Andria Lo Photography Captures Great Memories!

Our philosophy is that it's our job to create great memories and it's the photographer's job to capture them. Photographer Andria Lo did just that as she captured special moments at Mychal & Joshua's traditional Jewish wedding. Check out this slideshow of highlights including the signing of the ketubah, the stomping of the glass, the hora with chair lifts, and the party and dancing that followed. Mazel tov!

Honor Thy Father

A great way for the bride to honor her father during the father-daughter dance is to include a surprise voice-over message from her that is mixed into the song that she or her father has chosen for their first dance.  In this way he can hear, in her own words, what his love and support means to her.  Another way is for the professional DJ/MC, when introducing the father-daughter dance, to highlight special memories the bride has of her father that she experienced while growing up.  This will lead to even greater memories for her and her father!

A Celebration of Weddings Past and Present

On June 22, 2011, JD Productions Quality DJ Entertainment will provide the musical entertainment for the residents at Case de Santa Fe in Rocklin, where Senior Living is at its best! The event will include: a slide presentation of residents' wedding photos; introductions of staff, flower girl Emma, and recent bride Mellissa; a wedding gown presentation; serving of wedding cake; and dancing. Mellissa will be singing "Someone Like You" and 'JD the DJ' will lead group dances for staff and residents.

Wedding Tip #29 - Picture Perfect Table Placards

For table placards, a fun thing to do is to display a photo of the couple at various locales (e.g., Las Vegas, San Francisco, Disneyland, etc.) and then assign seating to guests based on their table designation (e.g., Mr. & Mrs. Charles Smith - Hawaii; Ms. Betty Wilson - New York City). If you are having a buffet, for added entertainment your professional disc jockey/emcee can release guests at each table by playing snippets of songs associated with their assigned locale (e.g., Viva Las Vegas by Elvis, I Left My Heart In San Francisco by Tony Bennett, It’s A Small World by Robert & Richard Sherman, Hawaiian Wedding Song by Andy Williams, New York, New York by Frank Sinatra, etc.) This will create some great memories for your guests!

Wedding Tip #28 - Centerpiece Giveaway

A neat way to interject some fun during the meal is to do a centerpiece giveaway where a guest wins the centerpiece to take home at the end of your reception. Selecting a winner from each table: distance – the guest who traveled the farthest wins; birthday or anniversary – the guest whose birthday or the couple whose anniversary is closest to your wedding date wins; sticker – the guest sitting in a chair that has a sticker under it wins; musical chairs – your professional disc jockey/emcee plays a song as the guests circle the chairs and when the music stops the guest sitting in a chair that has a sticker under it wins; dollar pass – one guest takes out a dollar and it is passed around the table, when the music stops the person holding the dollar is out, repeat and the next person who holds the dollar is out too, repeat once more and the person holding the dollar keeps it and the guest who donated the dollar wins.

Wedding Tip #27 - RSVP Has Its Privileges

A fun way to surprise and highlight some of your guests is to recognize the first and last guests to RSVP to attend your wedding. Your professional disc jockey/emcee can announce their names and have them stand or come to the dance floor where you can present them with a special gift. For those who RSVP’d first, you can play songs like I’m So Excited by The Pointer Sisters, Feels Like The First Time by Foreigner or Let’s Get It Started by The Black Eyed Peas. For those who RSVP’d last you can play songs like Mission Impossible by Lalo Schifrin, At Last by Etta James or Finally by CeCe Peniston.

Wedding Tip #26 - Keep Your Cool

For summer outdoor weddings be sure to keep your cool! If your setting lacks shade, consider using free-standing umbrellas or hand-held parasols to shelter your guests. Have bottled water on ice, so your wedding party and guests can readily cool down. To fan away heat, you can provide fancy Asian silk folding fans that match your colors or custom-printed handheld fans that double as a keepsake. Strategically positioned oscillating fans also can help create a gentle breeze on the dance floor. Misters additionally can provide a refreshing respite from the heat. Your groom and his groomsmen may even want to consider wearing strap-on ice packs under their tuxedo jackets to keep themselves cool as cucumbers!

Wedding Tip #25 - ♪ ♬ Sing for Your Supper ♬ ♪

For the buffet, you can dismiss guests table-by-table (boring), ring a dinner bell and let them stampede (dangerous) or make it festive. One way is Sing for Your Supper! Think of it like this: at your ceremony you performed your vows, which you take seriously, but at your reception it's time to cut loose and have fun; because you "performed" for your guests, it's only fair they get a chance to perform for you! Your professional disc jockey/emcee can invite them to sing a few lines from a love song; once they do, their table will join the buffet line. For each table, there can be a spokesinger, a duet, a trio or all guests can sing. This is a fun ice-breaker and creates great memories!

Wedding Tip #24 - Cheers or Jeers When It Comes To Alcohol

Alcohol can add to the festivities, but it also can detract from them. You want your guests to have a good time, but you don’t want them to over indulge. If you host a bar, then guests may drink all they can because it’s FREE! If you have a no-host bar, then guests will be less inclined to over indulge because they will be paying the bill. A good compromise is to host the bar for a limited time (e.g., during cocktail/social hour or through dinner), but then to switch to a non-hosted bar for the rest of the evening. That way you still can treat your guests without making it easy for them to imbibe too much!

Wedding Tip #23 - Chill Out With an Ice Cream Social

Want something really COOL at your wedding reception? Host an ice cream bar for dessert! You can have several types of ice cream with a selection of toppings (M&Ms, candy sprinkles, cherries, whip cream, nuts, gummy bears, fresh fruit, etc.) and sauces (hot fudge, caramel, strawberry, butterscotch). As for flavors, you could go traditional (e.g., vanilla and chocolate) or go wild with less traditional flavors (e.g., bubble gum, chocolate chip cookie dough, rainbow sherbert). You could even select flavors that match your color theme. Your professional disc jockey/emcee can add to the festivities by playing songs such as (Your Love Is Better Than) Ice Cream by Sara McLachlan, How Your Love Makes Me Feel by Diamond Rio ("Buy an ice cream and see how far we can drive before it melts kinda feelin'") and Ice Cream Freeze (Let’s Chill) by Hannah Montana.

Wedding Tip #22 Bouquet – More Than Just to Hold

Rather than laying your bouquet on the head table where it can’t be seen, make it part of your decor by using Bouquet Display® holders to transform your head table from ordinary to elegant! Make it sentimental – Attach a photo of a departed love one to your bouquet with a ribbon using a photo buckle, a small photo charm, or a miniature paper frame. After your wedding, make it a keepsake by using a flower preservation service or hang dry or press the flowers yourself. A practical bride can use a “break-away” bouquet, which appears to be one large bouquet, but actually is three separate smaller bouquets bound together by a ribbon; carry the combined bouquet during your ceremony and then untie the ribbon at your reception and separate the bouquets for one to keep, one for the bouquet toss, and another to present as a special gift, e.g., to the longest married lady when your professional disc jockey/emcee performs the Generations Dance. Want to add more fun? Surprise the single ladies – use the entire break-away bouquet for the bouquet toss so several gals can catch one!