MEET J.J. ESSEN OFESSEN ENTERTAINMENT
HI J.J. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF & YOUR BUSINESS?
Based in the great state of Texas, Essen Entertainment provides Industry Award Winning wedding services and has set itself apart as one of the TOP RATED WEDDING VENDORS in the state!
Our mission is to be fully committed to your event’s success by being hyper-focused on every detail, big and small, to make sure this day is one of the BEST OF YOUR LIFE!
This business is led by myself, founder J.J. Essen. I have worked in the entertainment industry for more than 3 decades and have performed at over 2500 weddings! In combination with an amazing team, we have become one of the Texas Wedding Industry’s most popular vendors!
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GO INTO THE WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR?
I was always in entertainment and music from a young age. As a young child, I had my first lead in a play at five years old so I grew up with music being a huge part of my life. My mom was also a music and piano teacher. I started writing songs as a teenager and won a few awards for that as well so when it was time to go to college, I went to Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee. I have a degree in Music Business from Belmont.
Throughout my 20s and early 30s, I had multiple bands and toured all over the world but in my downtime, I was the lead singer for a popular wedding band. I did this for 6 years.
During this time I was learning how to DJ/MC and run an entire wedding from beginning to end.
When my daughter was born (She’s 16 now) I decided to “get off the tour bus” for good and go full time into the wedding business as it was already starting to take off at the time. I quickly found out that I personally was one of the only people that can do a live performance (solo acoustic/vocal) and then DJ/MC after.
I was so blessed to be so booked that I was having to turn couples away, so then I started looking for other wedding performers to add to the team and I can confidently tell anyone reading this, that this team we’ve built is THE BEST! Just read all their reviews!
A wedding is one of the most important events in someone’s life and the entertainment will be the absolute make or break for its success.
Our #1 focus is to provide the very best pre-event customer service combined with the very best day of performance in the industry.
We go above and beyond in every way possible to make sure that’s exactly what it is… A HUGE success!
This philosophy has graciously made us one of the Top Rated & Most Awarded Wedding Entertainment companies around.
YOU HAVE WON SEVERAL ACCOLADES OVER THE YEARS, WHAT IS YOUR MOST CHERISHED ONE & WHY?
We are so incredibly humbled by those awards but they are just a result of us “busting our tails” for our couples for years and years. I don’t think there’s any one that I cherish the most but I can say that every time we get a 5 star review from one of our couples, it is beyond appreciated as we are just so grateful for their trust in us! We’ve had hundreds of couples take the time write some really awesome stuff about their experience working with us after the wedding.
I will say that The Knot’s Hall Of Fame was nice to get because it was a culmination of multiple consistent Award Winning years in a row of top-quality service to our clients.
IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT HAVING A CAREER LIKE THIS HAS GIVEN YOU?
With as many weddings as I’ve done over the years, I have seen so many special moments that it’s impossible to pin point just one. I express to couples that they should try to slow their day down as much as they can so they can take in as many special moments as possible. If they don’t, it can fly by! Believe me!
ANY ADVICE FOR THOSE LOOKING TO BREAK INTO DOING WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT AS A CAREER OR SIDE HUSTLE?
I think anyone who wants to break into the entertainment part of this industry needs to fully understand that every time they go to work, for at least two people at that event it will be one of, if not THE most important (not to mention…expensive )nights of their life.
This puts a lot of responsibility and sometimes pressure on the DJ/MC to not only dictate the energy of the event with the right music but also make sure it is run properly from beginning to end with clear announcements and expert guidance.
If you are not one that works well under that kind of weight on your shoulders, this might not be the industry for you.
This is why every single one of our DJ/MC team has at least 10 to 35 years of experience in the wedding industry. We value experience greatly!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME J.J.! WE REALLY APPRECIATE WEDDING INDUSTRY EXPERTS LIKE YOU!
If you would like to book J.J. and Essen Entertainment for your special day at Ivy Hall Events, please reach out to him on his website here. You can view his The Knot profile here or check out his Facebook & Youtube.