I first met IANDELL and her coordinator PENNY at The Wedding Cafe by accident. I was there for another meeting, and they were meeting KRIS from On3 Photography. IANDELL had heard some very good things about me, so they called a few days later to set an appointment to meet at My Office.
From the first meeting, we knew that this would be a special party. IANDELL had very specific ideas about the look and direction she wanted her celebration to go, but she was also very open to the ideas I presented to help personalize her event and motivate her guests. Over the course of the next few months, Iandell introduced me to her "supporting cast," and I got to know Iandell's mother, her sisters, her brother, and a few of Finley's friends. Iandell, Penny, and I also worked together to create an original soundtrack for her celebration, which reflected her and Finley's unique tastes in music.
By the time November 22 rolled around, everything was set for the big premiere of Iandell & Finley's wedding at the Hale Koa Hotel. Not even dark skies and rain could have put a damper on their spirits. After a wedding ceremony in the backup location, we started the party, and guests took advantage of all of the FUN activities Iandell planned during lunchtime. Throughout the day, the mood remained festive, and the big highlight for everyone was the games to give away the bouquet & garter. The ladies played a round of Circle Dance to give away the bouquet.
The men competed in Last Man Sitting to win the garter. The two finalists were MACOY the Best Man and GRAN, a groomsman. Upon finding out what the last object was, they scrambled around the room to find it, with Macoy even grabbing the microphone and pleading with the audience to help him locate it! When Macoy finally found the object, he picked it up and tried carrying it back to the dancefloor for the win, but he had to get past Gran first, who was trying to steal the winning item away from Macoy! By this time, the audience was rolling with laughter at the hilarity of the entire moment!
Overall, it was truly a sensational event that gave a lot of happy & lasting memories to Iandell, Finley, and their guests. On a more personal note, their wedding was a reminder to me about why I enjoy doing this.
Here is a copy of their reception timeline.
| Sequence | Time | Event |
| 0 | 9:30am | Wedding Ceremony |
| 1 | 10:00am | Cocktail Hour; Doors to the DeRussy Hall open to the guests; iVideo Guestbook and Candy Bar to entertain guests |
| 2 | 10:45am | Welcoming of Guests; Grand Entrance |
| 3 | | First Dance; Greetings & Welcome by the Newlyweds |
| 4 | 11:00am | Announcements (e.g., parking validations, restrooms, candy bar, ivideo guestbook, etc.); Invocation/Prayer Before The Meal by Iandell’s aunt SUSAN |
| 5 | 11:15am | Meal; IANDELL & FINLEY to take table photos and release the tables; Kissing Games to honor the sponsors & entertain the guests |
| 6 |
| Song serenade by Iandell’s brother AARON; hula performance by Iandell’s friend PENNY |
| 7 | | Recognition of Family, Sponsors, Out-Of-Town Guests |
| 8 | | Cake Cutting |
| 9 | | Toast & speech by Maid of Honor CHARISSE; Speech & Mabuhay toast by Best Man MACOY |
| 10 | | Bouquet & Garter activities (Bouquet Surprise; Circle Dance; special gift presentation; garter removal; Last Man Sitting; Reverse Garter) |
| 11 | | Centerpiece Giveaway (Hot Centerpiece Time) |
| 12 | | Video slideshow produced by TROY; Ceremony Highlights presented by ADVANCED VISUAL ARTS |
| 13 | | Money Dance |
| 14 | | Open Dancing |
| 15 | 2:00pm | Music ends |
And here is the soundtrack for their celebration.
- Pitbull - Lets Get Krazy (Grand Entrance background riff)
- Pitbull - Lets Get Krazy (Grand Entrance main riff)
- Visa commercial clip (for Grand Entrance)
- American Idol sound clip (for Grand Entrance)
- Estelle - American Boy (Grand Entrance main riff)
- Estelle - American Boy (Grand Entrance background riff)
- Hail to the Chief (Macoy Grand Entrance intro)
- Lil Wayne - Fireman (Grand Entrance Instrumental edit)
- Motley Crue - Without You (First Dance)
- Jessica Simpson - Angels (karaoke version) (song performance by AARON)
- Keali'i Reichel - Kawaipunahele (hula by PENNY)
- Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion (cakecutting edit)
- Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine (CHARISSE’S toast intro edit)
- Akon - Locked Up (MACOY’S toast intro edit)
- INXS - Need You Tonight (bouquet ladies to floor instrumental edit)
- INXS - Need You Tonight (Circle Dance edit)
- Natalie Merchant - Kind & Generous (bouquet presentation edit)
- Herb Alpert - Love Potion #9 (Garter Removal)
- Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle (Last Man Sitting)
- Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Reverse Garter)
- Shrek soundtrack - I'm A Believer (Reprise) (Reverse Garter Reveal)
- Vengaboys - We Like To Party (Centerpiece Game)
- Various - Love Remix (Money Dance)
- Petula Clark - You & I (dedication to Iandell’s mom JOSEPHINE)
- B52s - Love Shack (Grand Finale/Last Song)
Special thanks to the following "production crew" who helped make this presentation very FUN, STRESS-FREE, UNIQUE, and MEMORABLE for Iandell & Finley.
PENNY SNELL, Iandell's good friend & coordinator, and Penny's awesome husband TROY
KRIS LABANG with On3 Photography (many of the pictures on this post were taken by him! Thank you, Kris!)
GREG VENTURA, ANDY, BRUCE, & KYLE with Advanced Visual Arts
TONY BARNHILL with iVideo Guestbook
TANNA & BRYSON DANG with The Wedding Cafe, for ideas & support
2 comments:
Hey Marino,
It's Iandell. What a great blog about our wedding. Finley and I had an absolute blast! We accomplished what we worked so hard for...making sure that our daytime wedding was fantastic...and it was.
I remember specifically stating that I wanted my guests, at the end of the day, to feel like "wow, this is a great wedding, I can't believe it's almost done" NOT "OMG, when is this wedding gonna end?"
The day was fabulous, you are the best. I got tons of positive comments from my friends, family, co-workers. Most say that it was the best wedding they have ever attended. Some wished that they thought of doing something interactive with the guests at their wedding. One of our bachelor cousins said that it was a wedding that really reflected us a couple, it was both modern and classy. When I went back to work I asked all my co-workers if they can share the pictures that took...almost all of them told me that they hardly had pictures of the reception because the were so engrossed in the entertainment and activies! Thank goodness for having Kris around to capture the moment! LOL.
Marino, you were absolutely terrific as well as the rest of the crew...We couldn't have pulled off this production without you. Penny and I are going to miss seeing you and all of our meetings. I hope that we can cross paths again (maybe for a baby luau? heheh) someday because not only did we gain a wonderful wedding memory...we also gained a friend.
We hope that you and your loved ones have a very special merry christmas! After 9 nine years, Finley and I are very excited to celebrate this first holiday as Husband and Wife.
Many hugs,
the *new* Mr & Mrs Finley and Iandell Tabaniag
(and Penny gives her hugs too!)
Sounds like a geat wedding. Congratulations....
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