Retro DJ Event Entertainment covers all entertaining beats no matter what, when or where
Should we have a wedding MC or just a DJ for the night? Perhaps bubbles or smoke during our reception? What will our guests want? Wait – what do we want? Any of these questions sound familiar? For couples planning their wedding, many discover entertainment options to have an array of choices, and sometimes cruelly, all these possibilities morph into never-ending racing thoughts. The perfect blend for a perfect confusing storm. The answer? Retro DJ Event Entertainment. Join Melbourne Wedding & Bride’s Alice O’Brien as she speaks with the company’s owner Mark Jayasekera on how this one stop shop makes an unclear decision a little more crystal
Written by Alice O’Brien
Powered by Passion, Built on Friendship
Six words holding the foundation of a business. This is the motto for Retro DJ Event Entertainment, was chosen by Mark not for the nice sentiment but because these words encapsulate the team. Its workers areenthusiastic about entertainment and togethercreate captivating performances. There’spassion. There’s friendship. More than felt between its workers, this “means treating every client like family and every event like it matters, because it does … clients are the essence to our business,” says Mark.
An entertainment business offering DJ services, MC services, celebrant services, photography and videography, photo booth hire, wedding cars, a range of special effects and whatever a clients’ heart desires. It’s all under the one roof, through the one team “who already know each other and how to work together,” Mark explains.
So, who is the team? The family behind the company Retro DJ Event Entertainment? Mark fondly known as The Boss, The Master, brings his experienced skills in MCing and DJing to the table, and introduces his team as the following:
Michelle Jayasekera Photobooth, known as Michelle Sparkle
Mitchell Jayasekera DJ, known as The Number 1 Brett Aylmer MC, known as The Constructive Organiser
Ian Wagner DJ and MC, known as Extraordinaire
Tom Sanders DJ and MC, known as Colonel Sanders
Sharon Munro Celebrant MC, known as Love Sharon
Annie Birch Celebrant, known as The Narrator
Kuven, known as Sax Player and Vibe Technician
A wealth of personality sits behind these doors and with it a wealth of choice. When couples approach Retro DJ Event Entertainment for wedding entertainment, no matter who, what, where or when, “the team sits down with each couple to understand their vision, their music taste, the feel they want for their day and their budget … and which combination of DJ, MC and special effects will bring that vision to life,” explains Mark
A Background in Passion
Passion for good, quality entertainment has found a home for itself in the reputation of Retro DJ Event Entertainment, stemming from its beginning when Jayasekera first opened the doors. Unbeknownst to most, this passion is intertwined in the writing of Mark’s own personal story. At just the young age of fourteen you could find Jayasekera, mic in hand, music playing, feet on stage, entertaining. Seeing crowds of people dancing to the music he was playing or the way he was speaking, well, fair to say, it was love at first play. But it was “[his] natural ability to fit in and run an event that was my calling,” reminisces Mark when thinking back to his young self. And thus began his career as an MC/DJ.
Knowing his backstory, it’s easy to understand how Retro DJ Event Entertainment has obtained such a reputation, and forty years since Mark first found this love, he continues to re-find it every time he MCs a wedding. “An MC sets the tone and pace of the entire wedding day, guiding guests through each key moment, keeping energy up on the dancefloor and making sure nothing feels rushed …so it matters enormously that a couple feels a real connection with their MC … hearing the words ‘that was the best day ever’ the most memorable part,” says Mark as he explains his MC role.
Hidden up the Sleeve
While the team does really feel like the whole package just by themselves, the company offers memorable wow moments, or more simply known as special effects. Yet there is nothing simple to the genuine spectacle generated if used.
Low fog with sparks; you’ll be dancing on a cloud
Bubble/Smoke machines; still fill theceremonial room, even if hit with a no confetti barrier
Seventy centimetre sparklers; a perfect sparkling exit to the end of the night
Uplighting; capture, set and create the mood through lights
LOVE letters; a complete unique take on the standard light up letters, instead infinity letters
“Investing in these effects means a couples day includes moments of real theatre,” explains Mark, and that’s reason enough. Be dramatic. Be the centre of attention. Have the sparkler exit and soft fog on the dance floor. It’s your wedding after all.
No Postcode Barrier
A telling story: a couple meets at the local pub in a small town with one main street, falls madly in love, and decides to marry on their family farm. A couple meets at one of the countless pubs on a busy city street, falls madly in love, and decides to marry in the heart of the CBD. The same beginning, the same ending, but unfortunately some experience a different planning journey.
“A great wedding shouldn’t depend on thepostcode” – Mark Jayasekera
This simple, yet beautifully impactful statement emphasises why Mark offers his services beyond Melbourne, far into the heart of region, as “couples getting married in regional Victoria deserve access to the same calibre of entertainment as those in Melbourne without having to compromise or bring in unfamiliar suppliers.” Catering tothis reality is the one roof, all service natureof Retro DJ Event Entertainment where anequally polished, well-produced day is craftedby a team who cares about the couple, not thepostcode where they say, ‘I do.’
Images courtesy of Alicia Flegg Photography and DanielTurner Weddings