Hilo Productions

This review is slightly overdue as we had our wedding at the end of November 2015. Robert was great! He was energetic and got the crowd dancing and engaged. I consider myself a pretty organized and detailed person, but I’m not a professional wedding planner — so here comes Robert Hilo! Robert worked with us regarding our reception song choices, entrance music, cake cutting music, last song, etc… How little did I know that everything has their own song! We had a mix group in attendance, Vietnamese, Chinese and English speakers. He worked the room and surprisingly brought with him a Vietnamese speaker to announce my family! Robert kept us on track, so if you want a smooth wedding, Robert is the man for you. Also, he likes to get to know his couples via phone calls, emails, personal meetings or skype… Just go with it

Working with Robert has been a fantastic experience for me as an MC. He’s always trying to improve his services by going above and beyond what is asked for by clients. He stays on top of current tech news to add new sound and lighting equipment to keep things smart and modern.
If you’re looking for an upbeat, professional, and modern DJ & MC then call for Robert!

The Hilo Productions team is outstanding. From our first meeting to the actual wedding day, they kept in constant touch and gave us the peace of mind that our number one goal of guests having fun would be met. They extensively studied and collaborated with us to make sure we were on the same level of expectation. That expectation was far exceeded.
Vinh played all our favorite songs and really indulged in our 90s/​00s pop nostalgia. My favorite memory of the entire night was dancing on the stage with my bridesmaids, singing Britney Spears and eating the leftover cake with our hands. Best ever.
Linnie did wonders with her Vietnamese translating. She truly is a professional.
The lighting they did transformed the ballroom into that ideal vision we had perfectly and really set the tone of the reception.
Robert was the epitome of stress diffuser. He made sure I knew I was in good hands and constantly offered assistance, insight and guidance in all areas… even those that didn’t necessarily pertain to music or lighting. They are that committed to making sure their clients are taken care of. Definitely give this extraordinary team your time.

Here’s the melancholy part: Robert was not our first choice. Our first choice was booked, but THANK GOD that he was because we got to have ROBERT as our DJ and MC.
Here are the awesome points why everyone should have Robert be their DJ and MC:
1. He worked with our budget the best way he could. He’s cheaper than others out there and for what he does, he is above and beyond great!
2. On our first meeting with Robert, my now-​husband and I were nervous as we had some questions and requests. However, after meeting Robert, that whole feeling disappeared. We felt like we were talking to a friend. He was full of energy, which my request for what I wanted on the wedding day, energetic vibe. He was also down to earth. Not only was he trying to get to know us as a couple but also as individuals. He made suggestions and addressed our concerns. He also brought up some points that we over-​looked, which was great. What we thought was going to be a 1-​hour meeting, turned into a little over 2 hours because we were just too comfortable talking and sharing our thoughts with Robert. Another plus was he was well-​dressed and he knew K-​Pop (especially Big Bang). ;)
3. We scheduled our second meeting, so my mom and sister can meet Robert as well to make sure all bases are covered. Robert was able to work with his schedule to fit with my sister’s and mine. When we met, he was very respectful and addressed my mom’s concerns for the elder. When we left the meeting, my mom and sister told me how great and nice he was. They LOVED him and didn’t have one negative thing to say about him. This is coming from my mom and my sister, who are very detailed and particular with people’s actions.
4. Robert followed up with us more closely as the wedding was getting close and always asked me that if I needed any help with the wedding, I could come to him.
5. Robert requested to see the venue to get an idea of what it looked like. Thus, he met with us two weeks prior to the wedding at the restaurant. We went over some details and did a practice of the ceremony to get an idea. Robert stayed back a bit to help us look into which lights would look good for the day of.
6. On the day of the wedding, Robert came 3 hours before the starting time. We practiced the ceremony part, the first dance, and the father-​and-​daughter dance. Robert made sure I was calmed and doing fine. I asked Robert to check on my dad and get him to eat because I only saw him walking around with a beer bottle. Robert not only asked my dad to eat, he also gave him water throughout the night. Robert communicated with me throughout the night to make sure it was going accordingly. The games were fun and everyone had a blast!
7. The day after, we got a lot of compliments on how great Robert was at when he was performing the ceremony. (Note: We already got married by a registered person. We only did this for show for our family and friends) Robert texted me to make sure my dad was doing ok.
Thank you so much Robert!!!

To sum this review up, Robert is Amazing.
We contracted with Robert for our wedding not too long after my sister-in-law’s wedding where he provided the entertainment and gave the guests a really fun time. Robert’s personality is unique where it fills the room with ideas bouncing off one another and he is so awesome to work with! For me, it was difficult to envision the wedding reception without all the components being there in solid form and Robert consistently put my worries away with every phone call, meeting, or e-​mail during the planning process. He provided really beneficial recommendations to our package after going to our wedding venue to measure the room to ensure that our guests would be able to have a pleasant time from anywhere in the room with lighting and speakers. Robert really took the time to artistically put together a wedding reception for us that blended aspects from two generations. Our wedding reception still maintained some Asian traditional customs with modern twists here and there — such as the grand entrance where both sides of the parents walked into different theme songs. He also made sure to take care of us during the reception by getting us drinks to keep us hydrated from all the walking and making sure that we had some time to eat in between. We were hesitant towards the beginning to have games during the reception (since most of our guests were on the older side) but somehow, we ended up deciding on three games that really gave our guests A LOT of GOOD memories with Robert’s help of directing the games. After all our guests left the reception, my husband and I wanted to personally go back to thank Robert and hang out with him as he was cleaning up because he was that phenomenal at the reception, but we ended up getting kicked out by Robert because he wanted us to enjoy the night and was surprised that we would even come back to see him. Bottom line: Robert really sincerely puts 120% into his work to ensure that his clients have a truly wonderful time. We are so fortunate to have been at two weddings that he has provided entertainment for and another one next year for a good friend. Yes, he is THAT good!

What can I say that hasn’t been said about Robert and his team? Hilo Productions is simply amazing. Robert was essential to our wedding day planning. For over a year, he lent us his expertise and his knowledge and never made us feel inferior in any way. He walked us through things we never even thought about. Everything was about us, and he made sure that we knew it. He worked with us from beginning to end making sure that our wedding came out as good as it did. Even when changes occurred last minute, Robert and his team were there to adjust and make the transitions needed so things appeared as seamless as possible. Robert is definitely more than an emcee/​host or a DJ. He is the complete package.
Anyone who has worked with Robert will know that he is beyond any expectation. He is simply the best. Our guests had a great time and they all praised how great Robert and his team were on our wedding day. My wife and I cannot thank Robert and his team enough for making our day as special or run as smoothly as it did. Robert was a blessing to us. Beyond any professional out there, Robert will be what you need most on your special day… a friend that you can truly rely on. Thank you for everything. Truly… Thank you.

Robert and his team did a great job DJing and providing a photobooth at our company holiday party. The music was great, incorporating all song requests from the guests. The photobooth was gorgeous, with many options of professional looking backdrops, a dedicated person manning the photobooth, and creation of personalized photo templates for our event.
It was above and beyond the normal experience of hiring a DJ. Robert emphasized meeting up prior to the event to get a full feeling of what we wanted out of our event, the tone we wanted to create, what music and age groups he would be catering to. Had we not already planned the evening’s agenda, he was fully prepared to come up with a plan for the evening. As it was, he helped us make small tweaks that benefited the overall flow of the evening, and came up with creative and fun ways to hand out raffle prizes and Christmas gifts throughout the evening.
The whole team were very accommodating to our small requests, working directly with our venue to organize the layout and take some of the burden off our shoulders. It’s not often you find someone who is more than willing to send you 20 different photobooth templates until it’s just right. That was the overall experience of working with Hilo Productions, we were working with someone who was just as emphatic about getting it exactly right as we were.
Hilo Productions goes out of its way to give a full-​service experience. They go out of their way so that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your evening. The sign of a great vendor is do they make your life easier? Robert and Hilo Productions definitely made our lives easier, and I would highly recommend their services in the future.

Hilo Productions did an amazing job on my wedding! Robert’s enthusiasm shows that he really takes pride in his company. I had made an appointment to meet up and he was punctual and so friendly. The only part I was disappointed in was that I couldn’t have Robert as my MC/​DJ. He was already booked, however he provided another DJ named Vinh to take care of our wedding and Vinh did an amazing job. He also recommended a Vietnamese MC who I ended up hiring. Vinh and my Vietnamese MC worked really well together and kept the energy up all night with their upbeat personalities.
I was incredibly busy during the entire planning process and wasn’t able to take care of every aspect of my wedding so I really had to trust that Robert and his company were going to take care of us. In the end, they did an amazing job! Everyone was on time, friendly, and professional. Hilo Productions also provided uplights for my reception (which they moved seamlessly over to my second ballroom where the partying/​dancing would take place) as well as the fantastic open-​air photobooth. DJ Vinh took all the songs I gave him and worked it into the pre-​ceremony, reception and dance. They were all great and everyone LOVED the job they did.
Robert was always great on following up with me and even called me the night before my wedding to make sure I was ok. Very sweet of him. I would definitely recommend Hilo Productions to any future bride and groom!

Robert and his team are awesome!
We couldn’t be any happier. I sent an inquiry from his website and Robert called me the next day. Our conversation through phone felt like I was talking to a longtime friend who wanted to catch up on life. He ask question that were open ended so that I could fully explain my vision.
My cousin referred him to us and mention that Hilo Production not only play music at the wedding but they’re interactive with the guest. We were sold on that.
Robert and his team have fun creative things to add to your wedding day that will make it unique. They are always thinking outside the box.
Our guest comment on the flow of the reception. That no minute was wasted. Just enough time to mingle but not too long where everyone was just waiting on what’s next. We wanted to relax when it came to the reception and The Hilo team took care of it all.
We also used there up lighting which gave the room that added touch.
Mahalo for all your hard work!

Robert was such a pleasure to work with from beginning all the way until the end of the night. We were contemplating between two MCs but went with Robert because he had ‘it’. He was professional and yet treated us like family. He made sure to go out of his way to make sure that my wife was comfortable with what was going to happen on our wedding day. He made sure to break down the day numerous times and walked through it with us. It was super easy because everything that we were worried about, he would handle and handled it extremely well. To this day, we have guests at our wedding wondering who our MC was because he was that impressive. Thanks Hilo!

Robert was instrumental in making our wedding as wonderful as we hoped it would be. He worked with us in the months prior to get all the details to our specifications and when it came to the day of, he executed on the plan PERFECTLY! We connected instantly upon our first meeting and Robert worked so well with our wedding coordinators behind the scenes. We were reassured and comforted by his organization and personable personality. Robert’s kind, warm, and funny!
For the day of, Robert was our officiant, DJ, MC and provided our full room uplighting & spot lights. !!!Talk about a man with many talents & skills!!!
As our officiant, he did a masterful job at creating a touching moment and we really appreciate his diverse skill set.
As an MC and DJ, he really shined by making the night fun for all of our guests (of all ages). He kept all of the different stages of the event running smoothly. People really responded to his interactive games that he put together for us (they weren’t the old school and traditional musical chairs kinda stuff at all). Some of our guests told us it was the best wedding they’ve been to in a while and that would not be the case without Robert & the Hilo Productions team. The team also took special song requests from our guests which was a great touch since we didn’t have a pre-​set list of songs for Robert (we trusted his music taste to keep our crowd going and flow with the mood of the evening).
We would happily recommend Robert if you’re looking for a professional officiant or DJ & MC. You’ll be very happy with his level of service and attention to detail. He worked so well with our wedding coordinating team (Mele Amore) prior to the wedding & on the day of.
We hope attend another wedding that Robert is a part of because we know it would be a really fun night for the bride, groom and all of their guests. Thank you Robert and Hilo Productions! Many thanks!

Robert is the best! He was a great emcee and DJ. He’s very attentive to us and very professional. He made the reception fun and entertaining everyone had a good time young and old. Our wedding reception was a hit to family and friends. Highly recommended!!!

What can I say — Robert is the man! My wife and I are so happy that we chose him to be the DJ at our wedding. I was given very few jobs to take the lead on in the wedding planning process, but picking the DJ was one of them. When all is said and done, Robert made me look brilliant for my decision. He is very professional. When unexpected things came up at the wedding, Robert was there to work out the kinks so that me and the wife could relax and enjoy the festivities. Seriously, this man went to the bar and got me a beer on several occasions throughout the night! In addition to bringing the groom beers (which is pretty much the coolest thing a DJ can do for a groom), he kept the event on time, making sure entrances were coordinated, first dances went off without a hitch, cake cutting was done on time, etc. If you are looking for a stress-​free, fun wedding then you should contact DJ HiLo. The process of working with Robert to plan the wedding was very relaxed. We even had a Skype meeting with him while he was on vacation in Hawaii — this man is dedicated!
Now let’s get to the music — my wife desperately wanted the dance floor to be full throughout the night. I was very worried about this, as our guest were an eclectic mix that included a lot of older family members. From the first song until the last, Robert played all the right music. The dance floor stayed full all night. He knew our taste in music (90’s), took requests from guests, and mixed in current songs. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Robert definitely deserves your consideration when choosing your wedding DJ! You won’t be disappointed. He is truly a top-​notch MC/​DJ!

I am a bartender assistant for Goose On The Rocks and Hilo was the DJ and MC for a wedding that I worked at. I was extremely impressed with the music selection and how carefully the music transitioned into each phase of the wedding.
Robert as an MC was so engaging, entertaining and fun! Hilo definitely does their homework and engaged guests in activities I had never seen before! It was a fun wedding! Congratulations and best of luck!!!

ROBERT HILO IS PHENOMENAL!!! n I’d give him more stars if I could!
+ Great energy
+ Positive attitude
+ Professional
+ Experienced
+ Accommodating
+ FUN and CREATIVE
+ Exceeds expectations!!!
Robert DJ’ed and MC’ed my wedding on June 6, 2015 and he was simply amazing. From the very beginning to end, Robert was extremely helpful with organizing and planning our reception. We knew Robert was the choice for us when we first met him! His personality, energy, and enthusiasm was exactly what we wanted in our DJ/​MC for our wedding, and he clearly brought it with him to the wedding!
My now-​husband and I had no idea what songs to choose for any part of our reception really… we were lost in the bajillions of songs out there and didn’t know where to start. Robert figured out what songs we would possibly like, provided a list of options for our reception entrance songs, father/​daughter dance, mother/​son dance (in SPANISH by the way), and cake cutting, and he got it right on the dot!
Robert is super creative and takes pride in his work in hosting a great reception and party! My bridesmaids decided to do a little choreographed number after their entrance and needless to say, the groomsmen weren’t as… «choreographed.» Robert came to the rescue, out of his way, exceeding our expectations, and helped the boys choreograph a routine easy enough, yet exciting, the night before the wedding!!! AMAZING! The boy’s dance was a hit with our guests!
Although Robert was technically just our MC/​DJ, he was like my 7^th additional bridesmaid! LOL! He kept checking in with me and my husband to make sure we were okay, grabbed us waters and drinks as needed, and even «fetched» my bouquet for me when I realized I had forgotten it =) Robert is really there to make sure you are having a great time at your own wedding. We had a hiccup in our plans and Robert was quick to find a solution. We had planned on having a mariachi band at our cocktail hour, but long story short, it fell through on the band’s end. Robert surprised us with mariachi music during our cocktail hour. It was as if the band was there live!
Robert flawlessly ran the show. We had so many things on our agenda during reception, and he kept us right on track with time. Being that we had to incorporate some Vietnamese traditions like «table greetings/​chao ban,» I was dreading how long it would take and how bored my guests will be waiting for us to make our rounds. But with Robert, he made it fly by so fast, and kept my guests thoroughly entertained with his party games and kept the energy high until we got kicked out of the venue! Lets just say, generally older guest leave earlier on in the night right after dinner service, but for us, the dance floor was full until closing time!
Robert’s choice in music was superb. We had a variety of guests — from Vietnamese to Mexican, and from the young to old. We wanted to make sure that no group of people were forgotten or felt excluded, or favored. Robert did an excellent job doing just that. He played perfect and appropriate (and what I considered not «tacky») selections of Vietnamese, Spanish, and English songs. Like I said before, the dance floor was full until the lights were turned on on us. And even then, we begged Robert for ONE MORE SONG, which he made happen!
My family and friends can’t stop raving about how great our MC/​DJ was! I’ve heard things like, «I’ve never been to a wedding with such a great MC,» «Your DJ was sooooo fun,» «He is reaaaaaally GOOD!,» «Your MC was so professional unlike the other ones who just stand there and play music,» and «Your MC was so engaging, I love it!» And that’s coming from ALL of our Vietnamese-​, Spanish-​, and English– speaking guests!!!
With that said, we recommend Robert for ANY of your events — whether small or large, young or old, English-​speaking or not — he will make your party PERFECT!

We love Robert! WE LOVE ROBERT! Lucky for me, I got to enjoy a beautiful wedding 2 weekends ago under the DJ/​MC direction of Robert Hilo.
You can spend months on end planning every detail to make your special day the perfect one. Come day of, you know you just want it to everyone to feel the ENERGY and JOY flow consistently throughout the day. It is a CELEBRATION, afterall!
This is why, «We LOVE ROBERT!!!» He’s got an impeccable knack for putting the right amount of energy into entertaining a diverse group of people. He’s certainly got the power of persuasion and creative cranial to pulse games (and always the right songs) here and there to keep the party going!
You know he’s reliable when he offers to teach the boys in the wedding party a LAST MINUTE dance the NIGHT BEFORE the wedding a fun and easy choreo!
Trust me, if word of mouth and his Unilocal reviews weren’t already saying enough, Hilo Productions is the catalyst for creating the BEST memories for you and your party!

Rob recently DJ’ed and MC’ed my friends’ wedding this past weekend (6÷6÷15) and he was great! I was part of the wedding party so I got a decent amount of correspondence with him — I’ll try to break down what made him so great:
Pre-​wedding choreo: Both the groomsmen and the bridesmaids were thinking up of their own choreography for their entrances. Of course, the night before the wedding, the boys hadn’t done ANY choreo, because of the 12 left feet we owned. Who comes to the rescue? Mr. Hilo, that’s who! Even though he was busy with another client, he made the time to come by our house, choose the song, choreograph something for us, and teach it to us in 30 minutes! Not only that, he built up our confidence and allowed us to perform our hearts out on stage — you can say he brought out our inner Uptown Funk.
Right before the festivities started on wedding day, he made sure everyone was ready with their music, ran through the choreo with us, and just kept making sure that everything was up to par and ready for the big day to go perfectly. And it did.
Wedding music: The wedding had an eclectic group of guests, ranging from teenagers to grandmothers, and Vietnamese to Mexican to Caucasian people. Rob did a great job playing music that suited everyone’s tastes and brought everyone to the dance floor. It’s not everyday you hear a Backstreet Boys song at a wedding that gets people onto chairs and having a blast (ok maybe that was only me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!). In short, his choice of music given his audience was superb. The only downside was that he had to end the night, but even then he gave people one last Journey song because it was requested.
MC-​ing: Running the show was flawless. He gave great introductions to everyone, and kept the energy in the room high. While the bride and groom were walking around to each table (which tends to be a long, drawn-​out process), he played games with the other guests, keeping them occupied and entertained until it was their turn with the bride and groom. This was no easy feat, considering there were over 300 guests! But he did it with style and finesse, even including an epic dance-​off!
All in all, Rob’s performance was spectacular. This is in addition to him being just a great guy to talk to and work with. I would easily recommend him to other people who are getting married soon (and yes, I’m surrounded by them at the moment). If you want an MC/​DJ who will make your wedding night seem amazing and stress-​free, pay top dollar for some random run-​of-​the-​mill performer. If you want an MC/​DJ who will KNOCK THE SOCKS OFF of your guests and make the previous guy seem like Ben Stein, then get Rob.

ROBERT HILO!!! I was referred by a friend who’s wedding happened to be a month from ours and I was planning our wedding in 4 months.
Long story short, I contacted Robert and he got back to me almost immediately! I loved that about him; I’m the type of person who needs to get things squared away as soon as possible. We set a meeting before our thanksgiving getaway and everything went smooth! We knew he was the one right off the bat.
He is so thoughtful and caring, he even texted me on our vacation and to see if we were enjoying ourselves.
A little bump on the road one month from our wedding and he figured out a solution. Amazing.
I’ve see his performance at my friends wedding and it definitely made me more excited about ours. Our wedding went as planned and Robert did an amazing job.
I recommend Robert as your Dj/​Mc if you are looking for a professional. Not just that, but someone to entertain your guest. I promise you, he is worth it!

First things first: This is a review for a wedding ceremony-​only service (we had 2 different DJ’s for our wedding due to availability of the first DJ). Also please excuse the many exclamation marks about to be used below — I cannot contain my excitement!
We originally thought we could handle our wedding ceremony ourselves without our DJ so we had hired him for the reception only (the ceremony and reception were on 2 different sides of OC and the added cost for the ceremony was out of our budget at the time). Once we decided that we would definitely feel more at ease having a DJ play the music and work the sound at our ceremony our reception DJ was already booked up that morning/​afternoon — this is when we started to panic!
We contacted Robert at Hilo Productions SUPER last minute to ask if he could DJ our ceremony — we’re talking like 2 weeks before the big day! Robert was very professional and helpful from the very start — he asked all sorts of questions to get a good feel for the exact type of service we were looking for (we’re talking things that never even popped into our heads that we thought we’d need for the ceremony). Well it was our lucky day and Robert was available!!! He came to our ceremony rehearsal and helped us out SO much with tips on where to stand /​how to enter /​etc — we didn’t have a coordinator and were counting on our maid of honor to help us with that, which she did a great job but Robert threw in some EXCELLENT tips/​advice!
When the big day arrived everything went according to plan — the sound was perfect and the music was played in perfect-​timing! I cannot thank Robert enough for coming to the rescue last minute to DJ our ceremony — I can’t even begin to imagine how many things could have gone wrong if we didn’t have him there!
Thank you so much Hilo Productions!!!
Sincerely,
Chelsea and Jason

Before you start reading this review, I suggest you hurry up and book Robert Hilo now before another luck bride does!!!
I don’t even know where to begin, because Robert is just all around awesome. The bridal gods were definitely smiling upon me as I could not have been any luckier bumping into him as he was preparing for another wedding.
Robert was super helpful and attentive in planning our wedding. He provided us a rough timeline to work on, gave us some song suggestions, provided wedding tips & most importantly cared about our well-​being. Our first meeting lasted about two hours; we exchanged multiple emails and held several phone «conferences.» He really takes the time to get to know the bride and groom, and we appreciated that.
One of the most common compliments I received during our wedding was HOW AWESOME our DJ/​MC. Yes, he’s really just that great! Not only did he entertain our guests, he really knew how to work the crowd of all ages and got everyone participating. I was just in awe while watching all my family and friends laughing and having a good time.
Robert professional and great at what he does, he’s also a good person inside & out — and that really shows. He’s a hard worker and a wonderful person.
Robert, you are the Jack of all trades and we are so grateful to have had the pleasure of working with you!