Paul & Kelly – Croatian American Center
On July 16, Paul & Kelly were married. They liked it so much, they did it again the next day!
On Friday the 16th, they held a small Catholic ceremony for family only, and then the following day, had a beautful outdoor ceremony at the Croatian-American Cultural Center, followed by a rocking reception inside.
Kelly is from Sacramento and Paul is from Chicago, where Kelly went to teach elementary school. They came back for their reception, and since Kelly was a Premier Entertainment Dancer/Party Motivator back when we used to perform at all the great Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, she knew she wanted us for her wedding.
It was fabulous. Christopher Kight was the photographer and he helped us create a great little surprise. We produced a video montage for Paul and Kelly and I had Chris send me a few photos right after their ceremony. We added those photos, plus some same day photos and video from Saturday into their video montage. It was awesome!
For the reception, they used Premier Video to capture the day. Highlights included Personalized Wedding Party Introductions, a fun centerpiece giveaway, an Anniversary Dance, custom voice-overs for both the father-daughter dance and the mother-son dance, a Top Ten List of reasons why Paul & Kelly should be married, a Chicago Bears football/garter toss, a Love Story, a video montage and about three hours of a kicking dance floor, including some time spent dancing on the head table! (Got in a little trouble for that.)
Since Kelly’s dad’s name is also Paul, it made for some funny moments, but with Kelly’s sister Katie serving as Maid Of Honor, it was going to be funny anyway. She’s a riot!
Paul’s family had a great time experiencing a California style reception and when it finally all ended, the dance floor was still filled and no one wanted to leave.
I like that.
Here are some video highlights!
Chris & Brandie August 7, 2010
What an amazing story. Chris & Brandie attended Lodi High together 20 years ago and then last summer, got together at their high school reunion. Sparks flew and before they knew it, they had fallen in love and a wedding was in the air.
They weren’t sure where to have it, but Chris’s grandmother, who they call “Mini” was sure. It would be at her house, just like all the important family events over the last 50 years or so. And so, in a beautiful backyard setting in Woodland, Chris & Brandie were married and stayed there with their friends and family to celebrate.
Brandie’s gorgeous 16 year old daughter was her Maid of Honor, and she showed poise and maturity far beyond her years.
After the ceremony and toasts, Brandie & Chris danced to Lonestar’s Amazed, then Brandie danced with her father to Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me.” That was followed by a family dance, beginning with Brandie and her children dancing to LeeAnn Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” and Brandie recorded a voice-over message to her children, which we mixed into the song. You can hear that mix on their video.
Afterwards, with our color changing LED lights highlighting Mini’s beautiful backyard, everyone danced and celebrated for the rest of the evening. Another fun wedding for two very, very, very nice people.
Eric & Amanda Pine – Granite Bay Golf Club
On May 1st, 2010, Eric & Amanda Pine held their wedding reception at Granite Bay Golf Club. Eric & Amanda are both accomplished ballroom dancers and incorporated their dance skills into their grand entrance as well as their first dance.
Videography was provided by Premier Video and photography was Vida Mia Photography.
This wedding was one of my favorites of the year, because there were so many personal touches, from the Personalized Introductions, to Eric & Amanda’s Love Story entrance, their “first” first dance, including Eric taking photos of his guests during the standing ovation, which we then quickly edited and included in their video montage, as a surprise to the couple. (Hey Eric, why do you think I had you use MY camera?)
It continued with a fun Be Our Guest presentation of lunch, some very funny toasts, including Jared, Amanda;s brother, who didn’t realize we would be playing a recording Amanda had given us as his “surprise toast, ” and fun and emotional tribute videos to Amanda’s Father and Eric’s late Mother.
Heck, even their group photo was a blast, just prior to their running exit to their waiting car as Amanda tossed the bouquet back into the waiting crowd, just like a Hollywood movie.
Traci & Brett’s “Musical” Wedding Reception
Traci & Brett Misquez were married on Saturday, April 17th at the beautiful Newcastle Wedding Gardens on a spectacularly beautiful day.
Traci’s background as a musical performer, as well as her time spent working for Sacramento’s Music Circus led her to create a unique and fun wedding reception, themed around musicals.
Traci’s follow up comment on our evaluation included, “Thank You! We’re so glad Randy was available and could give us so much attention. He “got” me. It was defintely customize and had great flow.”
I did “get her” and I got Brett as well, as evidenced by her comment, “Brett thanks you for making “Today” shorter.” Like many grooms, Brett didn’t want as much spotlight on his dancing, so we created a shorter mix of their first dance song. Yes, we listen, and we get it!
The prelude to the ceremony included music from Phantom, Grease, A Chorus Line, Evita, Wicked, The Sound Of Music and Fiddler On The Roof.
More musicals were incorporated during the buffet release, as each table was given the name of a musical, and as they heard a song from that musical, the guests at that table headed for the buffet. South Pacific, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Rent, Annie…
Traci’s sister, Kelly, brought the house down during the Love Story, when she showed us the “bomb” effect she did when Traci ”bombed” in trying to flirt with Brett at their first meeting. Show biz runs in the blood.
Traci & Brett added the LED uplighting, and right on cue, when the Love Story began, the entire room lit up for the first time, using their purple wedding color.
After the Love Story, great toasts by Best Man Bryan, Matron of Honor Jamie and Kelly kept everyone riveted as we moved towards Brett & Traci’s first dance.
But when the dancing started, it was all dance time! From Michael Jackson to Journey, from Billy Joel to Black Eyed Peas, from Elvis to Flo Rida, their guests danced till closing.
Introduction of wedding party music:
Traveling Man
Brown Eyed Girl
L.A. Law
One Hot Mama
Pretty Woman/I Feel Pretty
1,2,3
Sexyback
We Are Family
I Love My Sister
Red Red Wine
My Sister, My Friend
Introduction of Mr. & Mrs. Brett & Traci Misquez
Don’t Stop Believin’
Cake Cutting
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
First Dance
Today – Joshua Radin (specially edited short version)
Parents Dance
My Wish – Rascal Flatts
Anniversary Dance
Have I Told You Lately – Van Morrison
(Special acknowledgement to Brett’s grandparents, Julian & Evelyn Misquez, married 60 years and family friends Manuel & Lucille Peters, married 58 years!)
Garter
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling (sung by all the men at the reception!)
Last Dance
Save The Last Dance For Me – Michael Buble
Farewell music
So Long, Farewell – The Sound Of Music
Here are some video highlights!
Here’s a link to Brett & Traci’s blog on Real Weddings!
Dave & Karin’s Wedding Reception
Dave & Karin (not Karen – Karr-in) Danielson kicked off 2010 with an awesome wedding reception at the fabulous Vizcaya. What a fun couple and what a great day!
Over 200 guests arrived as we played an eclectic mix of Beach Boys, Eagles, Nat King Cole, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Coldplay, Motown and more fun stuff chosen during our planning sessions. The weather was great and the mood was festive.
Their photographer, Christoper Kight, had Dave and Karin there less than a half hour after their guests, so we were ready to roll. We began the introductions with Karin’s parents, Eric & Kim who would be celebrating their 29th anniversary the following day and when we acknowledged them, they got a great ovation, and then we followed that up by introducing Dave’s parents, Dean & Julie, who would celebrate their 36th anniversary three days later. The house was already rockin’ when we started introducing their very fun wedding party.
Each member of the wedding party came in to their own specially chosen song.
They were:
Karin’s sister, Katie, the Maid Of Honor, My Sister, My Friend
Kelsey – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Danielle – Wild Thing
Kelly – Dancing Queen
Erica – R.O.W.D.I.E.
Tricia – One Hot Mama
Anna had two – Doncha and Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (That’s what happens when you win a bikini contest!)
Then the guys brought it…
Best Man Keith, (always first) #1
Tanner – Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Ivan – a special mix we made of I Know You Want Me and Rico Suave
Resham – Punjabi MC
Tim – P.I.M.P.
Matt got a special mix of 90210 and Ice Ice Baby.
Jeff – The Gambler
When we brought Dave & Karin in to the thumping remix of Don’t Stop Believing, the energy in the room was incredible. Smiles, laughter, cheering – a genuine celebration.
Dave and Karin welcomed their guests and Karin took a moment to smile up at her Grandmother, Alma, who had passed away very recently. Karin did such a great job with it that it made everyone smile more, knowing Grandma was such a positive person.
Dinner, as always at Vizcaya, was incredible and as I moved through the guests I could hear table after table raving about the reception and the meal already.
After dinner was an awesome video montage that had their guests once again laughing and cheering and really understanding why we were there. We followed that up with one of the most hysterical versions of “The Shoelywed Game” that we’ve ever played. We could have ended the reception right then and I think most of their guests would have already said this was “The Best Wedding Reception…EVER!”
But there was so much more. Great toasts, including the Best Man, Keith, getting “played off,” and some surprise messages for both Dave and Karin.
They cut the cake while “Grow Old With You” from Adam Sandler played, which is SO them.
When it was time for the garter, Dave, a football coach, had to do something a little different, so after he removed Karin’s garter, we tossed him a football while the Monday Night Football theme played, and when he pulled a Sharpie out of his sock, a la Terrell Owens, and he and Karin signed and dated the football and wrapped the garter around it, the guys were absolutely ready compete for the garter!
For the first dance, their bridesmaids handed out lyrics the guests, who had gathered around the dance floor, and as they danced to Kenny Chesney’s “The Woman With You,” their guests sang along to the “Can of beans” song.
Karin followed with a very sentimental dance with her Dad, to Heartland’s “I Loved Her First,” and then Dave did pretty much the opposite and he and his mom danced to “I’ll Always Love My Mama.” They rocked the dance floor, and when they finished, their guests all hit the dance floor.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…
We spent the next couple of hours rockin’ the Vizcaya with everything from Hip Hop to Motown, and like all great receptions (ok, all Premier Entertainment receptions) before anyone knew it, it was over, but not before all their guests were gathered around at the end of the night as we replayed highlights from the reception.
It’s going to be a very good year.