Author: Kenny Casanova

Looking to plan a Bourbon Street Bash!?

Say no more!

It’s super easy to bring the Big Easy to your to your party for a wide selection of Mardi Gras party theme supplies, including solid-color tableware, invitations, fabric, favors and decorations. Just think purple, yellow/gold, and green!

When looking for decorations, you can bring all the fun of “Fat Tuesday” to life with Mardi Gras masks, beads and feather boas.

Need activities? You can create a great do-it-yourself photo backdrop selfie station, or memorable entrance for pictures. One other super idea (as seen below) is to have your guests customize umbrellas to create their own party favors!

Knowing how much bridesmaids mean to a brides, it is easy to see understand why they have some difficulty figuring out just what to buy their friends to show them what they mean to them in Upstate NY where I DJ, or anywhere really in the world. The good thing is, there are a number of companies out there that specialize now just in providing gifts to buy your groomsmen or bridesmaids. And they specialize on showing appreciation to these ladies.

Bridesmaid Gifts Boutique, for example, has a good selection of products that includes bridesmaid robes, bags, jewelry, and more. It’s a great mix of unique and affordable bridesmaid gifts. The other cool thing about this company was, they sent me a sample so i could review it for the readers of our site! I had the opportunity to test out a personalized leather clutch, and my wife, DJ Maria, absolutely loved it!

Leather Clutch – $29.99
The delivery time was on outstanding x days. Yes, I know in this day and age we are used to two day shipping, but let’s not forget that the clutch comes engraved with your initials. Speaking of the engraved initials, they are absolutely beautiful. The leather is of good quality considering the price tag of $29.99 and although I chose the brown it also comes in pink and blue. The size is perfect for carry personals without being overly bulky. The exact measurements per the website are 3.8 X 7.3 inches. Overall I would highly recommend this gift as it makes a great gift for any bridal party.

I also wanted to take a moment to call out a couple of their more unique gifts that I thought looked pretty cool.

Bridesmaid Group Caricature – $30 Per Person
The examples of the group caricature looked great. The cost is $30 per person but the possibilities are endless once you have caricature in digital format. Essentially you could have it printed on anything and shared on all your social media accounts.

Vintage Leather Journal – $44.99
The vintage leather journal is also extremely unique seeing that they can engraved it with a photo or your own hand writing. Talk about personalization…this gift will blow your bridesmaid minds!

So if you’re looking for a selection of the best bridesmaid gifts be sure to check out www.BridesmaidGiftsBoutique.com.

CRAZY WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WEDDING DAY UNIQUE

1. Video Confessional Booth –  Want to take the boring, played out idea of a traditional photobooth shoot to the ext level? Have your guests confess and have a video condfessional booth set up so people can tell their sins. In the spirit of reality TV, have your guests record a quick on-screen message for you of well-wishes, or better yet, some naughty or funny story that happened at the wedding. This is the perfect way to know which of your guests needed to get voted off the island!
2. Ceremony Cue Cards – Want a fun ceremony? Add cue cards. They can say anything and will get a great response!

   

3. Reception Ushers – Have some stubborn guests coming to your wedding? I’m sure you are going to have ceremony ushers, but why not do the same for the reception itself. Quite often, it is very difficult to coral the guest in from the cocktail hour – but this is the perfect way!
4. Pizza Run Midnight Snack – want to keep attendance up? Bring out more grub! A slider bar, a smores roasting table, a milkshake spread, or a DIY taco tray are all ways to keep the party rolling. If it were a straight up pizza delivery guy delivering the fun, that would probably be even better!
5. Hot Air Balloons – If you need to shuttle from the ceremony to the reception, why not take wedding transportation to new heights? How about a magical hot air balloon ride? Make sure to add a “Bride and Groom’s wedding or bust” sign!

6. 

   Built Bouquet – Have a small basket at the end of each aisle for your ceremony, each with one flower in it. Have guests hand the bride a flower as she walks down the aisle and create her own bouquet live as she walks!

7. Blindfold the Groom – for the first look, make the groom wear a sleep-gear-like blindfold. This way, there is further anticipation, and the first thing he sees at the ceremony is his beautiful bride in full regalia.
8. Face Painting Booth – Want to add color and fun to your wedding? Set up a face painting booth to make the party even more fun and over-the-top.
9. Air Guitar Basket – You have probably seen the basket of flip flops for dancing. Borrowing from this idea, put out an empty basket and label it “air guitars.” Then pass the basket around and have your guests mime that they are taking an axe out of it to jam with during your best rocking rock song!

   

10. Official Hashtag – Social Media is everywhere. You know already that your guests will be taking pictures of the event. Why don’t you create the official hashtag for your wedding and plaster the place with your soon-to-be-trending keyword? After the wedding reception, all you need to do is search the hashtag and find more pictures from different perspectives after your special day!

LIST OF NEW WEDDING SONGS FOR 2018

I know you have spent countless hours surfing through lists jam-pack loaded with Huey Lewis and Bob Seger, but you have finally found the right list. Know this.

NO OLD FART WEDDING MUSIC PLEASE!

There are a whole lot of “Old Fart Wedding DJ Song Lists” littering our internet, written by semi-retired, gray-bearded, Grateful Dead Jerry Garcia-look-alike disc jockeys. These DJs get one gig a month and therefore had plenty of time to flood the web with their power-ballad favorites! Do you really want Dirty Dancing-like smarmy smash Delilah Show hits at your wedding?

Until now, in order to find good modern first dance songs ideas on the net, you had to weed through a whole host of artists with sweet mullets who are no longer relevant today. Most brides and grooms have no idea who these singers were and probably weren’t even alive yet when they were popular. This list concentrates on newer music of today. Here is my list:

TOP 100 MODERN FIRST DANCE WEDDING SONGS – NEW/ALTERNATIVE LIST, by Albany Wedding DJ Kenny Casanova, 2017

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN GETTING TOGETHER GROOMSMEN GIFTS

In case you didn’t know, it is often customary to give little gifts to your groomsmen for helping out with the wedding and also renting the tux and all. With that being said, are you looking for the best groomsmen gifts?

Will your groomsmen only be able to use their gift once? Or will they be able to continuously use the gift and be reminded of how much fun they had on your wedding day?

GIFT IDEAS – When it comes down to actually selecting a gift, most people go between $35 – $100 or so, so it can sometimes be challenging to find just the right thing. You need to be thoughtful, but at the same time affordable. Unique, yet at the same time practical. Because your crew probably all know each other, expect them to compare notes. Therefore, all the gifts should be well thought out and roughly the same value. Always set a budget.

$50 RULE OF THUMB – I always say around $50 is good. This is not outside the realm of reason.

Here is neat shot glass idea you can get at www.groovyguygifts.com/ . Both the glasses and the nice wooden box that they put them in come in for around for under $40. The quality wooden box adds to the whole piece, as well, making it feel special.

BE PRACTICAL – As fun as it is to buy crazy groomsmen gifts, lame stuff isn’t likely to be used again. When thinking of groomsmen wedding gift ideas, it’s best to give the posse high-quality, meaningful gifts while also focusing on how practical the items are.

Back when I got married, I did cool Fossil watches, however, in the advent of smart phones, watches are becoming less used. The key to finding the very best groomsmen gifts should be ones that end up symbolizing a lasting token of your friendship. Some ideas could include watches, but why not something they will use over and over again like shot glasses, jack knifes.

Better yet, if the item is personalized, it will even more bring back the memory of where it comes from, and that it was special.

TIMING OF GIFT GIVING – There are so many things to consider when planning your wedding. Many couples will choose to give their wedding party thank-you gifts after the rehearsal dinner, but you really can do it whenever you want. Some people do it at the end of the wedding reception, others do it 2 weeks later. In short, there isn’t really a wrong time to do it.

BRING THE BRITISH INVASION TO YOUR PARTY!

We just had a “British Invasion” Beatles Themed Birthday party and they didn’t just “Let it Be” with the decorations. They really went all out! I’ve always said to customers, “Try a theme if you have the courage! It makes the party much more memorable, and usually better!”

If you have the courage to go with a Beatles theme, things will really Come Together. (Pun intended!)

It doesn’t take much money. Grab up some Beatles posters, party favors, stacks of records to throw on the tables, Sgt. Pepper jackets for the employees at the venue, and a PARTY DJ in Albany to finish it off. I know a great one!  (Call 518-506-3305.)