The following Kudos from our clients are all unsolicited. We get so many it’s hard to keep adding them here check out the most up to date Testimonials Newest Testimonials
“I’m sorry that I don’t remember the young man’s name that ran the photo booth, but he was great. Mari was outstanding, in the way she helped ease Alex and Katie about the wedding and reception. We got no help from the venue owner, but Mari knows what she is doing and made the event a resounding success from start to finish.
Cherry on the cake were the photos from the booth, and the videos. A great way to remember such a perfect day.” – Terry Tarner
In all the years I’ve planned company events and parties for various friends and family I have never seen someone more connected, talented in understanding the client and resourceful. I planned a very busy party with lots of entertainment and elements Marie never missed an item. Her organization skills are amazing and my friends and family are still talking about it. – Lindy Harvey
Loved how Mari engaged the dads and daughters with interactive games and appropriate dance music. – Stephanie Henderson
Kudos – Mari is terrific! She makes the planning process easy and is able to provide great suggestions! She is extremely helpful and knows how to get people engaged and having a good time.
Thank you again and Kudos you are great and so helpful! Everyone loved the photo booth and had fun singing karaoke. – Kelli & David Rodriguez
Thank you so much for playing such a wonderful, significant role in our wedding day! It was such a blessing to have Mari’s expertise and professionalism throughout the day, to help ensure everything ran smoothly. From minister to DJ, to help with hiring the bartender, I know I wouldn’t have been able to pull off the event without her. Mari went out of her way before, during and after our wedding to make sure everything was perfect. We really appreciate all you have done, and will remember the day always! – Jill Blocker (kudos)
I LOVED working with Mari. This was the first time I was responsible for our event (a Daddy Daughter Dance for our elementary school) and know nothing about current songs. Even worse, the ones the kids picked weren’t appropriate for the event. Mari patiently answered all my questions and addressed all my concerns. She is amazing! I’ve already posted her website on my FB page to let people know about her! – Julie Corneliuson
Kudos, Mari you were awesome …all the guests loved you and you exceeded our expectations …..thank you for making this such a fun event ….. we totally loved everything you did !! – Sravanthi
Mari was one heck of an entertainer. The whole crowd was speaking about her, after the party. Thank god we found this amazing person to compliment the special birthday party we had planned for my daughter – Kapil
Mari, you were absolutely amazing!!! I couldn’t have asked for a better DJ for our wedding! I am so thankful we were able to work with you – you took so much stress off my fiance, parents, and I. I will highly recommend you to anyone I hear looking for a DJ (or thinking they can handle wedding music themselves 😉 ) Thanks again! – Brittany Spurgeon
It was a pleasure working with you yesterday. You are a pleasant person; kind, and have a lot of patience. Those qualities are very significant if I want the client and guests to fully enjoy the event.
My client and the guests enjoyed so much the event and had fun. Most of it, is because your great work and experience.
I’m about to fill out the questionnaire and give you feed back for our wedding. But i wanted to take the time and send you some kudos and thank you for your services.
Please don’t take the elapse of time for my thank you as any indication of my gratitude. Everything that evening went so fast and before i knew it i was busy taking my out-of-town guests around town, and then off to the honeymoon.
So now back to my thank you. I truly enjoyed meeting you. Your proffesionalism, your contageous energy were the reason we knew you were it as soon as we met you. I feel lucky your friends changed their wedding plans and you were available on our weekend. I truly appreciate your taking the time to meet with cory and i in person several times.
In essence, you were our wedding planner! You orchestrated the flow and timing of the wedding and really put the whole event together.
My mom and Israeli relatives were so touched by the ceremony music. It was a nice surprise for them. I almost cried walking down the isle as the music means so much to me and it sounded so beautiful that day.
Most importantly, my mom and I keep getting feedback for how much fun my wedding was. The hit of the party seems to be when you got everyone to dance the “hora”. Even the non-jewish friends were up on their feet having a blast. My goal was to have a FUN wedding.
Kudos and Thank you SOOOO much for your assistance. I spoke with Nicky Last night and they found someone they know through a friend who is going to do it for them.
I cannot even tell you how grateful I am for you taking the time to try and help them. If there is a place I could write some sort of review for you I would love to do so. Thank you again for your time, I am sorry we will not need your services but again cannot tell you how great it is to know there are people out there who do care and who still know what customer service is. Thank you again! – Jen 8.25.12 (friend trying to help bride find a last minute DJ)
Everything was perfect! I will be recommending your services to anyone who is looking for a DJ. All of our guests were extremely impressed with the music! – Andrea Slivernale 9.1.12
Hi Mari, I just wanted to send you a quick email. It was great to work with you and I will refer you whenever possible…. Talk to you soon. Lynne
The party turned out great. Chad was so nice and great with our grand daughter (who pestered him to no end). It was not a dancing crowd but the music was fine. He did play our one request of “At last”. Tami was so nice as well. She did us a favor of taking lots of pictures with my camera. Not all turned out because my camera is a little tricky but some were keepers. She was a great bartender. Thanks soooooo much for your help. I would recommend you to our friends. Kudos and Hugs,Patty Weston – 11.15.11
Hi Mari, Thank you so much for everything you did to make our party a smashing success!! I won’t be sending a thank you email to Remmy’s and in fact will be posting a review on the internet, so they can not do the same poor performance for anyone else’s event. You were awesome, and I really do appreciate all your efforts. – Jo List 11.7.11
Good Morning Mari, I am so glad Jim found you. You made everything easy. I had so many people come up to me during, after and the next day, and say how wonderful you were…I couldn’t agree more! I can thank you enough and sorry for the fubbles…that was kind of how the day was going ALL DAY 😉 Want to know something funny. You dj’ed Jeff’s Step Brothers Wedding (Jacob and Sarah)! I will fill out the paperwork and send it on back. I will be so proud to pass your info along to any and everyone needing a DJ! Kudos and Thanks Mari! – Megan Hayes 😉 11.2.11
Amazing job! Our bride and groom were shocked that their families danced, partied and didn’t want to leave. You are the first to get the bride’s dad to ever dance – and boy, did he dance the night away. Thanks for making this a wonderful event for the families!
J. McLaughlin October 1, 2011 at 5:10 pm: Our teenagers LOVE Mari! She plays what they want, and its clean fun! She sets up fast, tears down fast, her lights and sound are amazing. We have her booked for the rest of the year. We have had DJ’s in the past that didnt even play top 40. Mari has it all and then some. We had a student ask for a really obscure song and she had it playing in 3 minutes. AWESOME! She is a winner for sure!
Hello and kudos Mari! We just got back from our honeymoon. We had an awesome time at the event. Thank you so much for helping us celebrate our wedding day. Thank you for doing such an excellent job as well!! Thanks again Mari! – Mai and Josh – 9.27.11
We have used Mari for all our school events over the past 1-2 years. She is great! She puts on a great show each and every time, sets up and cleans up quickly, and is very well priced. She has all the best music & equipment, and you can even use her website to hand pick the songs and activities you want! I just referred her to another school, and they loved her too. You can’t go wrong with Mari and Amore’!
Mari, Our event went really well and Jeff did a fantastic job! We couldn’t have asked for anything more from your company’s services. We will recommend to our friends and family for future events. Thanks again for your communications! Take Care, Tobin
Hey Mari, I got your automatic “kudos” e-mail awhile ago and have been swamped, but wanted to tell you thank you for being much more than a DJ at our wedding and putting together that surprise MJ flash dance for me!! If only I had remembered the moves… 😉
For the price and all the work, it really is worth it in the end. You did a great job at keeping our timeline going, and making sure I was able to at least try the drinks I bought! You were also perfectly energetic as well as personable. It means a lot to be able to put my trust in someone and have it turn out exactly as I imagined it would! I already recommended you for my upcoming high school reunion in September and will be sure to recommend you for anything else if I have the opportunity. If there’s anything I can do for you in the future, let me know. You’re the best!
(Also, if you want to use any of this letter in your marketing, go for it.) =) Take care! Erin N. Anderson
Mari was an awesome DJ. I received numerous compliments on DJ Mari that night. She totally set the mood of my wedding and was very flexible in terms of changes to my agenda that evening. She was able to manage a crowd of over 300 guests at a traditional Chinese wedding that night by herself without any assistance. The money spent was well worth it. I highly recommend her to DJ at your next event. Thanks Mari! – Hung To
Mari, you did an excellent job at our wedding! Colby and I were and are very impressed and will keep you in mind for upcoming events in our life! (we have a big summer party every year and it might be fun to have a DJ!) Thank you for all your help and great work!! – Erica Hjort
We loved the service with only one complaint. The elements of the reception (such as first dance, cake cutting, garter) were rushed. It would have been nice to have time in between these things. Once they were done people left and we didnt get to talk to people because of this. – Hillery Jorgenson
Thank you so much for your help and direction. We would have been totally sunk if we had used an I-pod thanks for your help. – Hillery and Erik
MARI was above and Beyond!! she gets 4.00!! i NEVER take the time to do survey BUT Mari was so great I had to let you know!! – S. Seiler
Jeff was an excellent addition to our wedding day. From the day we met with him during planning until the end of our reception on the wedding day he went above and beyond in everything he did. He exceeded our expectations and we will recommend him to all our family/friends in the future! He made our day so easy and he made our wedding so fun with the music and entertainment he provided! He was a amazing to say the lest! – Marie Gauthier
Mari, everything was great on Saturday! Thank you so much for all of your help with our event. As always, Jeff is so great! He is so professional, helpful and flexible when things get hectic. Please let him know how much we appreciate him DJing our events. – Gisela Jenkins, Pacific Medical Centers
Sorry that I don’t have more time to figure out how to go back into your client area– but I wanted you to know that we were so very pleased with the dance at Smith on 9/24. the music was great, the lights were fun and you guys did everything that we asked. We’d love to use you again for future dances and we already passed your name onto another LW school looking for a DJ. Thank you so much! – Karen
Happy Holiday Mari! We LOVE the DVD. You did an excellent job with very little help from my camera guys! Wow, I’m really impressed with the “chapters” idea, that was very clever! Tom will be back at work on the 27th, I’m sure he would be able to help with ANY car needs. Hope you have a very nice holiday. Sincerely, Cathy & Tom
We all had a great time at the Snow Ball. Thank you!! We will be meeting in January, and I will get “official” feedback at that time. In the meantime, I can let you know that I thought you did a wonderful job. I appreciate your patience with us, and your dedication to making the party fun for all of our guests. I will be in touch in January. In the meantime, have a very happy holiday! – Kudos, Laurie.
Hi Mari, How shall I contact the Green Screen photographer? Steve said he would like to send him a tip for his going above and beyond our expectations. I filled out your online survey. In a nutshell, we LOVED you!! Thanks so much for all your help and expertise with our event. – Kelly, Emerald Services/Cedar Grove
Thank you so much Mari. We have had great reviews from our employees about this being the “best party ever”. We will be calling you when we have secured our date for next year! Kelly
Mari, I just wanted to let you know that the party was a HUGE hit. People absolutely loved the Family Feud game and I have been hearing raves that it is the best party we’ve ever had. Thanks so much for putting it all together and making it happen with little effort on my part. You’ve made me look like a hero. Now we’re going to have a hard time topping it next year. Thank you! – Kathy Leszcynski, Wells Fargo Advisors
I was extremely pleased at Mari’s flexibility and professionalism. She understood our event and how we wanted things to flow. She was flexible and worked with our requests with ease and little to no repeat of instructions. Mari’s timing was excellent during the ceremony, and her professionalism and humor kept the reception flowing beautifully. I could not have asked for anything more. I was extremely pleased, and will be recommending Amore to anyone who needs a professional DJ. Thank you! – Wesley Howard
Thanks Mari: The party as you probably heard from Jeff was amazing! Actually everyone was agree that Jeff is 100% LATINO jejejeje. Regards Ana
Mari made the difference between a good event and a GREAT event! Everyone loved her and keeps telling us how wonderful the DJ was and how it made for such a fun wedding! – Sheila Herman
We couldn’t have had a better DJ for our wedding. Mari not only picked great music that kept our guests dancing, she was there for us through the entire event to act as a point person and coordinate the other vendors. Great job!
HI Mari, Yes, I planned on adding my review of the event. I will log on to client access and see if I can get it to take there. I was amazed at how awesome the event went; especially through all the chaos the rain caused! You way exceeded my expectations; I mean really, you even helped set up and serve my guests?? Give me a break- you really out did yourselves! And yes, you can share it with others. Thanks again for your support & help, I have a few photos & videos coming in, but will forward them all to you once we return from our honeymoon (next week to Alaska!) I’ll be in touch, Cathy
The event (Bat Mitzvah) went very smoothly and everyone had a wonderful time! The kids were thrilled and really had a ball. Mari kept the pace good throughout and responded to the kids’ cues. She was helpful in planning the evening and had a lot of good ideas that helped make it a success. We were really pleased and will definitely be calling Mari for our next event. – Vivian and Geoff Gersuk
Hi Mari!! We just got back from the honeymoon and settled in so I will fill out the satisfaction form and get it sent to you asap. Thank you so much for all of your help and your services!! We were so pleased and everything went perfectly! Thank you so much and we will definitely refer you to everyone! – Cortney Whitlock
Mari – I received several compliments on your customer service and your DJing after our event was completed. This is the 3rd event that I am aware of where we’ve had you DJ for our company, and we are likely to continue using your services. Thank you for all your help and party suggestions! – Anna, Labinal, Inc.
I could have NOT done this without Mari & staff! We put together the entire event in my backyard and without Mari’s recommendations & help, I would have left a LOT of important aspects out. She made this day perfect for us and completely removed my stress! She even noticed when I was trying to get something in place and she just stepped in a took care of it, really, for my dinner even! I would recommend her to everyone and I’m passing on the word! Thank you so much! – Cathy Burton
– only the best things to say about Mari! Super fantastic job catering to the kids (Bar Mitzvah) and knowing their likes and dislikes. Easy to work with and we think she is the best! Would recommend her any time any place! Thanks for the terrific service! – Lisa Kranseler
Hey Mari, I just wanted to check in with you and make sure that we were all squared away. You guys did an absolutely wonderful job at the dance and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Thank you again for working with our requests and music suggestions. Hopefully in the future we will be able to work together again. Thank You, Michelle Morales, Seattle University
The ACT Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Yvette Berry MLA stated in response to a Question on Notice from Mark Parton MLA that: “The government has not considered abolishing land tax; land tax helps homebuyers compete with property investors and is an important source of revenue for the government”.
Recommendation 18 of the Taxation Review. In so agreeing, the government noted the Review Panel’s observation that land tax in its [then] current form was unfair, as it discriminated on the basis of tenure. It further noted that the purported benefits of land tax in helping homebuyers were not certain, and increases in land tax may actually be counterproductive.
ACT Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Yvette Berry said land tax helps homebuyers compete with property investors.
It is useful to distinguish the land tax imposed in the ACT and other jurisdictions from the ‘broad based land tax’ promulgated by the Henry Tax Review. The tax, as imposed in states and territories, has a narrow base, being levied on commercial and rental properties. In the ACT, commercial land tax has been phased out, and the tax has an even narrower base, compared to other states. The broad based land tax envisaged by the Henry Review is akin to general rates, which are equally levied on owner-occupied and rental properties.
The generally well-accepted principles of taxation, adopted by the ACT Taxation Review, are stability, efficiency, equity, and simplicity. So how does land tax fare against these principles? The ACT Taxation Review found land tax to be the most volatile of all the taxes; even more volatile than tax on conveyances, when measured through its sensitivity to economic growth, and its variance from long-run growth. For every 1 per cent increase in the economy, land tax was estimated to increases by 1.68 per cent, leading to increasing economic burden.
The review pointed out that to the extent that land tax affects the cost of consumption of housing, it is inequitable, being discriminatory on the basis of tenure. Compliance and administration costs were assessed to be the highest for land tax for each dollar of revenue raised. In short, the tax is least suitable as a stable revenue-raising instrument, is inequitable, and has relatively higher administration costs.
Over the three years between 2013-14 and 2016-17, land tax in the ACT increased at an annual rate of 10.3 per cent from $79 million to $106 million. In April this year, The Canberra Times reported that land tax would increase further by 45 per cent over the next five years. Indeed the 2018-19 budget provides for an increase of $11 million in the current year alone. The obvious question that arises in the context of these massive increases is, who will pay?
has undertaken or intends to undertake any analysis of the impact of land tax on housing affordability. Documents recently released by the government under the Freedom of Information Act do not indicate any work has been undertaken in this regard.
through rent. In general, landlords expect a return on their investment which is commensurate with or higher than alternative investment options. If the supply of rental accommodation is lower than
demand, or if the property prices (in other words, the investment required) are high, the landlords will pass the increase to tenants. Alternatively, if the returns are not enough and tenants unwilling to pay further, they could withdraw from the market and seek other investment options.
The Minister has indicated in her comments above, that the latter is the policy objective. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has reiterated that is the case by claiming that the changes would help
rebalance the housing market in favour of local buyers. However, as long as house prices continue to grow at the rate at which they have grown over the past five years, a direct result of the government’s land supply policies, the Canberra housing market will remain an attractive proposition for investors.
In that environment and outlook, landlords will be able to transfer the taxation costs to rents. Numerous reports, notable amongst those from Anglicare and the Women’s Centre for Health Matters, paint a bleak picture of the availability of affordable rental properties for households on single incomes or lone parents, particularly women.
Matters’ studies are concerned about, again due to land supply policies, and a mistaken belief that the government has released “more land than needed”. The reality for those households is financial stress, and in a worst case, homelessness.
In summary, the ACT government’s taxation and land supply policies have worked together to create and exacerbate a rental affordability problem for the lower income quintiles – an inequitable tax is being made to work even harder.
foreign investment properties, following a motion by Greens MLA Carolyn Le Couteur. It was reported that the government estimates 189 foreign investment properties will be impacted by the tax. The government has also identified 2500 vacant properties, based on “measuring those properties with unusually low power and water consumption” which are now to be charged land tax.
As an aside it is interesting that the government’s direct count of vacant homes in Canberra is well short of the 6300 vacant properties which were identified in a recent ANU study. There are likely to be exemptions from the new tax about which little information is available. The Chief Minister has, for example, advised the Assembly that the foreign investor surcharge will not be applied to Canberrans travelling overseas or overseas citizens living permanently in their own home in the ACT.
The likely increase in the taxation base is also not known. The process for determining the tax and its collection is likely to be highly intrusive, involving the issuance of a notice and will almost certainly require the development of an exemptions regime. A more fundamental problem with the decision to expand land tax to include vacant dwellings or unutilised assets, is to define its underlying principle. At a practical level, a question which arises is whether the Greens and Labor propose, just as land tax is currently payable if a household rents out a bedroom, that the proposed vacancy tax will be imposed on all vacant bedrooms in Canberra? That is, after all, a logical extension of their apparent thinking on the matter.
freeing up some properties in what is an increasingly tight housing market”. It is reasonable to ask how many of the 2689 properties will ultimately be subject to tax, and more importantly, how many will be added to the rental stock? The bigger question is: does the government know what it is doing?
Jon Stanhope is Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA), University of Canberra. As Chief Minister, he had committed the ACT government to the Affordable Housing Action Plan, and review of its taxation system in the lead up to its taxation reform.
Khalid Ahmed was Executive Director, Policy Coordination and Development Division, ACT Treasury. He is currently Adjunct Professor at IGPA and works in the private sector.