Category: Wedding Themes

Here is an idea… How about a wedding fit for a King? An Elvis-themed wedding can be as elegant and fancy, or as fun and crazy as you would like it to be.

Elvis had many faces over his life. He was a lady killer, rockstar, country man, Las Vegas staple, and clean cut man of class, depending on when you saw him over his career. Also, Elvis’ Blue Hawaiin period can allow for a more laid back pacific feel.

So what can you do?

First and foremost, pick out the Elvis look you want most and dress your bridesmaids and groomsmen accordingly. If you still want some traditional tuxedoed look for your wedding ceremony and really only want the Elvis theme for the reception, the perfect way to incorporate the theme subtley is by dressing only the goormsmen of the wedding party’s feat in Blue Suede Shoes. Then choose a matching shade of blue for the bridesmaids gowns!

But if you really want to go all out, how about ushers who are all dressed as Elvis impersonators for the big day? And how about a ballad for the wedding march and walk the aisle to Elvis singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”.

Once you hit the reception, anything goes.

Peanutbutter and banana sandwich horsduerves are a must for a conversation piece. Also, add some 50’s sunglasses on every table and some hawaiin leighs.

Have fun with it!

Thank you very much, mama!

As you probably already know, I am a huge “theme wedding”  fan. In fact, I am set to have my own on a pirate theme wedding come next April when I marry Maid Maria. This past Saturday, I DJ’ed a Halloween wedding in Grafton, NY that was great fun.

Something interesting that I would like to share; groups of people came in themes to match the tables organized into costume categories!

Halloween Theme Wedding Seating that Counts

An interesting idea for a Halloween theme wedding is to organize your guests by costumes at each table. There are different ways to do this. You know your guests better than I do. You can either try and get a list of what people will where, or attempt to offer movie themes and other group-like categories for your guests to chose from.

At this particular wedding, we had a Superhero table, complete with Batman, Superman, Clark Kent, Wonderwoman, Spider-man, Wolverine and a Transformer to boot.

We also had an Wonderland Table, with Alice, the Queen, The Mad Hatter, and a Door Mouse. And, one other cool table was The Wizard of Oz table, with a male bearded Dorthy, The Lion, The Witch and a person actually dressed as a chuck of the yellow brick road!

Another table was the Seriel Killer table. Another grouping was cartoons. Another setting was monsters. For your Halloween wedding, the grouping ideas can be endless.

Early on during the cocktail hour, as certain characters started to enter, I gave them their own entrance, aligning their costume to a related song. It was really fun to give them each time to shine by playing songs that went well with each character. Great fun was had by all!

French-Canadian Wedding Sock Dance Custom by Albany NY DJ Kenny Casanova, a highly-demanded disc jockey from www.TheDJservice.com .

I learned something over the weekend at a wedding reception that had an Irish-American bride marrying a French-Canadian groom. While weddings in Canada are very similar to those here in America, there are some very different French Canadian weddings customs that occur just north of us. I realized this when I looked out to the dance floor to see the groom’s older sister hiking up her dress and dancing with the ugliest socks on I ever did see! Looking at a pair of feather adorned rainbow socks with sparkles and fully-woven separated toes, this prompted me to do a little research on the nuptials of our northern neighbors.

Canadian wedding customs are all about a warm and friendly get together with friends and family, despite sometimes cold northern temperatures. Because Canada is an immigrant country by nature, the mixing of English and French wedding customs with the traditions of many other cultures is common. For the most part, a great deal of French Canadian wedding celebrations is very similar to what you would see in the United States. There are, however, a few differences.

In parts of Quebec, where the main language spoken is French, for the ceremony, the groom isn’t kept away from seeing the bride until she walks down the aisle. It is customary, rather for the groom and his friends and family to meet the bride at her home on the big day. The new couple then drives to ceremony with the bride’s parents. A large procession of cars, much like you see in the states at a funeral, move together, decorated for the wedding celebration to come. The line of cars is not calm and reserved, however. In a parade-like tour through the entire town, the people in the cars honk their horns and yell good wishes out to town’s people. After the drive, the entire wedding assembly enters the church together.

At the reception, we see an introduction and a toast, before a nice dinner. After everyone eats, the dancing begins. There is one French-Canadian tradition, however, that I saw this weekend that was very new to me. It involved the unmarried brothers and sisters of the bride and groom.

Later on in the wedding reception, apparently, if the groom has older siblings who are still unmarried, they must down elaborately colorful ugly socks, and dance to a special tune. It seems that the the socks symbolize the siblings still having “cold feet” and this is why the younger brother is marrying before them. The sillier the sock dance is however, the better, as the guests respond more favorably to nonsense. Much like the American “Dollar Dance,” the guests throw money at the feet of the sock dancer(s) and the money is then given to the bride and groom, to offset costs and help them in their new home together.

For more information on funny French-Canadian Dances, customs and traditions like this one, you will want to check out our new blog on the French Canadian Trough Dance, by clicking here.

Below is a gallery of pictures from many different Wedding Sock Dances to give you an idea of what it looks like. It’s a beautiful thing. Isn’t it?

To book DJ Kenny Casanova or any of our fine DJ’s at TheDJservice.com for your wedding with an ugly sock dance, call 518-506-3305. We are based out of the Albany, New York area. You can also TEXT us at 518-506-3305 for more information.

Wedding Theme DJ idea – The Cinderella Fairy Tale

Every bride pictures the day they are to be married as being the perfect-ending of a fairy tale, when they are very young. If you want your big wedding to be a fairy tale come true, why not consider putting just the right theme to it? If you want to set an atmosphere of fantasy, enchantment and fun, then maybe a Cinderella wedding could be just for you!

DARE TO PICK A THEME – If you really want the groom to buy into the helping of planning your wedding, add a theme. From experience, adding any type of theme can really get your Prince Charming to buy into the whole party planning process, as many grooms do not really buy into the planning side. Add a theme, however, and the creative juices start to flow!

DO SOME RESEARCH – So first, you have to do your homework. If you think that a Cinderella theme could work for your wedding, then make sure you re-watch the movie Cinderella, itself. You will see from watching the movie a number of things that can really add to the overall feel.

First off, Cinderella is from a kingdom and the messengers use scrolls. You can send your invitations out with that scroll feel, and also even create something like this for your guestbook. Since you want your guests to really know that they are attending a fairy tale wedding, a nice glass slipper or something from the film should be printed as a background of clip art on the invitations. If you can, also try sealing your envelopes with a royal wax seal.

COLORS – The official colors for the reception should include ivory, light pinks and white. These colors should be used for flowers, linen, and even the clothing. To get that ballroom feel, the bride should shoot for a bell-shaped gown, when possible, if it compliments her body well. She should try to match the style of Cinderella, of course, from Disney, as this is the image that is well-known. The groom should look at black tuxedos with tails.

PROPS – Props are everything and will really sell your theme, no matter what it may be. In this case, props should include, glass slippers, pumpkins and perhaps long red carpets. (At the ceremony, you may even want to have the ring bearer carry the ring inside a glass slipper or pumpkin!)

The venue will also play a good hand in getting the Cinderella feel across. A ballroom with chandeliers and fancy drapery and wall hangings would be the perfect setting for your Cinderella wedding reception theme and your fairy tale coming true. Locally Glen Sanders mansion, might be nice, or any place that has a cascading staircase for a grand entrance, too!

MAKE IT SPARKLE – For that added magical feel, you should use glitter everywhere you can. Table tops with tinsel pieces would be great and you have to make pumpkin couches your centerpieces. Also, small magic wands with stars on the tips provided as party favors would make for some fun pictures, as well. Also, if your budget allows, you may want to shoot for a giant ice statue of a slipper to add to the night.

The possibilities are endless!

HOW TO PLAN YOUR BEACH THEME PARTY /WEDDING

A beach theme party or wedding is a great way to break the norm and create excitement. Tiki/totem poles… Cakes with goldfish bowls featuring live fish… Grass skirts. The possibilities are endless!

Below is a comprehensive list of music options, decorations, party ideas and other tidbits to make your beach theme wedding a splash with your guests!

BEACH THEME INVITATION IDEAS 

How about wedding invitations sent as Sting would like… as, “A message in a bottles.” Get some cheap bottles with nasty corks. Get them anywhere you can find them. You can find them online, in an antique store, or in the grass down route 87. (If you do start looking out on the road, remember you need glass ones! Look out for the gator aid bottles that the truckers have disposed of.) If you still have no luck, just stop by the local dollar store. Fill the bottles up with invitations you print yourself on weathered-looking paper. Tear the edges, roll them up and put them in the bottles with a sprinkling of sand, tiny shells, or confetti.

You could also include a treasure map, with location information.

LOCATION IDEAS

You don’t need to travel to bring the fun in the sun to your party. You can have your beach theme party at an actual beach, or capture the atmosphere without being seaside. Some other options are on a boat, at a marina, any venue with a view of the water – lake, river or sea, any venue with prominent fish tanks, especially tropical, a hotel’s swimming pool area, in a backyard by a pool.

BEACH PARTY DECORATION IDEAS

A row boat, treasure chest or a kiddie pool filled with beverages would be awesome! Also, if you have the money and connections an ice sculpture of a mermaid or some kind of fish/dolphin/ or whale would be pretty cool too. Get some seashells and sand to put out in or around your centerpieces. (Photo Credit mypartypassion.blogspot.com)

Inflatable or fake palm trees for an indoor location would also be cool, as would sculptures of sand castles, fishing boat decorations, miniature boats in bottles, and fishing nets. For tables, place sand chairs around covered with bold beach towels. If the party is outdoors, use tiki lights for that ultra groovy Gilligan’s Island feel, and maybe you will attract a Ginger or two! Wooo!

BEACH PARTY COSTUME SUPPLY TABLE

Let’s face it. Not everyone will come in costume, but many will wish they had AFTER they see how much fun people are having.

Put out a table with sunglasses, grass hula skirts, and flower leis, to get people in the spirit. You can get a lot of these things right at your local dollar store in bulk!

If you want to be really fancy, provide Gilligan & Skipper hats, as well as flip flops.

BEACH THEME WEDDING ATTIRE IDEAS

If your wedding going to be on an actual beach, and you are non-traditional and not afraid to break the norm, you might want to think about costumes. Because of the heat, you’ll want to go a little more on the casual side, anyhow so have fun with it!

Wedding – Let your groom be your captain in a sharp blue blazer, white pants and a captain’s hats. Your grooms men could dress as sailors, pirates, Hawaiian hula gear, or Gilligan’s Castaways. Or go with Hawaiian print shirts, muumuus and sarongs. The bride could also consider a sexy mermaid-style wedding dress.

WEDDING FAVOR IDEAS

If you are planning party favors, present your favors in plastic children’s beach pails. Some items you might want to put in the pails include: Beach ball (deflated) – Sun screen – Ocean print hand towel or washcloth – Sand dollars – Lifesavers candy – Cheap sunglasses – Seashell soaps – Natural sponge – Starfish – Shell encrusted candles -Beach Boys CD – “Beach Blanket Bingo” DVD – Plastic leis.

BEACH THEME ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES

Don’t forget to bring lots of Beach Balls, Hula Hoops, Surfboards, Limbo Sticks and maybe even “Twister!” with you!

CENTER PIECE IDEAS

Here are a few centerpiece ideas to help give you inspiration.

 

BEACH THEME SONG LIST

Planning a wedding or party next year with a beach theme? If you are then you already know you will have the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet and reggae master Bob Marley requested to your DJ. Below are some more ideas…
1. “Rock Lobster” (The B-52s)
2. “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid)
3. “Come Sail Away” (Styx)
4. “Tequila” (The Champs)
5. “I Love Beach Music” (The Embers)
6. “In the Navy” (Village People)
7. “Love Is the Seventh Wave” (Sting)
8. “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” (Enya)
9. “Private Beach Party” (Gregory Isaacs)
10. “Beyond The Sea” (Bobby Darin)
11. “Rockaway Beach” (The Ramones)
12. “Sailing” (Christopher Cross)
13. “Sea of Love” (The Honeydrippers)
14. “Sittin’ on The Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding)
15. “The Beach” (New Order)
16. “The Ocean” (U2)
17. “The Tide Is High” (Blondie)
18. “Too Many Fish In The Sea” (The Marvelettes)
19. “Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters)
20. “Ebb Tide” (Al Hibler)
21. “Underwater Love” (Faith No More)
22. “California Girls” (David Lee Roth or The Beach Boys)
23. “Wipeout” (The Surfaris, or The Fat Boys)
24. “Sea Cruise” (Huey Smith)
25. “Beach Baby” (Regents)
26. “Caribbean Queen” (Billy Ocean)
27. “Coconut” (Harry Nilsson)
28. “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” (Rupert Holmes)
29. “La Isla Bonita” (Madonna)
30. “Walk on the Ocean” (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
31. “Margaritaville” (Jimmy Buffet)
32. “From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea” (The Cure)
33. “Vacation” (The Go-Gos)
34. “California Dreamin'” (The Mamas and the Papas)
35. “Going Back To Cali” (L.L. Cool J)
36. “Heatwave, (Love Is Like A)” (Martha Reeves & The Vandellas)
37. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” (Sly & the Family Stone)
38. “Hot Hot Hot” (Buster Poindexter)
39. “I Can See Clearly Now” (Johnny Nash or Jimmy Cliff)
40. “Miami” (Will Smith)
41. “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” (Timbuk 3)
42. “Walkin’ on Sunshine” (Katrina and the Waves)
43. “Surfing USA” (Beach Boys)
44. “Three Little Birds” Bob Marley
45. “I’m Yours” Jason Mraz
46. “Lazy Song” Bruno Mars
47. “SOmewhere Over The Rainbow” Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
48. “Limbo Rock” Chubby Checker
49. “Banana Boat SOng” Harry Bellefonte
50. “Toes” Zac Brown Band

BEACH THEME CUPCAKES

Want to drift away? Need some good music to start it all off with?

Here is a link to our Island Music Playlist   —> ISLAND THEME MUSIC LIST

Here is another link to a video blog of a recent corporate event that DJ Kenny Casanova did at Beach Theme Party, where they poured tons of sand down and brought the beach to them!   —> BEACH THEME VIDEO BLOG

Thanks again, and come sail away with me!

 

 

 

 

 

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Do you really want to win big at your wedding? How about choosing a Vegas Theme?!Not too log ago,  I was the disc jockey for a great wedding reception at The Western Turnpike Golf Club that had a “Las Vegas Night theme.”

SELECT A THEME AND SUCCEED

First off, never be afraid to select a theme for your wedding. All of the best weddings I have ever been to and really remember are the ones that had themes to them. And when you assign a theme, everything plans itself!

At this particular theme wedding, I asked the bride why they “decided to go Vegas.” The bride said that selecting and creating the details of theme was the only way she could get the groom to buy into having a hand in the time involved in wedding planning. In the end, she said her decision was the right one. By the end of the night, the guests had a blast and it was a very different and memorable party for all.

Thinking of planning something similar? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Here are some ideas that they used, as well as a few others I have seen…

INVITE FOR THE NIGHT

So if you have chosen a Las Vegas Theme for your wedding, you need to project this rightfrom the start to your guests.

For invitations that scream Las Vegas, attach the actual invitation to a playing deck of cards, poker chips, or dice. If you are really creative, a custom caricature, kind of like the walls at Delmonico’s Steakhouse  on Central Ave might be fun. Portrait the bride and groom as casino dealers or mafia, or a lounge singer and a showgirl. The couple could also be the King of Diamonds or the Queen of Spades on the face of a playing card!

You can even mock up an Elvis Impersonator marrying you in some cheesy Las Vegas-style hotel!

ROLL IN THE GAMES

Once you are ready and have a game plan, the creation of a decoration stockpile must begin!

Can you get a slot machine for the night? Can you create an awesome roulette wheel with crazy demands fom the bride and groom on it to let your friends spin?

You really want to create a feel. You want your guests to swallow the atmoshere the moment they step in the room.

The shuffling of the cards. The rolling of the dice. Drinks being served by showgirls. Real black jack tables just for fun.

Aside from the obvious lounge lizard music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Prima and other Italian American oldies, decor will totally be your key to winning it big with your wedding.

The visual plays an enormous role part in getting over the theme and in this case, you don’t have to spend a lot to get that sweet cheesy Vegas feel.

 

SIMPLE ATTENTION TO FINE DETAIL

If you really want to sell the idea to your guests, don’t skimp on the easy stuff. Buy a bunch of playing cards and poker chips from the dollar store. BUT BUY A TON OF THEM!At the reception I did at The Clubhouse, the bride and groom scattered thousands of loose cards and chips everywhere around table centerpieces, by the guest book, on the gift table and on pretty much any flat surface available.Here is another idea… hire an Elvis impersonator, a showgirl, or a Chipendale to pretend to be guests! They can walk around and entertain during dinner. Maybe they could also take pictures with your guest in a photobooth, or magnet shoot.

CENTERPIECES

The great thing about a Las Vegas Theme is you can really choose from a variety of ideas to get the theme over; music, gambling, showtunes, and even food. Whatever you choose for your centerpiece, I wouldn’t go with the traditional flower arrangement. Maybe something camppy like one of those Leg Lamps in A Christmas Story would be good. Why? What’s the signifigance? I don’t know!Even a gift basket of casino like game stuff would be a great decoration for your table. It also can make for a great pastime while the guests wait for the big introduction!

No matter whatever casino-related centerpiece you may choose to dream up, one idea can be to have a special colored poker chip taped underneath one chair at each table to signify who gets to bring the masterpiece home.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Think RAT PACK! Many black felt gangster hats and jeweled tiaras are also a must to keep in hand! Maybe even get a Money Boa for the bride.  Another idea is to put a bunch of cheap black sunglasses on the tables. Because a number of people will be wearing tuxedos, a lot of the pictures will end up having that monkey suit and sun glasses combination that The Rat Pack made famous.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

Another great idea I have seen is to make massive eight-foot cardboard cut-outs of playing card suits and put them in the corners of the room. The diamonds and clubs and spades were all made out of painted cardboard with a cross section in the back of each to help them stand. The heart was right near the head table. Each fixture was outlined and finished in glowing white Christmas lights.You can also secure two refridgerator appliance boxes, wrap them in white paper, and paint black dots on them. The bride and groom at this wedding created a gigantic pair of dice that sat off to the right of my DJ set up. It was great!

This couple also opted for a massive candy buffet table. The colors really got over the feel of the party and there were loads of packets of bogus bills and dice beads mixed throughout to keep them in the Vegas mindset! During the open dance time, it was funny to see guests throwing the money around and “make it rain in the club” to various hip hop songs, afer dinner.

The decorations really turned the hall into the Vegas strip! Aside from the playing card suits, they hung slot machine backdrops and a big Las Welcome to Vegas sign on the wall.

For Vegas themed favors, you can get custom printed poker chips, or make dice out of card stock and fill them with goodies.

 

Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to be different!