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All images courtesy JOANNE & WILL ROSS

The Hawaii wedding of Joanne & Will Ross was truly an international affair, with guests coming from both sides of the Pacific Ocean to witness and celebrate the event, so it was truly fitting for them to have their wedding in Hawaii, almost halfway between their countries. They first met in 2008 in Greece, on a random holiday in which Joanne, traveling solo, was invited to join the group that Will was traveling in. A connection was made, and at the end of the trip, both Joanne & Will agreed to stay in touch. Not even an ocean and a 17+ hour time difference could have prevented what happened next: a long-distance friendship blossomed into love, and when they reconnected in person in Hawaii a year later, it was evident that this would be more than simply a passing romance. By the end of their trip, Will had proposed, and Joanne had accepted…

Which led to an incredibly lovely Hawaii destination wedding in August 2010 at St. Augustine’s Church in Honolulu, HI, followed by a fun & elegant celebration at the Hilton Hawaiian Village that evening. With almost all of their guests traveling in from Australia and the Continental US, it was very important to Joanne & Will for their audience to feel involved and have fun. So as their Hawaii wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, I helped them to create a very fun, lively, and elegant event that was reflective of their passions and personalities, and got their audience involved in the presentation!

The Grand Entrance set the tone of the day, as guests cheered for the wedding party. It was a standing ovation for Will & Joanne as they entered to the iconic Hawaii Five-O Theme–guests who knew Joanne appreciated the song choice, as Joanne is a big TV trivia buff and used the Hawaii Five-O theme as her ringtone for her cell phone!

 
The First Dance followed, and it was a perfectly romantic moment.

One of Joanne’s passions is playing trivia, so her guests were able to partake in Joanne’s passion by answering fun trivia questions about the newlyweds throughout the night to decide who goes next to the buffet and to win great prizes!

Marino asks a trivia question.
 

 

 

After dinner, the romance and fun continued, with an upbeat & elegant cake-cutting followed by several touching toasts and speeches by the wedding party and guests.

 

 

JIM (groomsman) delivers his speech.
 

Joanne’s father BARRY gives some well-wishes to the newlyweds.
 

Bridesmaid JENNI & Maid of Honour NADIA tell some stories about Joanne.
 

Will’s Best Man & father WILL ROSS JR. is pithy with his presentation.
 

Will’s sisters officially welcome Joanne to the Ross family.
 

Joanne & Will address their audience.
 

Instead of the traditional bouquet & garter tosses, Joanne & Will intended to honor their parents, so we incorporated the Anniversary Game to include the guests in the presentation and enliven the moment. The result was a very powerful and emotional moment for Will, Joanne, their parents, and the guests.

Although it was not originally part of the presentation, Joanne’s guests requested impromptu bouquet & garter tosses, so we did them!

With the energy running high and guests having a great time, it was simply a matter of playing a wide mix of music that got everyone up and dancing throughout the night! As their Hawaii wedding DJ, I played everything from Sinatra all the way to Lady GaGa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All images courtesy JOANNE & WILL ROSS
 

The night ended with a memorable flourish as Joanne, Will, and their guests closed out the night with one of her favorite songs, I Do I Do I Do I Do by ABBA. As the song ended, guests surrounded the newlyweds and showered them with their love and appreciation!

Special thanks to Stevie Kumia with Best Bridal, for overseeing the ceremony and reception setup, as well as Anna Hinkley, her banquet captain Frankie, and their wonderful staff at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, for taking care of Joanne, Will, and their guests. The party would not have been as successful without their kokua (help).

Congratulations to Joanne & Will Ross. It was an honour to serve you.

All images courtesy JOANNE & WILL ROSS
 

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When I first met Amber & Caleb Henderson, I knew that their Hawaii wedding was going to be an incredibly fun one. They are very active, very outgoing people, and they made it a point to mention that their guests were just as active and outgoing as they are. They also mentioned that they were expecting a wide variety of guests from here (Hawaii) and from Indiana, where they grew up. With that in mind, we helped them to create a very fun, very lively, and very personalized party that included elements of their life growing up in the Midwest, and their home here in Hawaii today.

Their July 2010 wedding celebration at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Lanikai began with a beautiful wedding ceremony overlooking the course. After the wedding, Amber, Caleb, and their entourage continued to take photos with Van & Shya Tran (their photographers) as the guests made their way to the ballroom. The audience enjoyed a unique playlist of music that reflected Amber & Caleb’s eclectic musical tastes, as well as the delicious pupu (appetizers) and the opportunity to take original pictures in the Bambooth photobooth.

 

Images courtesy BAMBOOTH

The Grand Entrance brought the festivities to a new level, as the wedding party entered individually to a high-energy song that reflected their personalities, personalized introductions, and a chance to show off their “dance skills.”

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA

Amber & Caleb set the crowd off with their introduction, putting their own spin on their entrance dance and inviting the audience to join them! We weren’t even into dinner, and the party was already in full swing!

Image courtesy VALERIE GEE BUTTS

Dinner was never boring. For the table release to the buffet, Amber & Caleb named each table after their favorite songs, and whenever I played those songs, the table named after that song would go to the buffet. It was fun watching the guests try to guess if it was their table or not every time a new song was played, and even more fun watching guests sing and dance along to the songs as they waited or ate!

Image courtesy VALERIE GEE BUTTS

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA

To bring a bit of Midwestern fun to their party, Caleb brought in a Cornhole/Bean Bag Toss game. He played this game growing up, and still plays it whenever he and Amber throw parties at their home, so why not include it at their wedding celebration as well? Guests rose to the challenge, even attempting to toss beanbags from deep within the audience!

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA

Amber & Caleb included many surprises throughout the presentation. One of the more memorable ones was the bouquet presentation. Instead of simply tossing the bouquet to a few single friends, Amber surprised and honored her grandmother by presenting it to her! It was a very touching and emotional moment.

Image courtesy VALERIE GEE BUTTS

The garter removal & toss were a lot of fun, as Caleb & Amber’s outgoing personalities shined through.

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA
 

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA
 

Image courtesy VALERIE GEE BUTTS

With Amber & Caleb’s friend Michael as the winner of the garter, it was time for another surprise: the Reverse Garter! Michael was told that he needed to put the garter on the leg of Amber & Caleb’s friend Shya, and that the higher up Shya’s leg that Michael placed the garter, the more years of good luck & great marriage Amber & Caleb would have.

Little did Michael know that, once blindfolded, we switched Shya with Caleb’s uncle Myron! Hilarity insued. (And Michael had no idea he was putting the garter on another man’s leg!)

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA

Once we got into dancing, Amber & Caleb’s friends & family danced to everything. The energy that began building from the moment their audience arrived and continued to grow during the fun and entertaining program was now transferred to the dancefloor as guests danced to a wide range of music–some Elvis & oldies for their older guests to Usher & today’s artists for the younger crowd. It was a remarkably fun & lively time.

 

 

 

Images courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA
 

 

 

 

Images courtesy NICCOLE HENDERSON-WILLIAMSON

Amber & Caleb Henderson wanted a very fun & lively party that was a reflection of who they are. And we were quite successful in helping them to achieve it!

Of course, I had help. The following Hawaii wedding professionals and people also contributed to Amber & Caleb’s successful Hawaii wedding celebration:

• Amber’s good friend Marizel Hiponia, who graciously offered to oversee the setup and be the coordinator for the event;
• Laura Gregory, Maile McWilliams, and the wonderful staff of the Mid-Pacific Country Club, who provided great food and outstanding service;
• Van & Shya Tran, Amber & Caleb’s good friends and photographers, for being so easy and wonderful to work with;
• Chrissy Kendziorski Smith with Blue Cricket Productions, for being such wonderful videographers;
• Maila Leinau Myers & Brent Keane with Bambooth, for the great photobooth services;
• Cecilia Domingo & Joyce Coelho with The Bridal Boutique, for providing the wedding dress that made Amber look absolutely stunning!

Finally, congratulations to Amber & Caleb Henderson! It truly was an honour to help them make their Hawaii wedding presentation as fun, lively, and original as they are!

Image courtesy MARIZEL HIPONIA

Continue reading »]]> Mashups are a great way of “bridging the gap” between the mix of guests at your Hawaii wedding! A mashup is a song that combines elements of two different styles or genres of music into one song. Take this, for example:

 
In this example, the remixer (Party Ben) takes the vocals from Beyonce’s Single Ladies and combines it with the theme from The Andy Griffith Show. This makes the song instantly recognizable to

• your younger guests, who will recognize the Beyonce hit right away, and
• your older guests, who may have grown up watching The Andy Griffith Show, will instantly recognize the main theme, and may reminisce about the great memories from the past that the melody brings.

A mashup like this, when played by your wedding DJ, can bring generations together.

Here’s another one:

This is a fun one! Your younger guests will appreciate hearing Lady Gaga’s Just Dance, and your other guests who enjoy Journey will appreciate dancing to the instrumental sound of Don’t Stop Believing.

Here’s a combination of Green Day’s Brain Stew with The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby:

And if you have guests who like music from the movie Grease, and/or like music by hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg, they will get a kick out of this:

So where do you find mashups? Mashups are everywhere! An easy way would be to go to youtube and run a search for “mashups”. Look for songs that you think you and your guests would enjoy dancing to, and let your DJ know so he can find a way to get those songs!

Mashups are a wonderful way of personalizing your wedding, getting your guests to dance together, reliving some happy memories from the past, and having a great time at your Hawaii wedding!

Image courtesy PHIL AMMON / A+ Media Creations

Continue reading »]]> In an earlier post, I wrote about several factors that will encourage your guests to dance at the end of the night. If you haven’t read it yet, click here to read the accompanying post. In particular, one of the factors that get your audience to dance is the ambiance of the room. For instance, if your photographer, videographer, or venue insists on keeping the lights on during the dancing portion of the night, it’s very likely that your guests will not dance, simply because they don’t want to be seen dancing!

Reading that post again reminded me of a past Hawaii wedding that I did a few years ago. At that wedding, I was the Master of Ceremonies for this event. The client had also hired a professional wedding videographer to document her day. It was my first time working with this videographer (who has remain nameless because he’s a good friend, and I don’t want to embarrass a good friend ). When it was time to dance, the videographer had a big GLARING light on his camera turned on to wash the dancefloor in bright light. It was bright as day! He had it on to capture footage of people dancing. Sadly, because no one wants to be seen dancing, only 2-3 people were on the dancefloor sort of having a good time. (I say “sort of” because they couldn’t really have a good time with a glaring light on them as they danced.)

After a while, he had enough decent footage, so he turned off his camera light and started packing up. As soon as he did it, the DJ played another fun song, and the guests invaded the dancefloor! It was packed! Everyone got into it and really danced, sang, and partied!

A full dancefloor meant better footage, so the videographer quickly pulled out his camera…and turned on the big light.

As soon as the song was over, the dancefloor cleared. Once again, there were only 2-3 people dancing, but no one wanted to be on the dancefloor, in full lighted view of everyone else.

Once again, the videographer put away his camera and light. Once again, the guests filled the dancefloor with the next song, and the videographer brought out his camera and light. And once again, the dancefloor emptied at the end of the song! This repeated several times. By the time the videographer was completely packed and no longer shooting dance footage, the DJ was able to keep the guests dancing and partying all the way until the end of the night.

If the videographer had turned off his camera light, he may not have captured people’s faces and reactions…but he would have captured people dancing, laughing, and having a great time! Instead of 2-3 people, he would have better footage of a crowd of guests having fun.

When you get your album or DVD, do you want to see 2-3 people dancing in full detail? Or do you want to remember seeing MANY of your guests dancing and having a good time, even though you can’t see who’s who?

Images courtesy Ed Pingol Photography

Continue reading »]]> Over the past few days, I have been blogging about creating the musical playlist for your Hawaii wedding. If you haven’t read them yet, click below to read them:

• Part 1, which deals with getting your audience up and dancing when dance music begins
• Part 2, which deals with creating the playlist (actually, FOUR playlists) to help organize your music requests.

In this post, Part 3 will deal with music sources: sources of inspiration to find your music choices.

One way to come up with musical selections would be to look through your old photo albums. As you go through them and reminisce, think about those moments and if there was a particular song associated with those moments. Those would be good songs to play and dedicate to people at your reception.

Find out other people’s first dance songs. If you’ve gone to other people’s weddings, see if you can remember their first dance songs. (It will help if you have access to their wedding DVD, as they will have a clip of the first dance.) Have your DJ play those songs with a dedication to the couple, and it will make that couple feel very special on your wedding day.

Ask your friends! It’s simple yet effective, and it will make your guests feel more involved in the wedding planning process. And when your guests feel involved and become invested in your party, it are more likely to stay since they now have an emotional stake in your celebration. If you read Part 1, there’s a GREAT tip in there to get song requests from your audience. Check it out!

Listen to the radio. In your car or in the office, pay more attention to what is being played. This will help to determine what’s currently hot and what some of your guests are dancing to when they go to the nightclubs.

Check out billboard.com or any of the local radio stations’ websites for their “Top 10″ lists. This also helps you determine what people are listening to.

Here’s a list of Oahu FM radio stations, their formats, and links to their websites, courtesy of the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide:

Frequency	Call Letters	Programming Format
88.1	KHPR	Hawaii Public Radio: Classical Music & News (National Public Radio)
89.3	KIPO	Hawaii Public Radio: News, Talk, World Music, Jazz National Public Radio + BBC
90.3	KTUH	U of H – Jazz, Hawaiian, alternative, rock, rap, world music – Also on 89.9 and 91.3 FM
91.1	K216FI	Alternative Christian Music “The Effect” (KEFX FM from Twin Falls Idaho) (LP)
92.3	KSSK	Adult Contemporary Music; Perry & Price Morning Show
92.3-2	KSSK	Smooth Jazz
93.1	KQMQ	“The Zone” Contemporary Hits
93.9	KIKI	“Hot I-93.9 FM” Urban Contemporary Hits
94.7	KUMU	“Honolulu’s Lite Rock” Adult Contemporary Music / Lite Rock
95.5	KAIM	95.5 “The Fish” – Contemporary Christian Music
96.3	KRTR	“Krater 96 FM” Adult Contemporary Music
97.5	KHCM	Hawaii’s Country Music
98.5	KDNN	“Island Rhythm 98.5″ (Island Music)
99.5	KHUI	“99.5 The Jewel” – Adult Standards
100.3	KCCN	FM 100: Island Music & Reggae
101.1	KORL	“Hawaii’s Smooth Jazz”
101.5	K268BE	“Hawaii’s Multicultural Radio” (LP)
101.9	KUCD	“Star 101.9″: Modern Rock Hits
101.9-2	KUCD	“Radio Free Hawaii“: Commercial Freeform
102.7	KDDB	“Da Bomb” (Urban Contemporary Hits)
103.5	KHAI	“Air 1 Radio” – The Positive Alternative (Christian Rock)
104.3	KPHW	“Power 104.3″ Hawaii’s Hip Hop and R&B Hits
104.7	K284AL	Simulcasts KKCR FM – Kauai Community Radio
105.1	KINE	Contemporary Hawaiian Music
105.9	KPOI	“The Ride” – Hawaii’s Classic Hits (rock)
107.9	KKOL	Hawaii’s “Kool Gold” (oldies)

Use these links, lists, suggestions from friends, and your happy memories to create a unique and fun playlist for your guests to dance to!

Images courtesy Adam A. Palmer Photography

Continue reading »]]> A few days ago, I wrote about creating a musical playlist for your Hawaii wedding and how to get your guests up and dancing when the dance portion of the night begins. If you haven’t read it yet, Click here to read the accompanying post. This is Part 2, where I will write about actually creating the playlist.

Instead of creating one playlist, I recommend creating FOUR playlists, which breaks down your music requests into the following categories:

• The DO-NOT-PLAY list. If there’s a song or genre you absolutely DO NOT want to hear at your celebration, place it on this list. These can be songs you can’t stand (I had one bride tell me that absolutely, under no circumstances, should I play any Celine Dion), or songs that bring some bad memories (e.g., a breakup song with an ex, or a song associated with a death in the family). But keep this in mind: although you may not like a song, your guests may want to hear it, which leads me to the second list…
• The DO-NOT-PLAY-UNLESS-REQUESTED list. If there are songs that you don’t really want to hear but think your guests might want to hear (and if you’re nice enough to accommodate them), then place the songs here. Most “line dance” songs like the Macarena, Electric Slide, and YMCA go into this list; although you may not care about these songs, your guests may want to break into the Electric Slide sometime during the night and may request it. I did a wedding where the bride absolutely hated the Macarena…but the song was an important family dance for the groom and his family. (His family did the Macarena at every family gathering; it was somewhat of a tradition.) So at the wedding, I didn’t play it…until the groom, his mom, his aunts, and his cousins asked for it two songs in. And the groom’s family flooded the dancefloor and did the Macarena! Although the bride didn’t like the song, she was more pleased that her new husband and and his family were having a great time at her wedding.
• The MUST-PLAY list. Place all of the songs that you absolutely must hear at the wedding. If there’s a song you love, a song that has meaning to you, or a song that has meaning to your friends & family, and you must hear it at the wedding, place it in this list.
• The REQUESTED-PLAY list. Place your song requests that you’ll feel okay if your DJ doesn’t play it that night into this list. Keep in mind that you generally have 1-2 hours for dancing after the formal program. Your DJ will not have time to play EVERY song on your request list AND take care of your guests’ requests. Giving him a list of your song requests will help him with the flow of the night (and most good DJs will try to play as many songs on your list as possible), but try not to hold your DJ against it if he does not play everything on the list. With his expertise and experience, he will want to play your guests’ requests and take them on a musical journey where your guests will dance and have a good time.

These lists will help your DJ create a playlist that’s exciting, entertaining, and fun enough for your guests to dance!

Image courtesy ERIC & WENDY/L’Amour Photography

Continue reading »]]> Although most people hire me to be the Master of Ceremonies, I can still provide DJ services for their Hawaii wedding if requested. In that respect, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is

What music will get my guests dancing?

There are four main factors that will determine whether or not your guests will dance at the end of the night.

How well you know your guests’ musical tastes: You know your guests better than the DJ whom you hire, so you have a general idea as to what they like to dance to. After all, you’ve probably gone clubbing or concerts with them, or you’ve gone to parties with them and witnessed what types of music get them going and grooving. If anything, simply ask them! A thoughtful thing you can do when you send out your invitations is to include a line on your RSVP cards asking your guests for ONE musical request in addition to the number of friends attending. If you send out 100 invitations and get 65 of them back, that will be 65 music requests to start you off!

How musically knowledgeable your DJ is. While you may have a lot of requests or an idea of what you want to play at your wedding, at the same time, you must trust your DJ’s expertise and experience in reading your crowd and playing the music at the right time to get people moving. With his experience, your DJ will know the right time to play the hot new Lady Gaga track or to slow it down with some Etta James for your older guests. Trust your DJ for his experience & expertise.

How much fun your guests have during the program. This is very important: how much fun and engaged your guests feel during the formal program determines how willing they will be to dance later on in the night. If your guests feel involved during the formal program (e.g., the toasts, cake-cutting, all the traditional wedding things you do at the reception), then they will more likely stay to dance. But if the program is noticeably boring, then your guests will more likely head home once the house lights go down and the dance music begins. (You’ve probably seen this at other people’s weddings, haven’t you?) A Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies can help to make sure your guests feel engaged and involved during the formal program of your party, making it more fun for them so they are more likely to dance later on in the evening.

The ambiance of the room. If the caterer or videographer insists on having the lights on during dancing, it’s very likely that your guests won’t dance. After all, no one wants to really be seen dancing, so if it’s too lit, no one will dance. Think about the last concert or nightclub you went to: when the performance starts, they kill the audience lights, don’t they? Part of the reason is to encourage the audience to dance along to the music! It’s the same thing at your wedding. Kill the lights during open dancing so your guests will feel comfortable enough to dance!

When putting together your dance playlist, keep these factors in mind, and it will help you to create fun and lively moments when it’s time for your guests to get up and boogie!

Continue reading »]]> Last Monday, I wrote about The Movement, a celebration of dance produced by Island Fire Productions and headlined by America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3 winners Quest Crew. I helped provide audiovisual services for this event.

Click here to read about my experiences at this event.

Frank with Groove Entertainment recently posted a gallery of images from the event.

Check the gallery of images out!

Continue reading »]]> 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!

Continue reading »]]> If you are a member of the Wedding VIP Club, check your inboxes for this week’s Wedding Tip! It contains the “Five Ways to Get Your Guests To Dance At the End of the Night.” If it’s important for you to have people dancing and having fun once the lights dim and the dance music starts, then this weekly tip is a must-read!

If you aren’t a member of the Wedding VIP Club, 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!