Cleveland Music Group — Local services in Valley View

The number one thing that can make or break a wedding is the deejay. When it came to entertainment, there are only two companies in NE Ohio that I recommend, so we started with CMG. The entire staff at CMG is amazing- Scott Jones is the best in the biz and each professional that works for him reflects the same values and professionalism. Office staff is friendly and helpful.

We planned our wedding in under 8 months, so the deejays I was familiar with were booked already. We chose our deejay off recommendation and his video- DJ Dan Cormier. We love Dan! He set up a meeting to chat about our details form and go over some of our questions. We were one of those couples who annoyingly created their own play list, but he was so awesome about it. He had a lot of ideas on how to incorporate some of our choices into the day and made sure he helped create exactly the wedding we wanted. He asked me to leave a voice mail 2 weeks prior with the pronunciation of our wedding party names which I thought was awesome.

Here's an example of why this was a perfect choice for us: Dan knew that we wanted a packed dance floor all night. We also wanted to do a sparkler send off, but was afraid we’d lose guests too early, so we decided to invite just the wedding party and parents for the send off. Hubby and I were waiting in the hallway to go outside and I hear the Macarena playing inside. Immediately I went ‘What the hell? For SURE the Macarena wasn’t on our music list!’. It only took a second for me to realize what he was doing- DJ DC knows that the Macarena (or any other line dance) will keep people on the dance floor PLUS he avoided playing one of ‘our’ songs because he knew we’d miss it. Obviously, this is quick thinking and why you get what you pay for- a true professional!

Our dance floor was packed until they kicked us out. SO much that the dance floor was actually bouncing. DJ Dan kept our party rockin and accommodated any changes we threw at him. Somehow, he managed to squeeze in most of the songs from our playlist. It was the perfect night and we couldn’t thank Dan enough for providing us with great entertainment.

That being said- I know we picked out entire playlist. But there is a HUGE difference between ‘just pay for Spotify and let it play on a laptop’ and an experienced deejay emceeing your evening. Trust your wedding to someone who knows what...

Both my wife and I are introverts who don’t like talking on the phone, loud concerts, or pushy people. While we do have a few bands we really like, we don’t have a very refined sense of music and probably listen to more podcasts and musicals than anything you can dance to. So it might come as no surprise that finding a DJ for our wedding was one of the things we procrastinated over the longest.

We researched for a while and filled out the contact forms for a few we thought looked okay and, let me tell you, some of them were just as insufferable as we’d feared. I want to point all this out because I think it’s important for understanding just how pleased we were working not just with Cleveland Music Group, but also with the DJ we ended up choosing, Christian de la Vega. Beyond that, as non-music people, we weren’t terribly helpful in coming up with a playlist.

We reached out early, had a pleasant and short email chain with the owner Eric. He didn’t pressure us and only followed up once or twice after a few weeks of silence. He answered all our questions and narrowed down the possible DJs to a list of four or five and then sent us quick video intros of each so we could make a decision. Due to the venue’s intimate atmosphere, we went with a pretty basic package and they didn’t press to upsell.

When we met with Christian in person, he remembered details of basically every wedding he’d ever done with both amusing anecdotes and stuff to watch out for from each. When we mentioned we wanted some very specific nerdy stuff from YouTube for the processional and first dance, he was able to make it work. He even showed us a catalogue of different suits and asked us if we wanted him to wear anything specific. We ended up liking the Mario one the best, but Bob Ross and Spider-Man were close seconds.

I think the most telling thing about a DJ, though, is how active the dance floor stays and ours was packed until the end of the night. Christian was able to read the mood of the crowd and blended and mixed songs so they’d only play the most popular parts and would only let it continue if it seemed like it was working. We even had an impromptu sing-along to Mulan later on. I can’t really say why or when we’d really need a DJ again, but if we did I would absolutely want to repeat the great experience we had working with CLE Music...

Simply amazing. The Element Band played Saturday night at our daughters wedding and things could not have been better. Erin led the evening - through all the intros, the father/daughter dance, the bride/groom dance, the toasts, etc. - great leader and MC!! The music during dinner was at the perfect volume and the song list was stunning. Then....the faster sets opened and you couldn't find room on the dance floor - nobody was left in their seats. By the middle of the reception - as the father-of-the-bride - I couldn't make it from one table to the other without someone grabbing me and asking me "where did you guys get this band". All added "this is the best band I have ever heard". And...it was all true. They were the best. As a family we have hired many bands for various events we have hosted over the years - and often they were some of the biggest bands in the Cleveland area. Nothing compared to the impact these guys had. I can't be happier that it was at my daughters wedding. We had 100 people over to our house the next day for a brunch and everyone kept telling us it was the best reception / best band they have ever heard. And...I have to add....working with Erin ahead of time was a breeze and a lot of fun. Picking out songs we wanted, working through the details. I am writing this as my daughter enjoys her honeymoon in Ireland - and I know she will write when she gets back. My daughter sings with the Cleveland Pops Chorus and is a trained singer / music teacher. The band allowed her to do a surprise solo for her new husband and it blew everyone away. I could keep writing - but I won't take up any more space. Simply recommending this band is almost too little, I would recommend them at the highest possible level to anyone looking to have a phenomenal time and great interaction with something that is really important to the success of a reception. Erin, Tony, team - we can't thank you enough. We're going to do something together again soon - I...