Don't Mess with Mother Nature !!!

When planning your ceremony outside..... it does not matter if you are on a mountain top, on the beach, in a park or under a tent in the back yard. ALWAYS respect Mother Nature. When outside events are planned, consider the season: hot or cold. Rain, Snow, Hurricane, Lightning.......know the weather! Have a plan B......always!

Mother Nature does not care if your bridal party is fair skinned. She does what she does best, Weather. Windy days, sound does not carry, hair blows, veils fly, isle runners - run, candles melt, plates and food become air-borne. Have sunscreen for guests. Containers for bottled water, paper hand fans, parasols or umbrellas.

Exotic locations: Keep in mind elderly grandma Nana......weather, uneven footing, grass, hot sand & bare feet.......some locations can be hard to walk to, if walking is hard for elderly or handicapped. Know the weather! Have a plan B......always!

Music is Like Food

If you offer only Sushi on your buffet, half your guests won't eat it. Same rule applies to song selections.

Large groups of people with varying ages need a wide variety of song types / genres. Brides and Grooms who choose to micro-manage their musical menu at their reception often make it difficult for their DJ to satisfy all of the guests. I tell all of my brides that they can best utilize our songlist by highlighting several thousand songs, even though a DJ can play only about 55 songs at a 4 hour affair.

The highlights give us many choices to choose from and tell all about their musical taste. I go on to tell them if there is a song they MUST hear they should put a checkmark by it. Any highlighted song with a checkmark becomes a MUST PLAY, however, if there are 25 or more checkmarked and highlighted tunes then the guests will be unable to make requests. This situation can be detrimental to the overall success of the party.

After all, music is what DJ's excel at and in 99 out of a 100 circumstances having the discretion to play what is necessary (within the guidelines of music types set forth by the bride and groom of course) will result in a more gratifying experience for the guests, which is usually the ultimate goal of the bride & groom. Music can make or break a reception. Celebrations DJ's

Do You Have to Give an Engagement Gift?

December is the most popular month for proposals, 16% of engagements happen during that month full of the holiday spirit. But, January and February are close behind.   Engagements don’t follow the stiff structure that they used to so I’m going to help lay down the new rules of engagement gift giving here, by answering the most common questions.  Read the full story here:

Two Peas in a Pod

Luckily we turned out to be two peas in a pod, and after three-and-a-half years of dating, we got engaged. True to form, Zack surprised me with a poem chronicling our relationship, turned into an artful book illustrated by Attic of Curiosities. The simple ring held the diamond that had engaged his mother and grandmother, which we later complemented with a 1920s setting.  Read the full story here:

Luscious Bridal Bouquets

Making a bouquet for the bride is a very rewarding, but intense task. The pressure is astounding — not only are you trying to give the her the perfect accessory, you’re working with very fragile and perishable materials. The hard part is not going overboard with things, and keeping the bouquet as tasteful as possible. My original concept used hydrangea and green mums, but I had a moment where Tim Gunn from Project Runway came into my head and asked me to “Use my editing eye!” I left out those flowers because, when I really thought about it, they made the bride’s bouquet look more like a birthday party arrangement. The final piece was the perfect complement to her beautiful, dreamy, colorful bridal style. 
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Save the Date: DIY

Have you heard of the notion of tying a ribbon around your finger to help you remember something? Well, this save the date will certainly help your guests remember your special event — without any string on their own fingers.  Read the full story here: