Modern Wedding trends are today's choice at most weddings.

Lately, the traditions involved in Wedding Receptions are changing to meet the demands of a new generation. They are no longer the boring slow-dance packed night with cake-cutting and garter toss as the main attractions. They are morphing into more elaborate customized events with lots of energy and surprises to mirror the bride and groom’s character.

If you want to host a wedding reception that screams you, consider this top 10 list:

1. Show up in style
If the wedding ceremony and reception take place at different venues, providing guests with transportation that meets the feel you want for the party. A limo, or crazy hummer ride can set the tone. Recently, I did a wedding reception in Fonda, NY, a big parachuting town, in an old airplane hanger that was decked out in a German/Swiss theme. I played polkas and yodel music to start, while they served beer a brauts for the cocktail hour. When it came time for the introductions of the bridal party, I hit the Mission Impossible theme and had everyone look up in the air. People marveled at the party parachuting down to join the festivities.

2. Wedding Cup Cakes:
While you may absolutely love the idea of a classy cream cheese carrot cake, Uncle Charlie may absolutely HATE IT. That doesn’t mean you have to be unselfish and not have carrot cake, it only means you have to think outside of the box. In this case, why not try WEDDING CUPCAKES. You tier up a wedding cake display with many different types of cup cakes, in displayed in the shape of a traditional wedding cake. Everyone, including you and Uncle Charlie is now happy.

3. The First Dance:
Many bride and grooms have dropped the 100% serious tone to the first dance, opting for 50% slow and 50% ridiculous. Rascal Flatts “My Wish” plays just past the first chorus, when Sir Mix A Lot belts out his love for big butts. This is quickly becoming more regular than not, with the added touch of elaborate choreographed moves.

4. Video Game Time
Believe it or not, interactive video game competitions are a new trend. Having a later hour set aside for popular competitions like Guitar Hero or Rock Band is a smart and hip way to add another memorable element of fun to your wedding reception. I have seen digital projectors come into play at night-time tent weddings on the ceiling where a massive screen is created for the game play to unfold.

5. SAY CHEESE! Wedding Photo booths:
Guests will love to jump in and snap silly photos, for great additions to your wedding photo album. Have you seen this yet? Wedding photo booths are quickly becoming a new tradition at modern wedding receptions. It also helps to pass the time when the photographer runs late and the people are waiting t=for the grand entrance of the wedding party.

6. Funky Snack Attack:
Candy tables, ice cream bars, your favorite trail mix… There are no rules to what you can serve anymore. If you think the snack is cheap, but something everyone will appreciate, you can use a variety of containers (think martini glasses) to add that special decorative touch. On the Fourth of July, 2009, I did a great Pakistani-American Wedding, where all kinds of great Pakistani curry-laden dishes where set in tandem next to the groom’s favorite American chow, you guess it, PIZZA. The pizza was served on elegant silver platters under a heat light, like a prime rib carving roast!

7. Karaoke Hour
Want fun! Add karaoke! This can be really awesome in the right party, but be careful. Place this activity late, if not last, in the event and limit people’s participation, or else it could be come a karaoke concert!)

8. Digital Slide Show Projection
Collect up as many pictures that you can of the bride and groom growing up, then add shots of them together now. (You can go right to Walmart with the old shots and scan them to disc for a couple of bucks!) Next, with the wonders of modern technology, a power point slide show can then be created with ease. The power point can run continuously while the guests eat, or can play once as a scheduled activity set to music. Maybe you even know someone who can work photoshop, to make you a funny one like this slideshow for Ben and Joanna, who by the way got married at an aquarium!

9. Reception Themes
A themed wedding reception is a great way to let your personalities shine. I have done weddings with many different themes including Heavy Metal, Hawaiian luau, Ethnic-specific, and even Vegas.

10. Hey, Mister DJ!
Great bands rock, but are sometimes limited to only a few sounds that may not be everyone’s cup of tea. A good DJ, however, can be like the weather in New England and change on an instant. At most wedding receptions, your DJ is the life of the party and can shuffle requests and the wishes of the bride & groom to keep EVERYONE happy. I happen to know a real good one, if you are looking! (http://www.kennycasanova.com)

(Photo By: Carlos Mendoza)

Select a Las Vegas Wedding Theme and WIN!

Do you really want to win big at your wedding? How about choosing a Vegas Theme?!Not too log ago,  I was the disc jockey for a great wedding reception at The Western Turnpike Golf Club that had a “Las Vegas Night theme.”

SELECT A THEME AND SUCCEED

First off, never be afraid to select a theme for your wedding. All of the best weddings I have ever been to and really remember are the ones that had themes to them. And when you assign a theme, everything plans itself!

At this particular theme wedding, I asked the bride why they “decided to go Vegas.” The bride said that selecting and creating the details of theme was the only way she could get the groom to buy into having a hand in the time involved in wedding planning. In the end, she said her decision was the right one. 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…

Vegas Theme Wedding Invitations

INVITE FOR THE NIGHT

So if you have chosen a Las Vegas Theme for your wedding, you need to project this rightfrom the start to your guests.

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 on the face of a playing card!

You can even mock up an Elvis Impersonator marrying you in some cheesy Las Vegas-style hotel!

Vegas Theme Wedding Idea – Get a real slot machine!

ROLL IN THE GAMES

Once you are ready and have a game plan, the creation of a decoration stockpile must begin!

Can you get a slot machine for the night? Can you create an awesome roulette wheel with crazy demands fom the bride and groom on it to let your friends spin?

You really want to create a feel. You want your guests to swallow the atmoshere the moment they step in the room.

The shuffling of the cards. The rolling of the dice. Drinks being served by showgirls. Real black jack tables just for fun.

Aside from the obvious lounge lizard music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Prima and other Italian American oldies, decor will totally be your key to winning it big with your wedding.

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.

SIMPLE ATTENTION TO FINE DETAIL

Hire actor / personailites!

If you really want to sell the idea to your guests, don’t skimp on the easy stuff. Buy a bunch of playing cards and poker chips from the dollar store. BUT BUY A TON OF THEM!At the reception I did at The Clubhouse, the bride and groom scattered thousands of loose cards and chips everywhere around table centerpieces, by the guest book, on the gift table and on pretty much any flat surface available.Here is another idea… hire an Elvis impersonator, a showgirl, or a Chipendale to pretend to be guests! They can walk around and entertain during dinner. Maybe they could also take pictures with your guest in a photobooth, or magnet shoot.

CENTERPIECES

Vegas Centerpiece

The great thing about a Las Vegas Theme is you can really choose from a variety of ideas to get the theme over; music, gambling, showtunes, and even food. Whatever you choose for your centerpiece, I wouldn’t go with the traditional flower arrangement. Maybe something camppy like one of those Leg Lamps in A Christmas Story would be good. Why? What’s the signifigance? I don’t know!Even a gift basket of casino like game stuff would be a great decoration for your table. It also can make for a great pastime while the guests wait for the big introduction!

No matter whatever casino-related centerpiece you may choose to dream up, one idea can be to have a special colored poker chip taped underneath one chair at each table to signify who gets to bring the masterpiece home.

Have Your Guests Dress THe Part

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Think RAT PACK! Many 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.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

Vegas Wedding Theme Decorations

Another great idea I have seen is 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.You can also secure two refridgerator appliance boxes, wrap them in white paper, and paint black dots on them. The bride and groom at this wedding created a gigantic pair of dice that sat off to the right of my DJ set up. It was great!

This couple also opted for a massive candy buffet table. 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 open dance time, it was funny to see guests throwing the money around and “make it rain in the club” to various hip hop songs, afer dinner.

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.

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

Every bride-to-be has dreamed about getting married practically since they were little girls. Some brides remember drawing themselves with veils in crayon in preschool. Others remember practicing a new surname on the back of a a high school notebook.. No matter how you cut the wedding cake, every bride-to-be wants their wedding to be considered happy, special, and sometimes “THE BEST THERE EVER WILL BE.” However, the reality is …dreams do not always unfold into reality.

So, what exactly can a bride do to help her happy visions actually come to life?

A wedding reception is like a research paper. To make for a great one, research has to be done. But before you do any research, you need to focus on finding the right questions, before you can try to find answers. First off, the bride and groom should identify “The Big Question” and then decide on a thesis (an answer) they are both comfortable with.

The only real way to be happy with your reception is if all the people around you are happy. The big question, therefore, then should not be “What do I want?” but rather, “What do I want for my guests?”

By formulating this question every time you plan an aspect of your party, you are planning from the guests’ perspective. Planning using the “Big Question” instead of something more selfish and meaningful to only you, will spawn a number of sub-questions that go along with it like, “what do I want my guests to say when they sit down?” and also, “what do I want my guests to say when they walk out the door?”

Demographics is everything. Thinking about who is going to be there before you actually plan, will make your reception “the best wedding of all time.” Different people like different things and you have to have a happy medium of what they will like and what you will like too.

Realizing that you are trying to accommodate all of your guests’ wishes from a great wedding reception is only the first step. Next, you have to do your research. Your homework is to find what really makes you happy, and also makes every guest attending happy as well. Because wedding receptions happen everywhere everyday, it is safe to say thousands of reception options have been created and your answers are out there. You just have to find them. Using this planning philosophy can work in every area including food, entertainment, music and even the overall look & layout of the decor.

Let’s apply this unselfish planning thinking from the guests’ perspective to one particular aspect of the reception: The Cake. While you may absolutely love the idea of a classy cream cheese carrot cake, Uncle Charlie may absolutely HATE IT. That doesn’t mean you have to be unselfish and not have carrot cake, it only means you have to think outside of the box. What would my guests like to see in a cake? How can I make everyone happy? In this case, why not try WEDDING CUPCAKES. Have you heard of this? You tier up a wedding cake display with many different types of cup cakes, in displayed in the shape of a traditional wedding cake. Everyone, including you and Uncle Charlie is now happy.

As a Wedding DJ, I tell my clients that if you really want to have your guests look back at attending “the best wedding ever,” keep them in mind as much as yourself. Happiness breeds happiness. Playing your favorite songs is important and fine, but remember to always involve some of your guests’ favorite songs as well-even when they might not involve the same types of musical tastes. Find the happy medium, it is out there.