Category: Wedding Themes

Baseball Theme Wedding Ideas in Troy, NY

I just had the pleasure of DJing for a couple at Franklin Plaza in Troy, NY, which is a great hall with some really cooling lighting.

They had inflatable baseball bats and balls, a baseball cake topper and a first base guestbook that I really liked. The first base guest book was literally just that, a baseball base that all the guests could sign to be latter hung up on their wall.

Just picture the possibilities. You can serve popcorn and Crackerjacks. You can play the song before your intro. You can sign jerseys or bats for the guestbooks. You can use tickets or balls for place cards. You can do anything!

BASEBALL WEDDING THEME PICTURES IN ALBANY, NY

They also posted up the seating chart on a really great baseball themed directory that made you feel like you were looking for your seats right at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Here are a look a t a few of the nifty things they did to pull it off!

Other than mail order Russian brides, there are some different traditions that revolve around Russian weddings. Whether you are a Russian bride or groom-to-be, this is a great list of Russian traditions that may help you come up with some great ideas to commemorate and celebrate your ancestral roots of Old Mother Russia.

First off, did you know that Russian weddings are much longer than the traditional American wedding of today in that they typically go on for two full days?

THE KISS PRINT NAPKIN – Before the wedding ceremony, it’s tradition for all Russian grooms to accomplish a few prenuptial traditions. For example, when he comes to pick up his bride, the groom may be handed a napkin with lipstick prints of the bride and her attendants on it. In the unfortunate case that the groom can’t pick out which is his bride’s kiss print, he must pay a fine to the bride-to-be. In jest, Grooms who guess wrong may have to cover a shawl with money to reassure her.

PRE-CEREMONY REGISTRATION- The official traditional Russian ceremony is only one part of the entire wedding event. To start things off, the bride and groom arrive in separate cars and are lead into different rooms that are ideally a decent distance apart before filling out the regestration papers. Next, the couple wait until they are called.

PRE-CEREMONY BUTTEFLY TOSS – Once the Russian bride and groom exit the civil marriage registration office, it’s time for picture taking to commemorate the occasion. Friends and family members toss flower petals, coins, and sometimes release butterflies to wish the couple good luck. And before they leave, it’s tradition for the groom to sweep the bride up in his arms and kiss her in front of all assembled, among flying butterflies.

PRE-CEREMONY BREAD PRESENTATION – Before exiting the registration hall, a member of the bridal party, or sometimes another special person is assigned to present the bride and groom with the ceremonial bread and salt tray, which will be an interesting part of the Russian wedding tradition. Next, the bride and groom are lead into the actual ceremony hall where the actual rites and vows are to be held.

BRIDAL PARTY SASHES – It’s tradition for the best man and maid of honor to wear sashes over their clothing.

RUSSIAN WEDDING RUG – For the ceremony, the bride and groom stand on a traditional wedding carpet and the officiant reads a welcoming speech and then asks the bride and groom to confirm their reason for being there. Very much like our American tradition, the Russian bride and groom then engage in an exchanging of rings, the couples sign in the registry, and then the witnesses sign and the couple are pronounced man and wife.

BREAD BITING TRADITION – A platter of bread is presented during the ceremony to the Russian bride and groom at hand. This part of the ceremony symbolizes the hope for a healthy long life with prosperity for the couple. The bread is then bitten into by both the bride and groom, and the joke is that the one who takes the largest bite will make all the major decisions and essentially be the one who wears pants in the family!

DECORATED BRIDAL RIDE – After the wedding, the bride and groom make a nuptial tour of their town’s historic sites. To transport themselves and their guests to these locations in class, many Russian brides and grooms will hire a fancy limousine covered in with gold decorations and flowers. Quite often, villagers will see the couple’s names painted on a side window, and wave good luck in support of their neighbors’ happy day. When the couple cannot afford a limo, most just have their bridal party pimp out their ride, or borrow a friend’s car suitably tricked out ride, as well. Either way, the bride and groom ride in style.

FIVE STOP TOUR – For Russian brides and grooms the historic town bridal tour is not only a matter of showing up in a specific and often scenic location for photography reasons, the ride is a symbolic act that assures a long and happy marriage.

Typically, the bride and groom make pitstops at five different places around the city that hold special meaning for citizens. There they have post-wedding photos snapped, and at each stop-off, the bride and groom leave flowers to symbolize their contribution as husband and wife to the history of the town/village.

DOVE RELEASE – The couple sometimes simultaneously releases a white dove, as tradition, to symbolize and emphasize the purity of their love, near a waterfront.

BRIDAL RANSOM – There is also a silly tradition of “the stealing the bride”, when the groom takes his eyes off the bride, she might get stolen and the groom will have to pay ransom! All in jest, of course!

DATES TO KNOW BEFORE PLANNING YOUR WEDDING IN 2014 –

If you want success at your wedding, attendance plays a big part.

There are a billion things to think about when planning your wedding in Albany NY or around the world, but what some people do not take into account is the importance of the actual date selection itself on the calendar.

NEVER NEVER NEVER select a wedding date because that is the only day a wedding hall has open. There could be a reason it is open that nobody has booked for that day! Do your homework and figure out what else could be happening that day before selecting.

What are the days around they day you are thinking of choosing? What other things could be happening on this date that could create competition? Choosing a “Holiday Weekend Wedding” can totally have it’s pros and cons, but however, sometimes the nostalgia is not really worth it, in the end.

THE PROS OF PLANNING A HOLIDAY WEDDING –

1) HOLIDAYS ARE EASY TO REMEMBER
2) HOLIDAYS HELP PROVIDE YOU WITH A THEME TO FOLLOW
3) GUESTS MAY HAVE OFF OF WORK – Another great thing about planning a holiday wedding is that your guests will have an extra day off of work 9usually a monday) for recovery and travel time. Or, a holiday weekend can allow for a better Sunday wedding, which incidently, is often more affordable that a Saturday wedding works out to be.

 THE CONS ON SELECTING A HOLIDAY FOR YOUR WEDDING  –

1) TRAVEL INCREASE – Traveling costs are traditionally more on holidays, bottom line. Your costs and the the cost for your guests’ airfare traveling and/or hotels are often higher on holiday weekends, due to supply and demand of travelers.

2) GUEST ATTENDANCE – Choosing a holiday wedding might hurt your wedding guest attendance list. Let’s face it. People are creatures of habit, and nobody likes change. Some families have other regularly scheduled commitments and traditions for on-going standing holiday weekend and, more often than not, these are traditions are ones that some people would not want to change, no matter what the cause.

HOLIDAY WEEKENDS FOR 2014

Monday, January 20, 2014 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 17, 2014 Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 26, 2014 Memorial Day
Friday, July 4, 2014 Independence Day
Monday, September 1, 2014 Labor Day
Monday, October 13, 2014 Columbus Day
Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Veterans Day
Thursday, November 27, 2014 Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, December 25, 2014 Christmas Day

3) RELIGIOUS DAYS –
While you may or may not recognize a number of religious holidays, your guests might. Think about religious holidays when choosing your wedding date. There may even be church restrictions on if you are allowed to marry at these times, so you may have to make some calls if you go against this one.

Palm Sunday
April 13, 2014
March 29, 2015
March 20, 2016
Easter Sunday
April 20, 2014
April 5, 2015
March 27, 2016
Passover (begins at sunset the night before)
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Tisha B’Av (begins at sunset the night before)
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Rosh Hashanah (begins at sunset the night before)
Thursday, September 25, 2014, until nightfall on Friday, September 26, 2014
Monday, September 14, 2015, until nightfall on Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Sunday, October 2, 2016, until nightfall on Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Yom Kippur (begins at sunset the night before)
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Hanukkah (begins at sunset)
Wednesday, December 17, 2014, until nightfall on Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 7, 2015, until nightfall on Monday, December 14, 2015
Saturday, December 24, 2016 until nightfall on Sunday, January 1, 2017

DJ TIPS – MORE WEDDING DATE SELECTION TIPS

COSTLY HOLIDAYS – Valentine’s Day will make your floral bill shyrocket, and New Year’s will make your venue more too!

PERSONALLY SIGNIFICANT DAYS – Check your own calendar for college reunions, family weddings, anniversaries or other events, like big conventions or festivals in your city (call your local chamber of commerce), and any annual occasions that involve your family or close friends.

HOLIDAY WEEKENDS – Holiday weekend weddings have pros and cons. You’ve got an extra day for the festivities (and recovery!); plus, a Sunday wedding is often less expensive than a Saturday one would be. However, costs of travel and hotels may be higher. And if you’re looking to marry around Valentine’s Day, be wary of your floral bill, especially if you’ve got your heart set on red roses — they’ll likely be more expensive than at any other time of the year. Likewise, reception sites often charge a higher fee for a New Year’s Eve wedding. Also consider the impact of a holiday weekend on your guest list: Some families have standing plans or traditions that they’d prefer not to miss.

Hockey Theme Wedding DJ 

I’ve actually done a few Hockey Theme Weddings recently and have pictures to share with you below, in case you are thinking about the same type of thing for your special day.

Michelle & Tim got married in Latham on March 29, 2014 and we had the pleasure of providing our services for this happy day. The couple had their ceremony and reception at The Holiday Inn Banquet Hall in Latham, NY.

Since the happy couple met at a Rangers game, it only made sense to make the wedding theme match their passion: HOCKEY !!!

They followed the original theme great! They had ice statues, hockey puck place cards, red and blue uplights to match their team’s color, and more! There was a hockey jersey used as a guest book, for all guests to sign when they came in. They used the Rangers Goal Theme song for their entrance song. The had hockey sticks all over the walls, as well as banners and uniform pieces as decorations. They had a hockey theme slideshow and video presentation. And the centerpieces were hockey, too!

Great time had by all!

Hockey Theme Wedding DJ Pictures (Latham, NY) Below

Pictures from another hockey theme wedding (Altamont, NY) below

I also did another pretty cool Hockey Theme Wedding in the summer of 2015. This bride and groom also loved Hockey and went with a hocky theme for their special day. They had a Hockey Jersey Guest book, a hockey place cards seating chart, and a really cool hockey theme centerpiece. Here are some pictures:

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, both weddings above did just that. I hope the pictures help you with your planning!

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.

ARE YOU PLANNING A PIRATE THEME WEDDING OR PARTY? IF SO READ ON!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Pirate Wedding Picture Ideas Below