Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra

Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra made our day so incredibly special! Our wedding had a vintage theme that was truly brought to life by Michael's 30's and 40's swing/jazz sound. From start to finish, it was magical! Michael provided a great recommendation on the processional music we chose for our ceremony, and during the transition from ceremony to reception, the band really set the tone for the party to come. Their renditions of "Our Love is Here to Stay" for our first dance and "Unforgettable" for my dance with my father was perfect. Michael did a great job emceeing the reception to keep it exciting and moving along. Everyone enjoyed the music and had fun on the dance floor! In fact, my maid of honor just got engaged and contacted him about playing at her wedding.

Leading up to the wedding, I found Michael to be very responsive when I emailed with questions. We met prior to the wedding to finalize the reception timeline and he was accommodating when we asked about adding additional songs of this genre to his setlist. It was also a relief that we did not have to rent sound equipment as Michael provides his own. I highly recommend this band to anyone looking for a fun, classy wedding experience!

Michael was supposed to play our wedding and then pulled out three weeks before the date, saying that there was a death in the family. i later found out he had booked another gig in Paris France which undoubtedly paid more. I also later found out from the owner of my wedding venue that this behavior is a pattern. Although he found me a replacement singer, the man who replaced him was not 1920s and my entire wedding was organized around that theme. Although michael's music is amazing, i would definitely not recommend hiring him, as he has no respect for the fact that a wedding is a really big deal.

My husband Mark and I first met Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra at the Brooklyn Based Wedding Crashers event in 2009. Having enjoyed our lives as Brooklynites, Mark and I wanted to invite our family and loved ones to Brooklyn to celebrate our marriage in Prospect Park's Picnic House. We decided to hire all Brooklyn based vendors to create an experience that gives true appreciation to the culture, community, and music that Brooklyn has to offer.

When we first witnessed Michael and his band perform at Wedding Crashers, it was like stepping back into the 1920's. The hot classic jazz quickly resonated with us. Without a doubt, Michael's music was exactly the type of tunes we felt would make our wedding special.

We decided to hire Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra to perform for our wedding ceremony and reception. Michael was an absolute delight to work with. Extremely patient, kind and creative, Michael helped this stressed out bride come up with a lovely program while dealing with tricky demands like playing Debussy's "Clare de Lune" for our processional. Michael was the absolute professional. He worked with our schedules to meet and discuss our interests, the wedding program and his role as 'master of ceremonies.' Michael was thoughtful, always followed up to our requests, emails and calls. His attention to detail was flawless and his classic touch was carefully weaved into every aspect of our program.

The day of wedding, Michael and his band followed through 100%. We arrived to the Picnic House and everything was in place. Michael played a very important role coordinating with our other vendors to make sure that his team would be in place at the right time. During the ceremony, Michael's string quartet was absolutely magical. Following our ceremony, Michael and his band were already set up and playing poppy tunes that had folks already on the dance floor prior to our introduction. We highly recommend Michael Arenella, fantastic!!

We had Dreamland Orchestra provide more of a background and set an atmosphere
for our reception. We had a brunch wedding, and we wanted music that would provide
energy but wouldn't be overwhelming loud and make it hard for guests to talk to one
another. Now, Dreamland Orchestra CAN do the dancing thing, but they also did the
fun brunch-y background thing for us, which was great!
All of the musicians have a great look- Michael was in suspenders and a bowtie. They
played fun ragtime/swing music, and Michael has a fantastic voice.
Our reception was short, so I just wish that they had taken fewer breaks and that we had
had them for longer. Probably a good idea to outline the timing and the time for breaks.