Local DJ Service Settles in Downtown Grayslake

“I just thought this was the place to be.”

David Woll knew it was his chance to make a move. When a location opened up in the heart of Grayslake, Woll jumped on the opportunity to move his DJ and Photo Booth company, Memory Makers Entertainment right in.

You may recognize the name if you saw it on the 40-foot black school bus that was once parked along route 83. Or, maybe you remember it from when it kept shop downtown five years ago.

Now Memory Makers is back, now located at 148 Center Street.

Woll began the company just after college in 1994. He says he had a professor who had a side DJ business. He went on one gig with him and was sold on the industry. With help from his parents, Woll founded Memory Makers and is still going strong, entertaining at more than 2,000 area weddings and parties.

The latest and one of the more popular attractions Memory Makers offers is a vintage-style freeze frame photo booth. Woll saw it five years ago at an event and knew it was something he just had to have.

“This was a big leap of faith,” Woll said realizing he still needed to trust his gut. “After being in the business this long I knew it was the next big thing.”

Since then Woll has added three photo booths and consistently rents them out for weddings, anniversary parties, school dances, bah mitzvahs, park district events and the like. “Its fun that these things are so sought after; you just don’t see them around that much.”

Missy and Mark Dodge, newlyweds from Grayslake used Memory Makers DJ service and the photo booth for their July 9 wedding at the Illinois Beach Resort in Zion.

Missy, a Spanish teacher at Grayslake Central High School, says she had used the company for a class event she sponsored several years ago. Then she attended one of their monthly DJ showcases.

“Once a month we bring in our 10 DJs and we let them show off their stuff. It’s really fun and gives future brides or party planners a chance to see and hear who we have,” Woll said. People can also meet and talk to the DJs and also test out the photo booths.

“It was the hit of our reception,” said Missy of the photo booth. “At first some people were a bit apprehensive but once they loosened up it was great. Everyone was going in there and taking just a ton of pictures. Even Mark and I were in there a lot.”

One of the things Missy says she really liked was getting a copy of all the pictures taken in the photo booth in a scrapbook where guests shared their messages about the wedding. “It’s so neat to go back and see how much fun people had,” she said.

Memory Makers Entertainment has been featured on the MTV hit show ‘My Super Sweet 16’ and will be featured on TLC’s ‘My Four Weddings’ in the near future. You’ll also see Woll and his DJs around town at events for the Grayslake Park District, local schools, parades and other parties.

The next DJ showcase for Memory Makers will be in August. The exact date will be posted on their website or contact them at 847-223-9653 for more information.