Want everyone to have a chance at ALL of the entrees? Thinking about having a buffet at your wedding? If you are, there is one thing you absolutely have to remember. Make sure you make your line is double-sided.
I have seen many many weddings get really tied up with time when the kitchen puts the buffet tables up against the wall. Not having access to both sides of the table from a guest’s stand point, means you will have double the wait.
This may not mean much in a small wedding, but if you have a guest list of 100 plus people, you will likely end up with half of the people done eating before the other half has even started.
A great way to set p the tables when possible is to put a double setting of each dish on the table back to back, so people on either side see the same dishes on the opposite side.
Believe me, if you set up your buffet line like this, there will barely be any wait and allow extra time for any even more fun evening.
Finally, the legislature has created an atmosphere of “marriage equality” here in New York State and the Albany NY area. This law being passed means that a whole new demographic of customers will soon enter the market in the wedding industry. DJ Kenny Casanova and www.TheDJservice.com are happy for our future customers. However, we want to caution same sex couples not to give into “hurry up” pressure by the media to rush into marriage without planning now just because you legally can.
Media Drools for a Gay Mob to Break Down Doors of David's Bridal
By the looks of things, people in the media seem to be trying to create a sense of urgency since the law passed on July 23rd. It seems like they are waiting for a big story of epic proportion that isn’t going to happen. I think they really are waiting for a gay mob of brightly dressed stereotypical homosexual couples and Cher impersonators to break down the doors at David’s Bridal in Colonie. Well, I hate to say it, but as good for TV ratings as this may be, this isn’t going to happen.
Since we passed the ground-breaking law that allows members of the same sex to get married, it seems that day in and day out, the media continues to ask both in print and on the television the same exact question… “Why are there not thousands of people taking advantage of this great opportunity?”
THE LAW JUST PASSED! Think about it. Nobody can plan a great wedding in a few weeks! There are so many different things to think about that you cannot just rush into:
SPECIAL MEANING: It is not a secret that there are many different components pertaining to time that you have to look if you want to have a decent wedding. I am sure that members of New York’s gay community do not want to rush their special day, simply because they can, and certainly not to get their mugs on News Channel 9 for thirty seconds. The fundamental reason many same-sex couples want to get married is because the idea is that marriage is supposed to mean something. It is a special day and one that often involves loved ones. In order to make all this happen, a lot of planning has to go down.
As different as the media might think gay people are, they have the same concerns about their wedding day as anyone else would. Gay people who care about being married will also care about how their weddings come off. The ones who wanted to rush to get married, probably already are after a quick drive to Vermont.
DJ OR BAND BOOKING: As the Rolling Stones once said, “You can’t always get what you want.” I would argue, you can sometimes, if you are patient and can wait it out. It typically takes couples around six to twelve months at the very minimum to plan a successful wedding. Whenever you book a Disc Jockey or band for a wedding, most of the decent ones are booked a year ahead. (We are already booking up next summer, and this one isn’t even half gone. If someone calls right now, I personally do not have any Saturday time slots available at all until November, so my partner is picking up the slack.)
VENUE BOOKING: Various venues, banquet halls and catering/food services are also dealing with full plates, no pun intended. Most of their desirable dates are grabbed up at wedding shows and open houses that take place a season prior to the actual event’s proposed date.
From experience, couples always buy into “wedding prime time.” Most want to get married on a Saturday in the summer, because of the great weather and the lack of scheduling conflicts that this time brings to the table. However, popular wedding reception halls only have limited slots available. If the couple is gay or not and really wants to get married at Franklin Terrace in Troy, NY, for example, Franklin’s only has eight couples they can book for the eight weeks in July and August months.
INVITING GUESTS: Finally, if you rush your wedding, not everyone can make it. Your guests need advance notice just like anybody else. Most friends and family really need at least 3 to 6 months notice in advance. This is even more especially so in the busy summer months when people have their vacation time carefully mapped out. My wife and I planned our wedding about a year out, and we still had a few close friends who really wanted to be there for us but they could not show, due to conflicts in schedules! (Chris, man, you are still a bastard!)
Therefore Mister Media, you can’t plan your special day in a few weeks. Calm down. You got your midnight wedding 12:01 stories on the day that the law went into effect. Stop drooling for something that isn’t going to happen in droves. We have only had eleven couples in the area get hitched in same sex weddings since the law passed. This is about right.
I know it would have made for better TV if a thousand homosexuals in drag came out screaming to say, “I do,” but it didn’t work that way, and it won’t.
For more information on gay-friendly same sex wedding professionals to do service at your wedding, drop us a line 518-506-3305.
To book a Gay-Friendly & Same Sex Wedding DJ Service in the Albany, Saratoga Springs NY, Western Massachusetts, and Bennington Vermont areas… drop us a line!
We at TheDJservice.com are happy that EVERYONE can now finally get married in the United States of America. Our DJs already have experience in gay-friendly and same sex weddings in New York & Vermont and we know this experience is helpful. We know that many same sex couples do not want to just “fit into a typical cookie-cutter wedding format” that doesn’t work for them. Let us help make your night special and customize it to fit your needs!
Understanding the difficult economic status we live in today, we always attempt to accommodate any service requests for our customers, no matter big or small. Currently we offer affordable add-on packages with our DJ services that include, photography, lazer light shows, music video set ups, karaoke, digital slide shows, female DJs, live turntable mixing, custom mashups and remixes, and also a classy ceremony music package.
SAVING YOU MONEY: We currently employ our own affordable photographers and work closely with a wedding officiant, as well as a make up artist, in an attempt to help you save money. And now, with the change in recent laws, we are now pleased to offer everyone these luxuries.
While Colbie Caillat retains her signature sound that fans have come to love on like “Bubbly” and “Falling For You,” there is one refreshing difference on this great new wedding “first dance” option.
“I Do” has that tinny acoustic guitar/ukelele sound which, in a resurgence, is becoming popular of late in many tracks. For “I Do” this trendy instrument-choice coffee house-like sound works perfectly and adds an additional layer of fun to a great track. This simple light sound has brought about recent success for songs like Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” and their duet “Lucky“, as well as the Bruno Mars hit “Lazy Song,” “Hey Soul Sister” by Train, and Travie McCoy’s collaboration with Bruno Mars on the hit track “Billionaire.”
Waterford Banquet caters throughout the Capital District and surrounding communities, but handles weddings and special events at The Saratoga Elks.
As far as the food is concerned, Waterford Banquets offers some really good prices and some great wedding favorites on their menu options. I believe their Prime Rib, which I would classify as medium-sized cut of beef, is somewhere around $23 a head, which really isn’t bad! Check out their website above for the menus options – or click here.
The Saratoga Elks, conveniently located near Northway Exit 15, has a bright and modern look with great lighting. It features a bar and a suitable wooden dance floor. There is great access to hall with a nearby back door, making things easy for decoration purposes.
Lodge Facilities
250 plus guests banquet hall with spacious seating
Great bar/lounge area with seating for up to 100
Located in historic Saratoga Springs, near all activities
Patio and Gazebo area for beautiful ceremony
A decent-sized banquet room to fit 175 plus guests…
Overall, I would suggest that the hall is a great size; not too small and not too big. It seems ideal for weddings between 125-200 guests.
I would rate them about 8 stars out of 10, only subtracting a little for an unusable disco ball (people wanted me to turn it on as the DJ, but it didn’t work) and a few minor eye sores, like the Elks Logo sign in the banquet hall and what I believe was a bingo board on the wall covered by curtains.
(EDITOR NOTE: Since this blog in 2011, the disco ball is back in working order!)
Franklin Plaza of Troy, NY is located right across the street from Dinosaur BBQThe Franklin Plaza Banquet Hall is a great place to have a wedding, prom, or other high-end event demanding class.
I work as a DJ and often an event planner, so I am used to managing every detail of big events myself. If you choose to book the Franklin Plaza, hopefully you will agree that they do think about everything, as they did for the recent prom that I did there in June.
One thing I wanted to highlight now, is that they have their own in-house dance lights now at the Plaza. The hall manager, Greg Cushman, told me that they put their custom light show up only a few months ago, and spared no expense in components and installation. The LED lights with programmable DMX technology are a great extra bonus for booking the hall, with no charge to the customer and they are up high in the corners of the dance floor, out of sight.
I would give the place 4 and a half stars out of 5, subtracting only a half a star for the homeless guy that I think spit on my car in the parking lot, because I didn’t have time to listen to his sob story setting up. (If you see him, shoot me an email so I can knock the last two teeth out of his head.)
