Sophia and Eseckias Derilus

Sophia & Zeke Derilus !

The couple's photographer, David Schwartz, described this extravaganza in these words:

"It was the West Indies meets Jamaica yesterday. The weather was perfect and there were big cumulus clouds to boot. In the words of Peter Tosh, it was tough not to catch "Reggae-Mylitis" yesterday." Dave, I agree !

I had an absolute ball at this event ! I remember meeting months ago with Sophia who held a devout interest in finding an entertainer who has the ability to 'wuk' her Jamaican family, Zeke's Haitian family, and their international friends. That day her mother stood quietly judging every word I uttered. Her big-brother 'Val' looked over our company's materials and wanted to know......"Can you add to the magic?" I couldn't wait too.

"Sak Passe !" The Haitians were in the house. The Jamaicans were in the house. The ceremony was beautiful. The ceremony was over and the guests began entering the cooled tent following the Caribbean Jazz music I had selected to build upon the couples shared island heritage. As the guests arrived I received the "Where are you from?" question at least 10 times. As I stated "I'm American born !" the next question was "Do you have the music we (Hatians / Jamicans - Choose one) listen too ?" Ten minutes into the reception three of these guests returned asking "Do you make C.D.'s ? This Jazz is great ?" As I smiled and said "No" I realized that this was a formal looking "get-sweaty" party waiting to happen. I then began preparing the guests to get as 'rowdy-rowdy' as possible for the remainder of the evening. Sophia & Zeke had a great group of guests.

David, the photographer, and I shook hands and he finished the photo session with the wedding party (his photos of this event are excellent, click here to view them !) releasing the group to my hands. The couple choose our 'Budget Package', but I ended up giving them the Extreme Package (using information I gleamed from their wedding website) as I was swept into the love and revelry in the air.

I began with an touching Extreme intro' for their officiator Ms. McDaniels. Sophia loved this woman who had often been mistaken for Sophia's sister. Ms. McDaniels and I spoke as I waited for the end of the photo session and Incorporated a lot of her sentiments, and sentiments from our beautiful bride Sophia. Evangelist McDaniels is truly beautiful inside and out. She later prayed over the food and asked the Almighty to bless the dance floor as she knew that it was going to receive a beating that night. I'm surprised the dance floor handled the whooping it received that night and Evangelist McDaniels was one of the main culprits. She prays hard, she serves the Almighty hard, and she partied hard that night.

The wedding party brought the FIRE as they entered the tent. The tent seemed to shake in anticipation awaiting our couple. Zeke and Sophia were truly loved. We enjoyed great food, we enjoyed a beautiful tent from Distinctive Rentals, and we threw down. As the guest ate David snuck the couple out of the room for some extended photos. During this time I took the music directly to Haiti and the dance floor took it's first beating. "Sak Passe !" The Island fever took hold of us and when the couple returned from the photos their guests were dancing up a storm. The couple joined the love-madness and we couldn't stop going. We went from Haiti to Jamaica to America in a musical cruise enjoying ourselves at every stop. Big shouts to big-brother Val and his lovely wife, we celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary (the same day !) and Sophia's birthday in grand style during the reception. This is a great couple and it was a great event. I can't wait to read their feedback form !

Love ya' long time - D.J. Seko VArner of Positive Vibes Inc.
(All photos from David Schwartz Photography)

Janel Keen

(Taken from Vivid Entertaining's Blog:)

Friday, January 4, 2008Featured Guest Speaker
I've [Janel Keen] been invited to be the featured guest speaker for one workshop in an up-coming series produced by HappilyEverAfter.Be (a Positive Vibes Entertainment project). Positive Vibes Entertainment is one of the areas most exceptional DJ services. Their Senior DJ and General Manager Seko Varner has an uncanny talent for capturing a Bride and Groom's unique style and personality to create a musical and entertainment experience to delight the couple and their guests. This Guest Speaker engagement is separate from our own up-coming The Art of Event Design Workshop. I'm honored to be a part of this event and invite Brides to come out and learn some simple tips on "How to have a stress-free wedding day".

Cheers and blessed wishes,
Janel, Fri, January 4, 2008 link

Note:

Janel will be a guest speaker at our upcoming She Said Yes event 10/12/2008 !

Angela & Justin

"Rod did an excellent job communicating with Justin and I throughout the entire planning process. He was attentive to our needs and music requests. He made our event a great one with appropriate music at the right time and incorporating the hip-hop jazz which several of our guests really enjoyed during dinner. He was a great DJ and we will in the future not only reference him to other friends or associates, but also Positive Vibes as a company. We were truly blessed to have you working with us !!"
- Angela & Justin
Angela & Justin held their event at the new facility 'Ford's Colony Country Club' in Williamsburg. They choose the Budget package and truly invited great friends and family to celebrate their union. The 'hip-hop' jazz Angela mentioned is from the company's collection of 'Hip-Jazz' (Seko's term) which features jazz artists performing Soul, Hip-Hop, and R&B hits in a jazzy format. Playing the Hip Jazz truly pleases many crowds as Jazz lovers love the Jazz, and the pop music lovers sing and hum along with their favs' done in an appropriate fashion.

View the entire feedback form !
(Photo - D.J. Hot Rod Cannon of Positive Vibes 757.248.3820)

Kacee and Randy

Kacee chose her parent's lovely home as the site for her nuptials. She is going to be an advertising mogul, he protects our country, I was happy to be their entertainer.

Kacee chose the best of the best. Her photographer Keith Cephus shared on his blog "On June 14th, I had the honor of photographing the wedding of KaCee and Randy at their family’s luxurious estate in Virginia Beach. It was truly an amazing wedding thanks to Cathy and her crew from East Beach Catering. KaCee was truly stunning in every aspect of the world. Her
couture gown would have made Vera Wang raise and eyebrow! The both of them together made a magical couple." Keith is one of the top photographers in Hampton Roads and I used to work for him as a club photographer in the 1990s. I was proud to be chosen as the D.J. for his wedding years ago to his lovely wife. East Beach Catering has one of the best culinary presentations and finger-licking good food! Kacee and Randy chose the best for their day.

The wedding had an Irish theme, celebrating Kacee's Irish heritage. I smiled hearing the traditional Irish wedding music considering that one of my paternal ancestors immigrated from Ireland in the late 1800's and was brave enough to marry a beautiful woman of African descent during that turbulent time in America's history. They became my great-great-great-great-great grandparents: Kiss me, I'm Irish.....Kinda.... A String Trio provided the prelude music and I played the entrance music for the bridesmaids and the bride.

Our special ceremony mic'ing ensured that everyone heard all of the vows and officiating. As the couple exchanged their vows a cool breeze wrapped the ceremony providing a respite from the 95 degree heat that battered us earlier that day. The timing was perfect ! Everyone was comfortable and the sun set about 20 minutes following the nuptials providing a perfect blanket to highlight the beauty of the decorated tent and the captivating house.

The introductions were "to-die-for" and the crowd became so "Rowdy-Rowdy" as our couple entered their reception.

The stunning first dance was choreographed by Joey Starling. As the couple danced we all swooned. I projected the "Front Page" film onto the tent's ceiling, providing an excellent backdrop for the couple's first dance. I initially brought a screen to project the film onto. However, the wind continually blew the screen to the ground. I'm thankful for that wind, having the film on the ceiling of the tent allowed the screen space to become larger and provided a large impact. As the friends and family viewed the "Full Movie" they cheered as the movie reflected the bond the couple held with many of thier guests.

The "Tour of the Tables" was so exciting, the photographer Keith obtained excellent table shots and shared with me "No one does a Table Tour like you do. This gives me so many great pictures."

I opened the toast with a story of the couple's love adding a touch of romance. The Best Man and the Lady of Honor shared funny memories. As we all raised our glasses to the heavens, it was obvious that we all loved this couple.

We partied hard. Kacee's parents 'threw down' and only left the dance floor to tend to the event, and then returned to the floor. Randy's "Five-O" friends and co-workers were non-stop. We enjoyed classic rock, Disco, Funk, Soft-Rock, Blues, and American classics on a packed dance floor. As the Top-40 music began the dance-floor merged onto the grass as everybody joined in the revelry. We all returned to our respective homes worn out. Kacee shared with me that she was so glad that she chose the Total Package. I'm glad she did too ! Blessings be upon Randy and Kacee !

All photos courtesy of Keith Cephus Photography (kcephus@cox.net) with client permission. Visit http://www.keithcephus.com/blog/?s=randy to view a photo show of Randy & Kacee's event.

Jalonna & Michael

" Hi Seko,
Let me tell you....my guests enjoyed you. They said they have never been to a wedding like that before. Normally while the bride and groom are taking photos the guests are sitting around with nothing to do. You entertained and kept the guests involved..Oh my goodness the lady in the pink suit (my aunt) she danced all night. Thank you so very much for being apart of our special day."
Jalonna & Michael

This was a great event ! Michael and Jalonna chose the Total package. Jalonna picked her father's birthday to wed her perfect man. What a tribute to fatherhood. I don't know if anyone noticed but I teared up during the father daughter dance as I thought about dancing with my daughter at her wedding. Jalonna's friends and family were great and Michael's fam' was crazy fun ! Technically I had a Murphy's-Law event and had to fix so many things along the way in a way that the guests would never know. Events like this one keeps me on my toes and keeps me sharp!

Jalonna's entrance was a tear jerker as we created a very special and touching processional. I overheard one of her guests saying "They didn't do this at my wedding, man I wish I would have been married after this event so I could steal ideas." I laughed quietly and smiled as Jalonna had the effect that she wanted....Original, touching, and tasteful.

The first dance Michael and I created had all of the women either crying or about to cry and had a lot of the guys pointing at Michael and saying "You the Man !"

The "Front Page" video kept the guests oooohing and aaaahing and the "Full Movie" received an ovation as it ended. As I advised the couple in our first meeting, getting the guests onto the floor is an ease if they have been entertained throughout the event....We ended the celebration later than we expected....T'was so much fun.

Their photographer, Neal, worked will with me and their videographer, Bobby Sivills, and I have done so may events together it's hard to remember who we partied with recently. The wait staff from Jem's Catering (From P-Town) always has great food and beautiful wait-staff that keep the guy-guests wanting more than the food. The Smithfield Center staff are always on top of things and I laughed so hard at the guy-guests who gave thier telephone number and hit on the gorgeous main female staff member from the Smithfield center. She was so professional, while she is on the clock she is fully dedicated to the customer and the customer's vendors. She let those fellas' down politely and professionally. I felt bad for the fellas, and I also saw what they saw (There are so many funny things that happen in the background of a special event, I should write a book).

As I was heading out of the door Michael grabbed me and said "You were worth more than what we paid." That statement meant more than any "tip" ever will. I can't wait to see their online feedback form. May their lives be blessed. Oh, the lady in the pink suit was 83 years young and I even saw her doing the "Soulja Boy" dance as we slowed down the music for the romantic couples. She was gonna' get her groove-on regardless !