Wearing The White Dress is Important

However, here is just a thought: wear the white dress.

While this may not matter in all cases according to the actual taste of the bride, there is some logic behind having the traditional dress kept sacred. While choosing to where the white gown may hinder some of the creative possibilities that can go a long with the chosen theme, the symbolization behind the dress may be more important.

For one, the dress symbolizes purity and class. The older guests will apprciate that the traditional bridal garb has not been kicked to the wayside.

The second important reason for the white dress is you don’t want the theme wedding to just feel like a really big costume party. At many good theme weddings, the guests are encouraged to wear something to go along with the theme. For example, if you were going to a pirate wedding, a beach wedding, or a halloween theme wedding, you can be sure that most people will dress a certain way. Having the bride still wear the white dress makes her stand out as being special.

Finally, as little girls, most bride’s envision walking the aisle and looking like a princess. On your wedding day, you still want it to feel like like a wedding and despite all the other other theme related things, the white dress will make this happen.

A pirate wedding is just one of the many themes you can choose.

If you really think about it, the traditional wedding with tuxedos and the big white dress and the huge cake is a theme now, in itself. Everyone does the traditional wedding thing, or at least some elements of it. So, do you want to dare to be different? If you really want your special day to be different and memeorable, you have to take a risk and break the norm. There are many many ways to make your wedding stand out and be different from the rest. One sure way to do that is to add a fun theme to your special day.

Don’t get me wrong. You can keep traditions, but tradition doesn’t have to happen to the point of nausea, anymore. Keep the ceremony sacred, keep the white dress, and keep whatever you want from the traditional guidelines. But remember, guidelines are just that… GUIDELINES. When you add a theme to your wedding, the whole game changes.

Everyone loves a gimmick.

Adding a fun theme where people actually dress the role or can participate in some fun and different way, makes everyone feel connected. Everything is united under one common idea. This idea fosters creativity and participation at the sime time. People come together and want to help you plan and even decorate. And brides, I have even noticed that when an interesting theme has been added, creative grooms buy into the planning even more. (See my not-yet written future blog here: My Pirate Wedding)

Lately, I have found my niche. I have become one of the area’s number one choices for theme weddings when selecting a disc jockey. With my past experience in the entertainment field, as well as being a fiction writer, it only makes sense that my creative side does well with theme weddings as a DJ.

Here is a list of possible wedding themes that I have come across and been a part of:

Awesome 80′s / 1980s
African
Asian Fusion / Japanese & Chinese
Autumn
Beach
Butterfly
Caribbean
Country
Cinderella
Christmas
Daisey
Disney
Easter
Elvis
Ethnic
Fairy Tale
Fall
Fifties / 1950s
Garden

A Star Wars Wedding is just one of the many themes you could pick!

Gone With the Wind
Goth
Halloween
Hawaiian
Heavy Metal
Hippie / Grateful Dead / 1960s
Irish / Celtic
Italian
International (many nations represented, or specific regions)
Japanese
Jewish
Mardi Gras

Masquerade
Medieval / Renaissance
Military
Pirate
Rose
Royalty
Sci Fi / Outerspace
Star Wars
Star Trek
Superhero
Under the Sea / Ocean /nautical
Vegas / Rat Pack
Valentines / Hearts
Victorian
Western / Old West / Cowboy
Winter wonderland

A few wedding theme options on the above list are hyperlinks. For more wedding theme ideas, check out our other blogs at www.thedjservice.com/blog

(PHOTO CREDIT: Http://www.unrealitymag.com )

The Irish Wedding Party

An Irish theme wedding is a perfect way to make your wedding stick out and be memorable to all the guests attending. It additionally celebrates your heritage and Irish culture, and is a great way to start your marriage.

There are many things you can incorporate into your special day. Irish traditions can be fused into your decor, ceremony, clothing, food and also reception activities.

First off, the look of the reception hall is everything. When you purchase decorations, it s easy to go with anything Saint Patrick’s day, but I would stay away from the over-the-top cartoony stuff. You can get away with some of it, perhaps at the reception, if you absolutely want to go with leprechans and pots of gold, but you really shouldn’t have them at the ceremony. Those type of decorations can make your wedding look cheap.

CELTIC WEDDING TRADITIONS
The traditional Irish Wedding Bell - A hand held “Irish Wedding bell” is sounded by the new husband immediately after the ceremony. Decoration-wise for a modern Irish wedding, small bells can be distributed as favors to your guests. These are nice keepsakes, as they replicate the symbolic Irish Wedding Bell rung at the couple’s ceremony.  Guests are encouraged to ring them upon departure from the church after the ceremony, much we throw rice here in the states, or blow bubbles.

The ceremony bell is not forgotten and left behind at the ceremony as a decoration, however, with the flowers. It accompanies the new couple to their home as a momento of their vows. In fact, whenever there is an argument, it is supposed to be rung to remind the couple of their wedding vows.  (ONE DOWNFALL - Everyone knows when Mr. & Mrs. O’Reilly are arguing. They sounds like the Salvation Army by Walmart at Christmas time.)

Irish Shotgun Wedding /Add Gun Fire!  - If you really want to start your married life out wth a bang, another Celtic tradition is for rifles to be fired to announce that the couple have been declared now, “man and wife.”

A Horseshoe Bouquet- The bride’s bundle of flowers can hold a horseshoe inside it, to bring the couple good luck as tradition. (Just make sure to remove it before the flower toss, as getting hit with one brings bad luck and a hefty hospital bill.) A twist on this tradition is that some women also sew a tiny cute horseshoe into the hem of their wedding dress in Irish weddings. 

An Irish Harvest Knot

CLOTHING OPTIONS FOR AN IRISH THEME WEDDING
The Harvest Knot – Many years ago, the men of Ireland gave their brides-to-be an accessory called harvest knots which were weavings of straw. Usually, a Harvest Knot is trimmed with flowers and worn in their hair or around your neck. You can put a harvest knot also in the flower bouquet along with the lucky horseshoe to symbolize Irish pride.

Add Irish Flare – Okay. Okay. I know this sounds cheesy, but as a twist on the Horseshoe Bridal Bouquet above, some women also sew a tiny cute horseshoe onto the hem of their wedding dress for Irish weddings. Try it!  It is like bedazzling for your future good fortune! 

IRISH FOOD OPTIONS
The Dinner – The way that the wedding guests would feast in celebration, back in old Ireland was to have a potluck meal hosted at the bride’s family’s house. Traditional Irish dishes include coddle, stew soda, Irish bread, and of course everyone loves cornbeef and cabbage.

The Wedding Cake - The Irish wedding cake is typically a heavy fruit cake with white icing. Tradition says that one of the bride’s sisters or bridesmaids is actually the one to cut and serve it. But they location of the actual cut is the strangest part of this cake cutting custom. Tradition actually has the bride seated while the groomsmen held the cake over her head while her sister or best friend cut it. 

Use a real Irish Bagpiper for your live music

MUSIC OPTIONS WITH CELTIC APPEAL & THE MUST-HAVE IRISH PLAYLIST
Irish Bag Pipes - Rock out at your ceremony or for your introduction into the reception hall with the belting melody of the Irish pipes. Although bagpipes have Celtic roots, they are often today played by the Scottish. However, with a little research, you can find a real Irish uillean piper play at your wedding.

Celtic music can be played wherever appropriate during the ceremony and reception, as there are many varieties. I particularly recommend Celtic harp music for the ceremony for the atmosphere it sets. There are many CDs on Amazon, if you are not having a live band or musician.

Reception Dancing - Learn and perform a real Irish jig to traditional Irish music at the reception. The actual steps of Irish folkdances are called ceilidh.

Here is a good playlist of must hear Irish songs for your wedding reception:

Andres Segovia – Henry Purcell
A 12 Year Old Irish Girl In All Of Us – Flogging Molly
A Walk in Irish Rain – Irish Descendants
Ave Maria (Schubert) – The Irish Tenors
Barrett’s Privateers – Irish Descendants
Black Velvet Band – Irish Rovers
Catch The Wind (Folk) – Irish Descendants
Come on Eileen Dexie’s – Midnight Runners
Danny Boy – The Irish Tenors
Dublin in the Rare Old Times - Three Irish Tenors
Farewell To Nova Scotia – Irish Rovers
Give Ireland Back To The Irish – Paul McCartney
Haste to The Wedding (Celtic) - The Corrs
I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen – Three Irish Tenors
Irish Heartbeat – Van Morrison & The Chieftans
Irish Jig – Various Artists
Irish Medley – Dixie Chicks
Jump Around – House of Pain
Mother Machree – John Gary
Old Irish Blessing - Sprague Choir
Peg O My Heart - Jerry Vale
Riverdance Soundtrack - Irish Diddy
Shipping Off To Boston – Dropkick Murphies
The Biplane Evermore - Irish Rovers
The Irish Washerwoman – Celtic Bagpipes
Tim Finnegan’s Wake – Celtic Connection
Toora-Loora-Looral Three – Irish Tenors
Traditional Irish Folk Song – Dennis Leary
Unicorn - Irish Rovers
Waltzing Matilda – The Irish Rovers
Wasn’t that a party – Irish Rovers
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling – Bing Crosby
Wild Irish Rose – Country George Jones

DJ Kenny Casanova Elvis Theme Wedding Albany, NY

Here is an idea… How about a wedding fit for a King? An Elvis-themed wedding can be as elegant and fancy, or as fun and crazy as you would like it to be.

Elvis had many faces over his life. He was a lady killer, rockstar, country man, Las Vegas staple, and clean cut man of class, depending on when you saw him over his career. Also, Elvis’ Blue Hawaiin period can allow for a more laid back pacific feel.

So what can you do?

First and foremost, pick out the Elvis look you want most and dress your bridesmaids and groomsmen accordingly. If you still want some traditional tuxedoed look for your wedding ceremony and really only want the Elvis theme for the reception, the perfect way to incorporate the theme subtley is by dressing only the goormsmen of the wedding party’s feat in Blue Suede Shoes. Then choose a matching shade of blue for the bridesmaids gowns!

But if you really want to go all out, how about ushers who are all dressed as Elvis impersonators for the big day? And how about a ballad for the wedding march and walk the aisle to Elvis singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”.

Once you hit the reception, anything goes.

Peanutbutter and banana sandwich horsduerves are a must for a conversation piece. Also, add some 50′s sunglasses on every table and some hawaiin leighs.

Have fun with it!

Thank you very much, mama!

Mr. & Mrs. Pete & Michelle Sefcik, under the masks.

As you probably already know, I am a huge “theme wedding”  fan. In fact, I am set to have my own on a pirate theme wedding come next April when I marry Maid Maria. This past Saturday, I DJ’ed a Halloween wedding in Grafton, NY that was great fun.

Something interesting that I would like to share; groups of people came in themes to match the tables organized into costume categories!

An interesting idea for a Halloween theme wedding is to organize your guests by costumes at each table. There are different ways to do this. You know your guests better than I do. You can either try and get a list of what people will where, or attempt to offer movie themes and other group-like categories for your guests to chose from.

At this particular wedding, we had a Superhero table, complete with Batman, Superman, Clark Kent, Wonderwoman, Spider-man, Wolverine and a Transformer to boot.

We also had an Wonderland Table, with Alice, the Queen, The Mad Hatter, and a Door Mouse. And, one other cool table was The Wizard of Oz table, with a male bearded Dorthy, The Lion, The Witch and a person actually dressed as a chuck of the yellow brick road!

Another table was the Seriel Killer table. Another grouping was cartoons. Another setting was monsters. For your Halloween wedding, the grouping ideas can be endless.

Early on during the cocktail hour, as certain characters started to enter, I gave them their own entrance, aligning their costume to a related song. It was really fun to give them each time to shine by playing songs that went well with each character. Great fun was had by all!

If you really want the groom to buy into the helping of planning your wedding, add a theme. From experience, adding any type of theme can really get your Prince Charming to buy into the whole party planning process, as many grooms do not really buy into the planning side. Add a theme, however, and the creative juices start to flow!

So first, you have to do your homework. If you think that a Cinderella theme could work for your wedding, then make sure you re-watch the movie Cinderella, itself. You will see from watching the movie a number of things that can really add to the overall feel.

First off, Cinderella is from a kingdom and the messengers use scrolls. You can send your invitations out with that scroll feel, and also even create something like this for your guestbook. Since you want your guests to really know that they are attending a fairy tale wedding, a nice glass slipper or something from the film should be printed as a background of clip art on the invitations. If you can, also try sealing your envelopes with a royal wax seal.
The official colors for the reception should include ivory, light pinks and white. These colors should be used for flowers, linen, and even the clothing. To get that ballroom feel, the bride should shoot for a bell-shaped gown, when possible, if it compliments her body well. She should try to match the style of Cinderella, of course, from Disney, as this is the image that is well-known. The groom should look at black tuxedos with tails.

Props are everything and will really sell your theme, no matter what it may be. In this case, props should include, glass slippers, pumpkins and perhaps long red carpets. (At the ceremony, you may even want to have the ring bearer carry the ring inside a glass slipper or pumpkin!)
The venue will also play a good hand in getting the Cinderella feel across. A ballroom with chandeliers and fancy drapery and wall hangings would be the perfect setting for your Cinderella wedding reception theme and your fairy tale coming true. Locally Glen Sanders mansion, might be nice, or any place that has a cascading staircase for a grand entrance, too!
For that added magical feel, you should use glitter everywhere you can. Table tops with tinsel pieces would be great and you have to make pumpkin couches your centerpieces. Also, small magic wands with stars on the tips provided as party favors would make for some fun pictures, as well. Also, if your budget allows, you may want to shoot for a giant ice statue of a slipper to add to the night.

The possibilities are endless!

Pirate Wedding - DJ Kenny Casanova

Well blow me down! You are actually thinking of planning a wedding reception with a pirate theme? Arrrgghh! Well, after all, with the huge box-office smash Pirates of the Caribbean , the pirate-themed reception has sparked new interest, of late. And by pillaging and plundering around, it will be really easy to steal yourself some great tips for your party! Below I have categorized each  aspect of a wedding reception, through the eye patch of a pirate.

INVITATIONS - For wedding invitations, live the gimmick. Print them up on antique looking paper-stock, or age the paper yourself by staining with in coffee (How to Antique Paper). For the intro, start with an eye-catcher like ,”Ahoy! Come walk the plank” or, “Shake your Pirate booty!” Chart a course to your reception with location, time and date in the form of a treasure map. If you want to be REALLY creative and can afford a little extra postage, go to the dollar store and put the map-like invitation into bottles with corks and mail them out!

Any Pirate reception invitation will look more authentic when printed on tan paper at the edges, and maybe made wet with coffee or tea stains. This is normal. You can literally dip each invitation into tea or coffee water and then let it dry to make each invitation look antiquated with age. The older they look, the more convincing they are! You can also add some sand and little tiny decorative seashells or gold covered chocolate coins to each invitation.

COSTUMES - Guests in costumes… You gotta do it! Nuff said!

PLACE CARDS – On each of the place cards, you can opt to write each guest’s name by adding “Pirate” or “Buccaneer” before their name (for example: “Pirate Paul” or “Buccaneer Bob”). You can also make up Pirate-related sounding names like “Peg-Leg Pete”, “Captain Carrie,” “Long-Tooth Larry”, “Blind-Eye Barbie”, “Scarface Sammy”, “Dirty Dog Donny”, and so on and so forth.

GUEST BOOK – You can also have your whole guest population sign their good luck wishes in a book with a huge feather pen… Or how about on a real Pirate flag, posted to the wall. If it’s a typical Jolly Roger flag with the white skull and crossbones on a black flag, it’s best to use a white-out, fabric pen or one of those metallic silver pens for their writing. These can then be attached to feather sticks and left on the tables.

DECORATIONS - To decorate your hall, you know what to do, matey. Think about sailing the sea! You can use anything from sand and sea shells, to bowls of live gold fish. Also, remember to hang pirate flags and fishing nets all around the reception, for that extra finishing touch.

And for that eerie atmosphere, you can take out some of your Halloween decorations (cobwebs, spiders, skeletons, etc.). Here’s a great selection of skeletons. On a skeleton you can put an eye patch around it’s head, a bandana and/or hoop earring, color a few of the teeth with a gold marker, and hang Mardi Gras necklaces around it’s neck. 

Costumes are EVERYTHING!

GUEST TABLES

- It would also fun to disperse those gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins, plastic jewels, and a bit of sand and seashells onto your tables. You can also use fishing nets over any kind of tablecloth for your tables. Stick rubber fish, seahorses, plastic oyster shells, lobsters and crabs in the fish net.

PIRATE BOAT PICTURE BOOTH – Picture booths are HUGE at weddings now (awesome example). Now add pirate theme, and BANG! You have a Kodak moment in the making. Have each of your guests pose as a pirate at a ship wheel with some kind of mast or pirate flag in the background. (If Uncle Jerry didn’t come in costume, remember to have extra pirate hats or bandannas around.) Make sure to have each guest ham it up and say, “Aaaargh” while posing for the shot.

If you are creative, you can also make a whole Pirate ship out of cardboard. You’ll need a few refrigerator boxes. Use a hot glue gun and/or duct tape to attach everything together is probably your best bet. Paint it up nice.  It won’t take much, just decorate the Pirate ship with a Pirate flag, a mast, a plank (just a piece of long cardboard) and you should be good to go.

MUSIC - Music will really help the atmosphere and set the mood to your pirate wedding reception. You can either have the DJ mix in music from any kind of Pirate movie you can think of, or throw in an occasional Peter Pan, Captain Bogg & Salty, Toucan Pirates, or Jimmy Buffet. (Just make sure to only do it here and there between good songs, to add to the flavor.)

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES – should be lots of fun for everyone, if many guests arrive in costume. You can add pirates to any line dance with instant success. Also, you can try some kind of pirate Scavenger Hunt, or something to do with walking a plank, or picking something up with a hook set to music.

CANDY TABLE – BOOTY BAGS –You have seen the candy tables, right? When the reception is over, thank your guests for coming with booty bags filled with goofy prizes pirate booty such as toy compasses, foil-wrapped candy coins, or other treasures.

FOOD – Good seafood, of course, needs to be at least one of the choices! Ask your caterer on this one.

BEVERAGES – Pirates love their bottles of rum. It won’t be a pirate-theme without beverages inside real sweet treasure chests. If you’re not up to making your own treasure chest, there are a few really nice Treasure Chests can be found online. You can, however, easily make your own. Take a Styrofoam cooler and paint it brown. You can use gold ribbon to trim the lid and the base of the chest. Then take craft foam and glue panels on to the center of the lid in the front and the other directly below to make the lock. Around the treasure chests, throw around your gold chocolate coins, gummy fish, starburst candies (they look like little treasures), colored beaded necklaces and whatever cool treasures you can find. Then add the ultimate treasure, beverage bottles that only pirates would like. (Maybe Pete’s wicked Ale?)

PUNCH BOWL – Serve your sea faring guests grog or bumboo, made with Caribbean coconut rum for the adults and make soda based for the kids, from the bowls marked with or without an “XXX”.

PIRATE LANGUAGE LIST – You should name your tables as such and have pirate language printed out for people to get into the spirit. Here’s a list of pirate phrases:

Avast! (Hey!)
Aye (another way to say – “Yes!”)
Ahoy, me Hearties! (just like saying – Hello, my friends)
Blow me down! (expression of shock, disbelief, strong emotion, surprise)
Booty (treasure)
Buccaneer (a Pirate)
Dead men tell no tales (expression indicating to leave no survivors)
Fair winds! (goodbye, good luck!)Thar’ she blows! (whale sighting)
Grog (generally, any alcoholic drink Pirate’s drink)
Grub (food)
Heave Ho (give it some strength and muscle)
Jolly Roger (a Pirate’s flag – one with a white skull and crossbones over black)
Lookout (someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for signs of land or other ships)
Swab the deck (to clean the deck)
Shiver me timbers! (expression of shock, disbelief, strong emotion, surprise)
Sea-dog (an experienced sea-man)
Me (my)
Me Hearties (a typical way for a Pirate to address his crew)
Shark bait (foes)
Sail ho! (I see a ship!)
Shipshape (well organized, finished, under control…)
Yo-ho-ho (something Pirate’s tend to say, whether it actually means anything or not)

Have fun with whatever you do, and don’t be afraid to be different. Non-traditional wedding receptions are the ones people always remember, and isn’t that the point?

Below is a comprehensive list of music options, decorations and other ideas to make your beach theme wedding a splash with your guests!

BEACH THEME MUSIC IDEAS
Planning a wedding or party next year with a beach theme? If you are then you already know you will have the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet and reggae master Bob Marley requested to your DJ. Below are some more ideas…
1. “Rock Lobster” (The B-52s)
2. “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid)
3. “Come Sail Away” (Styx)
4. “Tequila” (The Champs)
5. “I Love Beach Music” (The Embers)
6. “In the Navy” (Village People)
7. “Love Is the Seventh Wave” (Sting)
8. “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” (Enya)
9. “Private Beach Party” (Gregory Isaacs)
10. “Beyond The Sea” (Bobby Darin)
11. “Rockaway Beach” (The Ramones)
12. “Sailing” (Christopher Cross)
13. “Sea of Love” (The Honeydrippers)
14. “Sittin’ on The Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding)
15. “The Beach” (New Order)
16. “The Ocean” (U2)
17. “The Tide Is High” (Blondie)
18. “Too Many Fish In The Sea” (The Marvelettes)
19. “Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters)
20. “Ebb Tide” (Al Hibler)
21. “Underwater Love” (Faith No More)
22. “California Girls” (David Lee Roth or The Beach Boys)
23. “Wipeout” (The Surfaris, The Beach Boys or The Fat Boys)
24. “Sea Cruise” (Huey Smith)
25. “Beach Baby” (Regents)
26. “Caribbean Queen” (Billy Ocean)
27. “Coconut” (Harry Nilsson)
28. “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” (Rupert Holmes)
29. “La Isla Bonita” (Madonna)
30. “Walk on the Ocean” (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
31. “Margaritaville” (Jimmy Buffet)
32. “From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea” (The Cure)
33. “Vacation” (The Go-Gos)
34. “California Dreamin’” (The Mamas and the Papas)
35. “Going Back To Cali” (L.L. Cool J)
36. “Heatwave, (Love Is Like A)” (Martha Reeves & The Vandellas)
37. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” (Sly & the Family Stone)
38. “Hot Hot Hot” (Buster Poindexter)
39. “I Can See Clearly Now” (Johnny Nash or Jimmy Cliff)
40. “Miami” (Will Smith)
41. “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” (Timbuk 3)
42. “Walkin’ on Sunshine” (Katrina and the Waves)

INVITATION IDEAS
How about wedding invitations sent as Sting would like… as, “A message in a bottles.” Get some cheap bottles with nasty corks. Get them anywhere you can find them. You can find them online, in an antique store, or in the grass down route 87. (If you do start looking out on the road, remember you need glass ones! Look out for the gator aid bottles that the truckers have disposed of.) If you still have no luck, just stop by the local dollar store. Fill the bottles up with invitations you print yourself on weathered-looking paper. Tear the edges, roll them up and put them in the bottles with a sprinkling of sand, tiny shells, or confetti.

You could also include a treasure map, with location information.

LOCATION
You don’t need to travel to bring the fun in the sun to your party. You can have your beach theme party at an actual beach, or capture the atmosphere without being seaside. Some other options are on a boat, at a marina, any venue with a view of the water – lake, river or sea, any venue with prominent fish tanks, especially tropical, a hotel’s swimming pool area, in a backyard by a pool.

DECORATION
A row boat, treasure chest or a kiddie pool filled with beverages would be awesome! Also, if you have the money and connections an ice sculpture of a mermaid or some kind of fish/dolphin/ or whale would be pretty cool too. Get some seashells and sand to put out in or around your centerpieces.

Inflatable or fake palm trees for an indoor location would also be cool, as would sculptures of sand castles, fishing boat decorations, miniature boats in bottles, and fishing nets. For tables, place sand chairs around covered with bold beach towels. If the party is outdoors, use tiki lights for that ultra groovy Gilligan’s Island feel, and maybe you will attract a Ginger or two! Wooo!

BEACH THEME WEDDING ATTIRE IDEAS
If your wedding going to be on an actual beach, and you are non-traditional and not afraid to break the norm, you might want to think about costumes. Because of the heat, you’ll want to go a little more on the casual side, anyhow so have fun with it!

Let your groom be your captain in a sharp blue blazer, white pants and a captain’s hats. Your grooms men could dress as sailors, pirates, Hawaiian hula gear, or Gilligan’s Castaways. Or go with Hawaiian print shirts, muumuus and sarongs.. The bride could also consider a sexy mermaid-style wedding dress.

WEDDING FAVOR IDEAS
Present your favors in plastic children’s beach pails. Some items you might want to put in the pails include: Beach ball (deflated) – Sun screen – Ocean print hand towel or washcloth – Sand dollars – Lifesavers candy – Cheap sunglasses – Seashell soaps – Natural sponge – Starfish – Shell encrusted candles -Beach Boys CD – “Beach Blanket Bingo” DVD – Plastic leis

ENTERTAINMENT
Don’t forget to bring lots of Beach Balls, Hula Hoops, Surfboards, Limbo Sticks and maybe even “Twister!” with you!

Two weeks ago, I DJ’ed a wedding reception at The Western Turnpike Golf Club in Guilderland, NY that had a “Las Vegas theme.” The bride said that it was the only way she could get the groom to buy into having a hand in the planning. All in all, she was right. By the end of the night, the guests had a blast and it was a very different and memorable party for all.

Thinking of planning something similar? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Here are some ideas that they used, as well as a few others I have seen…

The shuffling of the cards. The rolling of the dice. The spinning of a silly roulette wheel. Aside from the obvious playing of must-have lounge lizard music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Prima and other Italian American oldies, decor will be your key. The visual plays an enormous role part in getting over the theme and in this case, you don’t have to spend a lot to get that sweet cheesy Vegas feel.

If you really want to sell the idea to your guests, buy a bunch of playing cards and poker chips from the dollar store. Then, go nuts. At this reception, they scattered the loose cards and chips everywhere around table centerpieces, by the guest book, on the gift table and on pretty much any flat surface available. A special colored poker chip can also be taped underneath one chair at each table to signify who gets to bring home whatever casino-related centerpiece you can dream up.

As far as clothing is concerned, black felt gangster hats and jeweled tiaras are also a must to keep in hand! Maybe even get a Money Boa for the bride.  Another idea is to put a bunch of cheap black sunglasses on the tables. Because a number of people will be wearing tuxedos, a lot of the pictures will end up having that monkey suit and sun glasses combination that The Rat Pack made famous.

Another great idea this group had was to make massive eight-foot cardboard cut-outs of playing card suits and put them in the corners of the room. The diamonds and clubs and spades were all made out of painted cardboard with a cross section in the back of each to help them stand. The heart was right near the head table. Each fixture was outlined and finished in glowing white Christmas lights.

For invitations that scream Las Vegas, attach the actual invitation to a playing deck of cards, poker chips, or dice. If you are really creative, a custom caricature, kind of like the walls at Delmonico’s Steakhouse on Central Ave might be fun. Portrait the bride and groom as casino dealers or mafia, or a lounge singer and a showgirl. The couple could also be the King of Diamonds or the Queen of Spades!

This party opted for a massive candy table. Have you ever seen these? The colors really got over the feel of the party and there were loads of packets of bogus bills and dice beads mixed throughout to keep them in the Vegas mindset! During the dancing, it was funny to see guests throwing the money around and “make it rain in the club” to various hip hop songs later in the night.

The decorations really turned the hall into the Vegas strip! Aside from the playing card suits, they hung slot machine backdrops and a big Las Welcome to Vegas sign on the wall.

For Vegas themed favors, you can get custom printed poker chips, or make dice out of card stock and fill them with goodies.

Last but not least, someone had secured two HUGE appliance boxes and wrapped them in white paper, then painted black dots on them. They created a gigantic pair of dice that sat off to the right of my DJ set up. It was great!

Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to be different!