Wed Recap: Great expectations...

I never did a full recap about our experience with our DJ.  I think of all of our vendors, the DJ was one the one that we really put a lot of expectations on.  So much so, that we even had like 3 or 4 meetings with him and the owner of the company to confirm all that we were hoping to accomplish for our guests at our wedding.

The best thing I can say is that they were super organized and attentive and extremely accommodating.  I think for all we got from them (a custom GOBO light of our names, uplighting for around the reception room, audio system and wireless microphones for the ceremony and reception, dance floor lights, about 8 hours of coverage, emcee services, etc) we got a really good deal from a quality company.  They were a pleasure to work with.  But unfortunately, no matter how much we communicated everything to them, things didn't come off the way we had envisioned them in our heads.

He did play a good mix of music and there were definitely people dancing, but it didn't seem like a lot of the songs Mr Fix It and I had specifically hoped for were played much.  It could have just been that I didn't hear half of them while I was chatting with guests or that we simply ran out of time, which TOTALLY happens at wedding receptions!

I had put trivia questions on the guests' tables asking them to answer the question in order to get the bride and groom to kiss.  About 3 or 4 people came up with their answers immediately after the grand entrance but that was it.  The DJ didn't really walk around encouraging the guests to answer the questions while dinner was being served and people were hanging out.
Probably our biggest let down though was in the way the grand entrance came off.  Mr Fix It and I are HUGE UFC/MMA fans (mixed martial arts/ultimate fighting championship).  We love to watch the fights and host fight nights with friends and such.  So I suggested a creative grand entrance that incorporated this idea by coming up with little introductions and nicknames for each member of the bridal party to be introduced with.

We spent a lot of time coming up with personal introductions and corresponding songs for each bridesmaid or groomsmen to come into.  We even played videos of the fights for our DJ's in one meeting and specifically told them how we wanted the introductions to be pulled off.  I even specifically noted parts of each song that we wanted played while each bridal party member was introduced so they would have something to dance to and get the crowd laughing and such.

Well, unfortunately, our DJ didn't nail the grand entrance voice as well as Mr Fix It hoped he would. And I guess the old addage "If you want something done right, do it yourself," really would have played out here because Mr Fix It even suggested that he record the intros himself for the DJ to play for us.  But I thought it would be better to have the live version rather than a recording. 

And the DJ didn't pick the best parts of each song for each party member either.  For example, for our friend, Jerry, we wanted Britney Spears's Womanizer to be played...but only the chorus.  Because Mr Fix It always jokes about what a player he is with the ladies.  But when he was introduced, the DJ played the very beginning of the song where there are no real words and a very slow beat...it didn't come off well at all. 

We also wanted the intros to be real quick, one right after the other, because we had a large party and we also wanted to keep the energy flowing and fast.  But our DJ took too much time and waited too long for each party member to get all the way into the reception room.  We had specifically told him when and how to begin each intro, but it didn't come off the way we had wanted.  Oh well. 

Regardless of the let down, it was still unique, different and fun and a lot of our guests mentioned they thought it was funny and creative.  So you can see for yourself here:



Though it didn't come out quite the way he hoped, we did get some wonderful shots of our bridal party from the photographer:

 By Roseanne Rivoli

By Gemma Bourke

My best suggestion to you is to remember that when you are meeting with vendors, you can NEVER OVER communicate!  And when you have something you are asking a vendor for that is not typical of what they provide, be sure to test it out! Make them do a demo or audition to prove that you are all on the same page.  :)

Share Time:  Did any of you have a vendor really let you down?  Or did you have something that you thought you communicated well to your vendors to have handled only to have them not meet your expectations?

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos by Robert Mullins

Need some advice from fellow creative brides!

Ok, so after the ceremony and the cocktails and once all the pictures have been taken and the formalities of the evening are mostly over, it's time for the party to begin - the reception!

Of course, the big kick off to the reception is the grand entrance and introduction of the bride and groom and their wedding party.  You can always go the traditional route and just get the crowd (your guests) up on their feet and cheering and clapping for everyone.  We did this at my sister's wedding and it was super fun.  Lots of excitement in the room. 

Then you have the silly wedding parties who maybe like to dance their way in as each couple (bridesmaid and groomsmen) is announced and enters the room.  A friend had their wedding party line up on one side of the dance floor and when the bride and groom entered, they ran down the 'line' of the wedding party high fiving them all.  Kind of like when football players or basketball players enter onto a field or court.

These are totally fine (and fun) ways to come on in.  But many brides/grooms opt for a low key mellow entrance - some even only have the bride and groom announced instead of the entire wedding party.

We definitely want something fun and big and different.  Something exciting and to get the crowd pumping.  But we also really want something that speaks to our interests and who we are personally.  So I actually came up with an idea that Mr Fix It fell in love with - FINALLY!  Another win - something he was excited about.  :)

We've shared the idea with our DJs who will be announcing our grand entrance and they are on board.  But we still need to fine tune some things and so I thought I'd ask to see if any of you ladies (or guys cuz this one's for you for sure) had any suggestions or ideas to throw my way?

What we're doing:  We love to watch mixed martial arts (MMA) fights...you know, like the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).  The stuff you see on pay-per-view or Spike TV.  We have several friends who will be at the wedding and share this love with us - we hang at each other's houses having 'fight nights.' 

So we decided that we wanted our wedding party introduced the same way that fighters are introduced when they enter the stadium (or ring, octagon, whatever).  If you've ever watched a fighter enter it's kind of funny.  Some act all tough and mad dog faced and have hard core metal or gangsta rap songs playing while others are all crazy and full of energy dancing around and singing to some song.  Here's a good one:

The songs they enter to are supposed to represent their personality, toughness, or just who they are.  So we are having each couple enter as if they're entering the ring for a match.

How we're doing it:  The DJ will play a different song for each couple as they're announced.  The guys will all enter from one side of the room and the girls from the other (one couple at a time).  So they will make their way through the tables and end up meeting each other on the dance floor in the center of the room.  We're telling our wedding party to go crazy with this and act all tough and like they're going to fight each other, or to just have fun and maybe dance or whatever.  Whatever they feel comfortable with.

The DJ will announce each couple a la Bruce Buffer.  Here's a sample of what we're trying to achieve:

We'll have our DJ change the words so that it goes something like this:

"And now, the moment of truth, wedding fans around the world have been waiting for!  Live, from the incredible estate of Rancho Las Lomas in Orange County, California - it's time!  Coming - out of the groom's corner - weighing in at 200 lbs and hailing from the beautiful city of Laguna Niguel, CA, it's the Electrifying Todd Baxter!"

Then for the girls we'll do the same thing but say "Arriving out of the bride's corner - stepping onto the dance floor at a height of 4' 10" and proving that big things DO come in small packages - it's Debbie the Diva Pelichowski!"

We know ladies don't want to share their weight with the world.  Anyway, we're trying to come up with some fun songs for each couple to enter to - upbeat stuff - maybe hard core for the 'fighting' spoof part of it.  And we also need some great nicknames for each person. 

So that's where you come in - any ideas for some silly or fun nicknames or for some song selections?

For the songs, remember that only the best (appropriate) parts of the songs will be used, like the chorus or intro or the part that goes with what we're doing.  So it will only be like 30 to 45 seconds per song and the DJ will cue it up to the right part and mix them all together.  So far, we're thinking of these for our playlist:

My daughter wants to use the chorus from the New Boyz song "Tie Me Down"...it's kinda fun:

The other songs we have so far are:

Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolph (My personal fave)

Bodies by Drowning Pool (a total fighter's song for sure and Mr Fix It's first choice)

And for me and Mr Fix It, when it's time for us to come in, the DJ will announce "And now, for the main event of the evening!"  And we will most likely use Queen's "We Will Rock You".  The DJ said our venue has this great thing about it (because of how old it is) to where if we start this song and get all the guests clapping their hands and stomping their feet to the beat, the whole room/floor will shake!  Kinda fun, right?

We also want to get the DJ to have the lights darker with lots of strobe lights and flashing lights and such as we all come in.  I am even thinking about getting a cute boxers robe and gloves to wear over my gown - since I have a feeling Mr Fix It might do something silly like rip his shirt off!

So girls - straighten me out...are we crazy to do this?  Should I go for the boxer's robe or will it look silly over my big ball gown?  Do you have any suggestions for nicknames or songs that we can use? 

Have you given any thought to what you'll do for your grand entrance or are you going the simple traditional quick intro route?

The infamous Wedding Dance video (and one you haven't seen)

By now, everyone has seen or heard about the bride and groom who had their entire bridal party dance down the ceremony aisle to Chris Brown's Forever.  Heck, they even made the rounds on the morning network news shows and talk show circuit.  For those who have their head in the sand and have not yet seen this fun loving beginning to Kevin and Jill's wedding here it is:

The sunglasses are a great added touch.  But what I really love is how the guests are totally into it.  Look at their faces...they are laughing, clapping, cheering them on.  What a way to start off your wedding extravaganza.

When the video first surfaced (before it hit the world), I e-mailed it to my wedding party and told them to start rehearsing :)  Once it made it's way across the internet, I even had a couple friends e-mail me telling me they knew I was totally going to do this at my wedding...because I want it to be all about fun and entertainment.  But at heart, the traditional side of me says that even though my wedding party would be totally into it, I still will have a somewhat traditional walk down the aisle.  However, I have my own plans for how to start off our ceremony that are totally me and our guests are sure to love!  I can't wait to show you  once I finalize the project.

But the real reason I wanted to share with you is because, as a YouTube enthusiast, I found the even funnier follow up spoof of the dance.  These people decided to show what happened to the same couple 6 months after...I laughed hysterically at both videos!

I particularly like the Ben Affleck look-alike attorney...but the entire thing makes me laugh every time I watch it.  What's your favorite part?  And do you have anything different planned for your walk down the aisle?