Continue reading »]]> Wow, has it been three months since my last posting? Usually I’m very good at staying on top of things, but it’s a sign of productivity if I don’t have time to post here as often as I would want to. It just means that I’ve been busy serving YOU!

I’ve also been spending the last two months learning. I’ve attended a conference to learn brand new ideas, games, and activities to incorporate into your Hawaii wedding, to make your party much more unique and original. I’m also taking online study courses on human psychology, interaction, and social dynamics, in order to better understand your audience, your guests, and what makes them “tick.” It’s been dizzying at times, but incredibly fulfilling.

In February, I attended the Mobile Beat Conference, a convention of wedding DJs, Masters of Ceremonies, and entertainers who are serious about helping their clients create original and fun parties. I networked with some old friends, made some new ones, attended daily seminars on everything from crowd motivation to business matters, and went to some great parties! The learning was non-stop and the education was overwhelming at times, but it was a great experience. The best part for you: I came back with completely fresh and inspired ideas that we can incorporate into your wedding, activities that are so completely NEW to Hawaii weddings, thus making your wedding celebration truly unique & original. I’m excited to share with you what I learned!

Click here to see a gallery of images that I took at Mobile Beat.

The other thing that I’m doing is taking some online study courses on social dynamics. By learning how people interact with one another, it helps me to better motivate your guests to do things, to become more involved in the group “conversation” that we’ll have at your party, and to have more fun. I’ve applied some of these new ideas & strategies to recent weddings, and the results have been ASTOUNDING. It means that, by the time I’m done learning all of this, I’m going to help you take your wedding celebration to a whole new level!

It’s an exciting year, and I’m really looking forward to sharing it with you.

Image courtesy JODI SATO

Continue reading »]]> As we begin the new year, it’s a good time to really begin putting together the details for your Hawaii wedding! Even if your event is in the summer or fall, keep this in mind: other couples are beginning to plan their wedding day too, and they’re also looking to book their wedding professionals now. If you wait too long, your first and second choices may be booked by the time you get around to talking to them! So it helps to get moving with your wedding plans.

At the very least, send out emails asking for availability. For your first choice vendors, see if you can sit down with them to get a feel for their personalities and to see if they would be a good fit for your situation.

And if you’re still on the fence about hiring me as your Master of Ceremonies for your Hawaii wedding, don’t wait too long. I generally only book one wedding per weekend, and once a wedding is booked on a weekend, that weekend is no longer available. I only have one September weekend left open, a few in July, and a handful left throughout the year, so don’t wait! I’d love to see what we can do to help you create a very original and unforgettable presentation for you and your audience!

Image courtesy KYLER KWOCK / Kai Photo

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Merlyn + Joseph // party time (SDE) courtesy ARIA Studios.
 

Merlyn & Joe Guieb wanted a great party. For their Hawaii wedding in Waikiki, they had decided early on that they wanted their guests to leave the reception at the end of the night with a lot of positive & happy memories, and they wanted their wedding to be completely different from all of the weddings that their guests had experienced in the past. With that in mind, they approached me to help them develop a party that was going to blow their guests away! Instead of a cookie-cutter wedding experience like their guests were used to, we were going to give Merlyn & Joe’s audience a party that would stand out in their guests’ minds and be the talk for many months after the wedding.

And did I mention that we did this all in a month?

Fortunately, when we first started speaking, they already had the groundwork in place–they had a great photography & videography team (Aria Studios), a great DJ (Exquisite Entertainment), a great location (the Hyatt Regency Waikiki), and a detail-oriented planner (Joe’s sister Jen). All they needed was a professional wedding Master of Ceremonies to help them tie it all together. And tie it together I did! In the month leading up to Merlyn & Joe’s wedding, I worked closely with their Hawaii wedding professionals to make sure that EVERYONE knew of the original and creative things that Merlyn & Joe were planning to do, in order to best serve them on their wedding day.

When August 28 rolled around, the stage for a great party was set. After a beautiful wedding ceremony and fun cocktail hour, the party kicked off with a bang! The Grand Entrance, based on Joe’s love of fast cars, was the first surprise of the night, which led into the second surprise–a creative and choreographed First Dance routine that was fast and involved their wedding party!

 

 

Images courtesy MERLYN & JOSEPH GUIEB
 

And there were even more suprises in store for the guests. Kissing Games during dinner kept the mood happy and light-hearted. Instead of tossing the bouquet, we did the Anniversary Game in which Merlyn honored the longest married couple, happily married 54 years. And in the spirit of competition, the unmarried men competed with each other and worked with the audience to win the garter in a twist to the traditional garter toss!

It all built up to an night in which the energy and fun that started at the tables was transferred to the dancefloor once the lights went down and the dance music began!

Merlyn & Joseph’s Hawaii Wedding – Dance Battle
 

Merlyn & Joseph’s Hawaii Wedding – Grandma Is The Life of the Party
 

Merlyn & Joseph’s Hawaii wedding – Having Fun
 

By the end of the night, Merlyn & Joe glowed as their guests said their goodbyes and told them that their wedding was truly one of the best, most memorable Hawaii weddings that they have ever been to!

Of course, many hands went into the success of Merlyn & Joe’s celebration. Special thanks to:

• Michele Ganiko with the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, for being so great to work with;
• Kolby Akamu and her crew at Aria Studios, for capturing all of the great times and wonderful memories;
• China Anderson and her team at REA Events, for the spectacular decor & design;
• Jason Akiona, Chris Todd, and their crew with Exquisite Entertainment, for providing the sound system and the great music during dancing;
• Joe’s sister Jenifer Guieb, who helped keep Merlyn sane and organized during the planning process, as well as to successfully juggle her role as point-of-contact AND bridesmaid on the day of the wedding; and of course
• the 275 guests who joined Merlyn & Joe; your presence helped to make it even more special & meaningful to the newlyweds!

Congratulations to Merlyn & Joe, and thank you again for letting me and my team be a part of your special day and your memories.

Happy at the end of the night!

Continue reading »]]> I’ll admit that my blog hasn’t been getting much love lately. Then again, as we wrap up the busy summer wedding season, it’s a good sign that I have been spending my time on my clients’ events rather than writing for this blog. Please keep in mind that this isn’t simply a “show-up-and-talk-on-the-microphone-for-five-hours” job; in order to deliver a smooth and stress-free presentation for you, there is A LOT of preparation, planning, and practice beforehand.

As things start slowing down for autumn, I’ll have more time to write more helpful & informative blogposts, but in the meantime, to stay updated to what I’m doing on a very regular basis, become a fan of my business fan page if you haven’t done so already.

Click here to visit the Ninja Entertainment Facebook Fan Page.

I’m on Facebook daily, so I update that page more often than this blog. Become a fan!

Don’t forget to also check out the image galleries and client reviews as well.

I look forward to serving you!

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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 »]]> It’s been a while since I posted, hasn’t it?

It’s been busy the last few months, with weddings, events, and taking care of your events in general.

In June, I served as the Master of Ceremonies and DJ for the Hawaii weddings of Diego & Eleanor Serrato and Carol & Martin Miyashiro.

Eleanor & Diego Serrato

Carol & Martin Miyashiro (with her son Hunter)

 
And of course, this past weekend was the extraordinarily fun and entertaining wedding of Amber & Caleb Henderson:

Amber & Caleb Henderson

Of course, in between, there are couples to meet, scripts to write, musical soundtracks and cues to prepare, rehearsals to undertake, and much more. But it’s all part of why I love serving you!

I’ll have a brief writeup and some pictures of these events over the next few days/weeks, including some professional images and video from the great wedding professionals whom I have recently worked with (that means you, Bambooth, Owen & Owen, Chrissy Lambert, and others). But first, the Hawaii Bridal Expo is this weekend at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, so drop by! If you’re still looking for dresses, deals, and wedding professionals for your Hawaii wedding, this is a great place to meet people and get information. Don’t forget to drop by my booth to say hello too!

Image courtesy Eugene Kam Photography

I look forward to meeting you!

Continue reading »]]> My good friend Chuck Lehnard with Maui Mobile Music wrote this a while back, and it’s something that I thought you’d like to know, especially if you’re on the fence about hiring a professional Master of Ceremonies & DJ for your Hawaii wedding:

You can have cold chicken, wilted flowers, disposable cameras and kool-aid to drink, but if your entertainment is good…THAT is what your friends family and loved ones will remember.

One the other hand, you can have the best cake, beautiful flowers, an open bar, the best photographer in the world (which BTW none of your guests will even know about since maybe only 5% of them will ever even see the pictures) but if your emcee, iPod, DJ, or band is bad, THAT will be what people remember. They will remember that your biggest day of your life was boring or no fun.

On your wedding day, I bet your car is good enough to drive you to and from the church, but I bet you will hire a limo.

I bet that you have a friend who can make a cake. But I bet you will hire the best bakery in town.

I bet that your friend has a great new camera from Wal-Mart, but I bet you will hire a professional photographer.

Why would you do anything less than hire a professional emcee & DJ to help make your day perfect?

Wise words indeed.
 

Image courtesy WENDY & ERIC / L’Amour Photography

Continue reading »]]> As a professional Master of Ceremonies, it’s always a treat to find out the history of the couples whom I serve: how they met, how they fell in love, how he proposed, how she accepted. Oftentimes, there is a particular aspect to their Love Story that could potentially add a unique and original “twist” to their celebration, if properly incorporated into the presentation. When done right, it creates an unforgettable experience for the bride, groom, and their audience.

Such is the case for Emily Kuehn and Chayson Seneca, who are planning for their Hawaii wedding in June 2011 at the Hale Koa Hotel. In our conversation, one of the things they mentioned was that they met in college over a game of Beer Pong. If you’re not familiar with beer pong, Wikipedia defines it as…

a drinking game in which players throw a ping-pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in a cup of beer/water on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-to-four-player teams and multiple cups set up on each side set up in triangle formation. There are no official rules, so rules may vary widely, though usually there are six or ten plastic cups arranged in a triangle on each side. The losing team must consume all the beer remaining in the winning team’s cups.

The Challenge: find a way to incorporate Beer Pong into the presentation, because it was such a key moment in the development of their relationship, but to do it in such a way as to get away from the “drinking” part of it and more towards the “fun” part of it. Of course, I love a good challenge, and we were able to incorporate the game into their presentation, personalize it so it reflects the occasion, and get the audience involved so that, even if you’ve never played beer pong, you’ll still have fun in a clean, family-friendly sort of way.

The first step was in renaming the game: Beer Pong is great for frat parties and college keggers, but certainly not as appropriate for a wedding, where grandparents, children, and conservative guests may be in attendance. So instead, we’re going to call it Beverage Pong. In that way, we won’t offend any of the guests.

Now for the setup: like in traditional beer pong, we’re planning to put a triangle of cups on one end of a long table and fill those cups with a minimal amount of water to weigh the cups down. We’re also providing the ping pong balls for contestants to use.

The Game: like in traditional beer pong, participants throw ping pong balls towards the cup and hope to get the ball into one of the cups. Here’s what makes Emily & Chayson’s version different: if the participant lands a ball in a cup, our newlyweds will kiss! Obviously, the more successful you are at sinking a ball, the more often you get to see the couple smooch.

And that’s not all: the distance also plays a part in how long the kiss will be. So if you shoot it in from up close, it will be a short peck. If you make it in from the end of the table, it will be a much longer kiss. If you successfully get it in from across the dancefloor, you are “The Man”, and Emily & Chayson will honor you with a very long kiss.

Emily & Chayson are excited about this and are looking forward to having Beverage Pong in their presentation. It makes their party very original and unique, not a cookie-cutter, carbon-copy reception.

When you meet your emcee for your Hawaii wedding, tell them your own Love Story. See if they’ll give you some generic activities to incorporate into your celebration, just because they’ve done it before at other people’s weddings…or if they actually will listen to you and give you ideas to help you make your party as unforgettable and original as you are!

Wedding images courtesy PHIL AMMON / A+ Media Creations