In terms of invitations, the old ways are the best. The formal invitation is much less open to interpretation than an email, and as long as your response card doesn’t contain a “can I let you know later?” option, you’ll know exactly who is coming and who they are bringing.
But what happens when the bride and groom can’t agree on a guest, like in this question posed to Glamour magazine? While a potentially difficult situation, as long as the two of you communicate, there’s no hurdle you can’t cross together.
Who Do I Invite?
It’s not about flashing the cash…it’s about love and how you choose to show it, and that shouldn’t just be celebrated one day out of the year.
For those couples about to get engaged, welcome to the sometimes crazy but wonderful world of marriage. For all who are celebrating, “love is all you need.”
Happy Valentine’s Day!
]]>There was an interesting post on the website The Offbeat Bride just the other day about using Spotify or other online music services in place of hiring a DJ for your wedding. Now, I’m all about saving a buck and yes, I do think I have fabulous taste in music, but when it comes to my special day, I don’t want to think about any technological malfunctions; whether I’ve got the clean or explicit versions downloaded (because when I stream music, I want the original versions, thank you very much, but I don’t want to have to worry about the younger ears in my family hearing some inappropriate language during the wedding reception); or wondering if my friend is going to get the music cues right. What if they play “Pour Some Sugar on Me” instead of “What a Wonderful World” for the first dance (epic fail!)?
I know when we were planning our wedding, getting the right DJ was a huge part of our reception plans. I wanted a good selection of music, I wanted to dance with my friends and husband, and I wanted things to run smoothly. I made sure to meet with the DJ to get a sense of whether or not I liked them and whether or not they could provide the music I wanted, and I felt confident and comfortable that they would do what I asked and not take attention away from me and husband, because, let’s be honest here, it’s OUR day, not the DJ’s.
I think that, in reading this article, sure, she comes up with a potentially viable solution if you don’t want to hire a DJ. Would I choose that option? Absolutely not. I do think that there are major pitfalls around this, most notably putting the pressure on a friend or sibling or distant family cousin to be in charge of handling the music playlist and following your cues. How do you even know when everything is “supposed” to happen during your reception? If we didn’t have the DJ, I wouldn’t know what we were doing when. You have to be greeting your guests, getting photos taken, hopefully getting a chance to eat and have a drink, have your first dance, have the wedding party dance, dances with your parents, cut the cake…I needed someone to essentially tell me what to do and when on my wedding day (I haven’t been married before; I needed someone to tell me how it all worked!), and that person was the DJ. He made things run smoothly and kept everyone entertained. I don’t see how a non-professional could do the same. I know, for me, creating a playlist and then handing it off to a friend and putting all that pressure on them to get it right would not be the right way to go; I’d likely lose a friend, and I’d be stressed the whole time that they’d screw something up. Sheesh…I’m getting stressed just thinking about this.
Surely, it makes sense to go to a professional who can discuss your musical tastes with you, plan the reception out in advance, and when it comes time for your reception, you can just go with the flow and enjoy yourself. Weddings are stressful enough; the last thing you need to do is to create more stress for yourself. Leave it to a professional, and enjoy yourself.
Written by Alissa Robinson
]]>It’s nearly impossible to determine the accuracy of the reviews, whether positive or negative. It’s extremely easy for anonymous contributors to post false and misleading reviews, and extremely difficult for small business owners to challenge the validity of such reviews.
To put it simply, you must find out who is the right DJ for you, and the only way to do that is to speak directly to the DJ in question, either by phone or in person. If the DJ company is hesitant in connecting you with the actual DJ they plan on providing for your event, then maybe you should start thinking about using another DJ company; I mean, what are they trying to hide? The best DJ is always the DJ that understands your needs – if you and your prospective DJ strike up a rapport, then the chances are they’ll have a good rapport with your dancefloor - and that is something that you’ll never discover from reading user reviews. ]]>
Think about the most important parts of your wedding day (and the lead-up to your wedding) and what you might be able to scale back on or eliminate altogether. Prioritize what’s most important to you if you’re looking to keep to a budget:
Is where you hold the reception the most important, or could you find a smaller, non-traditional space (or even a different room in your dream venue. It’s amazing how just a different room in a venue could be hundreds or thousands of dollars cheaper!)?
Is your dress the most important, or could you find a vintage dress, one on eBay, or one from last year?
Is your wedding cake the most important, or could a friend who’s a dab hand at baking create one for you?
As an entertainment company, we know how important it is to factor a DJ into your wedding budget. In some areas, you don’t have much choice, but in the Bay Area, you’ve got a lot of DJs to choose from. Some may be cheaper, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee you the reception you’re hoping for. “Budget DJs” are less likely to be reliable and may very well end up cancelling at the last minute if they get a better paying job. Remember Ileana? Do you really want to take a chance on your reception being ruined by an amateur? Talk with us about how Alan Waltz Entertainment can fit into your budget. We have packages for everyones price point.
Want some great tips on slashing the wedding budget? Here’s a great Resource ]]>
Take some deep breaths. You may have just gotten engaged or are a few months’ in to your wedding preparations, and you’re stressing. You and your fiancé want a small, intimate wedding, while your parents or his parents are wanting to invite everyone and their friends that you’ve known since you were a baby. Literally. The whole town might be turning up if your parents have their way. You have a particular color scheme in mind, and your sister or best friend isn’t feeling the bridesmaid dress color, but it complements your wedding gown, of course it’s the right color! Everyone has multiple opinions, and everyone wants things their own way.
So many women I know that are engaged and planning their weddings talk about how stressed they are, and the majority of it is down to the fact that your wedding day isn’t just about you and your fiancé. It should be, but it’s not entirely. It’s a big day for your parents, too, particularly if they’re helping you pay for the ceremony (or paying for all of it), and that means that you’re going to have to make some compromising to keep yourself (and everyone else) sane.
Could you compromise on the venue so that it can be slightly bigger than what you had envisioned but not big enough to fit the whole town? Could you have the rehearsal dinner at your house if you’d prefer something more intimate, rather than having it at a restaurant? The main thing is that you have to know what things you’re willing to compromise on. If you want a horse and carriage, and you have always been set on a horse and carriage, and you know that you will always regret not having a horse and carriage, even though your parents are trying to dissuade you with thoughts of smelly horses, hold your ground. While it’s not a battleground, you have to pick your battles, especially if, as I mentioned, your parents are going the traditional route and paying.
And if they are paying, if you are hoping for having your wedding at the fanciest hotel in town, and it’s just out of your parents’ budget, is there a way that you can compromise on this? Can you and your fiancé chip in for this, if it is the venue of your dreams, or can you maybe find a nice b&b to hold it at instead?
It’s supposed to be a happy event, so try and not let the stress get to be too much. Just keep the conversation between you and your fiancé going and keep checking in on what you can do without, if it’s due to budget or your parents’ or future in-laws’ wishes, and make some compromises. The fact that the two of you have decided to spend the rest of your lives together is the most important thing, and some of the smaller details will feel irrelevant when you think about what the day is truly about.
Reduce wedding planning stress and compromise. Believe me, you’ll be a lot happier when you do.
Alissa Juvan
Married October 23, 2004.
Write down everything, get confirmation of your discussions, confirm them again when you make your reservation, and confirm them once again in the run up to your wedding day.
And what are some things to be thinking about when it comes to renting a venue for your reception, plus making sure things haven’t changed since you first discussed the event? Here are just a few ideas of questions to be asking: is the venue taking care of the decoration and furniture? Can you bring your own caterer, and is there an additional fee for doing so? Does the venue have a curfew?
When it comes to getting your wedding just right, no question is too big or too small, because the last thing you want is to be surprised by the answers on your special day.
]]>
Jay-R has been dancing for over 15 years and currently dances with DS Players and Fresh Dynamix, as well as being a lifetime member of Nu-Origin Dance Crew. He’s active in the dance community in a variety of ways: whether on stage, in battles, or coordinating various events. Besides being an exciting performer, he has also taught and choreographed in the San Francisco/Bay Area, in addition to teaching overseas with the Passion Society in the Philippines. He is also involved with the All the Way Live Foundation.
Jay-R has said that he considers himself a lifelong student of dance and grows as a dancer by sharing his knowledge and teaching others.
Let’s welcome Jay-R, and you will be seeing him soon at an event near you!
]]>Matt is a double major at San Jose State University, with Japanese being one of his majors, so it was the perfect opportunity to immerse himself in Japanese culture while studying at Tokyo’s Waseda University. Not just content to study the language, Matt said, “I spent a lot of my time hanging with Japanese dancers and getting to learn how they perceive dancing and music.” Matt even travelled to Taiwan and won their National Bboy Day Bboy Battle!
,
Matt said, “I spent a lot of my time hanging with Japanese DJ’s and dancers, getting to learn how they perceive music and dance.” Matt even travelled to Taiwan and won their National Bboy Day Bboy Battle!
Matt is also becoming a highly requested DJ on the Alan Waltz team specializing in Bar Mitzvah’s, school dances and weddings!
Omedetogozaimasu*, Matt, and welcome back to the AWE family!
*Congratulations!
]]>
We helped Erika with the planning, but when she came to see us several months before her big day, she knew exactly what she wanted for the reception, so she gave us lots of ideas to go on. Everyone was on their feet throughout the reception and kept their requests coming, too. Erika even said how smoothly the day went and how much everyone enjoyed themselves. Read Erika’s review.
Big events can be stressful, so why not take the stress out of it by coming to us and talking through what you’re looking for? Got lots of ideas? Great! Struggling to come up with a theme or what kind of music you want? Great! We’re here to help you realize what it is that you want so that your day is as special as you!
]]>