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

Giving up on my dreams

So I was never one of those brides that wants everything at my wedding to be typical and traditional.  I always wanted the 'entertainment factor' at our wedding to overload guests with things they wouldn't expect or don't usually see at weddings they've attended.

Our first dance was no exception.  And being a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars and having Cheryl Burke's dance studio within 5-10 minutes of my home, I knew that personal dancing lessons and a choreographed dance was definitely in the plans for Mr Fix It and I.  We didn't want to do the little "start off dancing slow and then act like the DJ screwed up and the song skips and switches to a fast one where all the guests are surprised as you bust a move to Salt n Pepa's Push It."  As fun as that is, again, it's been done....it's a show called Rock the Reception on TLC. 

Mr Fix It and I don't really have a special 'song,' so I browsed my ipod and came up with some fun ideas.  And both Mr Fix It and I knew that we wanted to do some type of swing dance.  So I also browsed YouTube and saved a few favorites of wedding couples who danced swing dances as their first dance...especially the ones who used the same song I wanted to.

I ran out and bought a fedora as a surprise for Mr Fix It.  My plan was to have Mr Fix It standing in the center of the dance floor...the DJ would begin playing the song 'Fever' by Michael Buble and Mr Fix It would slowly snap his fingers to the opening beat.  At that time, I would slink on out in my newly revealed reception dress and do the whole slow, sexy, seductive moves around Mr Fix It...you know, take the fedora off his head, put it on mine...eventually toss it off to someone in the crowd.  Then Mr Fix It would dip me all sexy at one point after about the first minute of the song and on that beat, the DJ would switch to Michael Buble's song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."  So perfect for swing dancing!  Seriously!  Imagine some ideas like this:

Alas, it is not meant to be...with all that was going on this past month, Mr Fix It and I are just feeling emotionally and financially drained.  And as much as we were looking forward to the dance lessons and entertaining our guests with a super fun first dance, Mr Fix It made the suggestion that 'it is just going to be a lot of stress to have to get to lessons once a week and then try to find the time to practice and perfect it over the next two and a half months' with everything else we have going on.  And I have to agree...especially after looking at our calendar and all the appointments, parties, trips, house renovations, moving, etc that will be going on. 

So I have been trying to talk myself into not being upset about having to let go of this little wedding dream of mine that I was so very excited about :(  I really don't want to do the little 'sway' to a slow song type of first dance...however...I've read about lots of brides who said they loved that slow simple swaying first dance because the guests just seemed to fall out of sight and it was a wonderful quiet moment with their groom.  So maybe it won't be that bad afterall if I change my perspective?

And now that we're changing it back to a more traditional first dance, I asked Mr Fix It what song we should dance to.  He said he had a special surprise song that he had wanted to play for me at the wedding and didn't know how to fit it in.  He said it should be okay for our first dance because it is a song that speaks to exactly how he feels about me.  But he does not want me to know about it until the moment we take the dance floor. 

Even being the ridiculously organized anal planner I am, I am actually really excited about this.  Because one, it will give *ME* something to actually be surprised by and two, it will probably be really special and sweet and emotional for me to get to hear this song Mr Fix It is so adamant about me 'listening to every single word' of.  Plus, I have already instructed my DJ's at our meeting last Friday to call Mr Fix It and confirm what the song is and I told them to tell him if they think it's 'danceable' for a slow song or if they can do something to it to be sure it is a slow or steady enough beat for us to move to.

Well, let's hear it...are there any aspects of your dreams for wedding day that you've had to (or did) let go of or change for any reason?

The Flip Flop Favors! - My latest DIY (sort of)

So I posted a few months back about how I wanted to incorporate an idea I had learned about from my amazing wedding coordinator, Amanda of In the Now Weddings at our reception.  Check it out here...flip flops for your guests (probably the girls) to kick off their heels while dancing the night away!  Well, I bought the flip flops back at the end of the summer when they were obviously going on sale.  And I found a wholesale site called Dollar Days where I was able to purchase 72 pairs of flip flops for about $1.25 each.  I didn't get to pick specific colors going this route but  I opted for simplicity and variety so that if the ladies used them and then took them home, they may actually be in colors they would like.   Also got a variety of sizes, too obviously.

Well, here's the photos from my sis, mom and I putting them all together last weekend (please remember as I've said many times before, my sucky camera is not true to actual color all the time):

Flip flops in their packaging:

Wicker laundry basket I found for 40% off at Michael's that we covered in some satin red fabric:

Mom & Sis helping unpackage and retie flip flops with the aqua colored ribbon I bought at the LA Flower Market, 100 yds for $8!  It was cheap but it worked for this simple inexpensive project/favor:

Some of the finished flip flops all tied together:

The flip flops in the basket:

My scrapbooking sister is already working on a cute pair of cut out flip flops as the sign for the front of this basket.  I'll show that to you once we get it finalized.  :)  Thanks to my mom who sewed the fabric onto the basket! 

So, what do you think?  Are you doing any unexpected favors or gifts that are more for your guest's convenience than for a theme or style of your big day?

The DRESS(es)!!! Part Deux - The Reception Dress

So in yesterday's post, I showed you my wedding gown.  I also talked about how I had fallen out of love with her a bit....until, I put her on at my first fitting and told Janet (my seamstress) about how unhappy I was with her for some reason.  I shared some pictures of Miss SaBelle with Janet and told her that something wasn't laying right throughout the gown and I didn't like it. 

I also told her that I wanted the detail of the beading and the lace to show well through the front of the dress but I didn't want to have to wear a skirt (crinoline) underneath the gown in order to 'push' everything out and make it fuller and more visible.  The dress already weighs a ton so added fabric is not an option!

Thankfully, Janet got down there on the ground and started messing with my gown and was pleasantly surprised to see that with the gathers, pickups and the way the gown was stitched together, she could easily make some alterations to please me.

We first snipped a few threads from the very front of the dress...and suddenly, she laid perfectly!  The front flowed down across and didn't look like steps up my legs!  We then cut off two of the little rosettes that were on the front of the gown - it was too busy with all those flowers.  While they looked pretty up near the gathers, they looked lame just sitting on the front of the fabric.  Anyway, with a few snips and readjusting the fabric, my dream dress came back into view.  Janet saved the day!

So once that was out of the way, I slipped into what I like to call the Greek Goddess gown!  We didn't take any photos of it in Janet's home, but I do have some images from when I first bought her in my own home:

This will be the dress I perform our first dance in as well as keep on throughout the dancing portion of the reception:

She's a light ivory with a pretty chiffon flowy part and a very high sexy slit!  She has some gold throughout the applique and so I opted for some fun little gold heels to wear with her - sorry no pics yet, but I have them!  They are super comfy and will be great to dance in and have just a little bit of bling on them.  :)

So, there you have it...she needs to be steamed obviously and I need to find a super slim body hugging type garment to wear under her since she hugs my bod along my panty line :(  But other than that, seamstress Janet said it was a super cute dress and baby sis said it was pretty. 

I had originally thought I would do a short dress number for the reception change and was looking at these two dresses:

Source:  Windsor dress shop

But I'm glad I opted for the longer dress...as I think it is still sort of bridal but fun and different.  Are any of you ladies opting for a second dress to change into?

Seriously Saturdays (Some Serious Toasts!)

Ok, so this weekend's Seriously Saturday is all about something good!  This is definitely an "Are you kidding me?" kinda post but in a totally awesome way!  Like, seriously - who could pull this off?!

I want these friends and future in-laws at my wedding serving up some amazing toasts like these.

For your viewing pleasure...they're not short videos but oh so worth it.  One had me laughing and the other had me crying!  What do you think?  Could you imagine someone pulling this off at your big event?

Seriously!  Think about the time and effort that went into those!  Seriously amazing!  To see the origination of Seriously Saturdays, click here. 

How to keep your guests dancing all night long

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  If your guests are not enjoying themselves and comfortable, they will not be partying with you all through the reception.  In planning my own wedding, I am always making sure to remember what it felt like to be a wedding guest.  So I am very excited about one of my purchases for my own event: I want to be sure that my guests are enjoying themselves and comfortable.  I have lots of ideas to keep them moving and entertained all night.  But one of my favorites comes from my wedding coordinator's portfolio.  She suggests that brides provide a 'Kick your heels off' basket filled with inexpensive flip flops for the ladies (or anyone) to remove their tight fitting dress shoes and dance the night away without being in pain.

She suggested hitting stores like Old Navy or Target at the end of the summer when they are having their sales to get rid of these type of items.  But I found a wholesale site Dollar Days that sells these items to you at super great deals!  I bought 72 pairs of various sized flip flops (we have 200 guests total) for our event at the cost of about $1.51 each including tax and S&H.  You can get them in your wedding colors if you want, but I opted for a variety of colors so that they can maybe find a pair they'd wear again.  And the best part is, your guests will know you're thinking of their comfort and they get to take home an extra little favor at the end of the night.  Here are some sample images courtesy of In the Now Weddings.  But first, here is a picture of the flip flops I purchased for my own event:

And some ideas on how to serve them up:

Photos courtesy of In the Now Weddings

So ladies...what do you think?  Are you doing anything to show your guests you are thinking of their comfort and enjoyment on your big day?