Costa Rica Wedding DJ. . .

Photographing weddings in Costa Rica, I’ve had the pleasure to experience many different receptions and dance parties.

When planning your destination wedding in Costa Rica, you have some choices for music. You might opt for a solo guitarist, a live band, an iPod or mp3 player, a DJ, or a combination of these throughout the event.

I’ve seen all of these options be successful. Yet at a recent wedding, I was there early to capture candid photographs of the bridesmaids’ brunch when DJ Mason arrived to check on the sound set-up. I was again impressed with his work that day. He provided microphones and professional sound for the ceremony, and was there till the end to live mix music for the dance party.

So, for you couples considering a wedding DJ in Costa Rica, I thought I would introduce Mason here…

Wedding-DJ-Nosara-Mason-Oriana-Photography

Q&A with Costa Rica Wedding DJ Mason

photos by Oriana Photography

Oriana: How did you get into dj-ing?

Mason: I started “djing” here in Costa Rica many years ago, just kind of choosing songs to play in bars at night around here. Over time, I fine-tuned it and learned how to beat match and actually mix songs.

That turned into more gigs both here and in the United States, that ranged from house nights to salsa nights, to hip hop and everything in between.

Then a couple of years ago, someone asked me to play their wedding, and the wedding coordinator was so thrilled she booked me for the rest of her season. And now here I am!

Oriana: What is the process like for couples working with you? (Do they give you specific songs or styles or how does that work?)

Mason: After a contract and deposit, I normally ask couples to send me a list of songs of must-haves, songs they would like to hear, and a list of absolutely-nots. The minimum requirement is really one song… the song for the first dance. Though actually I have even been asked to come up with that on the spot. I have had as many as two hundred song sent, and as few as, again, zero.

Oriana: So after you receive their song lists (whether its just one or two hundred), then what?

Mason: After I receive the song lists, I do everything I can to come up with all of the songs. If there are entirely too many songs, I have to let couples know that not all of the songs will fit into the night, time-wise and ambience-wise, but I do my best to craft all of their selections into the theme of the night!

Part of my job also is to decide, often on the fly, at the event, which songs are in the end appropriate for the moment, as not all songs are, but I do my best to make all requests work.

Any favorite wedding dj stories?

Hmmm…I think the party that I played when they told me their theme song was “The Heat is On” by Glenn Frey. There were like 65 people jumping in unison with their hands in the air singing “The Heat is On” – 3 different times throughout the night, all by request!

Any advice for couples considering a wedding dj in Costa Rica?

As far as advice… yes – If you want to have your friend DJ your wedding on his iPod, make sure he realizes he will be at work. If you want to leave your iPod playing a playlist, keep in mind your iPod will not take requests and make it sound awesome. If you want incredible sound and professional mixing all night long, book me!