“Groom is a country aficionado, the bride prefers indie and the brides family saved their pennies to visit from Mexico. What to do? what to do? Leave it to Jamie! he figured out how to balance all of our music needs from the uniqueness of our ceremony songs to the out of right field cake cutting song. I told Jamie I didn't want the dancing to stop during the reception so, he kept my family happy with cumbias, norteñas and even some reggaeton mixed in there. It was the best to see our families mixing in together as one on the dance floor. Jamie brought the house down!” - Ryan Rettenbacher
“Jamie Jams was super cool and accommodating to our wedding music needs. We had a rustic country wedding and wanted a very eclectic playlist to accommodate my fiances family and my Latino family visiting from Mexico. Needless to say Jamie knew exactly how to handle this spicy melting pot and brought down the house during the reception with some cumbias and norteñas. We danced the night away!” - Kristal Riddell
Lisa Sim and Peter Yang Wedding
“A DJ, MC and lighting team that elevated our entire wedding program. From the initial inquiry, Jamie was very thorough to understand our wedding theme and expectations. He also provided past insight during our pre-wedding brainstorm to help us plan out the run of show (welcoming cocktails, grand entrance, toasting speeches, first dance and party music). We were not having a ceremony and wanted the reception to be more than the usual open bar + dance floor program. Jamie and Rocky delivered more than just the usual dance floor / club /top 40 music. There was deep consideration for the range of guests (family vs. relatives) to really make the music feel like a soundtrack for all on our special night. The equipment was not only high quality in sound and setup in a true audiophile consideration - there was not a table that was overwhelmed by the speakers placement. Last thing to mention, the communication during the whole process went smoothly. They followed up on our curated playlist suggestions, were punctual with load in/out and partnered well with our day-of coordinator and venue staff. Thanks again Ceremony DJs for making it a memorable wedding and New Years party for all!” - Peter Yang
Neetu Balram and Sean Rush Wedding
“Jamie of Ceremony DJs was incredible both before and during our wedding! We knew we may have a good match when we visited Ceremony DJs' website and it declared, "Finally, a DJ as cool as you are." Jamie and my now husband immediately hit it off. I loved that Jamie prioritized getting to know us and our tastes, but also took the time to hear about our guests. He has a great sound system, which was important for our outdoor venue. Jamie was super friendly, easy to work with and incredibly professional, keeping us on track and focused, without overburdening us. Jamie even made it out to our venue a few months before the wedding to check everything out and talk through the plan. Day of, Jamie was a lot of fun and killed it! He had music going from the moment guests arrived at the ceremony to the final moments of the reception. It all tied together and set the mood for every aspect of the day and evening, transitioning seamlessly. Our guests had great things to say and we couldn't agree more. Thank you Jamie!” -Neetu Balram
“Ceremony DJs and Jamie in particular were awesome to work on. From the moment we met, I felt like we totally understood our vibe and was able to really build on the things I already liked. His skills really gave the wedding the perfect feel, and all of my friends and family loved it. Additionally, Jamie is a calming force pre-wedding. He exudes that "I got you" vibe that's super helpful when you're stressing out about a million little details. Great guy, great DJ!” - Sean Rush
Grace Yau and Devin Riley Wedding
“We hired James to DJ our wedding and he absolutely crushed it. We went in thinking he'd just do our dance music at the reception, but he ended up doing a fantastic job with our ceremony and dinner music as well. He spent a bunch of time with both of us going over our musical backgrounds and sneaking hidden gems from our conversations into his set list. He was hyper-aware to play music that both us and our guests, including family, would enjoy. He transitioned smoothly from more recognizable songs to surprising and fun deeper cuts. James convinced me playing some low-key music during dinner would help set the tone and it was a great call. He played a cool, nonintrusive set during dinner and then blew it away with a bunch of fun dance jams at night. People were getting weird on the dance floor by the end, which is really all we wanted. Don't let Ceremony's rock / indie vibe throw you off either, he was knowledgable in all the genres we talked about, and was very careful to tailor the set to what we wanted most. We mostly went for rap for our dancing and he knocked it out of the park with his set.” - Devin Riley
”So happy with our decision to work with James! He was super attentive to what we wanted and gave great suggestions as well. The most important thing - we danced the night away :)” - Grace Yau
Christine Goffredo and Julian Aguayo-Pohl Wedding
“The most amazing experience you could ask for in a DJ. These guys really really know music. I did a lot of DIY/nontraditional things for my wedding (a friend took photos, not a professional, I had no cake, I didn't have a wedding party--that kind of thing), and I was intending to make my own playlist. But as I did more planning, I realized how much WORK goes into that, and knowing what to play, and how could I change songs in the middle of my own wedding? Plus, my wedding combined people who liked 70's rock with Puerto Ricans who love merengue and friends who love indie. So, I decided to hire Jamie because I used to go to his Debaser DJ shows in San Francisco and loved them. I'm so glad I went with him--it made me feel so relieved and took a lot of stress off. He did a consultation where he asked us about our friends and family's music tastes, and about what my now husband and I really liked and wanted to hear. He saw threads through those totally disparate sounding genres that we never would have seen, and he crafted a beautiful, seamless evening of music that kept everyone stoked, dancing, and in the best moods ever, from pre-ceremony through reception. Even my sister-in-law's DJ boyfriend couldn't believe the transitions. Also, he knew way more about weddings than I or my husband did. Jamie's wedding experience actually helped us plan our schedule so the day flowed perfectly, and music never stopped. We requested a mash-up for our first dance, and a specific part of a song for exiting the aisle, and he nailed it. At the end of the night, we got permission from the venue to stay an hour later, and I don't know how, but he kept the seamless flow of music going that whole hour. Lastly, he's an awesome awesome person, who is flexible, down to earth, energetic, and great to work with. In sum: everything was just absolutely amazing.” - Christine Goffredo
Patrick Malloy and Diego Ruiz Wedding
“My husband and I had an absolutely amazing experience with Jamie DJing our wedding a couple of weekends ago! We had a good feeling from the beginning - he hosts indie dance nights at a bar near our apartment and his sample playlists perfectly matched our tastes - and he totally exceeded our expectations.
The most important part first: Everyone had an amazing time at the event! Jamie covered the time before our ceremony, flawlessly handled music and audio during the ceremony, and kept the party going from the cocktail hour all the way through last call. He chose the perfect music for all the different parts of the evening, and managed to appeal to all the generations that were there. I knew he would nail it with the indie music, but he also did an amazing job getting up to speed some on some of our lower-brow pop favorites, which our friends loved.
Bigger picture: Jamie went above and beyond to help with our music. We did not have a wedding planner, so were stretched pretty thin at times. A less involved DJ might have all the music you want, but it will end up on you to spend a lot of time choosing exactly which songs you want to hear and when. All we had to do with Jamie was tell him our general concept, pick a few of the important songs, and mark the artists we liked in his catalog, and then he handled it all from there. I'm sure it was a lot of work for him, but we were immensely grateful that he was able to take vague direction from us and create an unforgettable musical experience.
I will be recommending Jamie to anyone I know in the Bay Area who is looking for a DJ! He does a fabulous job and is also a very nice person who is a lot of fun to be around!” - Patrick Malloy
”Jamie did such an amazing job with everything for my wedding a few months ago in San Francisco! He was super easy to communicate with leading up to the event, and did a great job working collaboratively with my husband and I to figure out music that would both feel distinctively like us but also appeal to all our friends and family – he’s so knowledgeable about so many genres, I got the impression he could work with pretty much anyone’s musical taste. He covered everything with day-of set up, did our sound during the ceremony, edited specific verses out of our recessional song – he was willing to step up and do basically anything we asked to help the event run smoothly (a really big deal, as we had no planner and were not familiar with event planning ourselves!). And above all, he did an incredible job getting our reception party started, keeping everyone dancing until it was time to shut down the venue. I’d enthusiastically recommend him and Ceremony DJs to anyone who needed a DJ for any event, and especially a wedding -- his music and all-around service was a huge part of what made the day so special for me, my husband and all our friends and family! (A sample text from a friend the day after about our wedding music: “THAT WAS LITERAL BLISS FOR ME”.)” - Diego Ruiz
Craig Daniel and Rob Delamater Wedding
"James DJ'd our wedding reception at the de Young Museum this Summer and it could not have been more perfect. James took the time to really get to know us and our tastes in music (we are both huge music fans) and used that to tailor a set list that both met our expectations but also surprised us and packed a lot of unexpected joy. The dance floor was smoking. Throughout the entire experience James was personable, organized and enthusiastic. He made himself a trusted partner in our wedding plans. Press "play" for James and his deep record collection and knowledge of music. A wonderful fellow." - Craig Daniel
Amanda Lawrence and Tommy Good Wedding
"To start, we want to say that Jamie was an absolutely amazing DJ. We found Jamie through our wedding photographer (who we also had a wonderful experience with), and were immediately impressed. After very promising email correspondence, we had an hour-long video chat with Jamie where he asked us all about what we wanted in terms of music for the wedding ceremony, reception, and everything in between. He then went on to ask about each of our favorite songs, bands, and genres, as well as what our family and friends liked. This may seem like a simple step, but it's far removed from what we experienced with the other DJs we interviewed - his interest in our musical taste and how to cultivate a great experience for our guests was incredibly genuine. He clearly took time to listen, take notes, and think about how to create a wonderful experience. It's obvious that Jamie didn't simply take the music that we and our friends liked and make it into a simple playlist. He very clearly dove into the genre and came up with a killer soundtrack informed by our input and interests. We had at least three people stop us the night of the wedding, and more since then, to compliment him on his playlist. If you're looking for a non-cheesy, fun DJ who will listen to what you, your friends and your family like to hear, and take the time to build a playlist you will love, we highly recommend Jamie. If you're looking for a cheesy wedding DJ, we suggest you go elsewhere. If we were to do it all again, we couldn't imagine a scenario where Jamie wasn't our DJ." - Tommy Good
"Jamie was the best DJ! We were planning our wedding from afar, so we had a call with Jamie just to chat with him and understand his vibe and his services and he was hands down the best DJ we spoke with. We had several other calls with other DJs and the all sounded like yourtypical, cheesy wedding DJ. Jamie is completely the opposite. It was so clear to us how much Jamie loves music and cares about what he does, so it was a pretty easy decision to decide to book with him. Once we booked, we had another call with Jamie to go over our musical tastes, what our friends and families like, and the overall feel we wanted for our wedding. Then we went through his insane list of music that he has, marking off what we liked. He took so much time to really understand what we liked and craft the most perfect soundtrack for our wedding. The wedding day was perfect. Jamie’s music was exactly what we hoped it would be and more. Our friends and family still talk to us about how great the music was. I’ll also note it was about 107 degrees the day of our outdoor wedding and Jamie was a champ setting up all of his equipment in the horrible heat. You really could not find a better DJ so just save yourself some trouble and go with Jamie!" - Amanda Lawrence
Shayna Rader and Michael DiGrande Wedding
"If you’re looking for a thoughtful, professional, and an unbridled showman—stop reading this review and hire Jamie as your DJ. But if you’re here for the review, I’ll elaborate. Thoughtful – Jamie provides the kind of attention that can’t be replicated. He gets to know you and what your expectations are for your event, and he lets that inform the structure and vibe. For my wedding, we told him to focus on Motown, 60s rock, power-pop and 90s hip-hop. He then worked with us to connect the dots, to experiment in finding a way to make these moods track seamlessly throughout the night. In a way, it felt like we were sculpting the vibe with him, rather than rely on some Spotify algorithm. His encyclopedic knowledge of music is unmatched—he finds a way to suggest things that will surprise you—and is unafraid of getting creative. He brings you into the process because he’s thoughtful in a way most DJs won’t be. Professional – Jamie brings his own gear and he * knows * his gear. He arrives earlier than early and keeps everything above board with venue staff. Jamie may have a laid-back demeanor, but he’s hyper focused on the details (you know, where the devil lives). And when the show’s over? He’s gone. Like a ghost. Our venue staff noted how efficient he is when it comes to set up and teardown. He won’t leave you in the lurch. Jamie’s prepared for every contingency. Showmanship – I’m not a dancer but Jamie had me on the floor all night. It is a non-stop party when he’s spinning. And when the mood changes, he changes with it. When our folks and family got tuckered out, Jamie skewed contemporary, which give our wedding about 5 different lives of its own. The result? We all left exhausted. Jamie had us on our feet all night and kept things moving as the night went on. tl;dr I saw my 62-year old father dance to Lil Jon…and love it. Thank you Jamie. I hope you can give someone else a memory like that." - Michael DiGrande
"Jamie did an absolutely amazing job at our wedding!! We had a pretty specific idea in mind of how we wanted our evening to play out, and some of the genres of music we picked were a bit unfamiliar to him, but he dove headfirst into researching and compiling a fantastic playlistfor us, including some songs I’d never even heard of but totally fit with the vibe. He kept our guests up and out of their seats (even the old folks!) and we got SO many compliments on our music. Jamie is an artist and a veteran of the club circuit in SF, so he puts a lot of thought into curating an entire evening for you and making sure it flows, rather than just taking Top 40 requests all night long. There are plenty of DJs that can do that—if you want something unique and memorable, you should contact Jamie and the team at Ceremony. Worth every penny." - Shayna Rader