One Of A Kind Events — Local services in Howell Township

I apologize in advance for the long review, but I have too many good things to say!

When we got engaged in the middle of the pandemic, we were faced with the decision of dealing with Covid restrictions and uncertainties or putting off planning until things settled down. We didn't like either of those options, so we decided to throw a huge backyard wedding instead. We realized very quickly that throwing a 200 person wedding in a backyard in the suburbs required way more coordination and planning than we thought we signed up for. While I was drowning in wedding planning, I figured one of the earlier steps would be to choose a DJ. Frankie and his team were recommended to me by several people. From the very first phone call, I knew it was going to be a very good fit. Frankie's energy was so personable and fun, and we realized that we were lucky to score much more than a DJ service by going with 1OAK. Frankie literally rescued me when I was ready to throw in the towel on this "backyard wedding" (on more than one occasion). Every meeting and phone call we were treated as if we were his only client, even though I know he is one of the busiest people around! He helped us to facilitate so much of the wedding planning from the enormous tent, tables, chairs, timeline, dancefloor, lighting, all the way to restrooms. And he made it so easy the whole time, despite all the craziness of Covid and our last minute planning.

Fast forward to a week before the wedding when we were having a final call to tie up loose ends before the big day Frankie came to the rescue once more. Our best man and officiant was traveling out of state and expecting a baby any day. We were hoping the timing would work out but this late in the game we knew we needed to come up with a new plan. We asked Frankie if he would sub in as our officiant and he did so with zero hesitation! He also had the idea to have the best man record a speech to surprise my husband at the reception since he could not make it. I didn't deliver the speech to Frankie until after midnight the night before the wedding and he still made it happen. My husband will be forever grateful for that surprise! Frankie absolutely KILLED IT as the officiant and MC. Our ceremony and reception matched our personalities perfectly, and we truly felt like Frankie might as well have been a guest at our wedding. Our family and friends are still raving about "the guy in the maroon suit".

While we spent the most time getting to know Frankie throughout the wedding planning process, I can't forget to give a shout out to the rest of the team. DJ Valentine had the whole yard dancing and enjoying themselves the ENTIRE night. We did not give him much to go off of in terms of song lists, and he crushed the challenge of reading the room and delivering to a mixed crowd. He and Frankie were awesome at thinking on their feet when our large bridal party (made up of lots of kids and heavy drinkers) didn't always stick to the script, and gave the perfect level of guest interaction. The bathroom attendant made the rented restroom trailer look and smell immaculate throughout the whole night. The entire team worked perfectly with our other vendors so that we did not worry about a single thing the day of or night after. We gave them full reign over my sister's house without a single ounce of hesitation and they made our day truly MAGICAL. I will recommend Frankie and his team to ANYONE!

*Here is a picture of Frankie literally taking the pocket square out of his suit during the ceremony to give to my big crybaby husband :)

*And another of 1OAK making my girl's dreams come true at the end of the night by playing...

If you need help making a decision for your wedding PLEASE READ THIS: I've seen people try to take shortcuts with entertainment at weddings and I can't stress enough how much of a difference your entertainment company will make. Not only that, One Of A Kind Events specifically sets themselves apart from the pack. Every person I've worked with from 1OAK takes the time to go above and beyond for you. They also make sure to tailor your experience to exactly what you ask for and then go the extra mile. These guys were the reason why my friends and family came up to me telling me this is the best wedding they've ever been to. Not only that but they are focused on little details that matter. I want to take a second to share a few stories:

First, we planned to do a T-shirt cannon since we were doing custom merch. The night before the wedding we found out the T-shirts that my wife ordered got delayed in the mail and wouldn't make it. Jayson went out of his way THE MORNING OF the wedding ON A SUNDAY to hunt down a local T-shirt printer and get us replacements. I'm pretty sure this guy called at least 20 vendors, maybe put a few guys in headlocks, and wouldn't take no for an answer until our custom t-shirts were found. This is just one example of the effort they put in to make sure your big day goes off without a hitch. (The T-shirt cannon was also a major hit and I highly recommend that by the way)

Next, we specifically requested Frankie as our MC because of his reputation. Despite the upcoming due date of his child, he still took the gig and took the time to get on a call to prepare with us. Not only that, he assigned Dom as our backup MC who also took the time to prepare with us. We ended up finding out last minute that Dom would be our MC, and on short notice, this man absolutely CRUSHED. Dom got me and my whole wedding party so juiced up right before reception intros that I literally thought I was Ray Lewis about to run out of the tunnel on gameday. My wife had to make sure I didn't wolverine crawl out onto the dance floor and rip my shirt off. Talk about a great hype man, the kid is a natural. The whole night he was never too overbearing, he always made the focus about us, and he made the important moments special. It's not just Frankie, they're pumping out all-star MC's over there!!!!

Speaking of all-stars, VJ was an absolute assassin his entire DJ set. There were multiple times on the dance floor where I had to stop myself and ask how this man is managing to keep my entire family and friends from all different age groups on the dance floor at the same time. I literally watched my 95 year old great aunt get in the middle of a dance circle, put on aviators, and start breaking down with my 20-year-old cousins for like 10 minutes. Don't believe me? Look at the photos. The most ridiculous part is that he literally does it all on old-school turn tables. He takes whatever music preferences you want and nails it. Most people don't realize how much of an art it is to get people up and moving onto the dance floor having fun for long periods, and VJ just kept doing it over and over again.

From start to finish, these guys made it easy, they made the entire experience fun, and they showed you that they cared and that they would go the extra mile to make your special day memorable....

Where to start?!!! 1,000 out of 10!!! Jayson and Dom were tremendous. They are consummate professionals. We have been at weddings where it seems to be more about the DJs and their performance. The opposite is the case with Jayson. Every question, every idea, any worry, Jayson responded with “I got you.” He meant it. We didn’t worry for a second about any part of the day.

These guys know their stuff. From logistics, to timeline, to how to engage the crowd, music selection…they have it down. Our ceremony was on the beach. We had no clue what to do to get microphones, speakers, power, etc. Jayson said, “I got you.” We showed up to the beach day of, and everything was there, set up, working perfectly.

Our reception was at our favorite local spot, Joe’s Surf Shack in Belmar, NJ. It was the first time they hosted a wedding there. Jayson, with a great deal of experience when it comes to the traditional, also brought his A Game with the unconventional. We talked about the reception plans and Jayson said, as always, “I got you.” He completely customized the party to reflect us…our theme, vibe, energy, style.

Jayson met with us ahead of time. He asked thoughtful questions like, what are we thinking for party introductions, first dances, what songs and genres do we want and just as importantly, what songs don’t we want to play, etc. Coming to the meeting he had clearly been thinking about our wedding. He had great ideas and suggestions, insight into the layout of the space, lighting and sound – bringing up things we never would have thought of. These were the touches that made the night what it was – unforgettable.

Jayson and Dom's energetic, animated and infectious personalities lit up the room and got the crowd engaged from the jump. Jayson knew we wanted to get straight to the party. He moved the formal things along right on schedule, so we got to do just that.

Jayson and Dom mingled throughout the crowd, about 150 strong, the entire evening, checking in with everyone to see how they were doing, if the music was too loud, etc. It was truly an amazing day and night. Jayson and Dom were a huge part of making it perfect.

If you don’t take our word for it, take it from our guests. Days, weeks, after the event, we continue to get texts about the DJs, the music and the party (“how can we get them at our event?”) They hit a home run!

Jayson and Dom will tailor an occasion that will truly reflect the guests of honor and give your guests the experience you want to create. We can't say enough about Jayson and Dom. We hope to be part of the Jayson and Dom experience at another event very soon! ...