Essence Entertainment

We met with Mike at their office to review our options. We knew that we wanted a live band and not a DJ. After reviewing numerous audition DVDs, it became clear that the Essence band was creme-de-la-creme. Of course, that meant that they were the most expensive, but totally worth it. During the first half of the wedding reception, they provided elegant background dinner music, then classic dance music. Then during the second half of the reception, the energy level was pumped up, especially as one of our wedding guests joined them on stage as a lead singer (which at first they were skeptical then pleasantly surprised)! Good times!!!

My DH is very into his music, he has about 14,606 songs and counting on his ipod. We chose to have a classical guitarist for our ceremony and cocktail hour. It was quite lovely with the outside setting at Rancho Las Lomas. We then picked DJ Paul for dinner and dancing. We made his music selection for dinner extremely easy since DH made 4 hours of handpicked songs into a CD. Music was awesome. Although for our speeches, it would have been nicer to have a longer extension cord since our sweetheart table could not view the speakers very well. Then, dancing indoors with Paul's selection of music was fab! All in all, we were very happy and everyone had a fantastic time!

We had an acoustical guitarist play during our outdoor reception and it was perfect. He was hardly noticible, but played beautifully. He knew every song we wanted to play and was exceptionally professional. I'd give our DJ a B+. He was good, but did stray from my playlist and requested genre a bit. I had to personally go up to him and ask him to stop playing certain songs and to play more upbeat songs. Overall, however, great service, great price, and great experience!

We picked Frank as our wedding DJ and he did a great job. I honestly thought we didn't have a dancing crowd and didn't think a single person would get up there but Frank kept people on the dance floor the entire night! Everything ran smoothly and there were no complications in planning. Mike walked us through and planned the reception with us and put our minds at ease about everything. We didn't have to worry about a thing.

Was very happy working with essence entertainment. Very professional and excellent is assisting us with our planning.

One of the most important aspects of our wedding that we wanted our guests to come away with was "wanting more" and that was achieved with our band. First, a band over a DJ to us, makes a big difference. Yes, you pay more in most cases, but it's well worth it. A friend recommended us to Essence Entertainment where we met with Mike. He asked our price range and then showed us 5 bands on videos. Naturally, The Essence Band, won hands down. The plus side was that they had performed at The Turnip Rose (our reception) many times before so we knew they knew the lay of the land. The performed beyond our expectations and of course, all of our guests are still raving about them. No one left the reception early. The voices were incredible and they had two costume changes. It was the glue that held everything together. We highly recommend them. Their voices and instrumentals have no peers.

The ceremony music was beautiful. You can choose from several combination of classical instruments, which was very impressive. Also the DJ was great; he read the crowd and brought people to the dance floor. He played music that my friends and my parent's friends could enjoy. On top of everything else The price was very affordable too.

Mike was extremely professional and helpful. I would highly recommend Essence Entertainment. I hired a classical singer who performed two songs (The Prayer & Ave Maria) during the ceremony. He really set the tone and everyone thought it was a very nice touch to the ceremony.

Mike and his team at Essence Entertainment have been on our vendor list for a number of years. They are professional and very helpful.