I absolutely love live bands at weddings. They give an event a whole new life and really energize the crowd. Whether it is a Blues Band, 80’s Band or a Top 40’s Band they will be able to entertain your guests and provide an energy that a DJ can not deliver.
Here are a few tips I would offer when booking a live band to make sure your guests have a rockin’ good time.
Make sure the band has an Emcee who is experienced in wedding announcements
If your venue is an odd shape or has low ceilings be sure to communicate this with the band for acoustics purposes
Review their song list because every band specializes in different genres of music
Ask them to send you a demo tape or if you could see them play live at one of their gigs
Confirm the amount of breaks the band will take and what type of music you would like them to play during this time.
Ever leave a wedding, turn to your date for the evening and say “Boy, that wedding as awful”? Yeah, me too. Nothing is worse than a boring wedding. Here are a few tips to keep the party poppin’.
Crazy Family Dancers? Check.
Bring on the Dancers:
- Look at your wedding guest list. Anyone on there who you know loves to dance? C’mon, everyone’s got at least 1 cousin or friend who loves to boogie. They may not be good at it but they love to do it. All it takes is one or two crazy dancers to egg everyone else onto the dance floor…and don’t get those decoy fake guests who are really apart of the DJ crew to do it. That’s lame.
The Wedding is for you, the Reception is for everyone else
- I’m sorry brides, I speak only the truth. Try to remember you’ve got anywhere from 75-300 people coming over for dinner and they need to be entertained too. Have your friends send you music requests a few weeks in advance and ask the DJ to play a few of them – no matter how bizarre! The best impromptu dance-off at my wedding was to the ‘Goldfinger/Diamonds Are Forever’ James Bond remix. My best friend INSISTED I play it and I’m glad I did. The video is priceless.- Also, keep in mind the elderly and try to play a few songs for them. Granny Gertrude doesn’t dig techno.
You may have seen the popular video on YouTube that was amongst YouTube’s biggest in it’s infancy. The video was called the Evolution of Dance and featured a gentleman by the name of Judson Laipply who tore up the stage to a medley of songs that spanned over 40 years of pop music. This video has inspired people to try their own performances and the World Wide Web has give them the medium to share it with the world.
I recently had the privilege of working with a couple who wanted to surprise their family and friends with a mini-evolution of dance during their first dance. Marissa and Mike LoCasio came to me several months before their wedding to see if I could help them put together a unique wedding song that consisted of many clips of different songs. After a couple drafts we came up with the perfect edit for them. They spent some time rehearsing and on the big day they completely took their guests by surprise, and it was a huge hit! Kudos, Marissa and Mike!
Special thanks to Rob Adams, the fantastic videographer who captured this moment and released it for all to see.
Lion dancing is a Chinese classic performance that is frequently associated with a festival event. Almost 90% of the events we’ve done this had some sort of lion dancers to start off or cap off the night!
For those of you not familiar with lion dance, it is a form of traditional dance in the Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion’s movement in traditional Chinese costume. It is a very symbolic performance that is usually performed as a ceremony to exercise evil spirit and to summon luck and fortune. The southern lion exhibits a wide variety of color and has a distinctive head with large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn at center of the head. The lion dance is usually accompanied by drums, cymbals and gongs.
Now, I am going to share something very exciting with you. But I just wished that this could have been documented by a professional videographer with clean audio, which could have been captured from the DJ’s mixer. This is the mistake that you do not want to make!!! Your wedding day is very unique so I hope that you will have a professional to document the day, specially if you are organizing entertainment like this. I hope you enjoy this video and I wish you success with planning a special first dance for your guests.
Technology has come a long way since the days when DJ’s commonly had what we call the helicopter beacon lights that rested on the floor in front of their turntables. Not only has the price tag of high end lighting come down, but newer and more efficient lighting effects are becoming available as LED’s illuminate the future. There are three basic type of lighting fixtures… a spot, wash, and an effect fixture. The type of fixture used to create a colored splash of light over a large area is a wash light, most commonly using RGBW (Red/Green/Blue/White) LED’s.
This fixture, Color Splash Jr, depicts a standard LED wash light. 123dj.com
Imagine this frightening scenario: You choose the music you love for your wedding reception, and your guests don’t dance! Many couples are anxious about incorporating their own music tastes into their wedding playlist, because they don’t listen to “pop” music. This has become a fairly common concern, but you need not fear – there are plenty of ways to accommodate any type of music at a wedding.
This post was inspired by a recent wedding I did where there were several couples and individuals who had more than average ballroom dance experience. You might be surprised that in my 16 years of doing this, I say it is rather rare to have couples “showing off” what they’ve learned in private lessons. I guess it is not totally fair to describe it that way… for many, it is the perfect opportunity for which they have been practicing… a nice dance floor, professional sound system, formal affair… the only thing missing is ‘The Stars’! As rare and infrequent as it is, I do have some thoughts about ballroom dance at a wedding.
There has been a pretty steady trend of choreographing the first dance, which has it’s pros and cons. A choreographed first dance tends to seem rather rehearsed and even somewhat unemotional. However, if you pull it off well it is sure to excite and even impress your guests. My suggestion for doing this is to start now, and practice a lot. Hopefully on the day of the wedding it will be almost second nature and you can not only perform but also get wrapped up in the sentiment of your first dance together as husband and wife.
This week on Wedding Aces, we write about showers… April showers that bring May… weddings! I have discovered a great deal about wedding showers through the magnificent search power of Google. It wasn’t until I turned to YouTube that I discovered these “how-to” videos presented by Expert Village. There is one expert who provides some fantastic ideas for wedding showers and I thought I would share my discovery with you.
Click the video below to go to the YouTube site and watch!
I can’t say that I have a lot of experience in the bridal shower realm, but one can’t deny that April showers are followed by May Weddings! As a seasoned professional in the entertainment business, I followed my instincts when thinking about this week’s special topic on Wedding Aces… bridal showers. My instincts took me directly to the ultimate information portal… Google! You could surely get this info by researching yourself, but perhaps my refined search for musical activities can save you some time.
Games or activities play a large role at a shower. In addition to the entertainment value, they typically will reflect the personality of the bride. These three ideas are perfect for the bride who loves music!
Manzanita branches, found naturally in the chaparral regions of western North America, are commonly used decoratively because of their beauty, unique shape, and strength when dried. As wedding décor, manzanita branches are hot! I have had many brides come in asking for manzanita branches for their centerpieces. These branches go well in
Our exploration of orchids available as cut flowers continues with the more luxurious and extravagant orchids.
Phalaenopsis
phalaenopsis orchid
Phalaneopsis orchids are everywhere in bridal magazines! They are the typical “moth orchid” plant you might see at Trader Joe’s or any other shop selling plants. As cut flowers, they are no longer that Home Depot plant,
There’s that word again. Chignon. Do they choose fancy french words just to embarrass us??
Relax. No, its really not all about you… (hahaha…bet cha haven’t heard that one since you started planning your wedding!). The word chignon, pronounced “sheen-yon,” is actually derived from the French phrase “chignon du cou,” which translates to “nape of the
Approaching 10,000 feet, seated on the starboard side of a 737 Southwest flight, I leave the Mile High City behind. As we continue to skip across the white cirrus clouds just beneath us, I am inspired and imagine the ultimate wedding venue: a Colorado mountaintop wedding with nuptial vows taken against a majestic sunset mix [...]
Finding the absolute perfect hair style for your wedding day can be quite a challenge, not to mention choosing an appropriate hairstyle for your bridesmaids, flower girl, and mother of the bride as well. Up do? Half up, half down? All down? Curls? Straight? Twists? Braids? Tiara? No tiara? Flowers? The possibilities really are endless.
So [...]
During hot summer months, couples planning outdoor weddings are looking to stay cool. The traditional suit or tux on a 90 degree day may not sound like the best idea, so many grooms are opting to just sport a cool vest. I personally think it’s the perfect option for so many grooms. Vest can be [...]
As rare and infrequent as it is, I do have some thoughts about ballroom dance at a wedding.
