I’ll be at the Oahu Wedding Association party tomorrow evening at Masako Formals, where I will provide audiovisual support and serve as the Master of Ceremonies for this event.
If your wedding vendor is interested in checking out the association and having a great time at the party, have them send me an email so I can get them on the VIP list! Click here to find out more about the party.
And come back tomorrow for stories and pictures from the party!
After weeks of going back & forth in deciding whether to get one, I finally took the leap and purchased a netbook today. This tiny little PC makes it even easier for you to stay in touch with me because I will have access to my email almost anywhere! While a laptop could do so, it can get impractical–a netbook’s small size allows me to take it with me everywhere.
It’s all done in an effort to serve you better and help make your wedding planning experience much easier!
In this age of high tech social networking and communicating, don’t forget that many of your wedding vendors have adapted to the new media as well! The phone numbers for your photographer, videographer, wedding coordinator, Master of Ceremonies, wedding dj, and florist may be cell phones that can easily accept your text messages. (Many vendors like James Chun with Crane Media even do a lot of “business” by mobile device; he’s a genius with the iPhone.) When you next speak to your wedding vendors, ask them if their phone plan allows for texts. If their plan does, then take advantage of it! Texting is a good way to reach your wedding vendors to confirm appointments, ask quick questions, and much more.
The Oahu Wedding Association is hosting this month’s party at Masako Formals, a bridal dress salon & boutique.
I volunteered to provide the audiovisual for this event as well as to again serve as the Master of Ceremonies for this event. As part of my preparation for this party, I dropped by the store today to see the layout of the location and to get an idea of how this will affect Tuesday’s presentation.
Here is the proposed “runway” for the “fashion show.”
Masako Formals will be showcasing the latest gowns & wedding fashions; the owner, Kumiko, and the Director of Hawaii Sales Lisa will talk about bridal fashions and formalwear. In addition, Wendy Robin from Studio W of Honolulu and Heather Saffrey with Heather Bell will teach the audience of wedding professionals about Hair & Makeup trends. Phil Grunenberg of Phil’s Tuxes will talk about the latest trends in the tuxedo industry, and Cecilia & Joyce from The Bridal Boutique will speak about bridal fashion trends. And of course, our models will be Eric & Wendy with Leslie Mansperger Photography (for once on the other side of the camera 
and the always-awesome Geralyn Camarillo with Hokuli’i Images.
This is the main entryway to the store.
I will set up the mixing board, cordless microphone receivers, and laptop of background music in this corner. It will be a very compact system. (I will bring in my own table; the table in the picture is there for reference.)
As with every event, I will rehearse my part of the presentation over the next few days so that on Tuesday, it sounds very smooth and professional. It will be a great party! If your wedding vendor wants to join in the fun, have them shoot me an email to get on to the guest list!
This is the story of KATE & ANDY (the names have been changed to protect their identities).
Kate & Andy were in the market for an emcee for their Hawaii wedding in October 2008. They contacted several but had their heart set on one, mainly because they had received many glowing referrals from her family who had seen this emcee perform in the past. (The emcee is a well-known comedian, popular radio & TV personality, and advertises himself as a “most popular emcee.”) Her family had used him to emcee several other weddings, birthday luaus, and graduation parties in the past. Needless to say, her family liked him, and Kate’s brother even offered to pay for this emcee, as a gift to Kate & Andy.
So what went wrong?
The emcee did not customize his presentation to the audience. While Kate’s family was a local family, Andy’s family was from the mainland–in fact, from the Bible Belt. While the emcee’s local humour and ethnic jokes were a hit with Kate’s guests, Andy’s family was embarrassed and offended.So what’s my point with this rant?
Referrals are good, especially referrals from family. But it is also just as important to use your own common sense in choosing your wedding vendors. Kate & Andy should have requested a meeting with their Master of Ceremonies to see if he would be a match for their party, despite the insistence of her family to hire that emcee. Then they would have learned that his “humour” would be inappropriate for half of their audience. They would have learned that this emcee views their wedding as another comedy showcase rather than a celebration of love & the coming together of two families.
When choosing the Master of Ceremonies or vendors for your wedding, don’t simply listen to referrals from everyone. Use your own good judgment. Meet with your vendors, get to know their philosophies, and see if those values are a match to yours. Choose the one that best fits YOU…not just the one who everyone says is good.
Yesterday’s article covered Grand Entrance Theme Ideas for Your Wedding. Here is the continuation of that article.
70′s CELEBRATION!
GET THIS PARTY STARTED
THE LOVE STORY
This is a video of a Love Story Grand Entrance from Ryan & Cherie’s wedding, as performed by my colleague Jimmie Malone.
In yesterday’s article, I wrote about different Grand Entrance theme ideas. One of those ideas was the Star Wars/Sci-Fi Entrance.
While perusing Youtube, I came across this great video of one couple who decided to take their love of Star Wars and really personalize it to their wedding…
I would soooo LOVE to work with a couple who would be open to doing this!
If you are a member of the Wedding VIP Club, check your inboxes! This week’s Weekly Wedding Tip covers Grand Entrances. In it, I cover different tips to create a more memorable Grand Entrance event at your wedding. This post is a companion to the Weekly Wedding Tip; here, I will share some creative themed ideas that can inspire you to be unique in your choices for your own Introductions.
THE “STAR WARS”/SCI-FI ENTRANCE:
THE “SPORTS JAM” ENTRANCE:
THE TRADITIONAL ENTRANCE:
JAZZ/SWING FUN
Tomorrow, I will post Part 2 of this article, so stay tuned for more great ideas to make your Grand Entrance more memorable! And if you want to see more members-only tips, be sure you are a member of my Wedding VIP Club. If you aren’t, sign up 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!
A bride-to-be recently contacted me because she had heard I played interactive games at weddings. She wanted her wedding to be full of games and lively interactivity…but she didn’t want it to be cheesy.
Therein is the problem.
Playing games at a wedding just for the sake of playing games at a wedding means you will have a cheesy wedding.
Games at weddings are fun…but there should be a connection back to the bride & groom. The analogy would be doing the chicken dance at a wedding. Many brides find this entirely cheesy, probably because many DJs play it at weddings that it has become overplayed. But what if, when the bride was younger, she always danced it with her father, and the Chicken Dance had a lot of significance to the bride and her dad? If the DJ played it then, it wouldn’t be cheesy; it would be meaningful to the bride.
It’s the same thing with Games at Weddings. Doing the Golf Game is cheesy and meaningless if the groom and/or his guests don’t play golf. Doing a Chicago Bulls-style Grand Entrance is meaningless if the newlyweds don’t like basketball. Doing the Anniversary Card Activity is cheesy if the there is no connection to the newlyweds.
When you meet with your emcee, ask him for ideas for games and activities to spice up your wedding, but always make sure those suggestions fit you and your style. If they don’t, ask him to be more creative…or find a Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies who can help you personalize your celebration to reflect YOU.
Here are some original game ideas that we created in the past, and how they relate to the bride, groom, and their guests:
The Lego Buffet Table Release was done at the wedding of Joshua & Samantha because Joshua was a contractor/builder, and Samantha had a two year old boy who loved playing with LEGO. So I incorporated both concepts into the reception with a very creative table release!
March seems to be the month where everyone is celebrating a birthday. In the week, I’ve sent congratulations to at one former client, one son of a former client, and two of my favorite wedding associates. So congratulations and Happy Birthday to:
If I miss anybody, my apologies! Just make a comment and I’ll be sure to include you in this month’s list.