Marino’s Wedding Entertainment Blog

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to work with Quest Crew, the winners of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3. As the technical director, I oversaw the technical elements (sound, lighting, etc.) of the production.

The event was called The Movement, and it was a celebration of dance and performing arts. Groups from Hypersquad, Studio 808, Honolulu Dance Studio and more performed some very exciting dance routines.

The highlight was the performance by Quest Crew.

Overall, it was an exciting production, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.

Special thanks to the following people who helped to make this production a success:

• Ryan Chang, Kaipo, and the rest of the crew with Island Fire Productions, for putting together this event and getting Quest Crew to Hawaii,
• Esther Shibata, auditorium manager for McKinley High School, for hosting the event,
• Tina Shibata, for being so great work with as the lighting board operator,
• Jason Ulep with Hypersquad Dance Studio, for “calling the show” as stage manager,
• KC & Taka with Power 104.3, for emceeing the event,
• Jason Tom, beatbox extraordinaire, for being the opening act, and of course,
• YOU, for coming out to support our local dance groups.

Your presence is very much appreciated!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: dancing, event, Fun

When dealing with live musicans or any wedding professional, it’s always important to make sure you clarify that the band’s performance start time does not mean it’s their “show up time”, or the time of their arrival. To explain, let me share a story.

At last night’s event, there were two bands that were performing for the audience. They both had separate stages, and they would alternate playing back and forth throughout the evening. Although they were tied into the same sound system, each group had their own microphones, instrument tie-ins, etc. The soundman purposely did this to avoid having to adjust the levels to each group every time a group played, just so that it would sound good and look good from the audience’s perspective.

Showtime was at 5:00pm. Doors to the guests opened at 4:00pm.

Band A showed up at 2:00pm to set up their instruments and run through a full soundcheck. Band B, on the other hand, arrived at 4:30pm, as the guests were mingling and taking their seats. It would have been rude and disruptive to the guests if the band conducted a soundcheck while the audience was in the room, so it was determined to just “shoot from the hip” and pray for the best.

When the show started, Band A sounded stellar. Their music was at the right volume and mixed very well. Band B, on the other hand, sounded terrible. There wasn’t a nice blend of instruments, and at times it was too loud.

In the end, Band A was very happy with their performance. Band B was displeased and blamed the soundman for causing them to sound lousy.

But it really wasn’t the soundman’s fault. He was just doing his best to accommodate a challenging situation.

The true fault in why Band B sounded lousy was Band B themselves.

If they had arrived early enough like Band A did, they would have had a great soundcheck, helped the soundman a lot, and given the audience a great performance. But because they arrived during cocktail hour, as guests were mingling and being seated, they didn’t.

Ultimately, these people lost out on the bad performance:

• The clients, because they had hired two groups to entertain their guests, but only one sounded good, and
• The audience, because they were expecting two great performances but only got one.

When it comes to YOUR wedding, if you are having a live band, do you want them to sound good? If so, make sure they understand that “start time” does not mean “show up time”. Insist they arrive early for a full soundcheck, just so that they will sound good during your event.

You’ll get your money’s worth, and your guests will certainly appreciate it!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: Advice, ideas, music, preparation, setup, sound, stressfree

What’s your Hollywood Wedding Name?

I thought about this after recent conversations with some very good friends and clients. Your Hollywood Wedding Name is the single name you give yourselves by combining your two first names. It’s the name that your friends and fans can refer to both of you. For example, everyone knows BRANGELINA, the couple made up of Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie. Then there’s BENNIFER: Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner. And for those of you who follow The Hills, Spencer Pratt & Heidi Montag have unofficially been named SPEIDI.

My good friends Ed & Shelley Frank were given their Hollywood Wedding Name by their close friends, and their name is SHEDELLEY.

Dave & Michelle Miyamoto (with Dave Miyamoto & Company) were recently appointed DAVECHELLE by some good friends.

So what’s YOUR Hollywood Wedding Name? You’ll have some fun with it when you share it with friends, family, and your wedding vendors. Use your Hollywood Wedding Name in your invitations, save-the-dates, and in your wedding slideshow, and truly make your friends & family smile!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: celebrity, famous, Fun, Hollywood, ideas, star

While this month’s Wedding Tip applies mainly to off-premise events (parties held at locations other than hotels, such as on the beach, at a private estate, etc.), the same can be said about be said about on-premise events. While on-premise events have such things like restrooms, parking, security, etc., already built into your cost, it helps to be aware of it.

For many brides-to-be, the excitement of planning her own wedding often causes “tunnel vision” in which she focuses her priorities and attention to the things she feels are important to her. Often, these items include the food, the dress, the decor, the dress, and more. Many other considerations are left as an afterthought…but these considerations can be critical to the success (or failure) of your party.

Brides who host a wedding at a hotel usually do not have to worry about the following items, but if you are planning a celebration on the beach or at a private estate, these are some things you should seriously consider:

RESTROOMS. Are there enough accessible restrooms for your guests? Are they usable, and who will clean them? I did a wedding at a beach park many years ago, and the only restrooms were the public ones at a park. By the middle of the reception, the restrooms were filthy. Because of this, many guests left early.  Make sure there are enough accessible restrooms for your guests.

PARKING. Is there enough parking for all of your guests? If your wedding doesn’t have enough stalls for your guests to park, they may simply drive by and go somewhere else. A few rules of thumb:

• Assume that half of your adult guests will drive, if they are local. Even if they are part of a family unit, they may take separate cars.
• Don’t count the kids, because they will ride with their families.

COVERING/SHADE. The Hawaiian sun can be notoriously hot, depending on the time of day. If your wedding is during daylight, have some sort of shade available for your guests so they can hang out under after the ceremony is over and until the reception starts, if they wish to. Also, if the weather turns bad, your guests will appreciate having some sort of cover from the rain.  Have some sort of shade from the sun/rain available for your guests.  They will appreciate it!

Wait, there’s more!

The rest of this article is reserved for Wedding VIP Club Members. To see the rest of this article, simply register by visiting

http://WeddingVIP.ninjaentertainment.com

Fill out all of the requested information, and then check your email for a confirmation email. Click the link in the confirmation email, and you should be good to go!

Have I also mentioned that membership to the Wedding VIP Club is FREE?

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: Advice, ideas, newsletter, VIP

The Weekly Wedding Tip just went out, and it’s a good one. It talks about The Anniversary Surprise, an alternative to the traditional bouquet toss. Here in Hawaii, often brides invite more of their families to the wedding. And most of the time, their families are mostly married, leaving the bride with only a handful of unmarried women to toss the bouquet to. Instead of doing away with the traditional toss, why not give your audience a surprising twist? The Anniversary Surprise is such a twist.

If you’re a Wedding VIP Club member, then check your inboxes or bulk mail folders for it. And if you’re not, becoming a Wedding VIP Club member (in order to get the free Weekly Wedding Tips) is easy. Simply surf on over to

http://weddingvip.ninjaentertainment.com

Fill out all of the requested information, and then check your email for a confirmation email. Click the link in the confirmation email, and you should be good to go!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: Advice, alternative, anniversary, bouquet, Emcee, Fun, wedding

Brian, Brian’s sister Geri, and Genesa

Genesa & Brian’s wedding last Saturday was one of those parties where the timeline and script goes out the window…for a good reason. When I first met them, they told me they wanted a very fun and elegant celebration. Based on this, I helped them create a very personalized and engaging party that was reflective of their personal and musical tastes, as well as would get the audience involved in a very elegant and fun manner.

So the wedding day comes, and as guests arrive and mingle during cocktail hour, they enjoy a wonderful jazz and classical playlist put together by Brian & Genesa. This wasn’t your usual “Kenny-G-jazz” that gets overplayed during cocktail hour; guests were treated to contemporary jazz works by Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock (Brian’s type of music) as well as classical string quartet music by Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart (Genesa’s).

After warming up the crowd, I introduced the wedding party with the Grand Entrance, and the festivities were underway. With the introduction of Mr. & Mrs. Brian & Genesa Que, the applause was loud and enthusiastic; the audience really showed their love for the couple.

During dinner, instead of the banquet captain releasing each table, I had the honor of sending the tables to the buffet, with a unique twist. Each table was named after a place of importance to Brian & Genesa, and as I released each table, I told stories about why these locations are significant to the newlyweds. For some, it was revealing to learn something about the couple that they may have not known about.

The party really took off during the cake-cutting. For their cake-cutting music, Genesa had chosen Faith Hill’s The Way You Love Me, and the upbeat song was enough to get the guests up to dance! Although we still had the toasts, bouquet & garter, and activities to do, it seemed the guests were ready to let loose! So with Genesa’s permission, we opened the dancefloor and the rest, as they say, is history!

We eventually did the toasts and other traditional elements of a reception throughout the night. It was totally impromptu and spontaneous, but it worked out perfectly. The guests made many great requests (including many requests for the music of Michael Jackson), danced to almost every song, and enjoyed themselves.

Although I was still playing some great jams, the audience finally “hit the wall” around 10pm. By then, everyone was tired, so I put on the last dance of the night and invited everyone to join Genesa & Brian on the dancefloor for a last dance. The final surprise was the impromptu Tarantella which evolved out of the last dance–totally spontaneous, totally fun, totally in keeping with Genesa’s Italian-American heritage!

In the end, a very tired Genesa & Brian were happy with the results as their guests raved about the wonderful party that the newlyweds had thrown.

Here was the planned timeline for Saturday’s event. Of course, with the fluid and spontaneous nature of the party, the times and order of events went out the door…

And here’s the soundtrack of Brian & Genesa’s celebration.

Note that in addition to the great songs for their soundtrack, Genesa & Brian had specific playlists for their cocktail hour and dinner music, songs which have much meaning and significance to them.

Thanks to Brian’s brother-in-law Chris Audette for taking the great images you see in this post.

Special thanks to the following vendors and people who helped make this day very special:

• Laura Gregory with Mid-Pacific Country Club, for providing the great food and beautiful location for their celebration;
• Keith, Jeth, and David with Graphics by Keith, who captured the amazing moments of the night with their cameras;
• Joyce & Cecilia with The Bridal Boutique for helping Genesa look stunning in her wedding gown;
• Genesa’s friend Helene for creating such gorgeous decor for the room;
• Genesa’s mom Anna for helping to make sure that Genesa did not go crazy before and during the celebration;
• And last but certainly not least, the guests, who helped to make this party very fun, lively, and elegant as Genesa & Brian wanted it to be.

To everyone who traveled near and far to celebrate with Brian & Genesa,

Thank You.

Your presence and participation made this event that much more memorable for Brian & Genesa.

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: DJ, elegant, Emcee, Fun, music, wedding

Last Tuesday, I attended the Oahu Wedding Association board meeting. As a board member, I help to promote professionalism among Hawaii wedding professionals and to present Oahu as a good destination for weddings.

On Wednesday, I spent the day on the Windward side of Oahu: first, I met with Maile McWilliams at Mid-Pacific Country Club to go over the location details and setup for Genesa & Brian’s wedding this Saturday.

Afterward, I dropped by Haleiwa Joe’s at Haiku Gardens and met with Tina Scotty, the sales manager, to go over some cross-promotion ideas in order to help her get more weddings at her location. A lot of wonderful ideas were shared, and I’m looking forward to a very productive partnership with them.

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: owa, preparation

It’s always nice to catch up with former clients/friends and to see how things have changed (and have remained the same) since their wedding…so it was indeed a very special surprise to see Jennifer on TV this morning! Back in October 2007, I had the honor of being the Hawaii Emcee/Master of Ceremonies for Jennifer & Kevin’s lively and wonderful Hawaii wedding on the Big Island.

Jennifer and her dog Moxie appeared on KGMB9’s “Silly Pet Tricks” segment, along with Wendy Mah from Sirius Puppy Training and Dave Pang from Ward Pet Spot.

And just to show what a small world Hawaii is, here are the connections I have to this one single segment:

• As stated earlier, I hosted Jennifer’s wedding in October 2007.
• I graduated high school with Sunrise anchor Steve Uyehara, Damien Memorial School Class of 1994.
• I took my dear puppy Kona to Wendy Mah’s Sirius Puppy Training for her “puppy school.”
• I shop at Dave Pang’s Ward Pet Spot often for Kona’s treats and other goodies.

Small world, huh?

Congratulations again to Jennifer & Moxie for their five minutes of fame!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: Fun

Last Saturday, I had the honor of serving as the Master of Ceremonies and DJ for Ashlee & Alvin’s wedding at the Honolulu Country Club. After months of planning and preparation, their wedding day came, and we helped them create a very lively and entertaining event, just like Ashlee & Alvin wanted. It was certainly full of surprises!

The party started with a very casual cocktail hour in the foyer, where guests were able to interact with the wedding party and the bride & groom. When doors to the ballroom opened, guests were treated to a wonderful candy buffet and great music from the 80s-90s, as requested by Ashlee & Alvin. One guest even came up and shook my hand, since he was so used to hearing Hawaiian music at average weddings he’s been to.

The Grand Entrance set the tone of the event: lively, fun, and loud! The audience were at their feet, cheered, and whistled as each couple was introduced, and the volume was deafening when Ashlee & Alvin were finally introduced. Immediately after the Grand Entrance, Ashlee & Alvin surprised their guests by having their First Dance…and soon after, their wedding party joined them for a very nice Wedding Party Dance!

Dinner was just as fun: to go the buffet, the audience participated in a fun trivia contest based on Ashlee & Alvin’s favorite movies! Guests simply had to call in to my cell phone and be the first caller with the correct answer to the trivia question, and they and their table won a free pass to go next to the buffet! My cell phone rang frantically each round as eager guests worked their phones to be the first caller in. It was fun!

Another surprise was the hula that Ashlee performed for her husband. Not very people knew that she was secretly rehearsing this hula for the past six months, and when she performed it for Alvin and the audience, the guests went crazy! It was a true show of love and dedication that completely caught Alvin off guard.

One of the highlights of the night was Last Man Sitting, the high-energy garter game that involves the single men AND the audience. The audience grew more and more excited as the game progressed, and when the final two contestants battled it out for the prize, it was an explosion of energy!

In the end, Ashlee & Alvin’s friends and family had a wonderful time, and the newlyweds were glad that it all went well, so much so that they raved about the garter competition, centerpiece game, and the evening in general:

Ashlee & Alvin’s end-of-the-night wedding testimonial from Marino - Ninja Entertainment on Vimeo.

Here’s the final wedding reception timeline that I helped Ashlee & Alvin develop:

And here’s the soundtrack to their celebration:

Special thanks to the following Hawaii wedding professionals for making Alvin & Ashlee’s day so wonderfully fun and stress-free for them:

• Dawn with Honolulu Country Club, for the ono (delicious) food and gorgeous location;
• Kyler, Grace, and Will with Kai Photography; for being such fun photographers and people to work with;
• Keone, Kelii, and Eric with Kai Media (no relation to Kyler & Grace’s company), for also being fun and innovative;
• Naomi & Steven with Les Saisons for the awesome head table and cake table decor.

And of course, to the Family & Friends who traveled near and far to celebrate with Ashlee & Alvin on their special day…

Thank You.

YOU are the ones who made the day very special and memorable.

Check back here often for more images of their wedding day, courtesy of Kai Photography!

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: Emcee, Fun, stressfree, wedding

It’s a sign of summer when the blogging slows down because business picks up…and it truly is a busy time for me. Here’s what’s been happening since my last update:

• June 4: Had AWESOME planning meetings with GENESA and her mother ANNA for GENESA & BRIAN’S wedding on June 27, and ASHLEE & ALVIN for their wedding on June 20. Both weddings will be quite unique and very interactive. At Genesa & Brian’s wedding, the guests will be doing several group dances in honor of Genesa’s Italian heritage. And at Ashlee & Alvin’s wedding, there’s going to be a bunch of original surprises that we’re springing on the audience!
• June 5: Follow up with all of the vendors for Genesa & Brian’s wedding, and Ashlee & Alvin’s wedding. Send these Hawaii wedding professionals a copy of the reception timeline and a description of all of the unique activities planned for the celebration. Also, prepare for birthday party the next day.
  
• June 6: My niece MORGAN has her birthday party. For once I’m not on the microphone and simply was “the DJ” who plays music. My niece’s mother brings in her friend Marie to play party games and entertain the kids. I learn a bunch of things from her and invite her to join my team and head up the kid parties division.
• June 8: Hang out with Hawaii wedding DJ friends. My friend Ed from Kentucky is in town, and we pick his brain the whole evening as to how they do things differently in Kentucky. I pick up some original ideas to stay in touch with friends and clients.



• June 9: NACE Hawaii meeting. DAVID WILKINSON with Sandler Training teaches me how to better communicate with my clients, and I briefly get recognized for my work as the NACE Hawaii webmaster.
• June 10-11: Prepare for a private Taco & Margarita Party.
• June 12: I go back to my club DJ roots and spin salsa & Latin music at a TACO & MARGARITA PARTY. Guests have a great time eating, drinking, singing, and trying to dance. Later on, the audience plays Rock Band 2 while drunk on Coronas and Margaritas. I have an awesome time.
• June 13: Buy a new digital point-and-shoot camera from Best Buy, to replace the one that grew legs and walked away from me on Maui last month.
• June 15: Send out anniversary cards to Vange & Rodel and James & Charlene, who are celebrating anniversaries this month. Also send out birthday cards to
  • Chris,
  • Davis from Video 21 Productions,
  • Joslyn,
  • Kath-E from Gayle Weddings & Lifetime Events,
  • Kai from Digital Expressions, and
  • Crystal from The Waterfront at Aloha Tower.

  Also sent out appreciation cards to brides-to-be who I met at last month’s World Class Wedding Expo, thanking them for dropping by my booth.

• June 16: Insane kind of day:
  • Begin final preparations and rehearsals for ASHLEE & ALVIN’S wedding this weekend.
  • Fix my wireless router, which had been wonky for the past few days.

  

  • Put together this week’s Wedding VIP Club Weekly Wedding Tip, which gives you an fun, original idea to involve your guests during dinner. This idea involves your baby pictures and is great for brides & grooms who aren’t having a video slideshow. Become a member of the Wedding VIP Club to get this idea for FREE.
  • Drive out to CoffeeTalk for the Oahu Wedding Association board meeting…only to realize I’m a week early. At least I get a smoothie, an hour’s worth of parking, and a chance to write this on my blog. LOL.

Tomorrow (June 17), I meet MELINA, her grandmother, and her wonderful children, to see if I can help her create something fun and lively for her wedding on November 28.

Busy, huh?

written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment \\ tags: DJ, Emcee, event, Fun, music, owa, preparation, sound, unique