destination wedding

Sophie and Josh’s Puerto Vallarta Party - Beach Wedding in Mexico

Sophie and Josh make their grand entrance at their beachside wedding in Puerto Vallarta.

Sophie and Josh make their grand entrance at their beachside wedding in Puerto Vallarta.

What a wedding experience this was!

I’ve DJ’d numerous beach weddings, all beautiful and filled with energy and love. But this one might be the best.

Sophie and Josh orchestrated a destination wedding that brought them, their friends and family to the warm sands of Puerto Vallarta. The ceremony and dance party took place on December 1, 2018 on a private beach at the Hyatt Ziva Resort.

They kicked it off by dancing to the Ed Sheeran’s, Perfect, which emulated exactly what the entire weekend was.

At the end of the evening, Sophie wanted to dance to Lady Gaga’s,“You and I,” a song that I’ve always thought is a great way to end a wedding. But even better, fireworks were scheduled to go off during the final dance.

To make the moment extra special, I researched different versions of the song, trying to find a live version that would work better than the radio version. And I found a version that Lady Gaga performed on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

At the climax of the song, the fireworks shot off and aside from Gaga being there on the beach with us, I don’t think the moment could have been better.

This dance party was one of my all time favorites, for a couple that means so much to me. Having the trust of a client so much that they will fly me to their wedding is the great endorsement I could ask for.

Here’s a look at the rest of the setlist.

First Dance
Ed Sheeran & Beyonce - Perfect

Father/Daughter Dance
Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful

Open Dancing First Set

  • Prince - Kiss

  • Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (Promo Only Clean Edit)

  • Usher - Yeah

  • Party Break - Montel Party Break

  • House of Pain - Old School Jump Off

  • Aretha Franklin - Respect (Select Mix Remix)

  • KC & The Sunshine Band - Boogie Shoes (Hot Classics Remix)

  • Earth, Wind & Fire - September

  • Lady GaGa - Just Dance

  • Pink - Raise Your Glass

  • Flo Rida - Low

  • Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

  • Avicii - Wake Me Up

Open Dancing Second Set

  • Al Green - Let's Stay Together

  • Jackson 5 - I Want You Back

  • Beyonce - Crazy In Love

  • Queen, Notorius B.I.G. - Fat Bottom Girls Hypnotize (Acapella In To Instrumental)

  • Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize

  • Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg, Tupac - Next Episode To California Love (DJ Ragoza Segue)

  • Mariah Carey f./ODB - Fantasy (Intro Edit)

  • Miley Cyrus f. Jay-Z - We Can't Stop (DJ Scooter Twerk Remix)

  • Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A.

  • Britney Spears - Baby One More Quickie (Acapella In)

  • Spice Girls - Wannabe

  • Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody

  • Pitbull, Ne-Yo - Time Of Our Lives (Select Mix Remix)

  • Eric Prydz - Call On Me (Aylen & Dani Deahl Remix)

  • Metallica - Enter Sandman

  • Journey - Don't Stop Believin' (Live)

  • Sister Sledge - We Are Family

  • K.C. & the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight

  • Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine

  • Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!

  • Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (Select Mix Remix)

  • Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey - The Middle

  • Third Eye Blind - Semi Charmed Life (Pat C's Mashup) (Clean) (Short Edit)

  • Lit - My Own Worst Enemy

  • Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory

  • Rihanna ft Calvin Harris vs Tiesto & Dzeko - We Found Jackie Chan (BPM Supreme Bootleg)

  • LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

  • KiD CuDi feat Steve Aoki - Pursuit Of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix)

  • Bingo Players - Cry (Just A Little) (A-Trak & DiscoTech Remix)

  • Flo Rida - I Cry

  • Salt N Pepa - Push It (Mayeda Remix) (Short Edit)

  • David Guetta - Sexy Chick

  • Kesha, Pitbull - Timber (Select Mix Remix)

  • Don Omar ft Lucenzo - Danza Kuduro (BPM Supreme Break Intro)

Last Dance

Lady Gaga - You And I (Live From Jimmy Kimmel)

A stunning fireworks display caps off an amazing wedding day for Sophie and Josh.

A stunning fireworks display caps off an amazing wedding day for Sophie and Josh.

From Chicago To San Diego - A Rancho Valencia Destination Wedding

Lauren and Ben's celebrate with a wedding dance party in Rancho Santa Fe

A look at Lauren and Ben's first dance at Rancho Valencia.

A look at Lauren and Ben's first dance at Rancho Valencia.

The reception room was lined with long tables that all guests sat, highlighted with candlelight colored uplighting. 

The reception room was lined with long tables that all guests sat, highlighted with candlelight colored uplighting. 

Sometimes I work with couples that I’m thankful didn’t “get away.” I don’t often think about this, but this is one of those cases. Lauren and Ben were referred to me by a colleague because he was already booked on their wedding date of June 24, 2017. So they easily could have been one of those that “got away,” but they did not and I had a great time DJing their party.

Lauren and Ben are based in Chicago, so all of their guests were in San Diego for this celebration, which took place at Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe. Throughout their planning process we found out more about the common ground we shared, most notably that Lauren is a Yoga Sculpt instructor at Corepower Yoga. This is the class I regularly DJ in San Diego.

These two were great to work with, and their friends and family all made for a great party. I even dropped a few Blues Brothers Chicago classics!

Here’s a look at the setlist:

First Dance
Elton John - Your Song

Dinner

  • Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody
  • Frank Sinatra - Our Love Is Here To Stay
  • Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E
  • Diana Krall - Let's Fall in Love
  • Louis Armstrong - La Vie En Rose
  • Bryan Savage - Soul Temptation
  • A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum
  • Glee - Dancing With Myself
  • Robin Thicke - Lost Without You
  • Chris Brown - Yo (Excuse Me Miss)
  • Babyface - For The Cool In You
  • Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You
  • Fifth Harmony - Write On Me
  • Toto - Africa (Select Mix Remix)
  • Mariah Carey - Dreamlover
  • Stevie Wonder - Superstition
  • Kanye West - Good Life
  • Prince  - Kiss
  • The Temptations - The Way You Do the Things You Do
  • Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight
  • Kygo & Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me
  • Chainsmokers, Ashanti - Only U vs Roses (J. Espinosa Jumpoff Edit)
  • Ed Sheeran - Photograph
  • Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
  • Major Lazer f./Nyla - Light It Up
  • Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners - This Girl
  • Andy Grammer - Fresh Eyes
  • Jason Derulo - Kiss The Sky

Parents Dance
Rascal Flatts - My Wish

Open Dancing

  • Frank Sinatra - The Way You Look Tonight
  • Al Green - Let's Stay Together
  • Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
  • Bruno Mars - 24K Magic
  • Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It
  • Nicki Minaj ft Drake - Truffle Butter (Jester Remix)  
  • Usher - Yeah
  • Deorro f./Pitbull & Elvis Crespo - Bailar (Remix)
  • Flo Rida - Low
  • Andy Grammer - Honey, I'm Good (Select Mix Remix)
  • Darius Rucker - Wagon Wheel
  • Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee f./Justin Bieber - Despacito (Remix)
  • 50 Cent - In Da Club
  • Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg, Kurup & Nate Dogg - The Next Episode
  • Rihanna - Disturbia
  • DNCE - Cake By The Ocean
  • Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
  • Kenny Rogers - Through The Years
  • James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go
  • Otis Day & the Knights - Shout
  • Blues Brothers - Soul Man
  • Chubby Checker - The Twist
  • Romantics - What I Like About You
  • Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
  • Sam Hunt - House Party
  • Destiny's Child - Jumpin' Jumpin' (Jean Tonique Remix)
  • Keith Urban - Wasted Time
  • Mark Ronson f. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
  • Young MC - Bust A Move
  • Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
  • Robin Thicke f./Pharrell & T.I. - Blurred Lines
  • Elvis Crespo - Suavemente
  • Meghan Trainor f./John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You
  • Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing
  • Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
  • DJ Khaled f./Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne - I'm The One
  • Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
  • Backstreet Boys - I Want it That Way
  • The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This  
  • Drake - Passionfruit (BPM Supreme Remix)  
  • Felix Jaehn ft Jasmine Thompson - Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)  
  • Fifth Harmony f./Ty Dolla $ign - Work From Home (Rap Version)
  • The Weeknd ft Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (Mr. Collipark Remix)  
  • Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline
  • Journey - Don't Stop Believin' (Live)

Last Dance
Dierks Bentley - Come a Little Closer

Vendor Team
DJ/Master of Ceremonies/Lighting: Justin Kanoya, DJ Kanoya Productions
Venue: Rancho Valencia
Coordinator: Josefina Events
Officiant: Ceremonies by Bethel