Thursday, July 31, 2008

Should You Have a Money Dance?

It depends. Is it a long-held tradition in your family or culture? Then yes. The Dollar Dance is popular with many cultures including Czech, Polish, German, Filipino (shout out to Ferdy and his family!!), Mexican and some others. So, they’ll probably all come to the dance floor and have a great time.

Have you never seen a Money Dance before but read about it on the internet and thought it was a good way to get money? Then no. If most of your family members and guests have never seen it before, there’s a chance that the dance will never really get going and will quickly die out, no matter how much we get on the mic and explain to them what it's for and how it’s done.

Just something else for you to think about. And, as always, you should decide what is best for your wedding. Happy planning!!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Congratulations Elizabeth and Jason

We had a great time Saturday at Jason and Elizabeth’s wedding at the Crystal Ballroom at The Rice. The room was gorgeous, of course, and everything else was as well! Elizabeth was a beautiful Bride and Jason a handsome Groom. They had a candy buffet for the guests to enjoy and I’m sure they ate up every bit of it. The Groom’s cake was so cool: it looked like an outdoor scene with ducks in a pond. Apparently, Jason is a hunter. I bet he loved the cake!

Dancing was so much fun, as the guests partied on the dance floor all night! We were asked to play “Thriller” as we were told that one of the guests can do the dance from the video. We played it, she danced, and she was great! All of the guests on the dance floor were an entertaining bunch and I wish I could see the video. (They were singing along, sometimes at the top of their lungs, to the music.) Ferdy and I were having a blast watching them. I bet the video will be awesome! The Bride and Groom apparently went to TCU, as they pulled a huge bunch of alumni onto the dance floor for a group picture, and most of them were the ones tearing up the dance floor. It looks like the TCU Frogs will be the life of the party any where they go!

You know, I just realized that I use the word "fun" a lot. Oh well, I guess that when we DJ, we have fun and the guests do too! I'll try to come up with another word, but "fun" seems to often just fit the best.... Happy Planning!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Come visit us this Saturday, July 26

We're going to be in a Bridal Open House tomorrow, Saturday, July 26, at Bay Oaks Country Club, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Come by and visit us! You'll love Bay Oaks. The site is beautiful, the staff is great, and the food is fantastic. The Private Events Director, Julie Howell, is awesome! She'll take care of you every step of the way to make sure your wedding is a success.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Julie at 281-244-3805. We hope to see you there!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

How to Save Money on Your Wedding

We know that most couples would like to save money on their wedding, and that’s why we’ve tried so hard to keep our prices down. But, there are plenty of other ways to save money and still have a beautiful wedding. Here are a few:

1.Cut out the favors. You’d be shocked at the large number of left over favors we see at every single wedding, especially if they are non edible items like cookie cutters, bells, or coasters. Just buy some bags of Hershey Kisses and sprinkle them on all the tables. It’s quick, pretty, and guests love them!

2. Only print enough wedding programs for ½ of the guests. Many guests don’t take them, and if a married couple is invited, they often only take one.

3. For bubble exits, only have enough bubbles for ½ of the guests. Think about it, ½ of the guests will have left by then anyway (and yes, that is normal!). Just put them in a basket stored under the sign in table, and pull them out before the exit.

4. Don’t get personalized napkins. Just buy some plain napkins in your wedding colors at any party store.

5. Cut out a few of the fancy appetizers. Cheese and crackers are plenty to tide the guests over until meal time.

6. Alcohol. You really don’t need to offer your guests alcohol. But, there are ways to save if you choose to serve it. Offer only beer and wine. This is the most popular option that we see quite often. A cash bar is another choice, but one that many people are not fond of. And, many people these days don’t carry cash, so they won’t have the money to pay for a drink. To many couples on a budget, offering only beer and wine is the easiest way to go.

7. Cut down on the cake. I’ve heard it said that instead of having a large wedding cake to serve all your guests, have a smaller wedding cake with cheaper sheet cakes in the kitchen to serve the guests. I don’t know if this really saves a lot of money, but it’s worth looking in to.

8. Pare down the guest list. Each additional guest costs a lot of money, from invitations, to food, to drinks, to table linens. Do you really need to invite your old neighbor, whom you haven’t seen in 25 years, who changed your diaper when you were two years old? Eliminating children is becoming a more popular way to cut down the guest list as well. It makes sense, as kids often don’t enjoy a wedding like adults. They’re constantly being told to sit down, be quiet, don’t touch the cake, stop running, get off the dance floor, you name it. How much fun is that for a child? Other ways to trim the list are to not invite relatives you haven’t seen in 10 years, or only invite coworkers in your division: not the whole office.

9. Ask your vendors for ways to save. This is the easiest way to save money, but the most often overlooked. Your wedding vendor is there for you, to help you have the wedding of your dreams on a budget you can afford. We’re your friends! Ask your florist if there’s a way to get a similar look for less. Ask your caterer if there is a different food that will help you save money. Now, if you’re thinking of saving money by hiring a friend, let my say from the start that I’m a firm believer in hiring professional vendors (not Uncle Joe with a camera, or Aunt Mary who likes to play around with flowers, or Cousin Billy who likes to make barbecue). Trust me when I say that we’ve seen problems occur at weddings, and 99% of them occurred when a non-professional was asked to do the job of a professional. Hire a professional and ask for money saving advice.

10. Hit the sales! Keep your eyes open, watch for sales, and stock up when you find them. You can buy all kinds of items for your ceremony or reception on sale and save 50% and more.

11. Don’t have a candy buffet, dessert bar, or cookie buffet. Yes, they look cool, and yes, guests love them, but yes, they cost money! These types of unnecessary expenses are lots of fun, but just not feasible if you’re on a tight budget. Your guests are there to celebrate your marriage, and the lack of a candy buffet won’t make them enjoy the wedding day any less!

And, as always, happy planning!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Yes, We Have Uplights!

If you don't know what they are, trust me that you've seen them. They are like spot lights that are on the floor, placed strategically around the room. At only $25 each, they are an inexpensive way to make a fantastic statement! You might have them shining up a pillar, glowing behind the cake table, or drawing attention to the head table. The uplights allow us to turn down the house lights a bit more, and help carry out your theme and colors throughout the reception. You'd be amazed at how incredible a room looks when you add uplights!

Thanks for Visiting Us at the Bridal Extravaganza

We really enjoyed meeting so many of you future brides and grooms this weekend at the Bridal Extravaganza. The show was a hit and had a great turnout! We hope to see many of you in the near future. Well, after you come down from your sugar high from all the cake, chocolate fountain samples, and candy. yum…

As usual, we saw many people that we already know. We saw a recent bride Angela, who was there with her engaged friend. We had fun talking about all the dancing at her wedding. Angela is the bride on our website with the green shoes. She rocked those shoes like no one else could! We also saw Amber, who was a bride from a few years back. She usually works in the Renaissance Festival booth in one of those awesome dresses.

It was another great and informative show, and we met a lot of engaged couples. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, we’ll see you at the next Extravaganza in January. But, don’t forget that we’ll be in the upcoming Bridal Symposium in September, at the Reliant Arena. See you there!

Congratulations Phuong and Doug

What can I say, Phuong was gorgeous, Doug was handsome, the flowers were amazing (I loved, loved, them. The room smelled heavenly!), the cake was looked incredible (and I mean incredible!), and everything was fantastic! In Vietnamese tradition, there was a seven course seated meal, the bride and groom visited each table to thank the guests and take pictures, and they had a traditional Vietnamese ceremony (we weren’t a part of that). It was so nice to see Phuong, Doug, and their families embrace each other’s cultures.

This reception was something different for me, when I introduced some of the bride’s family members. That wasn’t the unusual part: it was that their names were Vietnamese! With Phuong’s help and lots of practice, I think (hope?) I pulled it off. But next time, I think I’d better leave names like that to someone who speaks the language. ha ha

Sometimes when you have the blending of families that come from different cultures and speak different languages, it can be tough. But not with these families! They laughed and danced and had a great time like they’ve known each other forever. You can tell that Phuong and Doug really enjoy each other’s culture and family, and it was great to see. Best wishes to the newlyweds!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Should You Have a Mock Exit?

We’ve had this question come up quite a few times. Brides and Grooms have heard about it, but want to know what it is, how it works, if it’s a good idea, and how will it affect the flow of the reception. Here’s the scoop:

A mock exit is basically your traditional reception exit. Guests line up outside, throw petals or blow bubbles, and the Bride and Groom run through the line while the photographer takes photographs. But with a mock exit, the Bride and Groom aren’t really leaving. Their photographer isn’t staying until the end of the reception, but the Bride and Groom want to get their exit photographed for their album. So, they have a mock exit.

When we do this, we make sure to announce what is going to happen. We inform the guests that it is not the end of the reception, it is being done only for photographs, and the guests should come back in and keep dancing! We stress that the mock exit isn’t the end of the night.

The problem we usually see is that, even though we’ve clearly told the guests that it’s a mock exit, they still end up leaving. The only people that tend to stay will be the immediate family members of the Bride and Groom, members of the Bridal Party, and a few die-hard drinkers and partiers. But, they don’t always stay either. Sometimes, everyone calls it a night and goes home, thus ending the reception. Why? Look at it from their point of view. Since all the formalities of the reception will be done before the mock exit (such as toast, cake cutting, first dance, bouquet and garter, etc.), they’ve seen everything. They see no reason to stay. And often, they still have to pick up their children from the babysitter, or their kids at the reception are getting tired, they’ve had a long day, or they have a long drive home. Since they’ve seen it all, they might as well leave.

Of course, most newlyweds would love to have their photographer stay until the end of the reception. But sometimes, their budget just won’t allow for it, and that’s okay. Just remember that if you have a mock exit, it will signal the end of the reception for many guests, no matter how much we announce to them that they should stay.

There are other options to a mock exit. Do your exit photos as you leave the church. Or have the guests line up and get an ‘exit’ shot of you entering the reception. Or, don’t worry about getting an exit shot. You could always take a picture of the two of you sitting in your getaway car and use that for the last page of your album. I hope this helps!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Congratulations Jessica and Robert

We had an incredible time last night! Jessica and Robert are the nicest couple, strong in faith and full of fun, and so are their friends. Their reception was non-stop dancing, from the first song to the last. It’s rare to see a packed dance floor for the first song, but we saw it last night. Jessica and her dad decided to have a unique father/daughter dance. They started out with a fun song, just to get a laugh from the guests, and then we segued into their real first dance song. I’d love to see pictures of the reaction from the crowd!

Something important to mention is that they had no alcohol at their reception. It didn’t matter: it was fun and dancing all night! We often have couples ask us if people won’t dance if there’s no alcohol, but we don’t think so. You can have amazing reception without drinking. As a matter of fact, Ferdy and I only had champagne for the toast at our wedding and the guests partied with us all night long (but then again, maybe it’s our wild families? LOL).

Ferdy and I had something unique happen at the reception. We saw some guests that we’ve now seen at 3 weddings. We first met them in 2006, when we provided DJ services for their daughter Melanie’s wedding in Pearland - hi Melanie and Paul! Then, a few months ago, we saw them at a wedding we did for a couple in Manvel. And last night, there they were again, and the reception was in Richmond! What are the chances of us seeing the same couple at 3 weddings, spread out over Houston? We think the couple is awesome, as they are so nice and just love to dance. So, you know who you are, J & B, and we hope to see you at another wedding reception again!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Congratulations Kim and Pete

We had a blast last Saturday night as we celebrated the wedding of Kim and Pete. They were so much fun! From the first song to the last, the newlyweds and their guests rarely left the dance floor. We loved watching them all dancing like crazy to Baby Got Back. Later, a group of them tried to do the Thriller Dance to Thriller. At one point, some of the guys were trying to dance like Vanilla Ice in his Ice Ice Baby video.

Pete had the coolest groom’s cake – Superman. We loved this because Ferdy also loves Superman. Why we didn’t think about him having a similar groom’s cake I’ll never know. Oh well, maybe when we have a renewal of vows and reception for our 10th anniversary…. (psssst... Ferdy, hint hint hint :-)

The newlyweds got quite a surprise after their exit when they saw their limo. Pete’s best man took care of the limo as a gift, but he never told them what he got. I think it was a black stretch Excursion. Regardless of what it was, it was huge, very long, and awesome!

Don’t let me forget to say how cute Pete and Kim were together. They are sooo in love and it’s obvious to everyone around them. Too cute!

Thanks you two for the great time we had at your reception!