Caden's First Birthday Party

January 5 marked the first birthday party of CADEN. We first met his family at the wedding of Caden's parents RON & CELESTE, who got married back in December 2004. So it was quite an honor for me to be asked to host their child's first birthday party. (For my mainland clients, first birthday parties in Hawaii are very very significant events, much like bar mitzvahs, except for babies instead of teens. Many parents rate this as the second most important party they ever had to throw, besides their wedding. So for Ron & Tran, this was HUGE.)

Since it was a daytime event with a good mix of children & adults, we needed to help them create a good mix of activities that appealed to both kids and their parents. And we did! For instance, one game for the kids was called Balloon Pickup. After blowing up several bags of balloons, the kids had to pick up the amount of ballons I called for. So if I said twelve balloons, they needed to scramble and pick up 12 balloons, or they would be out of the game. It was very very cute watching the children run all around the dancefloor trying to hold onto their balloons and chasing after the ones they still needed to get.

For the adults, we played a new game called Golf Ball Chop. This was a crazy activity in which each adult contestant was given a pair of chopsticks. When I said "Go," they scrambled to the center of the dancefloor, which had about a 100 golf balls in a hula hoop. The team with could pick up the most golf balls with their chopsticks by the end of the game would win. By the time we were down to the last few balls, EVERYONE was around the dancefloor watching the spectacle and cheering for their favorites!

By the end of the day, RON & CELESTE were happy, and Caden has many memories to look back upon as he grows up!

So how much does YOUR wedding cost?

Did you know that the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is now at $27,690, not including the honeymoon, engagement ring, bridal consultant or wedding planner?

Here on Oahu, these are your averages:

• Total Average: $31,840


• Attire (Gown, Dresses, Tuxes, accessories, hair & makeup, etc.): $2996


• Ceremony costs (accessories, site rental, decor, officiant, & rehearsal dinner): $2904


• Favors & bridal part gifts: $1290


• Photography & Video: $4241


• Reception Costs (food service, hall decor & rentals, beverages & bartender, cake, etc.): $16,293


• Flowers (includes bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, etc.): $2264
  "The Music" (DJ, Band, etc.): $1095

All of these statistics come from CostOfWedding.Com . So how does YOUR budget compare?

A few more interesting tidbits...

AFTER THE VOWS...

72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment.

• Almost 100% say they would have spent more of their budget on the entertainment.


• During wedding planning, Brides say their highest priority is their attire, followed by the reception site and caterer - reception entertainment is among the least of their priorities. Within one week after their reception, 78% of Brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority!


• When asked, 81% of guests say the thing they remember most about a wedding is the entertainment.


• 65% of all couples that chose a band to entertain at their wedding, said, if they had it to do over again, they would have chosen a disc jockey.

These statistics were published in St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine in 2003. Sources include: Simmons, 2001; USA Today, 2002; National Bridal Service, 2001; The Knot, 2002; Brides Magazine, 2001.

Today's Tip of The Day is a fun one, especially if you are having children or children-at-heart at your celebration. We've done this at past weddings, and it has ALWAYS been a success. You know how traditionally the guests would tap the glasses to get the newlyweds to kiss? It can get annoying and repetitive for the couple, and for the kids, they don't really care about it. They usually just run around and keep their parents busy making sure they don't get into any major mischief. So here's a good way to involve the children and let you not have to kiss so often.

Bring a small putting green, putter, and a few golf balls to your reception, and lay it out on the dancefloor when dinner begins. Tell your guests that, instead of tapping the glasses to get the newlyweds to kiss, the guests have to hit a hole-in-one. And to make things more fun and challenging, the farther away they are from the hole--and if they make it in--the longer your kiss will be! For the golfers in your group, this will be something they will enjoy. Your other guests will enjoy the fun watching others try (and usually miss) the hole-in-one. For the kids, it gives them something fun and entertaining to do instead of running around the ballroom causing all sorts of mischief. And for the parents of these children, they not only will have great photos of their kids having fun, but the kids will be out of their hair for the moment, allowing them to relax and enjoy your celebration more fully!

Have a great weekend, and I will see you on Monday!

Warmly,

Marino
Ninja Entertainment