If your idea of the perfect party is a night filled with fun and dancing, then I am the DJ for you. My name is Larry Merkel, and I will do everything in my power to ensure you and your guests will have an evening to remember. My vast knowledge of music encompasses all styles, so no matter what type of music you want, I will be able to meet your needs. I tailor each event to the specific requirements of each customer. So whether you want the high energy of the Cha-Cha Slide, or the mellow sounds of Frank & Dean-O, I will make the evening YOUR evening.
We chose Larry Merkel to be our DJ because my best friend's family had also booked him for a wedding and she recommended him to me. There were so many things about the reception plan that were hard for me to figure out and I totally worried about them (like when exactly should the cake be cut??), but Larry helped me sort everything out. He was totally kind and I really appreciated that during the stressful days before the wedding. If I had to do my wedding over again, I would definitely book Larry Merkel again-- the only thing I would do differently is I would ask him questions much earlier than I did because he knew all the answers! I highly recommend him and Sounds Abound.
From day one of choosing a DJ for our wedding this last September, I went straight to Sounds Abound and couldn't be happier. From choosing our music for the ceremony, special songs for the reception, and the dancing, the online planner was fun and easy to use and made sure we didn't forget any song for our wedding day. The couple weeks leading up to the day, I was able to talk to our chosen DJ Larry about any questions or concerns and he was ready and able to answer them. We used him too for our ceremony music, and I have zero complaints. I barely remember the music played during the processional and unity ceremony since it was so perfect. He helped make our night exactly how we wanted it. People were on the dance floor all night, I heard compliments of the sound level even after the day was over, and Larry and his assistant did their job very well. Wish I could have another wedding to use them again!
Larry was great! He touched bases with us a few times before the wedding for final details. He did great at keeping the night moving by politely reminding my husband and I of the time and what we needed to do next. The music was great, everyone had such a great time! Would highly recommend Sounds Abound and Larry!
We were initially drawn to Sounds Abound because we attended two weddings where Tony Ho was the DJ and thought he did a great job. Unfortunately Tony was not available on our wedding date, but we hired Larry Merkel instead. I'm so glad we did! Larry was wonderful to work with before the wedding and we have received so many compliments on his work during the wedding! Everyone had so much fun and Larry's DJ-ing playing a large role in that. Larry even saved the wedding ceremony by providing duct tape at the last minute to secure some vases that blew over in the wind (luckily as the bride, I was blissfully unaware of this until the next week!) I also want to give a shout-out to the Sounds Abound office staff who were very helpful and understanding when our initial venue shut-down and we were scrambling to find a replacement.
Larry was beyond incredible for our wedding. My husband and I were more than pleased with his DJ abilities, he knows what he is doing and helped us plan the evening. From song suggestions, to getting our guests up and dancing, he was on top of everything. He was able to troubleshoot when I forgot the charger for my laptop for our personally made slideshow, having his assistant run home for a MAC charger. The services he provided were beyond awesome and I would recommend Sounds Abound and Larry to anyone. I heard of Larry from my friends wedding, he made such a great impression that night, that I hired him for our wedding. He did an incredible job at both parties. HIGHLY Recommend Larry.
Sounds Abound was absolutely amazing!!! My husband is a musician, so needless to say that music is a very important part of our lives. We wanted to make sure that we had a great dj for our wedding. From day 1 of dealing with Sounds Abound they were nothing but professional! We made the fantastic decision to have Larry Merkle as our dj....and we were NOT disappointed!! Larry knew exactly what songs to play to keep the dance floor lively!
We received so many compliments from numerous guests that attended our wedding. In fact, a close friend and my cousin have since contacted Sounds Abound to be used for their wedding! We would recommend their services for any occasion. Thank you very much to Larry and Sounds Abound for making our reception even more memorable!!
Our experience with Sounds Abound was wonderful. The online portal was easy to use and helped us pick all the songs we wanted (Wagon Wheel on repeat) and cross off all the songs we did not (Black Eyed Peas). The DJ, Larry M., was familiar with the venue and set up and ready to go. I never gave it a second thought. He even helped us edit and make adjustments to a few special songs requested by family.
Larry did a wonderful job of balance and kept the dance floor JAMMED all night. Everyone had a lot of fun.
Larry and all of Sounds Abound were wonderful to work with. They were prompt with responses, easy to meet with and were very on top of everything! Sounds Abound was emailing me about my upcoming wedding instead of vice versa. Larry was absolutely wonderful to work with;professional, friendly, wonderful at his job! He met with us prior to our wedding to make sure we were all on the same page. On the day of the wedding everything was set up, ready to go. He always checked with us and the photographer first to make sure everyone was ready for cake cutting, first dance etc. We received numerous compliments about how great our DJ was. He played all the music we liked, and would adjust the music to the crowd, we had so much fun!
Matt said... Larry from Sounds Abound did a tremendous job of DJ'ing at our wedding! He was spot-on with his announcements and did a great job of playing all of the songs we asked for as well as working with me to incorporate custom songs into the ceremony and reception. The company was very affordable and helped us stay within our budget while still providing excellent services. I would gladly recommend Larry and Sounds Abound to anybody.
Larry and everyone from Sounds Abound totally helped make our wedding perfect! Everything ran smoothly and everyone had a lot of fun on the dance floor. We would definitely recommend Sounds Abound to family and friends in the future!
Sounds Abound was absolutely amazing!
We had such a great experience with sounds abound. We loved working with Larry. He was so nice and gave great advice. We loved being able to go online and watch videos of the DJ's. Larry was funny and worked great with all the weird requests people made. He was also great at keeping us on track.
We also went with up lighting and the photo booth. Everyone had a blast using the photo booth. The uplighting transformed to room completely. It was so beautiful, I'm so glad we went with it.
I highly recommend Sounds Abound for any party!
So easy to work with! Larry was extremely laid back and easy to work during our initial meeting. We gave him minimal ideas for what we wanted, and he was able to expand on our suggestions and keep the dance floor going all night!! Highly recommend Sounds Abound in general, they are a great company, love their online planner system (made planning a wedding out of state very easy, and made payment easy as well), and everyone I interacted with was very nice. Thanks to Larry for making our wedding so fun!!
Bounding joy with Sounds Abound!
Our wedding was absolutely perfect, in large part due to Larry from Sounds Abound! He was amazing, from the music during cocktail hour and dinner, to the introductions, to keeping the dance floor packed the entire night, and, of course, dealing with our numerous requests for some very unique songs. Sounds Abound was so easy to work with from the beginning, and we knew from our first meeting that they would deliver high quality service. Larry exceeded our expectations by a long shot, and we could not be happier with how our reception went! We had a huge number of guests tell us that the music and energy was by far the best they have experienced at a wedding. Thank you, Larry, and thank you, Sounds Abound!
Sounds Abound recently DJ'd our wedding at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton, IL on March 22, 2014. Larry Merkel was fabulous from the start! We met with him before the wedding to go over the details, and he was a huge help in deciding our final song choices. At the event, Larry made sure that David and I (Sable) were happy during the event with how the music was flowing. He was accommodating to requests, but also made sure to get our "must have songs" in. He had a super engaging personality and helped our guests get and stay in the celebration mood! We would strongly recommend Sounds Abound for any wedding or celebration! The whole process was easy and the staff were always friendly! Thanks again to Larry for helping our wedding to be memorable!
My husband and I used Sounds Abound for our wedding a few weeks ago and they were great. Our DJ was Larry Merkel and he was AMAZING!!! Larry was easy to get along with and had great music suggestions. The dance floor was full all night long, which was something very important to us. Everyone that we have talked to has said that the DJ was great and people had a blast. Larry contacted us a few times before our big day and made sure that that all the details were in place (name pronunciations, dances, cake cutting, entrances, etc) I would highly recommend using SOunds Abound for any DJing needs. They are very professional and know what the are doing. We also used this company for our uplighting and Photo Booth. The people that did the lighting were wonderful. They had plenty of color options and could even match the lights to our wedding colors. The Photo Booth was alright. It was a huge hit with our guests, but we wouldn't recommend spending the extra money on the attendant to put the book together. It did not turn out like we had planned. Overall, Sounds Abound is a great company, and I would definitely use them again in the future.
My wife Andrea and I would like to thank everyone at Sounds Abound for helping us make our wedding a success! We would like to especially thank our DJ, "Larry" for helping us make our wedding day that much more memorable; especially, after our outside wedding was rained out! We also would like to thank the owner Ken for helping us through the initial process! My wife and I heard from some friends of ours that had used Sounds Abound and I myself actually was at a wedding that used the owner, Ken's son Kyle as their DJ! Our DJ, Larry was extremely easy to work with! We met twice with Larry and Finalized last minute details right up to the wedding! Larry knows his music too! We liked how he showed us that he actually cared about making this day that much more special for us! He was great at making everyone get out on the dance floor and his voice was perfect for making all our announcements! We would recommend Sounds Abound to everyone! Thanks again guys for a job well done!
Three people recommended Sounds Abound, and now we know why. Our MC/DJ, Larry Merkel, was incredible. Prior the reception we reviewed the timeline and what we want, and that is exactly what we received. The evening was flawless as the Sounds Abound staff created the right atmosphere for all stages of the evening, Larry MCed the event keeping everything on time and fun. What I like the best is that we received complements from the guests on how great an evening we had. We danced until closing time and had a great first night of the rest of our lives. Thank You Larry, for making the evening so special and a day/night we will remember forever. Thanks to Sounds Abound for the attention they took prior to the reception and all the helpful people we worked with. We'll definitely recommend Sounds Abound to everyone and anyone.
I used Sounds Abound after I heard them at my nieces wedding. I have used them a few times since and so has my niece. They are awesome. My group was a mix of all ages and they accommodate everyone. They kept the people dancing. They are a very reliable company and easy to work with. I will continue to use them for all my future events big and small. I highly would recommend them to anyone i know.
Larry DJ'd our wedding and he was absolutely fantastic! His personality, professionalism, and "DJ voice" were incredible! We were able to contact him several times prior to the wedding to discuss exactly what we wanted and he was super receptive, helpful, and enjoyable to talk to. He was totally prepared and kept our reception moving and exciting. I definitely recommend him!
We booked both DJ and photobooth through Sounds Abound for our April wedding. The office staff is great to work with and very responsive to emails. Larry Merkel was our DJ and he was wonderful. We had seen him at a friend's wedding a couple years ago so choosing him was easy. The online planner makes song selection simple and helps keep you organized. We met with Larry about a month before the wedding to run through the day and he also called the week before to make sure there were no last minute changes. The day went off without a hitch and the dance floor was packed all night. Larry did a great job of working with our songlist and adding his own selections to keep the party going all night. We've received so many comments about how great the music was and how much fun everyone had and Larry made that happen.
The photobooth was wonderful and the attendant was great. All of our guests had a great time with the props that were supplied and we have a great guest book proving it!
I would recommend Sounds Abound to anyone needing DJ/Photobooth services!
We had Larry as our DJ and he was just amazing. He met with us and called us before the wedding to understand what type of music we wanted. And the music selection at the wedding was exactly what we wanted! Everyone there commented how they loved it. People were dancing all night. I would recommend Sounds Abound and Larry to anyone!
Larry Merkel did a fantastic job as our DJ! He makes a great DJ and a lot of our family and friends were interested in Sounds Abound! I passed on your website info and Larry's name. Just thought you all should know! Thanks.
Sounds Abound and all of the staff I worked with were amazing! We used Sounds Abounds for our employee awards banquet this year. Ken Overbey, who set everything up for us, went out of his way to ensure we were ready to go and even came on-site to check in with me. Larry Merkel, the DJ was great! He made announcements throughout the evening and even got a non-dance crowd up and dancing. He even danced with us which I received numerous great comments about. We also utilized the photo booth. The pictures came with our logo at the top, designed by Sounds Abound. All of our staff members were blown away at how much fun it was, the props that were provided, and the quality of the photo booth pictures. Our photo booth attendant Mike Macie, was wonderful as well! He went out of his way to have fun and talk to everyone. I have never received so many great compliments about our employee awards banquet from our staff members, and I truly appreciate the service from Sounds Abound for making this a great night!
"Larry was a very fun DJ to have. Even after we ran out of must play's and songs we like, he kept playing a lot of good songs! Very good DJ with a good plan to keep people dancing!"