If you are planning a wedding in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs or anywhere else in the world, I’m sure you have already figured out that there millions of components to think about. The catering service, the venue location, the food selections / menu, the DJ, the cocktail hour, the clothing, the decoration, the centerpieces, the flower arrangements, the bouquet, the favors, did I forget something? Wait! Wait!! Have you even stopped to think about the ceremony yet?
The selection for the music for your wedding ceremony is always a tough task. My customers from Albany, NY to Saratoga Springs come to me all the time and say, “Kenny! Where do I start? I don’t know what any of that music is called or when it even happens!” It’s actually not so difficult. Hang on to you garter… here is a crash course Cliff Notes edition to wedding ceremony layouts for dummies:
Music for your wedding ceremony is important. This part of the day is the serious time set aside where the bride and groom express their feelings for one another and exchange their vows. That means, all in all, the ceremony is the time set aside for the mushy stuff. Therefore, you probably want to think about slower classical wedding music, new age, or very slow classic rock or pop ballads.
No matter how you look at, there are a few stages to a wedding ceremony, before the bride and groom say I do:
What should I know about music for the ceremony?
PRELUDE – There should be about four or five songs played as a prelude when the guests are seated. These can be anything, but keep in mind, these selections set the atmosphere for the guests. If you have no music playing, it feels more like a funeral than a wedding, so the prelude is important! The actual song selections should be light and elegant, modern or traditional to your liking.
PROCESSIONAL – The groomsmen and the groom usually move to the front from the side. They do not walk down the aisle, This signifies that the ceremony is about to formally begin. There are two songs during the processional: one song is chosen for when the bridesmaids enter, and the other song is to be the most dramatic choice, selected for play when the bride walks down the aisle.
RECESSIONAL – One last song is played after the kiss for the bride and groom to walk back up the aisle to. Think happy! The music played in the recessional, should symbolize the happiness of the couple’s new life together.
If you are like many, you probably want the traditional classic wedding music, but have NO CLUE what the songs are called. Here is my playlist when I am told to play the traditional favorites:
EXTRA SELECTIONS – There can be additional specialized songs selecte at different points in the ceremony, depending on the actual ceremony itself. Sometimes a special song can be played during or after the exchanging the rings and vows, and the lighting a unity candle.
RESTRICTIONS – Some churches have rules about wedding songs used during your ceremony so be sure to ask your clergy person or officiant! Remember, if you are non-traditional, you might get a kick out of white wedding, but your reverend may very well not be a Billy Idol fan.
There is a growing trend to get away from the traditional classic music. However, it is recommended that you shy away from anything upbeat. Adding too much craziness to the ceremony is not recommended, because it takes away from the seriousness of the union at hand.
For your wedding ceremony, your music selections should all probably still be softer and with a slower tempo. However, that doesn’t mean you have do the same thing everyone does.You can totally customize the song selection to fit your taste. There is plenty of good music out there that may be better suited for you than classical music. One of the most moving bridal marches I have seen was set to Enya’s “Only Time.” However, the most memorable one was last summer, when I had a bride who walked down the aisle to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” so go figure.
There are many great places in Albany, NY and its surrounding areas to have your wedding.
Planning a wedding? Hello Wedding Reception in the Capital District seeker! I’m local DJ Kenny Casanova and I often pinch hit as a party planner. From time to time, customers ask if I recommend any locations for wedding receptions and big parties, so I decided to put together a list.
Here are some great locations to check out, if you are planning your wedding reception. I have broken them down kind of into regional areas, rather than alphabetical order, to help you get an idea. It is all still a work in progress. For regional locations so far, I have Albany, Averill Park, Troy/Cohoes/Latham, Schenectady, Eastern Points towards Mass, Clifton Park/Saratoga and a few more. If you know of a good one or would like to see your own establishment on this list (which will soon become a tab on my website) drop me a line at ken@theDJservice.com.
Seating Placecards for Broadway Theme Wedding Sign
Broadway Play Theme Wedding Ideas in Troy, NY
Normally, you don’t want any drama at your wedding, but not, of course, if you are planning a Broadway Theme wedding!
We just had the pleasure of DJing for a couple at Key Hall in Schenectady, NY, a great hall with some really classic old time surroundings that really enhanced the idea of theater.
The couple had play poster centerpieces, a Broadway cake topper and seating placecards that looked like tickets to some of their very favorite broadway plays that I really liked.
Just picture the possibilities. You can serve popcorn and make your food table decor look like a concession stand. You can play the theme songs or particular soundtrack tracks before your intro during cocktail hour.
You can sign Broadway play posters for the guestbooks. You can do anything!
BROADWAY PLAY THEME WEDDING PICTURES FROM SCHENECTADY NY
I particularly liked the ticket seating chart and the program playbill for the night. These really made you feel like you were looking for your seats right at a theater on Broadway in New York City.
Food Table Decor
Cupcake Table decorationsBroadway Theme Wedding
Playbill Programs
Playbill Centerpiece for Broadway Theme Wedding
Playbill Centerpiece for Broadway Theme Wedding
Seating Placecards for Broadway Theme Wedding
Wedding Program for Broadway Theme Wedding
Seating Placecards Sign
Seating Placecards for Broadway Theme Wedding Sign
ARE YOU PLANNING A PIRATE THEME WEDDING OR PARTY? IF SO READ ON!
Pirate Theme Wedding DJ in Albany NY
Well blow me down! You are actually thinking of planning a wedding reception with a pirate theme? Arrrgghh! We have had our hand in a number of pirate parties in and around Albany, NY and think we may have some ideas for you!
Well, after all, with the huge box-office smash Pirates of the Caribbean , the pirate-themed reception has sparked new interest, of late. And by pillaging and plundering around, it will be really easy to steal yourself some great tips for your party!
IDEAS FOR YOUR PIRATE THEMED WEDDING
Below I have categorized each aspect of a wedding reception, through the eye patch of a pirate. They hit all the bases and will give you some ideas that maybe you haven’t even thought of yet.
Pirate Theme Wedding Invitation
INVITATIONS – For wedding invitations, live the gimmick. Print them up on antique looking paper-stock, or age the paper yourself by staining with in coffee (How to Antique Paper). For the intro, start with an eye-catcher like ,”Ahoy! Come walk the plank” or, “Shake your Pirate booty!” Chart a course to your reception with location, time and date in the form of a treasure map. If you want to be REALLY creative and can afford a little extra postage, go to the dollar store and put the map-like invitation into bottles with corks and mail them out!
Any Pirate reception invitation will look more authentic when printed on tan paper at the edges, and maybe made wet with coffee or tea stains. This is normal. You can literally dip each invitation into tea or coffee water and then let it dry to make each invitation look antiquated with age. The older they look, the more convincing they are! You can also add some sand and little tiny decorative seashells or gold covered chocolate coins to each invitation.
Pirate Wedding in Albany NY
COSTUMES – Guests in costumes… You gotta do it! Nuff said!
PLACE CARDS – On each of the place cards, you can opt to write each guest’s name by adding “Pirate” or “Buccaneer” before their name (for example: “Pirate Paul” or “Buccaneer Bob”). You can also make up Pirate-related sounding names like “Peg-Leg Pete”, “Captain Carrie,” “Long-Tooth Larry”, “Blind-Eye Barbie”, “Scarface Sammy”, “Dirty Dog Donny”, and so on and so forth.
GUEST BOOK – You can also have your whole guest population sign their good luck wishes in a book with a huge feather pen… Or how about on a real Pirate flag, posted to the wall. If it’s a typical Jolly Roger flag with the white skull and crossbones on a black flag, it’s best to use a white-out, fabric pen or one of those metallic silver pens for their writing. These can then be attached to feather sticks and left on the tables.
Pirate Theme Wedding Cake
DECORATIONS – To decorate your hall, you know what to do, matey. Think about sailing the sea! You can use anything from sand and sea shells, to bowls of live gold fish. Also, remember to hang pirate flags and fishing nets all around the reception, for that extra finishing touch.
And for that eerie atmosphere, you can take out some of your Halloween decorations (cobwebs, spiders, skeletons, etc.). Here’s a great selection of skeletons. On a skeleton you can put an eye patch around it’s head, a bandana and/or hoop earring, color a few of the teeth with a gold marker, and hang Mardi Gras necklaces around it’s neck.
GUEST TABLES
– It would also fun to disperse those gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins, plastic jewels, and a bit of sand and seashells onto your tables. You can also use fishing nets over any kind of tablecloth for your tables. Stick rubber fish, seahorses, plastic oyster shells, lobsters and crabs in the fish net.
PIRATE BOAT PICTURE BOOTH – Picture booths are HUGE at weddings now (awesome example). Now add pirate theme, and BANG! You have a Kodak moment in the making. Have each of your guests pose as a pirate at a ship wheel with some kind of mast or pirate flag in the background. (If Uncle Jerry didn’t come in costume, remember to have extra pirate hats or bandannas around.) Make sure to have each guest ham it up and say, “Aaaargh” while posing for the shot.
Pirate Theme Wedding Centerpiece
If you are creative, you can also make a whole Pirate ship out of cardboard. You’ll need a few refrigerator boxes. Use a hot glue gun and/or duct tape to attach everything together is probably your best bet. Paint it up nice. It won’t take much, just decorate the Pirate ship with a Pirate flag, a mast, a plank (just a piece of long cardboard) and you should be good to go.
MUSIC – Music will really help the atmosphere and set the mood to your pirate wedding reception. You can either have the DJ mix in music from any kind of Pirate movie you can think of, or throw in an occasional Peter Pan, Captain Bogg & Salty, Toucan Pirates, or Jimmy Buffet. (Just make sure to only do it here and there between good songs, to add to the flavor.)
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES – should be lots of fun for everyone, if many guests arrive in costume. You can add pirates to any line dance with instant success. Also, you can try some kind of pirate Scavenger Hunt, or something to do with walking a plank, or picking something up with a hook set to music.
CANDY TABLE – BOOTY BAGS –You have seen the candy tables, right? When the reception is over, thank your guests for coming with booty bags filled with goofy prizes pirate booty such as toy compasses, foil-wrapped candy coins, or other treasures.
FOOD – Good seafood, of course, needs to be at least one of the choices! Ask your caterer on this one.
BEVERAGES – Pirates love their bottles of rum. It won’t be a pirate-theme without beverages inside real sweet treasure chests. If you’re not up to making your own treasure chest, there are a few really nice Treasure Chests can be found online. You can, however, easily make your own. Take a Styrofoam cooler and paint it brown. You can use gold ribbon to trim the lid and the base of the chest. Then take craft foam and glue panels on to the center of the lid in the front and the other directly below to make the lock. Around the treasure chests, throw around your gold chocolate coins, gummy fish, starburst candies (they look like little treasures), colored beaded necklaces and whatever cool treasures you can find. Then add the ultimate treasure, beverage bottles that only pirates would like. (Maybe Pete’s wicked Ale?)
PUNCH BOWL – Serve your sea faring guests grog or bumboo, made with Caribbean coconut rum for the adults and make soda based for the kids, from the bowls marked with or without an “XXX”.
PIRATE LANGUAGE LIST – You should name your tables as such and have pirate language printed out for people to get into the spirit. Here’s a list of pirate phrases:
Avast! (Hey!)
Aye (another way to say – “Yes!”)
Ahoy, me Hearties! (just like saying – Hello, my friends)
Blow me down! (expression of shock, disbelief, strong emotion, surprise)
Booty (treasure)
Buccaneer (a Pirate)
Dead men tell no tales (expression indicating to leave no survivors)
Fair winds! (goodbye, good luck!)Thar’ she blows! (whale sighting)
Grog (generally, any alcoholic drink Pirate’s drink)
Grub (food)
Heave Ho (give it some strength and muscle)
Jolly Roger (a Pirate’s flag – one with a white skull and crossbones over black)
Lookout (someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for signs of land or other ships)
Swab the deck (to clean the deck)
Shiver me timbers! (expression of shock, disbelief, strong emotion, surprise)
Sea-dog (an experienced sea-man)
Me (my)
Me Hearties (a typical way for a Pirate to address his crew)
Shark bait (foes)
Sail ho! (I see a ship!)
Shipshape (well organized, finished, under control…)
Yo-ho-ho (something Pirate’s tend to say, whether it actually means anything or not)
Have fun with whatever you do, and don’t be afraid to be different. Non-traditional wedding receptions are the ones people always remember, and isn’t that the point?
As I always say to my clients, if you have the guts to go with a wedding theme, then it really makes the night better. As you can see, at a recent hockey theme wedding I was the DJ for in Altamont NY, the bride and groom did just that. I hope the pictures help you with your planning!
One of the things that leads a wedding to success is when the hosts, the bride and groom, think of every little detail and make their guest comfortable. Here is a nice little added touch that can actually increase the length of stay time attendance in your older demographic.
