maibeans's reviews

I have sooooo many good things to say about Elley but I won’t bore you with every little detail. What I will say is BOOK HER IF SHE IS AVAILABLE. I swear to you she is the best photographer EVER and for what little she charges, it’s worth EVERY PENNY.

After researching online and emailing/interviewing a few photographers for my wedding day, I met with Elley who I found on Yelp. I won’t say much about her work b/c I think her website pretty much shows her talent but I will say she is the most professional, fun and easy going photographer I’ve dealt with….and when I say ‘dealt with’, what I mean is that I’ve had to deal with seven different photographers b/c I’ve been in that many weddings.

Elley is soooo cool and easy going. I interviewed a few photographers before I met with Elley and the one thing I find is this. Sure, they are good at what they do, and they may or may not be within your budget…..but at the end of the day, why can’t these photographers put on a smile and just be nice? I found Elley to be very cheerful, upbeat, not bossy and in your face. When you meet with Elley, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. She is so gentle, so calm and cool that it reflects in her work.

We had our engagement photo session in August at the Giants ballpark and Elley was great. She spent almost three hours with us, which is more than what most photographers allow, and she got such great shots of us. Even my brother, an amateur photographer was raving about her work. He gave me the thumbs up before I scheduled a meeting with Elley but I already knew that she was going to the be THE ONE.

I’m excited to see what our wedding photos will look like but she’s already sent me three teases which look awesome.

My advice to you is book Elley if she is available. You will not regret it.

I have to say, searching for a DJ is NOT easy. Granted I’ve been in SEVEN weddings, I wasn’t able to ask my friends for referrals b/c some were out of my budget and some had DJ’s that were ‘ok’. I wanted the best for what my money could buy…..after all, the scariest thought is to have an empty dance floor on your wedding day.

When the search began, I was excited. Come on, how often do you get married and are allowed to ‘interview’ people? I quickly found that this process was NOT fun! After a few weeks of searching and four interviews, I pretty much just gave up. A dear friend of mine said, “My cousin is a DJ, but I haven’t seen him in action. Maybe he will do it for you.” So I thought, doesn’t hurt to meet with him and I’m SOOOOOO glad I did.

OMG – DJ Mixter Li AKA Ryan, is THE BEST DJ EVER! Now, I’m not saying this b/c he’s my friend’s cousin, but seriously, he can make your crowd party like no other. He came on time to the wedding, dressed oh so appropriately, was very professional and knew exactly what music to play and WHEN to play it. I had requested a few 70’s/80’s tunes to start the dancing just to accommodate my older guests and it was such a hit, he played those tunes for a bit. When the older folks left, he eased into the Top 40’s hits and hip hop. There was never one moment when the dance floor was empty. He emcees the event and I have to mention this b/c some DJs do not, and his voice is actually very nice…he’s got that sexy man voice that you hear on some night time radio shows.

Oh and by the way, I’m not a music expert, but I just went to a wedding yesterday and supposedly this DJ they had was the ‘best ever’; he apparently DJ’s for some club. Anyhow, two things I noticed….his sound system was not happenin’ and his emceeing skills were not great. He had some slang terms when making announcements to the crowd; that’s all good if you’re entertaining a young crowd but when you have mostly older Asian people, you don’t say, ‘People, please get into your seats so we can introduce the bridal party. The faster you sit, the faster we can get the food serving.” These things are very important to take note. You don’t want your DJ to sound tacky you know? Another reason why Mixter Li was so great. He just sounds so much more professional than these other DJ’s I interviewed.

The next day at work, I had many telling me how great my wedding was….how they loved the food and even mentioned how great DJ Mixter Li was. I think I am going to book him for my unborn child’s first birthday. Haha!

Like I said, after being in seven weddings….there are only two things that will make a party a REAL PARTY……one…..never running out of alcohol (screw the food) and two, having a DJ that will keep your crowd on their toes.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY (did I say ‘highly’ yet?) recommend you book DJ Mixter Li; you will not be disappointed. I promise.