My wife and I needed a lot from our DJ. To begin with, we have very particular taste in music, and we needed to work with someone who was willing to respect our must-plays and also able to use our sonic palette as a jumping-off point to curate a playlist that everyone would enjoy. Furthermore, my wife and I both performed a song before dinner that required some audio setup, and we needed someone who was on top of the wedding itinerary and could help serve as an MC, in particular during the Hora dance. Music is a huge part of our lives and we knew it would be a huge part of our wedding.
Kara from Beat Train was truly a one-of-a-kind vendor and partner to us in planning all of the above. Nearly everyone I talked to the day after the wedding said that the music was a major highlight of the night, and many said it was the best music they’d ever heard at a wedding. I’d have to agree. Kara indulged our more niche selections while crafting a really great playlist that had something for everyone and avoided the clichéd party tracks you hear at every wedding. If you can get your older relatives dancing to songs they love alongside your friends and cousins, you’re going to have a good time. If you have a specific musical vision for your reception, there’s no one I could recommend more highly.
That said, even if you have more mainstream taste or don’t care as much about the specifics, I know there are DJs at Beat Train (including Kara) who can make that happen! On top of everything, she was extremely friendly and professional throughout the process. For example, before dinner, my mother mentioned that the music was a bit too loud for conversation. I asked Kara to turn it down and she immediately understood and did so.
We booked with Kara at Beat Train initially for 2020. We had to postpone to 2021 due to COVID. Through all of our planning everyone we spoke with was so helpful, genuine and responsive. When we needed to make changes there was never a lapse in communication and everything was done so seamlessly. We had a form that we had access to for personalized information closer to the date. This really helped us stay organized as our heads were spinning in the final months near the wedding and we really appreciated the attention to detail. Also, as someone who works in the wedding industry I am always appreciative of people who are proactive about covering the needs of their clients in advance. While we weren’t able to meet Kara in person prior to the wedding due to the pandemic, our phone conversations and zoom meetings left us feeling assured that she was the perfect fit for us through the entire process. It was so important for us to not only have “top 40” music at our wedding and Kara’s eclectic taste was just what we were looking for. She understood our vibe and was able to keep our guests excited throughout the night! Beat Train and Kara have their process mastered and I can’t say enough about the role they played into making our wedding so perfect!
Our wedding was 5 months ago and our friends and family are still raving about what an incredible DJ we had!! DJ Kara was the most amazing person to work with – she took the time to understand exactly what we wanted, what kind of music we were excited about and what to avoid… and she NAILED IT. Our dance floor was absolutely packed from start to finish. As a queer couple, we really wanted to work with vendors who identify as and/or have a lot of experience with queer couples. Kara checked those boxes, making us feel SO affirmed and comfortable. She even helped me pull off an epic surprise – a drag queen performance during our reception as a wedding gift for my partner 🙂 Can’t recommend Kara enough – she’s truly the best!
My husband and I couldn’t be happier with our choice to hire Kara Stokowski from Beat Train Productions as our wedding DJ. Kara was kind, personable, and had unparalleled music taste. Our musical interests are very all over the place and Kara understood every cue we gave in terms of what we wanted to hear, when we wanted to hear it and how the reception should flow. It was so important to us that the dance floor be the hot place to be throughout the reception and Kara made sure it was always packed. We’ve heard so many rave reviews from guests about how there was something for everyone while still being very reflective of us as a couple. Kara also did a great job with introductions and announcements throughout and was a delight to work with. The process was smooth from the very beginning which is very helpful when planning something as stressful as a wedding. We highly recommend Beat Train and especially Kara!
We worked with DJ Kara / the Beat Train team for our 9/17/22 wedding and couldn’t have been happier with that decision! We did our phone consult with Jake and was in communication with him for any logistical info leading up to the wedding. Jake and the whole event planning team were very prompt with email responses. There’s a very detailed online music planning form you can work on in the months leading up to the wedding to make sure you get the exact music vibes you are looking for. Then a week or two before the wedding we had a virtual meeting with DJ Kara. We specifically asked for Kara because we are an LGBTQ+ couple, with lots of LGBTQ+ wedding guests, and Kara has plenty of experience working events with this community. It was 1000% the right choice, we didn’t even give Kara a ton of ‘must play’ songs, we just told her some artists we liked and the vibes we were going for with the cocktail hour music and reception music and she totally nailed it. Not to mention her demeanor is so lovely and super sweet!
This review is for Kara Stokowki who was our amazing DJ for my wife and I’s wedding at Briar Barn Inn. Kara was an absolutely incredible DJ. She was extremely communicative and from day 1 wanted to get to know us, our music style, and what we were hoping for. She was very detailed oriented, and walked through the ceremony and reception with us to make sure all of our details were ironed out. She had wonderful suggestions for songs for certain parts of our ceremony and party. She thought of details and music we had not thought of, and so we felt in very good hands with Kara’s experience! Our biggest goal was to have a fun atmosphere and keep people dancing all night, and Kara did just that! So many family members and friends came up to us and told us that our DJ was “amazing” and “the best they had ever seen at a wedding!” The best tangible compliment I can possibly give is that most people never left the dance floor until after the very last song of the night, which speaks to Kara’s skill, experience, and overall wonderful energy. She even came out and danced with us for some of the last few songs, which absolutely made our night. Any future party I want to have Kara as our DJ. You would be lucky to have her helping to make your event special and fun!
We worked with DJ Kara / the Beat Train team for our 9/17/22 wedding and couldn’t have been happier with that decision! We did our phone consult with Jake and was in communication with him for any logistical info leading up to the wedding. Jake and the whole event planning team were very prompt with email responses. There’s a very detailed online music planning form you can work on in the months leading up to the wedding to make sure you get the exact music vibes you are looking for. Then a week or two before the wedding we had a virtual meeting with DJ Kara. We specifically asked for Kara because we are an LGBTQ+ couple, with lots of LGBTQ+ wedding guests, and Kara has plenty of experience working events with this community. It was 1000% the right choice, we didn’t even give Kara a ton of ‘must play’ songs, we just told her some artists we liked and the vibes we were going for with the cocktail hour music and reception music and she totally nailed it. Not to mention her demeanor is so lovely and super sweet!
DJ Kara was just absolutely phenomenal to work with from start to finish! We had a couple of check-ins with her before the wedding week, but then week-of she was so involved and detailed in ways that helped us walk through the day with details we hadn’t thought of. The reception flowed so smoothly and the dance music was PERFECT. It was nothing like a stereotypical wedding dance floor – all the music we loved and knew all the words to from The Proclaimers to the Talking Heads, with a multi generation dance floor rocking for three hours. Kara made our reception really sparkle and we couldn’t be more grateful. Rave reviews from everyone we talked to.
Beat Train was exactly what I was hoping to find when looking for a wedding DJ service. They provide non-corny DJs who “get it” and were very responsive and professional. We went with Kara as our DJ and she was excellent. She was extremely sweet and did such a great job on our wedding day. She’s clearly a talented DJ and kept people dancing all night. I’d recommend Beat Train and Kara to anyone.
Kara was EXCELLENT. Supremely easy to work with before the wedding and well organized, making life a lot easier on us and giving us one fewer thing to have to worry about. She really shined during the the event itself. Throughout the night, and the next morning, guests came up to us to tell us how good our DJ was. It is hard to put into words why she is so good at what she does – my spouse and I tried to break it down in the days after our wedding and really she just seems to have a great “feel” for what to play when and how to move from one thing to another (not to mention that she made life easy for us and was willing to accommodate some additional requests). I’ll try to explain. Kara played all of our “must” plays but more impressively managed to play most of our “recommended” songs as well. I don’t really understand how – our list was pretty long – I think it might be because she has a way of knowing exactly when to transition to a new song to keep the energy going without short-changing any songs. She also had a keen knack for knowing when to play what songs. For example, we had a wide range of age groups at our wedding. Kara opened the night with a block of mo-town and other classics that transcended generations. It was brilliant: from the jump we had old and young sharing the dancefloor. As the night went on and the older crowd needed a rest, she transitioned to newer hits. In short: we are super thankful we had Kara DJ our wedding and we cannot recommend her highly enough.
We know we are in good hands when we have DJ Dayglow lined up for an event. She consistently brings incredibly positive energy that translates seamlessly into her sets. She blends obscure, yet extremely accessible, finds with a few lesser-spun crowd-pleasers to bring smiles to our visitors, regardless of age or background, and get them on the dance floor.
We are so glad we got to dance the night away with Kara! She has a warm, positive, and fun energy that made us instantly love her. She spent time before the wedding getting to understand our music tastes (which are sort of a mix of classic rock and modern indie) and was able to integrate them seamlessly so that I was bopping along to songs all through the night, even during the cocktail hour. She helped with sound throughout the wedding starting from the ceremony, as well as MC’ing, integrating perfectly with our wedding coordinator and was so prepared and essential to the entire event. We had both American and Indian guests in attendance and Kara did a great job mixing Bollywood and Bhangra music in with American music, which was so much fun! She kept the dance floor packed and energized throughout the night. Could not imagine a more perfect DJ!
Kara did an amazing job as DJ at our wedding. From the time the dance floor opened until the end of the party, the floor was packed. People raved about how much fun they had at our wedding. She was very accommodating and knowledgeable as we crafted a playlist comprised mostly of 60s-80s music, also as we created a mix of various songs for our hora, which she wove together beautifully. We are very happy with her work and we would definitely recommend her.
I was desperately trying to find a wedding DJ that was queer-friendly and shared our musical tastes. Kara worked hand in hand with us through the process of planning each part of our wedding. She took our outlines and read the room perfectly. She even played “All I want for Christmas is You” for our last song because I wanted it. I would hire her for any event.
Tens across the board — Kara was simple amazing!
She brought to life our vision for our wedding of a queer disco dance party all the way to a tent in rural New Hampshire. The dance floor was packed for hours — and everyone, young and old was having a blast. She curated the whole thing perfectly. The music and vibes were so good that even one of our caterers hit the dance floor near the end of the night.
Kara & Beat Train more broadly were super easy to work with, responsive, thoughtful and full of helpful suggestions — I can’t recommend her more highly!
Highly recommend especially for queer couples looking for someone who just gets you.
We are very picky when it comes to music and were pretty particular in what we did (and didn’t) want at our wedding. DJ Kara was exactly the person we were looking for and she understood our vibe immediately! Our dance floor was full the entire night, and even some of our older relatives said the eventual hip pain was worth it to dance! Kara did a perfect blend of classics and alternative/punk that resonated with our whole crowd, our wedding party was exhausted from moshing at the end of the night. Kara also provided the perfect background music for ceremony, cocktail, and dinner and kept the flow going all day. Working with Beat Train was so easy and helpful, we were able to meet with Kara via Zoom a few times during the planning process to go over everything and make sure we were on the same page. If you want someone who gets your alt vibe and knows her stuff, you NEED DJ Kara!!
My partner had seen Kara / DJ Dayglow at a wedding he was working at, and kept her in mind when it was time to start booking vendors for our own wedding. There are not enough words / not enough enthusiasm to express how great Kara was. She was super helpful and thorough during our calls leading up to the wedding, so I already was feeling confident that the night was going to go great. Long story short, when people ask me what my favorite part of the wedding was, I say it was the music & dancing. Kara NAILED the vibe we were going for. Everyone had such a good time. Beat Train in general made everything very easy to fill out / plan all the details we had and had excellent communication through the entire process. We couldn’t be happier. Thank you so much!