We did some really cool lighting this year at quite a few Holiday parties, everything from projecting company logos to some very festive red and green uplighitng. However, I would have to say my favorite corporate lighting event this season was for the Center on Halsted.

It is a very contemporary building with a lot of glass and concrete. When you first walk into the building they have a 40 foot concrete wall opposite the doorway (as always, I forgot to take a before picture!) that we washed in a cool ice blue (pun intended) and then projected some snowflake images onto to create a festive atmosphere.

The room looked amazing from the street and even better when you walked in!

Thanks to all the companies who hired us for event lighting and DJ entertainment for their Holiday parties and Happy Holidays to everyone!

For those of you not familar with Wish Upon a Wedding it is a national organization whose goal is to grant wedding days to people facing a terminal illness or serious life altering circumstances.

You can read Monica and DJ’s Love Story on the Wish Upon a Wedding Website.

Monica and DJ were a really great and fun couple to work with and we were happy to be a part of their wedding day.

Thanks to all of the wedding vendors who contributed products and services to make Monica and DJ’s dream wedding come true:

Venue: Lincolnshire Marriott Resort
Wedding Planner:  Effortless Events, Cindy Shanholtz
Photographer:  Sarah Alair Photography
Videographer: White Wedding Cinema, Luiza Perkowska
Florist: Avante Gardenia, Jenna Bruhn
Cake: Lovin Oven Cakery
Entertainment:  MDM Entertainment
Musicians: Bradley Young Orchestra
Gown/Accessories: The Bridal Mansion of Lisle
Tuxedos: Formally Modern Tuxedo
Makeup: Brie Aarin Makeup
Hair: Revolution Studio, Chrissy McLaughry 224-622-5561
Linens: Windy City Linens
Favors: Cacao Sweets & Treats
Custom Gobo: Frost Lighting
Chair Rentals: Modern Event Rental
Stationery: Natural Impressions
Seussical The Musical Tickets:   Marriott Theater
Custom Embroidered Handkerchief: Li’l Inspirations
Jewelry: Tejani Jewelry
Favors/Accessories: Weddingstar

Special thanks to Cindy Shanholtz from Effortless Events for all of her hard work in coordinating all of the vendors and planning and executing the wedding flawlessly.

I strongly encourage other Chicago wedding vendors to volunteer for this great organization and help make someone’s wedding day dreams come true.

You can read more about the organization and ways to donate your time, services or funds on the Wish Upon a Wedding website.

Congratulations to Monica and DJ and best wishes from everyone here at MDM Entertainment!

As lighting designers we are ecstatic anytime we are given a blank canvas to work with and 1520 is just that. With it’s contemporary design and solid white walls, ceilings and columns throughout the room the space can be transformed into almost anything with a little lighting.

This particular wedding was going for an “urban nature” feel and the client already had a good idea of some of the things he wanted to do with lighting to transform the space.

We used amber uplights throughout the room to give a warm, natural feel.

In the  entryway we projected branch patterns onto the entire wall to grab the guest’s attention as they entered the building and set the theme for the wedding reception.

To highlight the dance floor we projected another style of branch patterns.

The space looked fantastic after the transformation. Thanks to the staff at  1520 for all their help and Style Matter DJ’s for providing the entertainment.

For more information on wedding lighting for Room 1520 (or any other Chicago venue for that matter) contact the  special event lighting experts at MDM Entertainment at 773-253-4986.

Please contact us at 773.253.4986 for further details.

This is the 2nd year we have provided DJ services for the ball and were honored once again to be a part of the celebration. It is always a very moving experience to be part of the celebration and in the presence of so many brave men and women. Words cannot express the respect and gratitude I have for these men and women.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence for the Marines’ fallen comrades and a reading of the names of the marines from the 2/24 who had paid the ultimate price defending their country.

Everyone then watched a message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Then there was then the traditional presentation of colors and cake cutting ceremonies. After that there were some moving speeches by different officers.

A fantastic dinner was served by the staff of the Mart Plaza Holiday Inn. I am always impressed by the quality of the  food and the impeccable service by the staff there. This is one of my favorite venues in Chicago for a variety of reasons!

After dinner the dancing began and we had a dance floor packed full of  Marines and their guests having a great time right up until the very last song.

The Marines have already invited us back for next year and we are looking forward to it!

Happy Birthday to the Marine Corp! Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts to all the Marines and men and women of the United States Armed Forces for everything you do for us.

As a small gesture of our appreciation MDM Entertainment would like to offer a military discount for DJ entertainment and lighting services for any member of the military getting married in Chicagoland area. Please contact us for further details regarding available services and military discounts.

We have been providing high quality disc jockeys for Chicagoland corporate and social functions for over two decades. Our experienced DJ’s are well versed in a wide variety of music sure to please a diverse crowd and keep your party hopping.

Our knowledgeable staff and online planning tools will help make booking and planning your holiday entertainment a breeze.

We also offer photo booth, lighting and DJ packages to make your party one of a kind that your employees will have a great time at and are sure to remember.

Call us today at 773.253.4986 to see how we can help make your company party a success!

By hanging them at various heights one creates a dramatic sense of depth that really enhances the visual appeal of the room and looks great in pictures. In large rooms with high ceilings there is a lot of unused space, lanterns can be used to create a focal point over an important part of the room (ie, the dance floor) or used throughout the room to create a magical floating feeling.

The lanterns can be color coordinated with your wedding color scheme and bring everything together beautifully.

We have been doing a lot of weddings lately at White Pines Golf Club in Bensenville. The room has soaring cathedral ceilings and the lanterns really add a lot and look gorgeous.

Here are a couple of pictures:

For more information on wedding lanterns for Chicago area weddings please contact the lighting experts at MDM Entertainment.

Our first stop of the day was The Trump Hotel where we setup a custom gobo, pinspots and uplights for Mindy and George’s wedding. The Trump Hotel is a gorgeous venue and we cannot wait to work there again. The room looked gorgeous and it was definitely a very elegant affair.

The lights were all computer controlled so we developed a lighting design to change the look of the room to something a little more “clubby” once the party got under way. They were a very light pink during dinner then as soon as the bride and groom did their first dance they slowly changed to a more modern purple which totally changed the look and feel of the room. As the  night wore on we ran a program that had all of the lights changing color to the beat of the music.

Mindy and George flew in their own photographers all the way from their hometown of Baton Rouge, LA just to make sure they got the look of their wedding captured exactly how they wanted it. The DJ was from Chicago’s very own Style Matters and played a great mix of music to keep the party going.

Our next stop was the Elysian Hotel just down the street from Trump. This is a gorgeous property and exactly what I would picture when someone says “high end hotel”.  Here we set up purple uplights to give the room an elegant yet contemporary fixture. The room looked great. This was definitely a partying crowd as when we came back at 1 am to pick up the lighting the party was still going strong. When we came back at 2 it was still going! They finally wrapped it up at 3 and we were able to load out pretty quickly and get home to some well deserved sleep.

I think my favorite setup of the day though was the Art Institute. Of course I am partial to this one because MDM Entertainment’s very own Chicago Wedding DJ David O DJ’d it as well so we had a lot of interaction with the bride and groom over the year leading up to the wedding. We absolutely loved Stephanie and Ben and we knew this was going to be a spectacular wedding (it did not disappoint!).

We had been to the Art Institute several times to develop a game plan as the wedding was scheduled to be outside in the McKinlock Court but we wanted a backup lighting design and plan for the Stock Exchange Room just in case the weather did not cooperate. Luckily though the day was perfect and Stephanie and Ben got to have the wedding of their dreams. We uplit every other window surrounding the patio area with amber uplights and we used a breakout pattern and an amber color wash projected onto the patio floor to delineate the dance floor area. The area looked beautiful.

For the very last song of the night David played “Purple Rain” by Prince, a personal favorite of Ben and Stephanie’s (and all their friends too judging by the packed dance floor of people singing along to it!). At the moment the song came on we changed the amber wash on the dance floor to purple and the whole garden was bathed in a purple glow. It was a spectacular effect, especially the purple light reflecting off the water in the fountain in the center of the garden.

We have to say thanks to the catering managers and staff (dock security, maintenance, room captains,  etc) at the Trump, Elysian and Art Institute for all their assistance and cooperation at making everything go so smoothly from the initial planning stages to the day of.

And most importantly, thanks to all of our brides and grooms for letting us be a part of your wedding!

MDM Entertainment was a proud sponsor of the 2011 Chicago Biz Bash for event planners held this past Thursday at the Merchandise Mart. We got the chance to mingle with corporate and private event planners from all over Chicago and the Midwest at our booth.

The expo was a great chance to make some new friends (as well as seeing some old friends) and connect with other wedding and special event vendors.

Our own DJ David O spun the tunes on the side stage throughout the event. He started the day with some very cool house/lounge music and then as the day went on took everyone on a musical journey. I would have to say I really enjoyed all the tunes but the 80′s dance music set was probably my favorite.

Our booth was directly across from Michael Angelos Events out of South Bend Indiana who had an extremely cool 3D projection system set up that projected video and laser images onto a wall of water vapor. We spent all day poking each other going “Check that out!” every time they projected an image that we hadn’t seen yet.

We were able to sneak out of the booth to check out the show floor and see some great products and services and, of course, sample some food. Until Thursday I had never heard of Smoque BBQ but got the chance to sample their pulled pork sandwich and it was out of this world. I am trying to plan a trip there very soon! I have family in Texas so I do know my BBQ and this stuff was incredible. I am sure a quick trip to Smoque  will tide me over whenever I get a craving for BBQ in between Texas trips.

As part of our booth we also brought out Photo Booth Express’ new Facebook photo booth which got a ton of rave reviews from the event planners in attendance.

After the 2011 award winners were announced everyone headed down to the South Branch Tavern to unwind and socialize after a long day on the show floor. This was my first time at South Branch and I was thoroughly impressed with the venue. The staff and service were outstanding and we had a fantastic time.

Thanks to everyone at Biz Bash and all of the sponsors, vendors and event planners for a great day or networking and education.

We celebrated the launch at an intimate and unique Chicago wedding venue, Salvatore’s Ristorante, in Lincoln Park. We were greeted at the door by the old world, Chicago charm of this enchanting venue and sounds from Global Heart Entertainment. To the delight of our taste buds, sweets and treats were provided by Bittersweet. I’m still dreaming of the sweet deliciousness now…  Of course, we were also able to capture the fun of the evening in the Traveling Photo Booth and I now look at the photo strip of memories everyday I sit at my desk at MDM Entertainment’s office.

Cover of 2011 Edition of Chicago Style Weddings

What has lasted long after the grandeur of the party are the glossy pages of the magazine, and can I say, Chicago Style Weddings did an amazing job on this edition. The first cover for the year features a bride eating cotton candy! How fantastically whimsical is that?

Once you flip open the pages you see why this is one of the best wedding publications on the market.  When planning your Chicagoland wedding, a copy of this magazine is essential to your wedding planning arsenal. This is your year long planning guide, from timelines, guides to budgeting your day, to where to get your marriage license, you need not look any further for guidance. The colorful pages also boast of things such as the Designer Challenges, Real Weddings and give you endless ideas and pictures you can use to create your own unique vision.

Eternal Love at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Perhaps the most useful part to this magazine is that it walks you through every portion of the wedding day, giving you access to professional wedding vendors that can provide you with the goods and services you need. The articles and information provided in its pages will take you from the hiring process through to your honeymoon, and all the details in between.

For example, a section of importance to us is the Celebration Entertainment Section. This portion of the magazine walks you from selecting the variety and types of music to be played at your ceremony and reception.  You will see lists of song suggestions and ideas for the specialty songs you need to pick.  You will also be given a tutorial on how to hire your Chicagoland wedding Disc Jockey and entertainer, and getting a secured contract.  You can see how this would be a useful tool in navigating the wedding planning arena.

The moral of the story is this, stop at your local bookstore, grocery store, Walgreens… whatever your preference and pick up a copy of the 2011 Chicago Style Weddings Magazine. Not just because they throw wedding vendors a great party (well maybe a little bit because of that), but also because your wedding planning process can be greatly simplified by the diamonds of information contained between its covers. Happy Planning!