Wedding Tips at Calamigos Ranch That
Only A DJ Can Tell You
GENERAL CALAMIGOS RANCH INFO & DIRECTORY
Calamigos Ranch have 4 different rooms for you to choose from to host your event:
The Oaks Room
The Birchwood Room
North Pavilion.
They all have their unique personalities and still have the natural beauty and feel of the ranch. Some rooms can accommodate more people while some are designed for a more intimate setting.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROOMS…
The Redwoood Room
The Redwood Room has a huge outdoor ceremony area that’s more shaped like a rectangle. What I like about the ceremony area is that they have an elevated area where the wedding party, bride, groom, and officiant can stand so all of the guests can see them. Plus, this open staging area is great to be creative with the altar design since there is a wide amount of space to use. Definitely check out Exotic Green Garden for beautiful floral designs for your wedding ceremony.
In terms of sound, the acoustics of the outdoor ceremony is good since the sound is well contained in that area. However, power source can be a problem as there are very limited to none available for the DJ to use. I recommend to have a battery-powered solution which I’ve used at The Redwood Room.
Indian-American Wedding at The Redwood Room
This video captures fun highlights from Ritu & Matt’s Wedding
Photo Credit: Lovisa Photo — Uplights around the room makes a huge difference and create a nice ambiance
Inside The Redwood Room, there is plenty of space to host your wedding. It can hold many guests and there are different floor plan layout configurations that you can do.
1. If you have the dance floor by the bar, it’s great for dancing since the drinks are nearby and keeps the energy by the dance floor. However, the challenge is the sound reinforcement around the venue and making sure that the music and announcements are clearly heard wherever your guests are. This all depends on how your DJ sets up their speakers and sound.
Most DJs put their speakers to the left and right of their booth. In this particular room setup, the dance floor and speaker placement are far from where the guests are enjoying their dinner. This can be problematic for any announcements and speeches because the sound takes a long time for the people in the back of the room to hear. One side of the room will be loud and the far side of the room will be quiet. The sound is NOT balanced! To fix this problem, I use my wireless speaker sound system to provide a satellite speaker in the back of the room so your guests can hear what’s going on and the sound experience will be more balanced.
Ask your DJ if they do this!
Additionally, there is a room in the back where guests can place a photo booth. That area can also use sound reinforcement, too. If possible, place your photo booth near the dance floor to keep the energy within the same area.
By the way, if you want your guests to mingle and hang around the dance floor, set up some cocktail tables near the dance floor so they can quickly put their drinks down and dance.
2. If you have the dance floor right in front of the fireplace, it may be a bit away from the bar, but the dance floor will be closer to the dinner tables. It’ll be easier for guests to hop on to the dance floor when it’s time to dance. In this setup, the DJ is in front of the fireplace facing the windows. This may be the best option if you want to focus the night on dancing.
The alternative to this is to have the DJ against the windows with the dance floor in front. But in pictures, it’s good to have the former setup because the bride and groom will have a better backdrop by the windows. This alternative setup is great for non-weddings.
The only downside I can think of is that this room is huge! That means that the placement of activities are spread apart and can affect the energy on the dance floor if people are distracted and going to other parts of the room. If you want to put an emphasis on the dancing, there may be some challenges, but with the right DJ and effort put into it, everyone can still have a great time and the dance floor will never be empty.
In my opinion, this room is great for large weddings. If you have a smaller crowd, please be mindful of the large space and how everything is spread out. Ask your DJ if proper sound reinforcement will be applied so everyone can have a great sound experience.
The Oaks Room
The Oaks Room is a popular wedding room at Calamigos Ranch known for the majestic waterfall in the background for the wedding ceremony.
The Birchwood Room
The North Pavilion
Destination Wedding Hot spot
This is a hot spot for destination weddings for guests who have traveled out-of-state to California. It gives them a glimpse of what it’s like to live and be in Southern California, known for its great weather almost all-year round.
It also does have lodging for the wedding party and the venue is minutes away to the beach and Pacific Ocean.
The nearest popular hotels for guests to stay are the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, Westlake Village Inn, and Hyatt Westlake Village.
Unique Memories at Calamigos Ranch from Past Weddings
I’ve worked at Calamigos Ranch many times that Some unique memories I’ve had was having an alpaca petting area at The Birchwood Room for a wedding, having belly dancers perform at The Oaks Room, having a fun Indian wedding at The Redwood Room, and having DJed for a popular country radio host for her wedding at The North Pavilion.
In terms of food, it’s phenomenal. One of the benefits of being a DJ is that I get to try their food. I experienced their filet mignon buffet, fresh cooked-for-you-in-front-of-your-face pasta, unbelievable delicious under-rated salad, their juicy entrees, and more. They take pride in the quality of the food and it shows on the faces of their happy eaters.
Besides weddings, many huge companies have used this venue to host their corporate events, as well. They even use the space to film for shows/movies. Whenever you’re there, be ready, you may meet a celebrity at your next visit.
Whenever you arrive, there are friendly valet staff who are happy to help guide you or park your car.
Why this Venue is great for entertainment?
It’s one of the few venues in Malibu that allows you to celebrate until 11:00pm, while others around the area end around 10:00pm because of noise ordinance. This is great for you who enjoy dancing and want to spend more time with your loved ones more.
The staff there are also friendly to work with and happy to help you with whatever you need. They have an efficient system running their business and event space to give you peace of mind that they are on top of it.
That’s all I have for now! If you have any questions about Calamigos Ranch, feel free to reach out to me at joe@djmojoe.com
I hope all of this has been helpful!
- DJ MOJOE
Video highlights of Calamigos Ranch Weddings with DJ MOJOE
Calamigos Ranch | North Pavilion | 2018
Calamigos Ranch | Birchwood Room | 2017
Calamigos Ranch Wedding | Oaks Room | 2019
Calamigos Ranch Wedding | Oaks Room | 2017
Calamigos Ranch | Birchwood Room | 2018
Calamigos Ranch | Birchwood Room | 2016
Recommended DJ Setup at Calamigos Ranch
TIP! If you’re having your event in any of the 4 venues at Calamigos Ranch, have extra lighting, such as uplights!
It can get dark at night and having extra lighting helps with the ambiance and energy.
If you’re looking for elegant, clean uplights that will match your theme/color and provide energy when it’s time to dance, contact me at book@djmojoe.com for a special which includes delivery and setup for your event.
