Interested in having good low key dinner or cocktail hour music, but don’t want to fall too heavily on music of the old? One option is to find artists that take modern songs and cover them in a loungy/acoustic twist. There are some good modern alternatives that I really enjoy playing at parties.
Jack Johnson and Michael Bublé are two more famous singers, known for some great acoustic and jazzy tracks. They are certainly worth taking a listen to. However there are a few others out there that are lesser known.
Boyce Avenue is an fairly new American acoustic rock band incidentally, named after a combination of two streets the brothers lived on as children. Formed in Sarasota, FL by three brothers Alejandro, Daniel and Fabian Manzano, this group does a great job giving modern pop music and a new acoustic life.
BRUCE LASH – Another cover tune track that I find interesting was featured in the 2008 box office hit Marley & Me. “Lithium” is performed by Bruce Lash and written by Kurt Cobain founder of Nirvana.
Many couples spend big bucks on decorations and flowers for their wedding and it is always the attitude that letting it all go waste would be a shame. My guess is that the bride and groom certainly do not want to take home a dozen huge floral arrangements that will only just be dead by the time they get back from their honeymoon.
Therefore, because you asked for it, we have decided to add the wedding centerpiece to our popular “TOP TEN LIST” articles. Here at TheDJservice.com, we have painstakingly put together our favorite centerpiece giveaway ideas that that will keep the guests happy after the last song.
1) FIND THE PENNY
Ask someone to hide a penny either under a plate or coffee mug at the table, or underneath one actual chair at each table. The person who finds the lucky penny gets to take hope the centerpiece. You can switch the penny up, if you like, to maybe a poker chip or something else that may go along with the theme of your wedding.
2) DONATION
Want to save some money? Those centerpieces became a tax deductible write off! If you are not all about the cash, it is also nice to know that you could be brightening the day of some people at an elderly home, or hospital, perhaps.
3) REWARD THE FIRST RSVPS
With this centerpiece giveaway, you reward your most prompt RSVP responders. As your RSVPs come in, simply keep track of the order. Then when you make your seating charts, you can put a sticker inside the place card of the people who sent in their RSVPs first., or just have the DJ read a list.
4) FIGHT CLUB
If you don’t want to really bother figuring out how give away your centerpieces, you can always have the DJ announce it is a free-for-all, at the end of the night. Then let your family and friends engage in a brawl.
5) ON THE DOWN LOW
If you want to play favorites, then this is the option for you. When you visit the tables, tell whomever it is you want to take the centerpiece that they can have it. This action will let you give them to specially chosen people, without having to make an announcement that might offend someone who is eyeballing the goods.
6) HOT POTATO
Have each table pass get ready to pass around an object like a napkin, dollar bill or anything. Announce that they will pass the item hot potato style around the table. Have the DJ play music and stop it randomly. When the music stops, whoever is still holding the passable object is the winner. They get to take home the centerpiece.
7) LOTTO TICKETS
Some people today like to give lotto tickets as party favors. If this idea works for you, whoever wins the highest dollar figure at the table, also wins the centerpiece.
8 ) ANNIVERSARY MATCH
Have the DJ announce that you would like to give the centerpiece to the person to the couple whose birthday is closest to today’s date.
9) TRIVIA QUESTIONS
You could always have the DJ read off a few questions and have the guests at each table compete for the centerpiece. He or she who writes down the most correct answers, wins!
10) BIRTHDAY
Let the guests know that the centerpiece will be awarded to the person at each table whose birthday is closest to the bride’s birthday.
Pick one, or leave the flowers for the janitor! Good luck!
Last week, I worked with local photographer Tony from Time Capsule Photo Booths. He did such a great job, once again as always, keeping the guests entertained that I figured it was time to share his grea service, and the idea in general with anyone who is planning a modern wedding looking for fun.
A new trend in wedding reception options to go a long with the current wedding cupcake and wedding magnet craze is to roll in a Wedding Photo Booth. “What exactly is a wedding photo booth?” you may ask.
In the corner of your reception hall, or maybe out by the bar in a separate designated area, a wedding vendor sets up a photo booth, not unlike the passport picture makers you sometimes see in the mall. Unlimited pictures are then shot as wedding favors for the guests, as well as collected in duplicate for a wedding scrapbook to be compiled throughout the night for the bride and groom.
The guests are first greeted by the vendor. Off to the side, many of the vendors provide a table loaded with silly props, hats, and costume accessories to dress up the photo shoot. Then the guests enter the photo booth with their selections and pull the curtains.
After each picture is taken, the guests inside the booth exit to be presented with typically two strip of photos within 20 seconds. One for a keepsake, and one to insert into a scrapbook being made for the bride and groom. Then the scrapbooking fun begins!
More guests enter and the fun begins all over again.
Depending on the wedding photo booth provider, specialization services to this idea may be available such as being able to add text or custom backgrounds to the pictures.
If you are interested in this idea and are in and around the Capital Region, you can check out a number of fine vendors that provide this service. One great vendor that we love working with is Tony athttp://www.timecapsulephotobooths.com/ . He is very professional, offers a number of custom packages and has a great selection of props for your guests to choose from.
Wearing The White Dress is Important
If you are contemplating having a theme wedding for your special day, this can open up all kinds of fun. It really gives your wedding direction and personality. Everything comes together so much easier. The tone and decoration ideas just fall right into place, with people offering ideas and help that you wouldn’t normally get in a traditional wedding.
However, here is just a thought: wear the white dress.
While this may not matter in all cases according to the actual taste of the bride, there is some logic behind having the traditional dress kept sacred. While choosing to where the white gown may hinder some of the creative possibilities that can go a long with the chosen theme, the symbolization behind the dress may be more important.
For one, the dress symbolizes purity and class. The older guests will apprciate that the traditional bridal garb has not been kicked to the wayside.
The second important reason for the white dress is you don’t want the theme wedding to just feel like a really big costume party. At many good theme weddings, the guests are encouraged to wear something to go along with the theme. For example, if you were going to a pirate wedding, a beach wedding, or a halloween theme wedding, you can be sure that most people will dress a certain way. Having the bride still wear the white dress makes her stand out as being special.
Finally, as little girls, most bride’s envision walking the aisle and looking like a princess. On your wedding day, you still want it to feel like like a wedding and despite all the other other theme related things, the white dress will make this happen.
Carmela’s Banquet House – An Affordable Venua Option For Small to Medium-sized Weddings
Carmela’s Banquet House located at 301 Washington Ave in Rensselaer, New York is a great place to hold a small to mid-range wedding. If you happen to be a bride or groom-to-be and have roughly 75-125 people on your guest list, this really believe that Carmela’s could be a super affordable option for you. At the same time, Carmela’s can provide quality in service for your special night.
LOCATION – Carmela’s location itself could be a positive when choosing your venue selection. This banquet house is out of the busy side of Albany and more layed back off the main drag of a Rensselaer residential area. This venue provides its own spacious parking lot, so that your guests have no parking issues. Logistically speaking, the location itself is only a few blocks away from Interstate Route 90, making for a smooth transition to and from the hall, overall.
A Nice Rounded Bar for More Guest Comfort
FACILITIES – The hall provides a separate place for the bridal party to gather and relax after photos for the soon-to-come grand introduction.
Additionally, in the corner of the bar, there is enough space for traditional wedding decorations/activities, like a wedding photo booth, an acoustic guitarist, or ice sculpture, perhaps. In the dining room, there is a spacious dance floor and great adjustable lighting. It is also important to note that there is a nice round bar off of the main dining room, which allows for more people to enjoy the bar experience.
FOOD – Recently, I was the disc jockey for a wedding that had a nice chicken breast, or strip steak, as well as a vegetarian dish available. The food is really tasty! The garnishes that the bride and groom selected were garlic smashes potatoes, and a great mixed vegetable medley of peppers, onions and cauliflower.
STAFF – I really enjoy the staff. they are good people; very friendly and easy to work with.
Overall, I give I recommend this hall for a small to medium-size wedding. Give them a drive by. It could be worth it!
Have you ever been to a wedding where the buffet line is like three miles long and they are only serving on one side of the table. If so, then you know that it can often be a lenghthy, drawn-out deal just to get your plate of food.
With this being said, do you have a buffet planned for your wedding? If so, you also have to consider that there is always the question of when the people will be served. One fun alternative table serving activity that you can try is called, “Sing For Your Supper.”
“Singing For Your Supper” is a fun activity to entertain your guests during your wedding reception that also creates an order for dinner to be served.
As with all wedding activities, this a fun game is one that is chosen specifically only upon the bride & groom at their request. While this may not be for everyone, it is a fun icebreaker that can kill the wait associaed with a buffet line of, say 150 people.
Basically speaking, a microphone is passed from table to table when they are up, and the only way their table can move to the buffet line, is to have a volunteer break into song. In the spirit of the wedding, the song selection is usually supposed to be a chorus of a romantic song, dedicated to the bride and groom from table #6, for example.
Often times reluctant at first, wedding guests will quickly catch on to this activity, after they see how much it brings joy to the bride & groom. Once they buy into it, more times than not, the wait will become very creative and entertaining!
ALTERNATIVE GUIDELINES –
Have fun with the guidelines and make it your own. Below are just a few ideas you could go with to make this activity your own…
“LOVE” – the bride & groom may request that their guests sing any song containing the word “Love”
“DUETS” – Two people may have to sing in order for the table to move forward.
