Always a Blogsmaid

Awesome Recessionals

As anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, I'm obsessed with music, and it's a passion project of mine for us collectively to assemble lists of great and unique wedding songs. So, this past weekend we had a double header of a wedding weekend of two musical couples. Friday was a professional drummer and Sunday was a club DJ and house singer. It was a pretty amazing weekend to have my job. They also had awesome ceremony and reception music. Since we'd already tackled great first dance songs, this got us started on what would be great recessional songs to come down the aisle as Man and Wife (or Wife and Wife or Husband and Husband) to. Our first round picks:

* Lovely Day by Bill Withers
* All you Need is Love by the Beatles (wasn't that the best scene in Love Actually!)
* Here Comes the Sun by the the Beatles
* Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
* L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole
* Your my Best Friend by Queen

Any additions? What did you recess to?

Cultural Connections

As I try and recover from post-vacation trauma (you know, the full voicemail, the full inbox, the seemingly endless to-do list), I've been ruminating on my favorite of all wedding traditions- the Horah.  It's just so much fun.  It causes a lot of my inter-faith couples stress though because they are often stressed that people who don't know HOW to participate won't, thus making it a bit weird.  I thought this video was pretty entertaining in terms of what a good Horah needs- some strong arms to lift the chairs.

The Most Fun Wedding Band

I often get asked about great bands, and obviously, everyone's musical tastes vary, but I must tell you that about a year ago, we worked with a band that no one who was at the wedding could ever stop talking about.

Actually, Mayra was stuck at another event and every time she would see anyone who worked on that wedding with me, she would get so angry because they would start every conversation out with "How amazing was that band????" 

That Band is One Nation and they are simply the best R & B/ Soul/ Pop cover band that I've ever heard.  Well,  I so thought it would be so much fun to see them with my friends when I'm not working, but they hadn't been playing anywhere.  Not the case anymore!

They are playing every Wednesday, afterwork here in NY at a ONE NATION is playing at Lola again from
7- 10 pm.

Overjoyed: Part 2

I CANNOT even begin to tell you how cool it was that so many people were really into our post about Stevie last week and great first dance wedding songs!

We got so many awesome suggestions, that I wanted to post again, with your suggestions and a couple of others that have come up over here...Actually, I get your comments to my blackberry, so Mayra and I were driving around this weekend and we'd get a song, and then it started us playing all those games of "Oooh, what about....BLAH BLAH BLAH."  Anyway, somewhere between New Jersey and New York, we got into a PRETTY HEATED debate about the appropriateness of Shalamar, For the Lover in You.  "This is for the lover in you, this ring means I'll always be true, This is, how we'll start love anew, This Time it's gonna last forever....." I think it's a great song for a couple who maybe had some bumps in the road and is ready to really commit.  Mayra thinks you should not dance to a song that continually uses the word LOVER to describe the person.....  Please weigh in, I managed to find the video, but I don't want anyone to get in trouble at work.... So, here is the link if you are open to checking it ou (OH, Shalamar, only in the early 80's could a look like this say "hotness")  Below, the Video, and below that the suggestions you sent to us (THANK YOU!)

OVERJOYED First Dance List Additions:

The Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder (Emily)

When I'm 64 by the Beatles (Nicole)

The Hawaiian version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Amanda)

Into the Mystic by Van Morrison (Kristin)

Always by Atlantic Star (To You a Favor)  I LOVE THAT SONG!!!!

You're the Best Thing that Ever Happened by Gladys Knight

Two Wishes)

Great Pipes!

The Q: i'm thinking of hiring bagpipers to play at our weeding ceremony and entrance to reception. any ideas on your experience if any and what do i look for when hiring them.  thx

The A: We actually JUST had the pleasure of having a bagpiper at a wedding this fall.  In general, I think it's great to have them at a point where the music will accent, but not dominate- say, for the processional at the ceremony OR as we did this fall, after the ceremony where the bagpiper greeted the guests outside the church.  We then had him come to the cermony site and procede the bride and groom before they made their big entrance to their party! 

Generally speaking these are the kinds of decisions that you shouldn't over stress in term of things to ask someone.  If they are advertising themselves as a professional, you should confirm their ability to play any specific requests that you might have, ask for examples of places or clients that they've performed for and ask if you can swing by any of their gigs.  If you are particularly nervous about someone not showing up, let's say, then you can ask them for references, but generally, with a small deposit in place and the balance on hold until they arrive, this kind of vendor is quite reliable. 

With music such as Bagpipers, since it isn't always everyone's cup of tea, I would suggest that you never make it the focus of the cocktail hour, for example. It creates a beautiful, showy impact, but not necessarily an atmosphere conducive to cocktail hour. And in saying that I hope I haven't offended any pipers out there!

Hey Mr. DJ, what am I paying for?

The Q:"I am writing with confusion and frustration, because as hard as I've tried, I can't seem to find a good, affordable DJ for my wedding on Sept 2nd, 2007 near New Paltz. I live in Brooklyn and have been checking out DJs in the NYC area. They are either kids that charge $400 and need a ride (which I really don't feel comfortable with because I imagine them needing lots of help that I don't want to deal with on my busy day), or they charge $2,000-$2,500, which my friends find outrageous, and I agree. Where's the middle ground? And how do I find it? Or am I not being realiztic?" -Christine in Brooklyn

The A: Hi Christine, I think this is a really good question, but I don't know if you're going to like my answer! Professional DJ's run anywhere from $1500 to $5000 (I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true!) and they are often worth every penny. They typically are providing the speakers, sometimes some lighting and a microphone for announcements as well as their music. If your venue has a sound system that they can plug into you might be able to get some of these prices lower by letting them know that they don't need to cart their equipment all over the place. However, generally you are getting pretty reasonable quotes for the NY area- even in New Paltz.

In terms of whether you go and hire a kid, I say absolutely NOT! If you really don't want to spend that much money, you are MUCH better off calling a local lighting and AV company, renting a sound system where you can plug in an ipod and getting a mic for announcements. You would need to assign a friend or relative to act as MC for the evening and to gauge your playlists. This is more foolproof than some local teen, but not necessarily less stressful in the process.

HOWEVER, here is MY ULTIMATE advice: THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A PROFESSIONAL DJ/ WEDDING DJ.
There's this line that photographers are famous for saying "After the party is over, and the flowers have died, you'll only have the photo!" Well, our saying is "After the ceremony is over and the food has been eaten, you'll only have the dancefloor!" and don't you want it to be FULL!!! The DJ is not just a provider of music, he is the Conductor of fun and a good DJ, who is a professional and able to not just be a light MC, but also able to read your crowd for age, type of music and volume. (the oldies don't like it too loud!)

Some reasonably priced suggestions I can offer to you would be The Pros DJs- www.thepros.com, and this great guy Donnie R. who is really reasonable in his prices and VERY reliable- he can be reached at [email protected]. They are both less than that particular price and we've had good experiences with them.