We married at the Azul Sensatori, which is a resort within the Karisma chain.  We negotiated a rate with DJ Mannia, hired them, and paid Karisma the outside vendor fee.  We give DJ Mannia’s services a C+ because they didn’t seem to “get us” and our type of music; which was the most significant factor when evaluating our DJ.  We specified beforehand no Lady Gaga, Brittney Spears, Akon, Bruno Mars, or bubble gum pop, etc in preference of Seal, Melanie Fiona, Drake, Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott, Neo, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, Prince, Tribe Called Quest, Tony Toni Tone, Common, The Roots, etc.   My husband and I danced to “The Point of It All” as our first song and my Dad and I danced to “Unforgettable.”  These were songs that my Husband downloaded onto our IPod Touch, which my Husband gave the DJ prior to our reception.  While they played our specified two dance songs, the DJ didn’t seem to recognize what kept our guests on the dance floor and what made them take their seats.  I thought with him having our IPod in his possession, he could get an idea of what made us all want to dance. No such luck there.  There were several times throughout the evening that our guests would be dancing together and really enjoying a song or two and then the DJ would play a random song that would cause our guests to clear the floor and take their seats.  We thought the DJ would then take a clue, fade those songs out, and then resume playing songs that encouraged our guests to get back up and dance.  It didn’t happen.

Of large importance was the fact that the DJ was also late.  We actually had to wait around the corner from our reception location for about 15 minutes because the DJ had not yet arrived and we couldn’t be announced to our guests as Husband and Wife.  In detail, all of the DJ equipment was set up and the DJ’s assistants appeared to be there, but the actual DJ himself had not yet arrived by the time our reception began at 7pm.  I was baffled and displeased by this, but in keeping with the good spirit of the day and recognizing that not everything will be perfect with a destination wedding, we didn’t say a word.  Our wedding coordinator told us to go up to our room, enjoy the AC, and she would call us when the DJ had arrived.  We went up to the room, took shots of tequila together, and my Husband bustled my dress for me.  J  By the time we came back down, the DJ had arrived and was able to introduce us as a married couple to our guest at our reception.

On a positive note, all of the communication we had with this company prior to booking as well as after was superb.  They responded promptly to all of our emails, in fact in a timelier manner than one of the other more well known DJ’s in the Riviera Maya resort area.  We also were able to view a few clips of some of their wedding reception services on youtube.com, which gave us a little more confidence to book with them.  The payment process went very smooth as well and overall we were pleased with everything until the actual reception.  In being fair, their services weren’t bad, they just weren’t as great as we were expecting.  They also didn’t hand out balloons, glow sticks, or any of the other fun party perks; but we also weren’t sure if that was standard as it is with some other companies or if we needed to pay extra for those fun props and perks.

Best of luck with your wedding planning and I hope this review was helpful!