Congratulations Frank and Gladys

This reception brought us to the J.W. Marriott on Westheimer. The interior is modern and beautiful and the coordinator we worked with, Beverly, was excellent. But, let’s talk about the Bride and Groom.

Gladys was so beautiful in her strapless white beaded gown with full pick-up skirt. She carried red roses. Her Bridesmaids wore floor-length dark red gowns and carried smaller red rose bouquets. Frank was handsome in his black tux with red boutonniere, and his
Groomsmen matched.

To match the colors of the day, the tables were covered in white floor length cloths, with red rose centerpieces. The chairs had white satin chair covers with red ties. And the cake, wow, it was beautiful! It featured four white tiers, each with different designs, and red roses between each tier. The topper consisted of red roses. Instead of a Groom’s cake, there was a chocolate fountain, which was definitely enjoyed. To add to the ambiance of the room, there were eight red uplights along the walls. They make such a difference in a room!

After a delicious sit down meal, it was time for the toast and cake cutting. The First Dance: what can I say. It was awesome! Frank and Gladys choreographed an eight minute dance, like some you might have seen on the internet. They started with a slow song, went into some great fun dance songs like YMCA, Apache, Ice Ice Baby, and others, then ended it up with the slow song again. It was fantastic and the guests went crazy clapping, laughing, and singing along! Following that were the Father//Daughter and Mother/Son dances, and the party was on. This group was fun! They danced to everything from Line Dances to Waltzes to Hip Hop to Eighties to everything else.

At one point, cousins of the Bride sang “From This Moment” dedicated to the Newlyweds. It was really sweet and you could tell it meant a lot to Gladys and Frank. After that, and the Bouquet and Garter, it was back to the party. This couple said they wanted the reception to be a big party, and they got it. It was so much fun, the guests were dancing, and a great time was had by all.

Congratulations Frank and Gladys!

Congratulations Christian and Rachel

This reception was held at the beautiful Westlake Club. There are gorgeous views from the floor to ceiling windows in the 7th floor ballroom. With the candles in the windows, it was so elegant! And Jennifer, the Private Events Director is fantastic and a pleasure to work with.

The colors of this wedding were red and black. The Bride’s cake had five stacked white tiers with white fondant ‘ribbons’ at the base of each. Red edible roses trailed down the front. Christian’s cake was a top hat with the German flag on the top. (He is from Germany.)

Rachel was so beautiful in her slim, ivory gown and ivory elbow-length gloves. Her Bridal Party all wore strapless, black satin gowns, and carried red bouquets. Christian wore a tux with tails, a red vest, a red boutonniere, and a black top hat with a red band. He looked so handsome and really had the style to carry off the look. His Groomsmen wore black tuxes with red ties and the all looked so nice.

This reception was unique in that it was a Texan/German wedding. Rachel and Christian made sure to throw in touches that are common in German weddings, to honor the Groom’s heritage. They did a Distance Game, to see who travelled the farthest. For the toast, the guests were offered champagne as well as a shot of German liquor. Apparently, it’s common in Germany to do a shot after a nice meal. By the look on some faces, I think that liquor was pretty potent! Then, they played a game called “How Well Do You Know Your Mate?” which challenged three couples: the Bride and Groom, and each set of parents. The parents of the Bride won, and the game was hilarious!

After the first dance, it was party time! This was a great crowd that loved to dance. We were provided some German dance songs and those were a hit as well. There were also so many little kids at this reception, and they were running all over the dance floor and having a ball. They were so cute! Two of them belonged to the sister and brother-in-law of the bride, and we provided DJ services at their reception 6 ½ years ago. It’s amazing how time flies. There was also a much appreciated children’s room, with babysitters, balloons, toys, crayons, candy, and all sorts of things to keep the kids entertained. The kids love the room.

Finally, after a long night of fun and dancing and the bouquet and garter, the evening came to a close. Some guests boarded the shuttle buses that took them back to their hotel, and others went to a bar to keep the party going. I have a feeling that party went all night long! Congratulations to the Newlyweds!

Bay Oaks Country Club Bridal Open House

This Thursday, February 4, we'll be at Bay Oaks Country Club, in Clear Lake, for their Bridal Open House. It is from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Bay Oaks is a beautiful country club and we're proud to be one of their recommended vendors. For more information or to RSVP, call Julie Howell at 281-488-7888 x 3805. We hope to see you there!

We Received the Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award 2010!

We're so excited! Today it was announced that we won a Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award for 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism. The WeddingWire community includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means our past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected us to receive this honor.

We were also WeddingWire rated for 2009, which means that we received great reviews from all the past brides and grooms who submitted them - a perfect 5-star rating!

Thanks to all of you who nominated us, and we look forward to another great year!

Way To Go M Bank

We had a great time Saturday night providing entertainment for the M. Bank annual Preferred Customer Appreciation Banquet. They had cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and casino gambling. Everyone had a great time and it was fun hearing the excitement as people hit it big. Every five minutes you'd hear a big "Woo hoo!!!!" or hear the coins clinking in the slot machine. At the end of the night, the winnings were exchanged for tickets, which were put in for some great door prize drawings. Usually when you have a Casino Night, it's all about gambling, but this group was so fun, there was dancing as well! It was a fun night for all and it was also nice to see a company showing their appreciation to their loyal customers, even in these tough economic times.

Come see us at the Bridal Extravaganza

As you Brides and Grooms to be probably know, the big Bridal Extravaganza is this weekend, January 9 & 10, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Come visit us in booth #312!

For more information:
www.BridalExtravaganzaShow.com

Congratulations Ben and Libbi

This wedding reception was held at a really cool site – a room in the Grand Opera House in Galveston. The first-floor room had been destroyed during Hurricane Ike, but it looked great for the wedding day. An exposed ceiling, brick walls, and the location looking right on to the street made it feel like we were in a downtown loft. I loved it. To add to the loft feel, the couple had a cocktail type reception, with heavy appetizers and cocktail tables instead of regular tables.

The colors of the day were purple and champagne. Libbi was gorgeous in her strapless, champagne-colored gown. It had a delicate sheer lace overlay with a lace pattern and embellishments. It also had a champagne satin sash at the waist that draped down to the floor in the back. Her hair style was the perfect accent to the gown, as it was held up on one side by a gorgeous feather clip. Her flowers were assorted white hydrangeas, white lilies, and purple calla lilies, tied with a champagne colored lace ribbon. The Bridesmaids bouquets were similar but a bit smaller. They wore dark purple gowns with champagne colored satin sashes that draped down the back. Ben wore a black tux with a champagne colored vest and tie. His Groomsmen wore black vests and ties. They all had ivory boutonnieres.

There were some really neat touches at this reception that tied in the colors. At the sign-in table, there were champagne colored cards mounted on purple paper, to write a message to the Newlyweds. They even had a card stand, decorated with their last initial, for displaying the cards. On the front doors, they had two wreaths hanging up with purple ribbons. Their first initials were in each wreath. Oh, and I can’t forget the trolley. The guests as well as the Bridal Party arrived in a trolley. How cool is that? Then, the trolley ran throughout the reception to take the guests back to their cars at the church.

After dinner, it was time for the special dances. Libbi and Ben shared a sweet First Dance followed by the Father/Daughter dance. The Mother/Son dance was a bit unusual because about one minute into the dance, the Groomsmen and their mothers joined in. The, we invited all mothers and sons in the room to join in. After that, party time! This crowd was fun! They liked to dance to everything and loved to fill the dance floor. We saw the largest group of Aggies we’ve ever seen on the dance floor when we played the Aggie War Hymn. At one point, they lifted Ben up into the air!

A bit later, it was time for the toasts. After two very nice ones, it was on to the cake cutting. The beautiful cake matched the wedding day colors as well. It was a four-tiered champagne-colored cake, with a purple scroll ‘band’ around each layer as an accent. It was very elegant. After a nice feeding, no smashing here, it was back to the party.

When it was time for the bouquet and garter, this couple did something a bit different for the bouquet. Instead of just tossing it, Libbi had us do a ‘dance off’. We invited all the single ladies to the dance floor and had them dance for the bouquet. There was some great dancing out there! But as a surprise, Libbi quickly turned around and threw the bouquet anyway. After all, who wanted to pick the best dancer when there were so many great ones?

Something really cool happened at this reception: Jerry Jeff Walker showed up and took a picture with the Bride and Groom! It turns out that he had a concert next door and heard about the reception, so he was nice enough to drop by for a minute.

The night finally came to a close, and the Newlyweds ran through sparklers, jumped into a trolley, and headed off to their new life together. Congratulations!

Happy Anniversary Will and Allison

This event was a 25th Anniversary party for wonderful couple surrounded by many family members and friends. It was held at the beautiful Bay Oaks Country Club, which was so gorgeous with the holiday decorations. After dinner, Will and Allison showed a slideshow of their years together, which was followed by toasts and many well wishes for continued happiness. Then, as a surprise to Will, a birthday cake came out while we played Happy Birthday. That was followed by the presentation of a gift and a slideshow of Will’s life, made by his children. After that, it was on to the dancing. It was obvious that this large Canadian & American group truly enjoyed being together, as they had fun to the very last song. If this group represents Canadians, I want to party with them all the time! At one point, they lifted Will and Allison in chairs on the dance floor and sang a special song to them. It was a Canadian tradition, and very cool.

Congratulations Will and Allison and here’s to many more years of marital bliss! (Oh, and thanks to introducing me to Stompin’ Tom Connors {a Canadian singer}. I love his music – it’s so much fun!)

Happy New Year

We had a great time on New Year’s Eve. We provided the music and dance floor lighting at Kiran’s, a highly rated Indian Restaurant on Westheimer. They had three dinner seatings, and the last one stayed until 1:00 am to bring in the New Year. There was a champagne toast at midnight, party favors, and lots of fun and dancing. This was our first time playing Bollywood music and I loved it! The patrons enjoyed the food and the music and we all had a great time. And, a big thanks to Kiran and her staff. They are all professional and friendly, and a great bunch to work with. The picture shows how cool the dance floor looked with the lighting.

Congratulations Jon and Meredith

This reception took place at the beautiful Wyndehaven Terrace on Cutten Road. If you’ve never been there, you should check it out! It’s really gorgeous. The colors for the wedding were royal blue and silver and they were tied in with a winter theme. The tables had white cloths with silver chargers. The white chair covers were tied with royal blue ties. There were alternating high/low centerpieces of assorted white flowers surrounded by candles. There were silver and blue ornaments scattered around the base of the centerpieces as well. It was so pretty!

Meredith was beautiful in her strapless white gown. It had just the right of elegant embellishments and was gorgeous. She carried a bouquet of assorted white roses tied with a royal blue satin ribbon. Her Bridesmaids wore long royal blue gowns and carried white rose bouquets tied with white ribbons. Jon looked very handsome in his black tux with silver tux and tie. I loved his black and white shoes (I don’t know what they’re called, but they look like what they wore in the 40’s. They were very cool!). Jon’s Groomsmen all wore royal blue vests and ties. The whole Bridal Party looked awesome together!

After dinner, the first dance, father/daughter dance (the song was picked by Meredith’s dad and was a surprise to her), and the mother/son dance, the party was underway. This crowd danced from the first song to the last, and was a lot of fun!

The white three-tiered, square, fondant wedding cake had white designs on each layer, with a royal blue fondant ribbon at the base of each. There were a few elegant white edible flowers on each tier, and the cake was topped with a silver initial. Jon’s cake was pretty cool: it was a royal blue San Diego Chargers jersey with his last name on it. The cake cutting was hilarious! Jon and Meredith both smashed the cake in each other’s faces, and everyone got a good laugh out of it. Luckily, I happened to get a picture of it.

Following more dancing (a lot of dancing!) and fun, it was time for the bouquet and garter. The bouquet toss had the largest group of ladies I’ve seen in a long time. The garter toss was funny when the guy who caught it ran a victory lap around the dance floor.

Sadly, the night came to a close and Meredith and Jon ran though a shower of bubbles and off to their new life together. Congratulations Cookie Bear and Little Angel

Congratulations Serge and Kasia

This wedding featured the colors of white, silver, and blue, which are so pretty in the winter. There were white table cloths, white satin chair covers, and light blue chair ties. The tables had centerpieces of white and blue gladiolas in a tall vase. Each place setting had a silver charger topped with a white napkin holding a favor for each guest. The favors were nice square glass coasters with a thank you note inside. They were tied in an organza bag with Belgium chocolates. You know everyone will love those!

Kasia (isn’t that a beautiful name?) looked so pretty in her white strapless gown. It was embellished all over with detailing and glittering beading. Her elbow length veil matched with its beaded edge. She carried a bouquet of assorted white/ivory/antique white flowers. Her Bridesmaids wore floor length gowns in a pretty shade of soft medium blue and carried similar flowers with soft pink accents. Serge looked so handsome in his black tux and shirt with grey tie. He wore a white boutonniere. His groomsmen wore similar attire except their ties were white.

After a seated meal, it was on to the special dances. Following more dancing was the toasts. After a very funny toast by Serge’s brother, including the now famous line, “Dang, I’m fine!” It was on to the cake cutting. Their white, three-tiered cake had different designs on each layer, and was topped with a white fondant bow. It was very elegant. No smashing was involved, and then back to the party.

A neat aspect about this wedding was the mix of families and guests. The Groom is African and the Bride is Polish. Some guests flew in from out of the country to attend, from as far as Switzerland and the Republic of Congo in Central Africa! It was so nice to see such a variety of people talking and laughing and dancing and enjoying each other so much. It was obvious how much everyone really, truly loved being together. The families were just so welcoming to each other.

After the bouquet and garter and more dancing, the evening came to an end. Serge and Kashia bid farewell to their guests and headed off to their new life as a married couple. Congratulations!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of you a happy and safe Christmas. We look forward to working with you in 2010!

Party with us on New Year's Eve!!

New Year's Eve we will be performing at Kiran's Restaurant. They will have 3 dinner seatings and the last one stays to party until 1:00 am. Party favors and a champagne toast at midnight are included. We'll be providing the dinner and party music. It will be fun!!

For more information, call Kiran's at 713-960-8472, or check out their website at www.KiransHouston.com

Come party with us!!

Help a senior citizen for the holidays

At the Walmart by my house, they have a tree decorated with names of seniors in nursing homes who would like a few things for Christmas. Most of them asked for things such as blankets, slipper socks. lotion, a toothbrush (yes, one needed a toothbrush). They need only the basics. What bothered me is that the tree still had 20 names left, and the sign said they'd start picking up the gifts to deliver in 2 days. Which means that some seniors may not get anything at all.

Please go get a name and buy some necessities to those nursing home seniors! I bought a very nice, soft blanket, two pairs of slipper socks, and lotion, and only paid $35.00. Surely some of you can do that. If you can't, please pass this on and hopefully all those names will get chosen and all the seniors will get something nice for Christmas.

Congratulations Handy and Donna

This elegant ceremony and reception took place at The Houstonian, and if you haven’t seen it decorated for Christmas, you really need to, it's gorgeous! The colors for this wedding were brown and gold with pink accents, and they looked so nice in the ballrooms. The Bride wore a gorgeous pale ivory strapless gown and sheer elbow length gloves, and carried a bouquet of ivory roses and hydrangeas with pink accents. The Bridesmaids wore floor length chocolate brown strapless gowns and carried pink bouquets with ivory accents. Handy was handsome in his black tux with white tie and ivory boutonniere. His Groomsmen wore the same but with pink boutonnieres. The ceremony had beautiful ivory floral arrangements with pink accents on the aisles as well as at the altar, and had candles in large vases.

The reception room was also beautiful, with floor-length brown pin tuck table cloths with ivory/gold colored chair covers. The tables had alternating center pieces of multi level candles or ivory floral arrangements. Each place setting had a long slim brown box tied with a gold ribbon. Each favor box held a pair of chopsticks and a thank you note from the families.

There were a lot of unique aspects to this reception, thanks to the hard work of many families and friends. First, Handy and Donna serenaded their guests with a duet after they were introduced into the room. Then, they had two friends act as MCs throughout the event. Special dedications and performances by friends to the Bride and Groom included singing to a keyboard and guitar, a surprise slide show, a duet with a guitar player, and another slide show. Later, some friends did a Salsa dance dedicated to the Newlyweds. I think there must have been at least 15 people involved in these dedications, in one way or another. And, people put in a great deal of work as far as the timeline, script, and order of events, which shows how much they care about the Bride and Groom. What a talented bunch, and a great group of friends!

After dinner, visiting tables, and the performances, it was time for the cake cutting. The three-tiered ivory cake was beautiful, with different designs on each layer, and an ivory fondant bow on top. Handy and Donna fed each other, and then each fed some cake to their parents as a symbol of gratitude and respect. It was such a nice honor. Then, it was on to the toasts and the first dance. At last, the dance floor was open and it was party time!

Following the bouquet and garter, and a few words from Donna and Handy, the Newlyweds left for their new and beautiful life together. Congratulations!

Congratulations Steven and Rebecca

This ceremony and reception were held the day after the “big” snow in Houston, so we had nice cold weather. It was perfect for this wedding with the colors of white, silver and black. The room had white table cloths with white chair covers and white napkins. The centerpiece on the head table had tall silver branches with crystals hanging from them. It looked like a winter wonderland. The other tables had white floating candles with white and silver sea shells. They looked like a Texas winter wonderland. It was all pretty and fit the weather to a T.

Rebecca looked so pretty in her white gown. It had a lace overlay, with lace tiers on the skirt. She carried a beautiful bouquet of white roses and stephanotis, tied with a white satin ribbon. The Bridesmaids wore cocktail length black gowns and carried white calla lilies tied with white ribbons. Steven looked so handsome in his black tux, grey vest, and white calla lily boutonniere. The Groomsmen all wore matching attire.

The ceremony was unique in that the Bride chose Native American flute music for the prelude to reflect her heritage. Then, more traditional music was played for the ceremony. The reception was a mix of all kinds of music, from oldies to current to everything in between. Something really fun we played during the dinner hour, per the Bride and Groom’s request, was music by Richard Cheese. He does lounge versions of popular songs such as Baby Got Back, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Bust A Move. The music is really good and it takes you a minute to realize what song you’re listening to.

After dinner, the special dances, and the toasts, it was time for the cake cutting. The Bride’s cake was so unique I don’t know if I can describe it, but it was really pretty! It had four, white, stacked tiers, with silver dots, and a silver ribbon at the base of each. The shape is what made it unusual. It wasn’t oval, but like an oval with curves on each side. That didn’t make any sense, but it was so elegant. The rhinestone initial on the top was the perfect accent for this pretty cake. The Groom’s cake was also unique. I don’t know if I can describe the cake shape either, but it was six-sided (a hexagon?) and it was taller at the back and shorter at the front. It was cool. And it was all smooth chocolate, with on the word “Keepsies” on the top in lighter chocolate fondant. Apparently, that’s a word Steven often says to Rebecca. How sweet!

After the bouquet and garter, and plenty more dancing (including a guy who was a great dancer and entertained the crowd, and a boy break dancing and standing on his head), it was finally time for these really fun Newlyweds to make their exit. Off in the elevator they went, to their new life together. Congratulations and enjoy your honeymoon in Jamaica!

Congratulations Jason and Virginia

The colors for this fall/winter wedding were ruby red, chocolate brown and champagne. They looked so elegant and were perfect for the cool weather. And they looked so pretty in the ballroom of the Petroleum Club. The tables were topped with dark red rose centerpieces with candles scattered around. The head table had no flowers, just candles galore. It was so pretty! To add to the look we had two red uplights highlighting the head table and that really made the room look gorgeous!

Other details I noticed were the photos and the favors. Normally you see a few photos on the sign in table, but this couple did it differently. They had about 25 photos of them at all ages, and they were displayed on two long tables covered in candles. It looked so pretty and actually added an accent to the room. There were custom made magnets at each place setting with the Newlywed’s picture on a black scroll background. They even matched the design on the Bride’s cake.

Virginia looked so beautiful in her white strapless gown with full, tulle-topped skirt. The bodice had beading and embellishments and featured a tulle band at the top, and the skirt had a bit of beading to match. With her up-do and thin headband tiara, she looked so elegant. Virginia’s bouquet had dark red roses with white rose accents. The Bridesmaids wore brown floor length dresses and carried dark red bouquets with white and brown ribbon accents. Jason looked handsome in his tux with white vest and tie. His Groomsmen wore tuxes to match, with brown vests and dark red boutonnieres. Jason had two women standing up on his side, which is becoming more common, and they wore taupe cocktail length dresses that matched the wedding colors, with dark red rose corsages. It all came together nicely!

After dinner, the dancing started out with the Grand March (see post below to learn about it). That lead into the First Dance and Father/Daughter/Mother/Son dance, and party time began! This was another great crowd that loved to dance and have fun. They danced to everything from Country to Polka to Hip Hop to everything in between.

After a bit of dancing, it was time for the cake cutting. The Bride’s cake had four white stacked tiers with chocolate scrolls on each. It was topped by red roses. Jason’s cake was two stacked books and they almost looked real! The top one was Atlas Shrugged (I admit it, I never did make it through that whole book, kudos to anyone who did!) and the bottom one said Quantum Physics. That cake was awesome! The toasts followed, and the Anniversary Dance started the dancing again. The longest married couple was married 51 years, and after they shared some words of advice to the Newlyweds, it was back to the party.

Following the bouquet and garter and more dancing fun (including overtime, this crowd didn’t want to stop!) it was finally time for Virginia and Jason to make their exit. They ran through a shower of rose petals and ringing bells, and headed off to their new life together. Congratulations Jason and Virginia!

What is the Grand March?

The Grand March is not the introduction of the Bridal Party into the room. That’s the entrance. The Grand March is a tradition in Czech, Polish, German, and other cultures. There is a particular Polka song played and a couple leads the guests through the dance. They dancers are in two lines, one of men and one of women, and they are lead around the room, sometimes crossing each other, sometimes coming alongside each other, and sometimes on opposite sides of the room. At one point, the two lines end up next to each other, making an arch for the following people to walk through. It’s a really cool thing to watch! At the end of the Grand March, all the guests are in circles on the dance floor and the Bride and Groom are inside the innermost circle. Then, they begin their first dance. The Grand March is really fun to watch or participate in!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Congratulations Jeff and Celeste

This reception took place at the Historic Magnolia Ballroom downtown, which is so pretty! And, the Bride and Groom chose colors that matched the room beautifully. The colors of the day were light sage green and gold, which made the reception even prettier. Celeste wore a gorgeous, elegant gown with a lace overlay and a light taupe sash, and she carried flowers in assorted fall colors such as yellow, orange, and dark red. The Bridesmaids wore strapless cocktail length gowns of sage green with lighter sage green sashes, and they carried bouquets of yellow flowers. The little Flower Girls were adorable in their matching dresses (and they were on the dance floor all night long!) The Groomsmen matched the wedding colors by wearing sage ties and yellow boutonnieres.

The tables had gold floor length tablecloths topped with floral centerpieces surrounded by candles. There were even gold chivari chairs to pull it all together. The really cool thing was the favors at each place setting: individually wrapped candy apples, with a personalized ribbon tied on the stick. They were so cool!

After mariachis, dinner, and the special dances, it was time for dancing to begin. This crowd was fun: dancing from the very first song! They liked everything from pop to country to oldies to hip hop to Motown to Spanish. At one point, a guy did the Snake on the dance floor, which is always a big hit. What a great crowd!

The Bride’s white three tiered cake was so pretty, with white scroll designs and sage colored fondant ‘ribbons’ at the bottom of each tier. Jeff’s cake let us all know his hobby: it was a pair of golf shoes. It was so well done that from a distance, you would think they were real (but very, very big!). They did the cake feeding nicely, no smashed cake here. After a very sweet toast and a few words from Jeff, it was back to dancing time.

After the bouquet toss (no garter for this couple), and more dancing, it was time for the evening to end. Celeste and Jeff ran through a shower of bubbles and headed off to their new life together, in a horse drawn carriage. Congratulations to the Newlyweds!