Serving Bend, Sunriver, Redmond, Sisters, and all of Central Oregon!
Dan Dubay Professional DJ Service was awarded Best DJ 2011, Best DJ 2010 and Best DJ 2007 by Oregon Bride Magazine!
Each year Oregon Bride Magazine strives to recognize excellence in vendors throughout our region. The Best of Bride winners are chosen by their readers, local wedding vendors and their editorial team.
All winners are mentioned in the Fall/Winter issue of Oregon Bride Magazine that will remain on newsstands until December.
by Sonja Johnston, Special Writer
for The Oregonian, Guide for Brides
What's more fun than music you love?
Music you love that makes you want to dance for hours.
That's what Monika and Jeff Drake, 30 and 32, wanted for their wedding reception for 150 guests at Portland's Treasury Ballroom.
The stately ballroom in the lower level of the U.S. Bank building has a huge dance floor, and the Drakes wanted a disc jockey who would get everyone up and dancing.
They were looking for a DJ who would spin their must-play list, leave out everything on their never-play list and include selections from their mood-maker list, such as a romantic Frank Sinatra number for their first dance.
The Drakes had been at two weddings where Dan Dubay was the DJ, and they thought he was great.
"His Web site has an extensive selection of songs to choose from," Monika said. "The headings include ‘must play' and ‘do not play.' We were able to make a list of our favorites for the whole evening."
They chose "1980s stuff, disco, current hits, a lot of fast music that we'd listened to when we were growing up — from Michael Jackson to M.C. Hammer," she said. The couple also threw in some older songs for her parents' set, such as The Beatles' "Twist and Shout."
And did the crowd dance?
"Did they ever!" said Monika. "People who never dance were dancing — all my aunts and uncles and everyone was dancing. We danced for five hours straight. Dan said we broke the record." Wedding photos capture the group getting wild and crazy on the floor, with everything from break dancing to disco to conga lines.
More than music
Monika appreciated that Dubay didn't set a time limit but instead let the evening play itself out, so everyone stayed as long as they felt like staying.
She also liked the way he looked (he wore a tuxedo) and how he helped engineer the flow of the evening by setting the mood with music.
"He was as good as having a wedding coordinator," she said. "He told us when we needed to mingle, to eat, to do toasts, to do first dances and cut the cake. He worked with our point person to let us know when to do what. And he made announcements to let guests know what was happening."
Further reading: See some of Dan's past and present clients »