The Veranda at Thornton Park aka Neighborhood Rogue, formerly known as the Summerlin House, is under new management and quite a venue in my opinion. I had the opportunity to DJ a wedding at the Veranda for a nice young couple on March 30, 2013, and I must say, this might be my favorite outside venue to DJ.
The weather was perfect, which of course is a major plus. The amount of space and character this updated 1915 venue provides is top notch. The location alone is perfect for an after party in downtown Orlando or Thornton Park. Having been a previous resident of downtown Orlando, I know the conveniences of downtown. Walking distance to everything is huge, especially to your hotel after the wedding.
One thing I notice about venues in populated areas is that there is a strict noise ordinance. That is not the case at the Veranda. I was never asked to turn the music down. I didn’t have the music at ear piercing volumes, but by comparison, some venues require the bass to be turned almost all the way down! Music had to end by 10pm, which is not a problem because you still have at least two hours of dancing time when the sun goes down at 8pm in March.
From a DJ’s point of view, placement of the sound and dance floor are key. Most of the time coordinators and couples don’t take this into consideration. The great thing I liked about the layout of the Veranda was that it allowed me to setup the DJ booth right next to the dance floor on a stage. The dance floor was between the DJ booth area and the dinner tables. So during dinner the sound wasn’t loud for a table right next to the DJ booth because they were all about 40 feet away. The ceremony area doubled as a dance floor, so the chairs were just moved to the dinner tables when the ceremony concluded.
When it was time to dance, you could either hang out by the bar, a good distance from the dancing area, or you could be right on the dance floor next to the sound. Giving your guests choice is huge, because some want to talk and others just want to party.
I worked with some great vendors as well! I had the pleasure of working with Emily Bessette, the event coordinator. She was very organized and collected, which was a breathe of fresh air for myself and for the bride and groom as well. We setup a meeting a couple weeks before the wedding to make sure all details were in place and walked the property to discuss placement of sound and lighting.
The guitarist at the ceremony, Luis Garcia, played for the ceremony and cocktail hour. His music was beautiful and he was great to work with. He was able to plug his guitar into my mixer / speaker, so it worked out great when he had to move over to the cocktail hour with his own sound already setup.
Overall, the Veranda is five stars in my opinion.
DJ: DJ Scott Thompson of Thompson Entertainment
Venue: The Veranda at Thornton Park aka Neighborhood Rogue, formally the Summerlin House
Coordinator: Emily Bessette, Wedding and Event Specialist at Dubsdread, 407-697-0839
Caterer: Dubsdread Catering, 407-650-9558
Guitarist: Luis Garcia, 407-729-2631
Photographer: Mark and Leigh Thor, ThunderClap Photography, 321-480-2415
Cigar Roller: Ernesto Ceijas, 407-283-0959
Cake: Party Flavors, 407-578-2082