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| January 2009 |
| How to Have a Fun Reception 4 Tips for a Stress Free Wedding Day Your Ceremony Officiant's Role |
| “How To Have a Fun Wedding Reception…That Isn’t Cheesy” by Stephanie Padovani, The DJ Solution One of the biggest challenges facing our brides when it comes to planning the wedding entertainment is: "How do I have a fun wedding reception...that ISN'T cheesy?" When Jeff and I got married, I just wanted all my guests to have fun. I wanted a great party with my closest family and friends that really felt like me. But I was deathly afraid of being "cheesy." In fact, I was so afraid that I decided to do the music myself! That idea didn’t work out so well, but it did inspire us to become wedding DJs. So how can it be done? I've learned a few things about "cheese" in my eight plus years as a wedding DJ. Just follow these guidelines for fun wedding entertainment that keeps your guests dancing all night—without the cheese. Steph's Rules of Cheese Rule #1 - Cheese (the non-dairy kind) is relative. What is "cheesy" to you might be fun for the next bride. I meet with brides all the time who say they don't want anything cheesy at their wedding, then five minutes later tell me they must play the Chicken Dance for their grandmother. It's important to define what "cheesy" means to you. Talk to your entertainer about it. Don't assume that he or she knows what you mean by "cheesy." Be specific about the songs, artists, dances and attire that meet your cheesy criteria. Once you and your entertainer know what you mean by “cheesy,” it’s easy to avoid dipping into Velveeta at your wedding reception. Rule #2 - Even something fun can become cheesy when it is forced. Let me give you a real life example. At a recent wedding, one of our couples asked us to play "Mr. Roboto" by Styx as they were introduced. The groom danced his way in doing the robot. It was hysterical, guests holding their sides with laughter. Now, if Jeff and I decided to play "Mr. Roboto" out of the blue at your wedding and tried to lead everyone in the robot, would that be FUN? Most likely your guests would head for the hills...or stay and laugh at the clueless DJ couple stuck in an 80's time warp. If your guests are forced to do something, it can quickly become cheesy. However, if it's natural for them and your group, even the silly is just plain fun. Talk to you entertainer about how they go about leading activities and events. Entertainment styles range from highly interactive to low key. Make sure you find a match that fits in with your cheese-free event. Rule #3 - Cheese is always worse in your imagination. Just like any other worry about your wedding, your imagination can run away with you. You start imagining your big, cheesy smile as you feed your husband a bite of cake. Or that your uncle is going strip down to his skivvies like he did at your cousin's wedding. It's always worse in your imagination. When weddings unfold in a natural, fun way and your guests feel comfortable, everything is fun. Even when it's a little goofy, too. If you're concerned about how your entertainer will avoid the cheese, ask about it. What will he do to "get the crowd going?" What if that doesn’t work? What will he do if your guests request a song on your Cheesy Do Not Play List? You CAN have a fun wedding reception where your guests dance all night and you don't have to die from embarrassment. Yes, the classic cheesy songs work to get people out of their seats, but there are lots of other great songs that work, too. The key to non-cheesy, fun wedding entertainment is to find an entertainer who understands what you want—and don’t want—at your wedding reception, and whose style fits yours. That makes a fun, dance-filled wedding inevitable. |
| "4 Tips For A Stress Free Wedding Day" Vivian Photography written by Stephanie Padovani Most brides forget to consider one important detail: the environment they will be getting ready in. The way you wake up and get ready sets the tone for your entire wedding day, and if your surroundings are stressful and cluttered...that's how the entire day will feel. For brides who don't think about this detail, getting ready looks like this: the bride decides to get ready in her home or in her parents' home. She invites her entire bridal party, her mother, and mother-in-law. The whole crew shows up to get ready together. The make-up artist and hair stylist arrives and no one knows where anything is. Every five minutes one of the girls is yelling from the next room, "Where's the hair spray?" "Where do you keep the tweezers?" "Does anyone have a band-aid?" Because the bride (or her mother) is the hostess, she gets bombarded with questions the whole time. No relaxation happening there. Then, the photographer shows up to shoot the dress and the bride in her gorgeous, anticipatory happiness. But where does she take this gorgeous photo? In the dark bedroom where all the girls have stashed their jackets and purses? In the living room with its mantle crammed with photos and knick-knacks? With stuff everywhere, the bride ends up racing around the house, cramming things into the closets in a last minute attempt to create a picturesque space. On top of that, the house is mission control for all the visiting family. Aunts and uncles keep popping their heads in, taking the brides attention, asking for help, and generally getting in the way. It's chaos. That's what inspired Vivian to create Space, her studio/living room/bistro/lounge where brides and their bridal parties can get ready for their big day in a relaxing, quiet environment. It's perfect to relax and be pampered--not bombarded--on the morning of your wedding. She gives a few pointers for starting your wedding day out right: 1) Think about where you want to get ready. Ideally it should be a quiet, peaceful, uncluttered space outside your home with lots of light and neutral colors that will complement your gown. 2) Once you pick the location where you will get ready, choose the brightest room to put on your dress. You want lots of natural light and neutral colors so that you are the focus of the photos...not the multi-colored afghan or the pile of clothes on the couch. 3) Do the cleaning and de-cluttering BEFORE your wedding day. That way you'll be able to relax as you're getting ready. 4) If you aren't sure whether your home has enough light or the right colors for beautiful photographs, consult your photographer. I've visited Vivian's Space a few times now and the minute I walk through the door, it's like taking a tranquilizer. I sigh and just feel the tension drain from my shoulders. Seriously, the colors and the flowers are the essence of elegant simplicity. It would be SO much fun to get ready there. That is, if I were getting married. Ah, to be a bride again... Here's a photo of Space with cool uplighting: Where will you be getting ready on your big day? |
| "Your Ceremony Officiant's Role" Hudson Valley Ceremonies written by Rev. Debra Romano Many newly engaged couples have lost more than the occasional night’s sleep while fantasizing about their pending wedding. Romantic heartfelt words flow freely from the sweet lips of husband or wife to be as they exchange the vows of their misty dreams. However, when the time comes to actually pen, or worse; to speak such prose out loud, the words suddenly stall. Gone are the simplistic, archaic, and somewhat subservient somber pronouncements “To love, honor, and obey, till death do you part” of our Grandparent’s day. Such intoning leaves a couple, and their guests, void of the magic which brought them to the proverbial “altar” to begin with. The words spoken at a wedding ceremony should reflect not only the love shared between the couple, but the deep, profound respect and honor they feel for one another at that very moment. The Officiants at Hudson Valley Ceremonies work very hard to capture the right words that mirror this unique love. Upon meeting a couple for the first time we immediately begin getting to know one another. Where you have come from very often sets the stage for whom you have become, so sharing some stories about your background is usually the best beginning. How and why your lives evolved to synchronize your meeting each other, then revealing the ways your friendship blossomed into love, and furthered onto a serious life-long commitment is vital to writing and delivering a ceremony that will leave all present talking about it for years to come. We provide you with dozens of sample ceremonies, and I develope a personalized, blended ceremony using several options, just as an example of how harmonizing together a Remembrance, Recognition, Wine or Unity Candle service can bring excitement and enlightenment to your ceremony. In the end though, remember the words are yours to edit and ad lib, creating the reality of those musings you only once imagined. For me, my goal is to bring to life all those rehearsals you played over and over in your mind. After an initial letter of introduction and communication via email, we then meet in person. Depending on the type of Officiant Package a couple chooses, we may meet at their home, a local diner, or here in Rhinebeck at the Hudson Valley Ceremony Office. Meeting in Rhinebeck is a complimentary, no obligation option which allows the couple to also look through Invitations, Save-the- Date, RSVP, and Thank You cards by the hundreds, which we offer clients at our wholesale price. This is a savings of 50% off retail prices. Top that off with tremendous discounts on; Bridal Party Gifts, Favours, Table Settings, Cake Toppers, Themed Napkins, Center Pieces, Honeymoon Travel, and low cost Wedding Insurance along with our discounted Vendor referrals and you need not spend one stressful moment searching for these necessities. You can complete your wedding shopping in that one visit! After our first meeting, we encourage our couples to continue communication by phone or email, establishing an extended family relationship with us. My motto is “My words to you at the altar, even if scripted, are from my heart.” It is important to me that you as a couple genuinely feel that from me. Your day becomes a special moment in my own life, cherished and remembered; a true privilege and honor to me to be permitted this glimpse into your wonderful life. Over time we email the ceremony back and forth, editing and adding as your day gets closer, until you both feel that it reflects everything about you and everything you wish said, and to say. The most common question I receive about the Vows section is from the Groom who is most worried that those long promises must be memorized. If I am present at a rehearsal it brings a huge laugh when I tell the Groom the night before the big day “Yes! We expected you to have memorized this by now!” But in truth, the traditional “Please repeat after me” still holds true even in our modern day. Although we will not actually recite nor reveal the special words of your ceremony at a rehearsal we will coordinate and practice the Processional and Recessional, and go through the sections of the ceremony which cue the Musicians or Ushers as to when and where their participation would be required. Your rehearsal will last as long as need be, until everyone is most comfortable with their varied roles. We encourage older family members to attend, but for those who are unable they are easily substituted for the moment with a younger family member, which also keeps the evening light and fun. This is all about uniting not only two persons, but two families, and communities. It is my belief that such local unity is the key to our global alliances, and what better way to begin that long journey than hand in hand with a partner who shared your dreams and shares your path. As you share and express your love to the world, I thank you for allowing me to be the vehicle from which you enter and begin this brand new life; as Husband and Wife. Congratulations, and as my favorite Apache Blessing closes; “May your days be long upon the Earth. And so it is.” |
