Auburn Hills Michigan. It’s a tree filled suburb and as you’ll see in this video it’s beautiful. In this video tour of the facility I’ll show you all the various areas I walked in to give you an idea what it might be like for your wedding reception or company party. I even show you the bathrooms !! This is a perfect way for brides out of state to see venues in Michigan that I’ve been a dj at.

First, I thought overall it was a really nice place. If I had any pushback it was more the way it felt. It’s almost too perfect. It made it feel a little cold. BUT that is my opinion AND it WOULD NOT necessarily keep me from booking it. If I was “Noah”, I might add a fireplace or dial down the modern a smidge. You decide for yourself. You’ll see in the video it’s surrounded by greenery but the drive up is an office park type of setting. After 5pm though it’s a ghost town. I love the fact it was extremely buttoned up on the tech side. So for example as a dj I was able to plug into the house audio while in the chapel for the ceremony. No need to bring in speakers. The MOD (manager on duty) was a whip and handled every detail really well and quickly. Catering will be your biggest challenge and I’d highly recommend using the company/s they refer. They have a small “sort of” kitchen from what I could see and it forced the caterers to get resourceful using other rooms as needed. It is also my impression that they do not have stoves so whomever you hire for the food be sure it’s a pro. ALSO they are big on Thursday wedding receptions. So am I !! I love Thursday Weddings. Let’s have more of them. People need a reason to party in the middle of the week too.

 

Oh and lest I overlook this on the written part of this post — their ceremony set up would be hard to trump. Watch the video and see why.

If you need a guy that’s been there done than in the dj realm – look me up. I make brides happy they chose me. Michigan Wedding DJ // Thanks for checking out my website – http://www.michigan-wedding-dj.com

Iroquois Club in Bloomfield Hills, MI – Wedding Reception

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Even though I’ve deejayed at the nicest venues in the state I have never had the pleasure of working a party here at the Iroquois CLub. What I really liked too is that it’s only 10 minutes from my house in Royal Oak. So — first off it’s pretty darn centtrally located for friends coming from the northern burbs and south down Woodward in Detroit itself. And as most of us know 696 connects all those metro Detroit Suburbs to the east and the west really well. NEXT — the food was excellent which probably wasn’t hurt by the A1 presentation of the food. The staff was friendly and the facility was spotless. I’d say only that groups below 100 will fit best. I can’t recall their max capacity but when the wait staff member told me I could only imagine how crowded that would have been. As a dj I thought it had a great layout to keep people interested and dancing all night long. With that said I give this place 2 thumbs up on all fronts – food, facility, staff and danceability.

If you need some help with your music – let me (DJ Dan Nichols) know. http://www.michigan-wedding-dj.com

Somebody Please Stop Playing That Crappy Music

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Frustrated from boring dinner and cocktail music?Honestly as a wedding dj I am not one to pass judgement on music per se’… In fact I don’t call any music “crap”. I just think it’s often easy to play something richer and more provocative. I want music to do what music can do – make people feel. It happens that as a wedding dj with over 1000 Michigan Weddings to my credit, I’ve played “easy” and I’ve played thoughtful. Thoughtful is way cooler. It takes a little extra effort on my part to make the music experience better. To illustrate what I mean, I recall 23 years ago walking down the halls at a banquet facility and hearing wedding receptions with a 6pm start using the same cd and roughly on the same exact song track. I’m not kidding. It’s not that Kenny G was bad – it was simply that the dj’s were playing to the lowest common denominator. They did what was super easy. They threw on a cd that many people thought was pretty good and let it play. No real consideration for how to make it better. Things haven’t changed much either. People, no matter the occupation generally speaking play to a level of “good”. As I see it — good is the enemy of great. NOW… don’t get me wrong. When the dancing starts in all candor I play my share of wedding classics BECAUSE — I know they fill a floor better than the more obscure stuff. UNLESS… UNLESS a crowd is willing to go somewhere different with me. Some crowds will – most won’t. Both crowds are fine – are take either one as long as the floor is hopping.

So, with that being said — why should I play a bunch of music during cocktail and dinner that really isn’t relevant to anyone in the room short of maybe Grandma and Grandpa. I’m 47 years old and I know friends of mine of the same age that have daughters getting married. Sure, at 47-55 years old, we know some Sinatra and sure – maybe even some Kenny G but that wasn’t the music our memories were infused with. For me I remember the greatest summer of my life was 2 summers out of high school and Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” was the tune I was wakeboarding to. I remember the late 70’s with Pink Floyd, The Who, The Stones and the stuff my dad listened to like Elvis, Anne Murray, Barry Manilow and yes… even the Village People. Sure my parents influenced my musical likes and dislikes – didn’t yours? Van Halen, AC/DC, Joan Jett, REM, The Cranberries – all that 80’s stuff is well etched in the recesses of my mind. Truth is, your parents might be older than me but I’ll bet they’re more like “Rolling Stones older” than they are Billie Holiday, Dean Martin or Louis Armstrong older.

So, here is my point. When booking your wedding dj have the conversation about cocktail and dinner music. Share what I am sharing here. (or of course you could just book me) It makes me think… in June I’ve got an event at St. Andrews in Detroit. For me, I knew why they chose the venue — an independent dj with years of experience can connect dots like that because they meet you one on one. So, this client likes the whole Detroit thing. They want to show it off to friends and especially out of town family and what better way than renting St. Andrews. Some really amazing musicians came out of and played St. Andrew decades back. I took it upon myself while talking on the phone to first and foremost make sure that it was the Nostalgia that had them booking there. After booking them, I asked if they might want me to share a bit about the venue with the guests just before dinner gets served so the guests can truly feel the history at that venue. I then asked if they’d be cool with me playing some music from those artists during dinner. NOT loudly, not obnoxiously but using it to further set the stage for a great evening. So sure I could have just played some dinner or cocktail standards but then they wouldn’t have squeezed every single drop of their intention out of that venue. It would have been music in St. Andrews, not musicians that actually played at St. Andrews (and “The Shelter” below).

So, in closing know this. You’re not going to get this kind of service from someone that doesn’t get why it matters in the first place. You’ll get it from a pro that knows how important it is to pull people into an event, not just have them at the event. You’re not going to get this kind of service when the dj doesn’t really know you. Weddings are pricey, hire a great wedding dj, compromise elsewhere. And if you have to ask your guy to do these things then it’s highly unlikely he really gets why you want this to begin with. Not every facility has the history St. Andrews has and honestly sharing a venues history isn’t the norm but playing music that matters sure should be.

oh… just in case you wondered this is a cut from the email I sent my bride and groom shortly after booking them.

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Hi, ————

Would you want me to possibly share the significance of St. Andrews – MAYBE this blurb?

“The building we’re in, Saint Andrew‘s Hall is a Detroit music venue and concert hall. Formerly the meeting place for the Saint Andrew‘s Society of Detroit but never a church,[1] the building is now a host of live bands and “Notorious” DJs..

Since 1980, St. Andrews has been bringing trendsetting music to Detroit — St. Andrews has hosted famous acts during the ’80s and ’90s, such as Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, The Verve, Nirvana, R.E.M. and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Underneath US, is a venue called “The Shelter”. it hosts various live music acts and DJs. and is best known for being one of the first stages Eminem performed.”

I was just thinking this through — wouldn’t it be cool to share that just after the toasts/prayer and then play a tune or 2 from each of those acts mentioned above during dinner?? Just a thought.

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Michigan Wedding DJ
248-648-1669

 

New Years Eve Reception at The Colony Club in Detroit

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update and I have a few events I want to share with you. Well, this wedding reception on New Years Eve in the “D” was pretty darn cool. The bride and groom were totally cool and were actually referred to me by wedding coordinator Misty Trompeter of Bells & Bliss . She said “Dan, i just think you guys would be a good fit.” Well she was right.

I’d have to tell you that one of the greatest things about this reception besides the dancing was the food. Here we are at this very high end event venue and in each corner of the room were food stations. Station 1 had the busiest of all food offerings. They had tacos — not off the shelf standard Ortega variety taco shells but real mexican village style with nacho chips that were out of this world. In fact I need to contact the chef to find out where he got them. Corner number 2 with the second busiest station had stir fry with peanut and soy sauce to lay over the great chicken, shrimp and rice. Station number 3 was a pasta bar and the least busy station was I think prime rib and turkey. I am telling you people were getting 3rds and 4ths as I played music with Detroit Roots per the bride’s and groom’s request. Because I couldn’t help myself I threw out some cool salsa and merengue music into the mix (must have been those tacos) including Ray Barretto and Grover Washington. So their you have it – the food really stood out because they took the leap and went for it. Don’t get me wrong most of the food I eat in this industry is excellent but this was “excellenter” (I love adding er to words).

In addition they did this evening in a strolling fashion. What that means is there is no real assigned seating, stations open up and people are free to go anywhere in the room.
AND it also allows anyone at anytime to get up and start dancing. This is not always a good thing though for a number of reasons but it worked out fine at this Detroit Michigan Wedding Reception with Michigan Wedding DJ – yours truly.
Musically we were all over the board but the younger generation was doing most of the voting with their bodies so there was a decent dose of hip-hop both old and new sprinkled in with their more classic motown requests.

OH… one more thing they did right was to give me some direction on what they were after musically but also they made sure it was ultimately up to me to do what was necessary to get people out dancing.

Courtesy of Mod4.com
Courtesy of Mod4.com

Fox Hills Plymouth MI Virtual Video Tour of Banquet Facility

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I in error published my venue review of Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center in Plymouth, MI as a page not a post. So I am posting it here as well.

Fox Hills (I kept calling it country club) is located off N. Territorial Rd. in Plymouth, MI not far from Ann Arbor or the Metro Detroit Suburbs. I was able to make it without any problems in about 40 minutes from Royal Oak. I have always really liked this facility. As a dj I am inclined to say this because it always seems I have a great dancing crowd here. The facility itself plays a role in the success of a wedding reception as well. It’s not just all dj or all crowd. The variables contributing to a great wedding reception definitely include the room itself. Anyway… Fox Hills has 2 facilites onsite. One is the Fox Hills Classic (the older but renovated site) and the other is the Fox Hills Golden. I am sure I played in the Fox Hills Classic before but it has been a very long time. This review will cover the Fox Hills “Golden”, the newer of the 2 banquet facilities onsite.

On its own, with no decorations, no chair covers or flowers etc., I would say its a cut above average. However because of its location on the golf course and amazing views, with just a little bit of dress up it is on par with most any other place in the area. The food has never let me down and coming from a professional banqueteer that is saying something. The rolls actually stand out as excellent and coming from a guy that has tried rolls in hundreds of different places, that is some serious testimony.

The drive into and up to the facility is top shelf as it is nestled into a very country setting. It gets a 9.5 for drive up. I’d give it a 10 but it would need a few more trees. They really clear cut for this golf course and a ten only goes to the entrances with canopies of trees like Addison Oaks in Leonard, MI.

One thing that stood out especially for older guests is the bathrooms are fairly far away. This bride told me no hustles or line dances so… I never got that 5 minute break to make it there and back! How’s that for more than you needed to know?

Like most of the Michigan Weddings I dj at, it’s like splitting hairs when saying which one is the best. It’s like art – it’s comes down to a personal decision. In fact of the handful of Michigan Weddings I review on my Michigan Wedding DJ blog, you should make your decision based more on logistics from the church or core group of your wedding guests. When you see a review on my site I can assure you it’s a nice place. Why I like one place over another is probably tied more to my experiences there as a dj than anything else. It’s a feel thing. I personally love Fox Hills because I have really had great wedding receptions at that location. Not only were the bride and groom great but the guests were too and people danced!

A couple notables on Fox Hills taken directly from their website is:

Protecting the environment has always been a top priority of the family. In 1996, Fox Hills achieved the designation as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by the International Audubon Program sanctioned by the United States Golf Association. At that time, Fox Hills was third in the State of Michigan and among the first 40 in the nation to achieve this award.

Fox Hills was named “National Course of the Year” for its overall management, excellent facilities, programs and environmental practices in 2002 by the National Golf Course Owners Association. The Michigan Golf Course Owners Association named Fox Hills “Michigan Golf Course of the Year” two years in a row in 2001 and 2002.

The Environmental Improvement “Gold” Award recognized the Golden Fox gazebo’s beautiful multi-level perennial garden enhanced by giant boulders and plants selected to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

The National Association of Women Business Owners named Fox Hills as one of the top 25 women-owned businesses in the State of Michigan.

I hope you’ll find these virtual tours beneficial. Feel free to help me improve them too by leaving a blog post for other things you’d like to hear or see on the tours.

Fox Hills is located at 8768 N. Territorial Rd. Plymouth, MI 48170 their phone number is: (734) 453-7272

Map is HERE

Enjoy the Fox Hills Golden Video Review Below!