During the week, last minute changes occurred for the weddings, which is usually uncharacteristic but not totally unexpected. For one wedding, changes were made right up to the night before! But it worked out well.
The morning wedding on Saturday for SHERYL & TATE ran a little long, with some things occurring beyond our control that made the party run longer than expected. Then again, with a live presentation, the show must go on, and we managed to get everything in except for the money dance. The reception ended on a positive note, with a beautifully crafted video slideshow presented by IMF Visions capping off a good wedding celebration. It was great working with JANICE at Wedding Planner 808 as well; with her coordinating the presentation, it made my job as host and entertainment director much easier!
The evening affair was more laidback and fun. While most of our clients hire us for the interactive presentations we create, JODI & MIKE hired us for the music we play. When we met them, they had already hired a local comedian for their host, but they were having a difficult time communicating with the DJ they originally hired. By this point, JODI was upset by the poor treatment from this other company, and they were worried that their original DJ would not show up at their wedding. With their event only DAYS away (yes, DAYS) and since it was in the same location as SHERYL & TATE'S wedding, I decided to help them out. (Normally I only do one wedding per day, but in this situation, it worked out beneficially for everybody.)
In the end, the local comedian made the program entertaining without offending too many people, and when the dancefloor opened, we managed to keep a sizeable crowd going for a while. It's not everyday I get to simply spin at a wedding and not have to worry about presenting the formal program, so in this case, I was grateful. We ended the party with our Top Secret Grand Finale ending, which meant at the end of the last dance, the guests were applauding and hugging the newlyweds. Success!
Here's me at the end of the night with JODI & MIKE:
Sunday's wedding for CINDY & AARON meant a fun and elegant presentation, rather than a wild and crazy one. After two weeks of helping them create their presentation, it all came together Sunday night. After a nice receiving line and cocktail hour, we introduced the wedding party to Oliver James' "The Greatest Story Ever Told," and as each couple arrived on the dancefloor, they did a very smooth and elegant ballroom dance move. Very nice! The first surprise happened after the Best Man & Maid of Honor were introduced: after they had done their little ballroom dance move, the music was changed to Sir Mix A Lot's "Jump On It", and the wedding party did something similar to this:
Picture this: instead of Will Smith and the other guy, you have three guys in tuxes and three beautiful women in gorgeous dresses doing this dance. The guests went nuts!
And that wasn't the end of the surprises. When we introduced AARON & CINDY, instead of simply walking to the head table, they went to the dancefloor and straight into their First Dance, to the elegant sound of Tony Bennett's "The Way You Look Tonight." As the song ended, everyone could feel the love in the room.
The remainder of the reception was just as fun and full of surprises. PAUL the best man delivered a very inspirational and rousing speech. JENNIFER the maid of honor presented a heartfelt yet funny speech. RYAN (a friend of the groom and my co-host for the evening, who handled all of the "personal" moments of the reception [while I handled all of the formal parts of the presentation]) added a touch of comedy in telling stories about the bride, groom, and wedding party. During their Gratitude Speech, AARON showed his sentimental side as he thanked his parents. (Talk about an emotionally charged moment! Not a dry eye in the house.) The ladies enjoyed The Circle Dance to give away the bouquet. Aaron had planned to do a traditional garter removal & toss, but the twist was that he would throw five garters, giving us five winners! What made the event even more funny was that the most important garter (the one to signify who would participate in the Reverse Garter) got stuck in the ceiling! But we kept the party going, had one of the other garter catchers volunteer, and we had a very fun Reverse Garter! CHRIS, the person who Aaron & Cindy chose to be "The Leg," played the part perfectly. And although there was no dancing at the end of the night (Cindy & Aaron's choice, decided in our planning meetings long before wedding day, for a variety of reasons), many of the guests stuck around to hang out, talk story, socialize, and take photos with the newlyweds. We were contracted to play music until 10:30pm that night, and not surprisingly, we still had a good crowd of well-wishers when the time arrived. For a reception with no dancing on a Sunday night, how many people can say that?
Here's Brandon & I with CINDY & AARON:
Overall, it was a great weekend filled with three great weddings. Thank you to SHERYL, TATE, JODI, MIKE, CINDY, and AARON for trusting us with your special day. I am so honored to be a part of the magic that was created. May you all be successful in your marriage and in life!
With much love,
Marino M. Regalado
Entertainment Director
Ninja Entertainment
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