Category: New Trends and Ideas

A FUN ACTIVITY TO ADD TO YOUR SPECIAL NIGHT

If you book us to DJ your wedding, ask about our fun “Group Photo Activity.”

We work hand-in-hand with your photographer to make a big shot that would be impossible to make without the DJ “corralling the cattle” and posing a mass amount of people.

MAKE YOUR OWN PHOTO BOOTH

This next idea is useful for both decoration and entertainment.

“Nicole and Kevin” got married at Lakeside Farms in Ballston Spa, NY. What they did was build a nifty custom backdrop for photos, borrowing from the photo booth idea.

The difference from a traditional photo booth here is this backdrop was a folding facade that had their names, the wedding date, and other important tidbits “stenciled” on it.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHALKBOARD PHOTO BOOTH

1) Hinge three pieces of plywood together into a tri-folding formation.
2) Paint the boards in black paint, or CHALKBOARD PAINT.  (If you are unfamiliar with Chalkboard Paint, it is a paint that dries and allows you to write and erase on its surface.)
3) Headline the top center with the bride & groom’s name.
4) Decorate the sides in white writing and designs. Use white paint, white sticker letters, or chalk (if you have painted with Chalkboard Paint.)
5) Have your DJ announce the photo booth idea to your guests.

LET THE WEDDING PARTY FUN BEGIN

Accessorize – To add more entertainment value to this decoration, the bride and groom of this particular wedding also put out a folding table of costume accessories and props for the guests to pose with in front of their creation. (Some things in the box included sunglasses, rockstar wigs, inflatable guitars, feather boas, crazy hats and even costume jewelry.)

Chalkboard Paint – Another idea if you have used chalkboard paint is to allow guests to write messages on the backdrop to the bride and groom!

WEDDING THEMES JUST GOT REAL

In a world where everything was hoped to be perfect for their wedding day, the bride and groom thought they had seen it all, until the zombies showed up.

Now, I thought I had seen some real wedding disasters in my day… everything from a collapsed wedding cake to a groom that was so drunk he could barely wallk down the aisle. …However, when it was done at the end of the day and the dust had settled, in comparison, I guess I have really seen nothing. SEE THE GALLERY AT BOTTOM!

Look out for your an attack on your wedding party. The new trend in wedding photography is here. Finely crafted photoshopped wedding pictures to not make things look better, but to rather make them worse. Much worse.

If you are familiar with my work as a wedding DJ, you know that I really love theme weddings. I have written several blogs on how to throw successful theme weddings that your families and friends will NEVER forget. This is one more added piece to the puzzle. With technology as it is today in the photography world, you can decorate everything just right and add the finishing touches later to make your theme wedding, “the best ever.”HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN ATTACK –What JosiahX did in his photoshoot for the picture above was to actually plan out what the envisioned shot would look like and set up the shot with the intent to add particulars later to enhance the theme. To the left are the before and after shots. The photograher  chose to shoot certain amount of extra headroom space above the bride and groom to add fire, later. Otherwise, it is probable that this photo shoot would have been tighter and more focusing on the people in the shot. However, allowing for the extra space and the perceived photoshop fire time back at the studio really adds to the overall post-apocolyptic zombie invasion feel that the bride and groom were hoping for.

There is a time lapse video from youtube of the creation of the zombie attack shot from Josia X. It shows the process he used to create the picture above. To see, CLICK HERE.

FIRST ATTACK: THE T-REX WEDDING GUEST

It seems that a lot of this craze started with photographer Quinn Miller. Miller wanted a “Jurassic Park”-themed wedding photo, but not just using the decorations from the wedding. Miller Photoshopped a giant T-Rex chasing the entire wedding party out of their ceremony at The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, La., on May 26, 2013.

He did so by shooting the picture allowing space to where the T-rex would be added later, and having the bridal party react to nothing; much like directors do in the movies.

After Miller uploaded his masterpiece, the picture went viral and the new craze was born:

Wedding Party Attack Picture Gallery

SUBMIT YOUR ATTACK SHOTS HERE – Forget walking down the aisle, some couples want to see the bride running for her life. We want your wedding attack pictures!

If you have exciting wedding attack pictures that I can add to this page, (and even more particularly something fun shot from the Albany, Schenectady, Troy, NY area,) please email me them at ken@thedjservice.com .

I have noooooo idea where this mustache craze is coming from, but mustaches are back!  I asked a few photographers to send me some of their more fun shots for a series I am doing for my Troy Record Party Planning Column and this is the first image request to come back. That’s right. Facial hair under the nose looks to be the new trendy fashion statement for weddings in 2013. What is the world coming to?

Why have I seen fake mustaches at three different weddings in the past two months? What does this all mean? Well, I am actually not sure.  The above picture was shot and is being used by persmission from local photographer Albany NY Photographer, Keira Lemonis.  Ask her and maybe she will know! Here is a sampler platter of her work:

What I have been seeing is fake mustaches just randomly being supplied as a party favor at various weddings. When in doubt, add mustache…

When we first got our dog Rudy, we wondered what he did during the day when we were at work. Therefore, I set up a webcam with a free stream site to see what he was up to. It turned out it was pretty lame; he slept all day. However, I was able to easily secure and set up a 24/7 feed for free that allowed me to be somewhere that I couldn’t be.

Maybe you want to stream your wedding, but don’t really know where to begin.  Applying my failed “dog-cam” experiment to something that could be somewhat useful is no problem.

This article will give you a step-by-step instructional guide on how to stream your wedding for those who can’t attend. It will offer all the different planning aspects you need to make your online wedding stream free and seamless to your guests.

Whether your wedding will be at The Desmond Wedding Hall in Albany, NY or Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, this option is great for your long-distance friends who otherwise couldn’t make it.

D.I.Y. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FREE WEDDING STREAM

1. CHOOSE YOUR STREAM – Do some surfing and select a streaming video website. Several websites allow you to BROADCAST live for free! (JUST DO A GOOGLE!)

2. REGISTER – Set up your account early on. Once you have completed this step, your online stream provider will create your personal website address and/or log in information for your wedding guests to login to. This URL will bethe “channel” where they will access the live video stream on the date and time of your wedding.

3. DETERMINE WEDDING GUEST LIST – Let’s face it. Some people are more important to you than others. Uncle Charlie may be way more cool than Uncle Jerry. Sit down with your fiancée and figure out who you absolutely want at your wedding live.

Send out invitations. Nag the hell out of them all and make sure all your important “VIP guest” come! Make sure that you send out your regular invitations first WITHOUT THE VIRTUAL WEDDING URL. (You do not want to offer this option to guests that you really want at your reception. It could create competition and allow for more unwanted VIP guest absenses.)

4. DETERMINE YOUR VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST LIST – Figure out who cannot make it to your wedding from your RSVPs. Create a new list of virtual wedding guests. Email the people on this list a virtual invitation with the streaming video information for your virtual wedding. It may be a good idea to remind repeat of the date and time of the wedding. You should also provide “dummy-proof” instructions on how to log in to see the wedding live.

5. ASSIGN VIRTUAL WEDDING CAMERA MAN – You probably do not want to have the added stress of setting up and checking on the virtual wedding web cam throughout the night. Therefore, it is probably a good idea to ask a close friend or family member to fully accept the responsibility. It is probably best to broadcast the wedding ceremony and the reception to give your guests the full flavor of the day. This means that your camera man will probably have to set up, break down and set up again at the reception.

6. PLAN THE SHOTS – Plan the shots and location of the web cam, beforehand. Go to your wedding location with your virtual wedding camera man and set up the webcam. Select the best shot with the least amount of clutter. One idea would be to set up a small “tv tray” with a table cloth an as minimal exposure to wires as possible.

If your ceremony is outside, it is probably best to run the laptop off of battery so you do not have to run wires. (Any good wedding DJ will tell you, “the goal should be that you do not want to see any wires at all.” If the reception is also outside, it may be best to try and set up out-of-the-way against a tent post or wall near the dance floor and/or head table.

7. TEST BROADCAST – Turn the webcam on and do an actual live run, with maybe someone watching at home on a computer, taking notes, on a cell phone with you and the virtual wedding camera man.

Make the needed adjustments to the location of the webcam or the height the webcam sits so it clearly shows your walk down the aisle and the location where you will be standing to say your vows.

You can even invite your virtual wedding guests to login during this test broadcast to make sure they can see . A simple follow up call could be the difference of a particular guest experiencing trouble being able to see it live, or not.

8. BROADCAST YOUR VIRTUAL WEDDING – Have your virtual camera man set up the webcam a little early at the ceremony on the day of the wedding.

9: CREATE INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST IDENTITIES (optional) – If you are really creative, we have is another virtual wedding idea blog that we call the “VIRTUAL WEDDING GUEST.”

The above link will explain how using Facetime, & Zoom can help creatively bring the otherwise absent faces to your wedding! ( This blog will also show how to create the opportunity for interactive virtual wedding guests, that can actually chat with the bride, groom & other guests at your reception.

PAY SERVICES ARE OUT THERE – Many wedding professionals believe that next year will be a defining year for this type of service, as streaming companies are breaking out with a whole new wedding online service for this very idea.  New virtual online wedding stream services are emerging. SOme wedding websites offer streaming packages targeting weddings that allow guests to log-on and watch your wedding as it unfolds. A professional videographer films the special day, broadcasting it to a web site where your guests can watch live.

However, you can TOTALLY do it yourself and bring your own personality out with your choice of stream. Have fun with the creation of your virtual wedding online broadcast! Whatever you choose to do, this idea will increase the chance that more of your loved ones will be present for your special day!

– DJ Kenny Casanova is a wedding DJ from the Albany, NY area. If you are interested in booking DJ Kenny Casanova, call or TEXT 518-506-3305.

MAKE YOUR OWN GRANOLA WEDDING TABLE

Are you a fan of the candy bag buffet tables where you fill a bag as a party favor, but don’t want to promote the high-caloric intake?

Here is a healthy and tasty twist on a familiar wedding favor idea to the candy bar buffet you see at many trendy weddings today; The Do-It-Yourself Trail Mix Wedding Buffet Bar!

It’s a great idea that kills two birds with one stone; Place Cards & Party Favors…

You simply use mason jar lids as your table place cards that show your guests to their seats & a “Do-It-Yourself Trail Mix Buffet Bar” that uses the lids again later, to top mason jars in order to save the guests’ crunchy creations!

That’s right! The guests save their place card, wondering what it is for. Then, by the end of the wedding it all makes sense! Fun right? Kind of like an Episode of LOST, but with the payoff!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TRAIL MIX BAG WEDDING STATION

It isn’t difficult at all. The only difference over using candy and candy bags is how you would like to package your granola. Here is how it works in 10 easy steps to granola goodness…

STEP 1 – CREATE MASON JAR LIDS FOR PLACE CARDS

1) Buy a bunch of mason jars at the dollar store, or craft shop.

2) Decorate the lids, with ribbons or paint to taste. You can decorate the lids with ribbons, tags, paint, lace, decals, stamps or anything you can imagine to help customize the feel you are looking for and harness your personalities.

3) Write your wedding date and the bride & groom’s names on the top of each one of the lids.

4) On the inside of each lid, write the names of each one of your guests, along with their assigned seating table numbers. You do this just the same as you would on a printed table place card.

5) Decoratively lay out the lids on a table by where the guests will enter your reception. Use the jar lids as your table place cards to direct your wedding guests to their seats.

6) Create a sign instructing the guests that they must save their lids for later.  Not telling the people why they are saving the lids may build up an anticipation for when you open the trail mix bar for business later on.

STEP 2 – GUESTS MAKE CUSTOM TRAIL MIX – STORING IN MASON JARS WITH LID PLACE CARDS

7) Purchase and stock pile mass quantities of all of your favorite trail mix ingredients. Check online for places to save when buying all your great nuts, grains, dried fruits and more!

8 ) After the wedding dinner, roll out your own “Do-It-Yourself Trail Mix” buffet table.

9) Provide the empty mason jars in a basket, as the “take out” bags for the guests to store their custom trail mix concoctions in.

10) Have your DJ announce and explain details on the trail mix bar. Tell the guests to use the lids from their place cards to store their custom trail mix in the jars, and to attack!

TRAIL MIX BAR & PLACE CARD IDEA GALLERY

Have fun with this idea! The possibilities are endless. Here are some pictures that I took at a recent wedding where they did this activity with great success, along with some other sample pictures to help get your granola juices flowing.

Enjoy and happy “trails” to you!