November E-Newsletter is almost ready!

For the most part, the November Ninja Wedding E-Newsletter is done and soon will be ready for distribution. If you're in the network, look for it in your inboxes within the next week or so. If it doesn't come in, check your bulk mail boxes, as the file may sometimes get accidentally sent there by your spam filter.

For those of you who aren't on the VIP list...what are you waiting for? :) Shoot me an email that you wish to subscribe, and I'll send you instructions on how to get onboard. The e-newsletter is a FREE resource that is filled with ideas and tips to make your wedding more FUN, STRESS-FREE, UNIQUE, and MEMORABLE. This month's content is going to be awesome! I'm excited about it!

For those of you still planning your wedding, there is a list of "Five Ways to Get Your Guests Up To Dance." Ever been to a wedding where the party died when dancing started? You know, when the lights go down, the DJ starts playing, but the guests start leaving, so by the time you get to the end, there's only about 10 people or so left. This list will give you ideas on how to prevent that mass exodus of people heading for the door at the end of the program.

For my married clients, there's an awesome article written by David Zinczenko entitled "Five Ways To Keep Your Man From Straying". These are awesome ideas on how to keep the passion alive in your marriage. It's definitely a must-read.

I can't forget the guys! There's a section just for you, and in this issue, I give you great ideas on how to have a really romantic date that will score you a lot of brownie points. Best of all, it's simple, easy, and affordable!

And of course, we must celebrate the most recent additions to the Ninja Entertainment "family" of married couples, as well as those celebrating recent anniversaries. Congratulations!

Erin & Mike, happily married September 16, 2007, Hale Koa Hotel

It's an exciting issue that shouldn't be missed! So if you aren't on the VIP list yet, shoot me an email and we'll get you going!




Excitedly,





Marino M. Regalado
Interactive Entertainment Specialist & MC
Ninja Entertainment

Let's take it back to the old school

One of the neat things about participating in a wedding expo is I run into friends I haven't seen in ages. At this most recent show, I ran into several friends & former classmates from college days at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It was fun catching up with many of them, seeing what they have done with their lives since graduation, and how they have changed. Some of them were still very much single but had come along in support of their friends. Others had found love and were ready to settle down with the right person. Some had found careers in their majors (I spoke to A LOT of music teachers who I took the same music classes with--I was a music major). Others had found a different calling. A few served our country in the military. What was amazing was the fond nostalgia we had about "the good old days"...even though we graduated just a few years ago. Yikes! It's amazing how much things change, they still stay the same...

To all who dropped by my booth to chat, say hello, and catch up: thank you. Hopefully we can continue the conversation we started at the expo!

And now, for today's Wedding Tip For The Day: If you're having over 200 guests at your celebration, you may want to consider having TWO OR MORE guestbooks available at the registration table for when your guests check in. Sometimes the guestbook becomes the bottleneck that causes your guests to wait in an unappealing long line, and in some cases may even delay the start of your presentation. We did one wedding where the bride invited 750 guests (at the Sheraton Waikiki), but only had one guestbook to register them. The line stretched around the foyer area, outside on the lanai, down the Grand Staircase, and into part of the lobby downstairs, and it nearly delayed the start of the program by 30 minutes. Fortunately, we had an extra guestbook in our "Wedding Emergency Kit", and we were able to get most of the guests checked in within 15 minutes.

Alternatively, you could leave scrapbook pages on each table, and during the program, have your emcee ask your guests to fill in some pages with their names, addresses, and words of advice or wisdom for you and your new spouse. Your emcee will also mention that these pages will be collected at the end of the night and binded into a scrapbook/guestbook. Think about how original and unique your guestbook will be! And if you are a scrapbooker, think about how much fun you are going to have putting this ultimate wedding scrapbook together!

Have a fabulous week!

Warmly,





Marino M. Regalado
Emcee & Interactive Entertainment Specialist
Ninja Entertainment

Thank you for dropping by my booth!

We had a splendid time at the Bridal Expo this weekend! To the many brides & grooms who dropped by my booth, thank you for meeting me and saying "Hi!" It was great finding out a little about your wedding day. I look forward to meeting you personally and hearing more about your plans, as well as sharing some ideas to make your wedding more FUN, STRESS-FREE, UNIQUE, and MEMORABLE!

One thing I noticed: there's a lot more neighbor island brides inquiring about my services. Yes, I do emcee at neighbor island events! Whether it be Kauai, Maui, Hilo, or Kona, I can help you make your "destination wedding" very memorable and fun for you and your guests!

Thank you again for dropping by my booth. I look forward to serving you!

Warmly,

Marino
Emcee & Interactive Entertainment Specialist (tm)
Ninja Entertainment

Expoooooo!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the World Class Wedding Expo at the Convention Center, and YOU are invited! Come on down and check out the latest in bridal fashions & trends, sample the menus from various locations and cakes from many wonderful cake artists, and most importantly, drop by and say hello! I'll be there on both days (Friday and Saturday), so if you've got some free time and still need to find stuff for your wedding, now's a good time to come by.

The expo starts at 6pm on Friday and goes to 10pm. On Saturday, it starts at 11am and goes to about 4pm. I'll be in booth 112, right near the entrance. Look for the guy in the tux showing some pretty funny videos from past wedding receptions!

Today's Wedding Tip for the Day is expo-related: Guys: if you have not found your tuxes for your wedding yet, the best place to get awesome deals are at a wedding expo! Usually there's some sort of discount involved; simply ask the tux experts there and see what they can do for you!

Please welcome DON & MISTY to our "family" of brides & grooms! We met last night to talk about their wedding next Friday, and it sounded like they wanted something really simple, but fun and interactive at the same time. So we're helping them create a really unique party that will include a lot of personalization. For instance, because many of their guests like to sing, we're going to invite the guests to serenade the newlyweds if they wish to see Don & Misty kiss. It should be interesting to see what songs the guests will choose! And because many of Misty & Don's guests are already married, instead of doing a typical bouquet toss, we're going to do the Anniversary Game and present the bouquet & garter to two very special people to them...It should certainly be a very pleasant surprise for the two people when they find out they're being honored that night.

Last but not least: if you haven't been following the local news lately, the good news is that the Hawaii Superferry finally got approved to sail. With service hopefully starting early next month, it will allow me to better serve my neighbor island clients. Planning to get married on the Big Island, Maui, or Kauai? Call me. Instead of simply emceeing the event, I now can provide DJ dance music for entire evening, meaning a more awesome, fun-filled celebration from beginning to end! I'm excited!

Have a great weekend!

All the best,

Marino M. Regalado
Entertainment Director
Ninja Entertainment

What's more important: One hour of dancing, or five hours of fun?

Randy Bartlett, a good friend of mine from Sacramento, posted this on an online chatboard I frequent:

DJs (and MCs) need to understand that a wedding reception is not a dance. It's a social event, a major life-cycle occasion at which there will dining, dancing, photography, videography and socializing. Most of all, almost without exception, our clients tell us they want their reception to be fun. The word fun comes in front of dancing almost every time. They may see dancing as a way to have fun, but it's only one way.

I'd prefer to look from the perspective of how many minutes are available to the clients, and then find out how they would most like to spend those minutes. I would say that three minutes spent laughing is much better than a minute spent enduring a meaningless string of names being recited by a guy on a microphone.

So when you begin your search for your wedding MC and DJ, what's more important to you: having one hour of good dancing at the end of the night, or five hours of the most fun, memorable PARTY you and your guests have ever experienced?

And how would you want those five hours spent? Do you want your guests participating and feeling involved in your celebration, or do you want them to just painfully sit through an emcee that talks and talks and talks forever?

Profoundly,

Marino
Entertainment Director
Ninja Entertainment

It's been busy...

To my faithful readers: my apologies for not writing in a LOOOOOOOONNNGG time...I expected summertime to be busy with weddings, but I had no idea it would be this busy. I was very very fortunate to be part of many very happy wedding celebrations over the last four months, many of them quite memorable. I am very thankful and appreciative to all of the brides & grooms who decided to have me emcee their celebrations and help them create a really FUN and OUTSTANDING party that their guests will talk about for years to come. So to my brides & grooms...

Thank You.

There are so many pictures to post, but in the meantime, to whet your appetites, here's are photos from the most recent wedding: JENNIFER & KEVIN at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island! (Yes, I DO EVENTS ON NEIGHBOR ISLANDS AND ON THE MAINLAND!) I'll have a full write-up on their wedding soon.

Marino with JENNIFER & KEVIN: Awesome MC, gorgeous bride, easygoing groom.



Kevin, Jennifer, LAUREN (Super-awesome Wedding Coordinator at the Mauna Lani), and me.



Jennifer's "Tiffany's-inspired" cake



Kevin's baseball-themed cake

Enjoy the images!

Warmly,

Marino
MC & Interactive Entertainment Specialist
Ninja Entertainment