Yes, it is more than five hours that I work.

Many people I meet tell me that my job is the easiest in the world. After all, I allegedly work "only five hours", right? Five to six hours of the actual party itself, right?


Well, it's a little more complicated than that. I put in 20-40 hours in preparing for every wedding, with the goal of ensuring that the five hours of the party are the best five hours in my clients' and guests' lives. A lot of that time is invested in putting together the soundtrack, organizing the script and timeline, connecting with the other vendors to make sure that we are all on the same page, and other things in preparation of the celebration. On the day of the wedding, there's more than just "show up and perform." There's the setup and soundcheck before the presentation even begins. Let's use a recent example: JEN & MARK'S wedding.


This is me two hours before the doors open to the guests. Notice how messy everything is as my staff and I are busy setting up the sound system and lighting.

In those two hours, the sound system and light show are set up, soundchecked and lit, and finally tidied up, so by the time the guests arrive, this is what they see:

Neat and tidy, no?

In that time, too, my staff and I get ready, so when your guests arrive, we are smartly dressed in our tuxes/suits/aloha shirts/referee uniforms/whatever.

Our goal is to offer you and your guests more than just a DJ to play music and an MC to tell jokes. Our goal is to give you and your guests a fun and elegant EXPERIENCE that they will remember forever. On your wedding day, one of the most important days in your life, isn't that worth something?

Jen & Mark's Totally Awesome Reception!

Awesome and fun best describes the party that JEN & MARK had last night! After months of planning and preparing for their big day, it finally came, and the results were quite spectacular! From the moment the first guests arrived, we created a very positive energy in the room that grew as the night progressed, and when the dancefloor opened, we had a full floor of dancers all the way to closing time!

With a personalized Grand Entrance based on Sportscenter and the NCAA Final Four, the reception's tone was set, and it meant that it was going to be a celebration! With dinner's unique table release, the energy remained high, with guests shouting out answers and cheering as they tried to win the right to eat next!

One of the highlights had to be watching everyone scream through "Sweet Caroline" during the dancing portion of the night. With everyone still on the dancefloor, the sound from them was deafening!

There's so much memories from last night and not enough room here to go over them, but the validation of the work came when Jen & Mark came up to me to thank me and tell me all of the positive comments that their guests had for them. Wow! That really made my night!

Thank you again to JEN & MARK for trusting me with their wedding celebration. I was so honored to be chosen for this special role, and I am happy that it turned out way beyond expectations.

Tonight's the big night!

It's finally here! For JEN & MARK, this is what months of planning and preparation comes down to. It's exciting to know that everything's all set and in place!

Over the last few nights, I spent much time putting the final touches on the program details, organizing everything, putting together the soundtrack, and rehearsing for this big day. Went to bed at 2am after rehearsing the custom "Sports Jam" Entrance that we're announcing the wedding party to. And as I type this, I have the other computer finalizing the soundtrack CDs. The printer is printing the final timeline and scripts for the night, and after this, I will neatly bind the paperwork into several black binders for a nice presentation.

Once that's all done, I head off to my storage site, load the equipment, then go home for a fast shower. Then it's out the door, to the venue, load-in, soundcheck, and give JEN, MARK, and their guests the time of their lives!

Here's what the final timeline for their unique party looks like:

Sequence	Time	Event
0	4:30pm	Wedding Ceremony
1	5:00pm	Cocktail Hour; Doors Open to the Guests (no receiving line)
2	6:00pm	Welcoming of Guests, Grand Entrance (Sports Jam Grand Entrance)
3		First Dance
4		Greetings & Welcome by the Newlyweds
5		Announcements (e.g., restrooms, signing of portrait matte, words of wisdom scrolls, etc.)
6	6:15pm	Meal (University Trivia Table Release, Tippy Cup Contest)
7	7:15pm	Recognition of Family
8		Zippy’s Apple Pie Cutting
9		Toasts & Speeches by Best Man GRANT; Maid of Honor ADRIENNE; bridesmaids JEN E., JEN Y., & JOS; banzais by Jen’s friend CHRISTY & Jen’s uncle JIM
10		Appreciation/Gratitude Speech by MARK & JEN
11		Anniversary Dance bouquet presentation
12		Traditional Garter Removal & Toss
13		Video Slideshow Presentation
14		Father/Daughter Dance
15		Mother/Son Dance
16		Money Dance (3-4 songs)
17		Open Dancing
18		Grand Finale
		Note: Party must end by 10pm, and all of the guests must be out of the venue by 10:30pm.

And the soundtrack for their celebration looks like this:

1. ESPN Sportscenter Theme (guest welcome)
2. Eye of the Tiger [Survivor] (Wedding Party Grand Entrance)
3. We Will Rock You [Queen] (Bride & Groom Entrance)
4. You Are The Love Of My Life [Sammy Kershaw] (First Dance)
5. Save Room [John Legend] (cake cutting)
6. What A Man [Salt N Pepa] (Best Man Toast intro)
7. 808 remix [Blaque] (Maid of Honor toast intro)
8. Don't Cha [Pussycat Dolls] (Bridesmaids toast intro)
9. Thank You [Dido] (Jen & Mark's Appreciation Speech intro)
10. Through The Years [Kenny Rogers] (Anniversary Dance bouquet presentation)
11. Let's Get It On [Marvin Gaye] (garter removal)
12. Another One Bites The Dust [Queen] (garter toss)
13. My Girl [Temptations] (Father/Daughter Dance)
14. What A Wonderful World [Louis Armstrong] (Mother/Son Dance)
15. This Guy's In Love With You [Harry Connick Jr] (Money Dance)
16. That's All [Michael Buble] (Money Dance)
17. Fly Me To The Moon [Frank Sinatra] (Money Dance)
18. When You Say Nothing At All [Ronan Keating] (Money Dance)

Cocktail & dinner music will be light jazz and easy listening music, e.g., Michael Buble, Jack Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., etc.

Dance music will be a wide mix, with special requests and dedications to some of the guests. Requests will be honored. No techno.

Grand Finale will be Canned Heat [Jamiroquai, from the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack].

"Pack up song" will be So Long Farewell [Julie Andrews, from the Sound of Music soundtrack].

Tonight should be fun! I will have a full report, and hopefully even pictures tomorrow!

Running around like crazy...

Busy day today...Got up early, took my better half to the DMV to get her a replacement driver's license, then drove her to work. Swung by McKinley High School to help the auditorium manager sort out some technical issues with the theatre sound system. (In my spare time, I help keep the theatre technical stuff [lighting, staging, rigging, audio, etc.] in working order, because it's much more expensive to fix if it breaks...). Stopped by Wal-Mart afterward to pick up some stuff, then checked the mailbox for any goodies.

Then I had a meeting at the Kamehameha Shopping Center Starbucks with KALANI & MARISA. They are an awesome couple getting married next month, and they are very excited about the wedding. I'm helping them design a very interactive, fully engaging party for their DAYTIME reception. Since most of the guests probably won't dance at the end of the formalities, it is necessary to capture their attention and hold it throughout the program with a variety of elegant yet fun activities. For example, instead of having a professional photographer shoot the reception, they are having disposable cameras on each table. The fun begins when we use the cameras in a scavenger hunt! There would be a list of items and events (e.g., the cake-cutting, bouquet toss, specific toasts, etc.) next to the camera, and the guests will be encouraged to take as much photos as creatively as they can. Once the photos are developed after the reception, awards (probably in the form of copies of the photos) will be presented to:

• The table that was able to shoot the most items on the list;


• The table who took the most creative photos for each event on the list.

It's just another way of getting the guests involved, having fun, and participating throughout the night in a very elegant, non-cheesy way!

After the meeting, had lunch with the Better Half at the UH School of Medicine's cafeteria, then went to the Ward Starbucks to update Marisa & Kalani's Wedding Reception Planner with all of the details from our conversation.

Tomorrow: after a quick run to the office to prep for the day's meetings, it's a jaunt over the Pali for two meetings. The first is at Luana Hills Country Club to meet with SHELLY, their delightful catering director, regarding JEN & MARK'S reception at Luana Hills on Saturday. Then afterward, a meeting at Starbucks Kaneohe with JEN & MARK themselves, just to put the final touches on their celebration and to get together with them in person before the day of the wedding!

Tomorrow should be hectic, but very exciting!

For CHERYL: Pics of MEREDITH & RAY'S wedding reception at the Hale Koa

I had a great conversation today with CHERYL. She is getting married in June at the Hale Koa Hotel, and we had a fantastic talk about her wedding plans. There's still much to be discussed, and we certainly would want to get her fiance involved in the conversation, but in the meantime, I promised her that I would be providing pictures of the ballroom in which their reception will be held, so as to help her get ideas as to how she would want to decorate the place for her own unique party.

And for everyone else, here are some photos from one of our presentations. MEREDITH & RAY got married at the Hale Koa in 2004. They invited 150 of their closest friends and family, and it was a good mix of people: some of them quite outgoing, others a little timid at first. The challenge was to get everyone out of their shells and participating in the presentation, so that by the time we opened the dancefloor at the end, everyone wanted to move the party over to the dancefloor!

The challenge was met, and it was a great party!

Please note that my staff and I are not professional photographers, so these images may not be as good as the professionals. However, we do know how to create a great party! And now, on with the show...

It's Time for the Grand Entrance!

Let's have some toasts!

The Circle Dance (unique alternative to the bouquet toss)

Last Man Sitting - Unique Garter Toss Alternative

The Reverse Garter: Garter Winner thinks he's putting the garter on the woman who won the bouquet...but there's a suprise twist:

We keep the energy going with a fun and entertaining centerpiece giveaway game...

The First Dance, followed by the Money/Dollar Dance...

From there, with the dancefloor opened and many of the guests already on it because of the Money Dance, it was simply a natural transition into fun party dance music, and we rocked the crowd for the rest of the night!