DJ Kenny Casanova Intergalactic Laser Light Show - Great for Sweet 16's and Modern WeddingsI tested out our new lazer show last night at a wedding at the Berkshire Country Club in Pittsfield, MA.
The research paid off.
The different laser projectors that I purchased were high-end Chauvet and, indeed, produced high-end effects.
Immediately on flipping the switch, hundreds of laser pin points flooded the massive room from wall to wall with an outerspace galaxy-effect, highlighted with a blue rolling LED. Then, trippy designs of laser blasts and shapes changed with the music over the backdrop.
This new package was totally it. After the first song, which incidentally I think was Just Dance by Lady Gaga, two people came up and asked for a business card!
Candy Carts are a New Sweet Idea for your Wedding Reception
With all the weddings that we do, I come across some pretty inventive ideas. I love to share what I see. Here are three fun and yummy new trends in modern weddings, that will help get your taste buds going.
COCKTAIL HOUR GRAND ENTRANCE OF BRIDE & GROOM
An interesting new trend for wedding receptions and cocktail hours is for the bride and groom to actually be announced fifteen minutes or so into the cocktail hour, so that they can enjoy the spirits, as well. As everyone knows, a tasty drink or two can really make the party fun. If the bride and groom get done with their pictures quickly enough, why not?
THE CANDY CART
A sweet new treat in weddings is the Candy Cart. A scrum-dilly-icious candy buffet adds fun and color to any wedding. This new trend has a table on wheels that looks like it was heisted straight out of Wonka’s Chocolate factory. The cart is covered with large glass bowls and vases over-flowing with goodness. Little baggies allow for all of your guests to pick what kind of candy they want and take it home. Kids and adults love taking home little bags of loot so that the sweetness of the reception continues long after the DJ has packed up.
HONEYMOON GIFT REGISTRY
Enough said. Just like any other type of gift registry at a store like Bed & Bath, Macy’s or even on Amazon, friends and family members purchase parts of the bride and groom’s honeymoon, to say, an all-inclusive resort with all the food and drink that one can handle! If it is not the obvious plane tickets or hotel room credits, it could be a show, an expensive dinner or a tour bus ride at the point of destination.
Pick a song that says something about you as a couple.
The first dance can be a class act, or something fun. A recent trend is to chop up the first dance and add somethign crazy into it. No matter what you choose to do, there are many options to set the tone.
When you select a first dance song, you want to set one that sets a mood. Traditionally you want to pick a slow song so people can get some good shots of you together as man and wife.
The rest of the night, due to mingling and the couple visiting with loved ones and new members of their family, it isn’t always easy for people to get a lot of bride & groom dancing shots. So going more traditional will allow for one good opportunity for everyone to get the mushy pictures! If this is the route you chose to go with, you will want the song to match your personality and show who you are as a couple. Here are some popular requests for first songs:
Top Bride / Groom First Dance Songs
“Grow Old With Me” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
“Embraceable You” by Nat King Cole
“Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
“When I Fall In Love” by Nat King Cole
“Marry Me” by Neil Diamond & Buffy Lawson
“When A Man Loves A Woman” by Percy Sledge
“After All” by Peter Cetera & Cher
“Glory Of Love” by Peter Cetera
“Wedding Song by There is Love ” by Petula Clark
“Perhaps Love” by Placido Domingo & John Denver
“Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis
“You Are the Everything” by R.E.M.
“I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” by R.E.O. Speedwagon
“Unchained Melody” by Righteous Brothers
“Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You” by Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson
“Truly, Madly, Deeply” by Savage Garden
“Kiss From A Rose” by Seal
“Dreaming Of You” by Selena
“From This Moment” by Shania Twain & Brian White
“You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain
“If I Never Knew You” by Shanice Wilson & John Secada
“True” by Spandau Ballet
“You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” by Stevie Wonder
“I Believe by When I Fall in Love ” by Stevie Wonder
“Ma Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder
“Give a Little Bit” by Supertramp
“Eternal Flame” by The Bangles
“I Will” by The Beatles
“In My Life” by The Beatles
“Something” by The Beatles
“We’ve Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters
“In The Still of the Night” by The Five Satins
“I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos
“A Groovy Kind Of Love” by The Mindbenders
“Oh, How The Years Go By” by Vanessa Williams
“Will You Marry Me?” by Vonda Shepard
“Hold Me” by Whitney Houston & Teddy Pendergrass
“One Moment In Time” by Whitney Houston
“You Are My First, My Last, My Everything” by Barry White
“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin
“The Rose” by Bette Midler
“Our Love Is Here To Stay” by Billie Holiday
“Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel
“She’s Got A Way” by Billy Joel
“We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Seger
“You Are My Special Angel” by Bobby Helms
“If” by Bread
“Everything I Own” by Bread
“Heaven” by Bryan Adams
“True Love Ways” by Buddy Holly
“Tonight And Forever” by Carly Simon
“You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago
“Lady In Red” by Chris DeBurgh
“Longer” by Dan Fogelberg
“Endless Love” by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John
“Friends” by Elton John
“The One” by Elton John
“Your Song” by Elton John
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley
“Always” by Erasure
“At Last” by Etta James
“Let It Be Me” by Everly Brothers
“Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac
“The Best Is Yet To Come” by Frank Sinatra
“The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra
“If I Loved You” by from Carousel
“As Time Goes By” by from Casablanca
“Some Enchanted Evening” by from South Pacific
“Somewhere” by from West Side Story
“Love Theme To Romeo & Juliet” by from Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet
“Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” by Glenn Medeiros
“Here We Are” by Gloria Estefan
“Beautiful” by Gordon Lightfoot
“It Had To Be You” by Harry Connick, Jr.
“So This Is Love” by James Ingram
“Up Where We Belong” by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warrens
“You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker
“Woman” by John Lennon
“I Swear” by John Michael Montgomery
“Chances Are” by Johnny Mathis
“Beautiful In My Eyes” by Joshua Kadison
“So In Love” by k.d. lang
“Don’t Know Much” by Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
“What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Here And Now” by Luther Vandross
“Dream A Little Dream” by Mamas & the Papas
“Hero” by Mariah Carey
I was the disc jockey for some good people out of Schenectady, NY this past weekend, hosted at a nice little restaurant called The Cella Bistro. The bride and groom’s favorite thing about past wedding receptions that they had attended was always the appetizers. They liked mushrooms, and wonton shrimp and crab cakes and friend veggies and jumbo shrimp, you know, all the yummy stuff.
So what did they do? They made EVERYTHING APPETIZERS!
That is right. There was no real sit down, but there was soooo much good finger food and horderves around that you never even missed it.
In the end, they said it worked out to be FARRRRR cheaper than if you were to go with a sit down or buffet.
The bride and groom should always think about their guests by providing a different enough selection so everyone can enjoy the wedding feast – be it vegetarian, hardcore carnivore, lactose intolerant, shellfish or peanut allergies, diabetic, etc. No matter what you are offering, a vast selection of both traditional wedding favorites, and more strange “out there” exotic gourmet goodies gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy their favorites, as well as try out some new dishes for them.
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.
When multiple siblings are involved, the embarassment increasesCanadian 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.
Here, the bride is force dressing her single older brotehr into the ugly socks!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.
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.
Here, the bride is force dressing her single older brotehr into the ugly socks!
When multiple siblings are involved, the embarassment increases
Older Brothers are Perfect Victims
Typically, the bride sews the socks from scratch
People Throw Money To Be Collected For The Bride & Groom
Yet again, I saw a different thing this weekend that I thought I should share with you all. You know those little cards you see at the front of the hall at the beginning of the ceremony? Yeah you do. The place cards with the guests name, directing them to their assigned table.
The wedding I did had little tea lights with professionally printed names on each one and the table number. It was really cool to see everyone surround the table and look for their candles! Then, on by one, each person carefully brought their little candle keepsake to their destination table.
