How to make your wedding reception first dance memorable -On a Cloud

Enhance this high point with a cloud that gently floats on the surface of the dancefloor! You and your guests will remember that moment forever!

Congratulations Caryn and Bob! This is such a beautiful setting! While it is happening, you can hear gasps of delight from guests!

Caryn & Bob’s names and wedding date are reflected in the mist where we projected them on the dance floor.
Their wedding colors are complimented by our uplighting in the background.

Here we are at Traditions at the Glenn Resort in black and white for that timeless memory feel.

Congratulations Mark and Emily! What a beautiful wedding reception!

Floating in the background, you can also see our elevated flat screen to project a slideshow and pictures from the photo booth.

Another angle and in color! Notice how the cloud enhances the feeling!

An intimate moment surrounded by the bridal party and a backdrop of our uplighting complimenting their bridal colors:

Ask us how to get this effect included into your wedding package!

At the Riverdale in Endwell NY

Personalized projected monograms

Projected monograms and projected images can really enhance your wedding reception by emphasizing your colors and themes. Here is an example of that shown on the wall, dance floor and flat screens.

This can work for any type of party where you want a personalized touch. You can even use it with a silent disco theme.

Monogram & Slide Show at the Binghamton Club w/ Mobile Wedding DJ Johnny Only

Binghamton Wedding DJ Monogram slide show

Binghamton Wedding DJ


This was a beautiful fall-themed reception complete with uplights to compliment the colors that Michelle and Mike had chosen. My projector and flat screen filled out the visual effects.

michelle first dance
We used a slide show on the elevated flat screen to enhance the impact and memorability of the parents’ dances. Pictures of the bride growing up were shown during the father-daughter dance and pictures of the groom growing up were shown during the mother-son dance.

The flat screen was high enough and strategically positioned so that the guests could see the slide show just above the dancing couple’s heads. That way, family and friends could enjoy them both simultaneously.

Michelle screen 1

Seeing memories of the past on the flat screen while watching the couple dance in front of it drew oohs and aahs of appreciation along with laughter and a few tears.

The Binghamton Club has a perfect wall space for the projected monogram, but the monogram can also be projected on the dancefloor by mounting the projector on a light stand up high and pointing it down to the dancefloor per the following photo.

wedding monogram at the Binghamton Club
A projected monogram on the dancefloor.

As far as the music selection, Michelle and Mike left it up to me to read the crowd which is where a DJ’s experience and skill level really shows. The guests loved it! I am equally comfortable with couples who give me a list of favorites to work in for maximum fun and dancing spontenaity.

At this reception, there was a pretty good mix of ages, so I worked hard to choose songs that the majority of them would know and enjoy.

They just kept dancing all night!

Binghamton Club wedding DJ

Wedding Uplighting and Monogram at Binghamton Holiday Inn’s Carousel Ballroom

Wedding DJ Johnny Only from Binghamton NY

“Thank you so much for being at our wedding! Johnny, you were an amazing DJ and Master of Ceremonies. Everything from the lighting, to the music, and the newlywed game was perfect and better than we could have ever imagined…” “…The photobooth was also epic…” “…Thank you again! We love you guys!” Michelle and Raymond



I was the DJ for the first wedding reception in the Carousel Ballroom of the Binghamton Holiday Inn last weekend. Enhanced by uplighting and a projected monogram, the reception was as elegant as it was fun!

Uplighting helps to bring out the colors in the wedding cake
Uplights near the cake help to bring out the wedding colors.

Wedding Cake highlighted by green uplighting
Green on one side, yellow on the other for balance.

wedding uplighting
The uplights behind wedding soloist Hannah make her even more beautiful than usual!

Professional vocalist, Hannah Truman performed at the ceremony.
Contact her at hannah.truman@cortland.edu
if you need a soloist.

Notice how uplighting brings life to the room even while sunshine is still streaming in through the windows.

Uplighting and Monogram

From the guests veiwpoint, the monogram is right side up:

Wedding Couple's projected monogram on the dancefloor

Looking even more striking during the dancing!

Groom's name highlighted on the bride's dress
Groom’s name highlighted on the bride’s dress

Absolutely radiant shining through the brides dress!

Uplighting and Monogram
Projected monograms look awesome even with a full dancefloor

Added visual excitement during the dancing as the uplights change color to fit the mood. Made possible because my uplights are wirelessly controlled from my computer.

Holiday Inn Binghamton wedding reception with uplights and monogram

Johnny,
Awesome! You did an amazing job with the music. We received so many compliments throughout dinner of the song choices. The volume was perfect. and the up lighting and monogram was a hit. Thank you so much for making our day so special and perfect. Hopefully my cousin didn’t step on your toes! You both did awesome together!!!

I appreciate everything you did for us. I am so happy I picked you and you made the night!!!! Thank you so so much!!!!

Kristen & Walt 5/30/2015

DJ Johnny Only’s uplighting and projected monogram

In addition to my DJ/MC services, I supplied the uplighting and the monogram on the wall over the head table.
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I also placed uplighting under the head table skirting and the cake table skirting as well to enhance the effect.
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Below, there was an empty wall space here featuring a photo table. I placed the uplights at an angle to fill the space and to emphasize the table.
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The material hanging from the ceiling and the chair covers were supplied by the House of Treasures.

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What you don’t see is a projector blocking guests or traffic. It is off to the side on a tall stand above people’s heads and uses horizontal keystone technology to keep the projected monogram image symetrical.

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Class Reunion Party Tips, Activities & Ice-Breakers

Class Reunion tips, activities
Music: It goes without saying that a significant amount of the music should be from the years close to the graduation. But the DJ should still avoid the clunkers and stick to the hits of that era. As the evening progresses, (depending on what year of graduation) guests will start to request newer songs for dancing.

Volume: Class reunions have a very strong social element (meaning people want to be able to talk while the music is playing) so the music volume should reflect that. Yes, the volume should raise as the dance-floor fills, but people who haven’t see each other in years (or decades) want to talk when they are not dancing.

Activities and Ice-breakers: Don’t put them all together, sprinkle them throughout the evening to keep it interesting for guests.

Mock awards for who traveled the farthest, who traveled the least distance, who lives closest to the school, who married their high school sweetheart, who came back to get a job at the school, who still lives in the same address since graduation, who has moved the most times since graduation … your imagination is the limit…

A welcome from the class president – or homecoming queen or … maybe just the head of the reunion committee

A toast to the class of ’65

A blessing before the meal for parochial schools.

Passing the wireless microphone from alumni to alumni – this works best while everyone is sitting – the person with mic stands up so everyone can see them and then say their name, introduce their date if the have one- and then say a few details about their life (what they say is optional) but, when I am the MC for this activity, I encourage them to say where they live, what they do or did professionally, and then finish off with a personal detail or two. The mic is then passed to the next alumni. Works well during coffee service while people are still sitting -or even in between courses (depending on the type of meal service you have) Obviously this would be prohibitive if you get more than 100 or so alumni.

Door prizes are always fun.

Class of (insert year of graduation) trivia is always fun: questions made up that only people who went to the school would be able to answer. ie, what was the name of the math teacher who taught ______ . Name one of the novels you had to read for 12th grade English. What team was played against for homecoming that year. Who was the Prom King and Queen. what was the name of the principal of the school… You can do that activity unstructured (which means the MC asks the question and then confirms the answer after somebody shouts it out/no score kept.) Or you can do it structured, where there is an answer sheet. Scores are kept track of and prizes given after drawing randomly from all the correct answer sheets.

Team trivia (general questions) from the year of graduation. Tables work as a team to get the correct answers. Questions can include things like price of gas, or movie, or car, or issues in politics or news worthy events from that year,

Uplighting around the room in the school colors is always nice.

Consider the school logo or mascot projected on the wall or dancefloor.

Depending on availability, pictures from the year book can be digitized and put on a plasma screen or projected on a screen.

A Photo Booth would be great fun too! It is the perfect icebreaker. The pictures make a fantastic party favor and what better time than a reunion for lot’s of pictures!

A photo of DJ Johnny’s Lights in action

My dancing lights are in the foreground of this picture. They liven up the dance floor by moving, changing color and ‘dancing’ to the music.

The uplights are in the background. You can see the plasma screen on the left.

Dancing Lights at the Owego Treadway
A photo of Johnny’s dancing lights. Uplights in the background and plasma screen on the left.

This was the Maine Endwell High School Prom. We showed photos of the seniors, courtesy of the yearbook committee, on the plasma screen and projected their “Spartan” mascot emblem on the dancefloor.

The uplights ran patterns of blue and gold to match the school colors.

Johnny DJ's the Maine Endwell Prom
The Maine Endwell High School Prom used their mascot emblem as the projected monogram

It was huge success! Administrators told me it was the best prom they’d had in years.

The class president was so pleased, he wrote me this note of testimonial below:

Johnny Only did a fantastic job as the DJ and MC for our High School Prom. He played a great mix of both our requests and popular hits. Johnny Only knew his audience and kept the Prom rocking for hours with music that we really wanted to listen to and dance to. His speaker system is very powerful and easily filled our large venue with sound. His system has an excellent range, with crystal clear vocals and deep pounding bass. It was everything that one would expect out of a professional DJ and more. As an MC, Johnny did an excellent job of announcing our Prom Court and kept the Prom flowing smoothly all night. His up-lighting synchronized with the music and created a really cool unique atmosphere that changed for each song and served as the perfect backdrop to our simple decorations.. The projected monogram and TV picture slide show were cool additions that also really helped to personalize and commemorate the event.

Thank you Johnny Only; you made our Prom night the best that it could be.

Anthony Taylor, Maine Endwell Class of 2014 Officer anthonytaylor@college.harvard.edu