This is one of those Wedding Cakes you’ll actually want to eat!

Which one is YOUR favorite?

From MuscleManMusic.com

Is setup time included in your price?

Some DJ’s charge for setup or teardown.  A good DJ will be on site at least an hour before your event or sooner depending on the situation.

Can we choose the music to be played at our event?

The answer should be “Yes”.  This can be a list of songs that you would like to hear for cocktail hour, dinner and dancing.  Your DJ should be happy to take guest requests and fill in the rest with DJ selections.  You may want to put together a “Do Not Play” list.

How loud do you play the music?

For cocktail hour and dinner the volume should be set at a comfortable level. Guests enjoy conversing during these times and shouldn’t have to shout over the music to do so.  As for dancing, the volume typically is turned up but the speakers should be directed more toward the dance floor. 

Do you carry back up equipment?

Many DJ’s carry an assortment of backup parts and gear to keep the event running smoothly.

Are you insured?

Some DJ’s are insured and now many venues now require vendors to have insurance.

Can we meet prior to booking with you?

The answer should be “Yes”.  Meeting face to face can often ease many concerns that you may have.  

Do you offer a contract or written agreement?

Again the answer should be “Yes”. The contract should be straight forward and simple to understand.  The signed contract and deposit officially reserves your date.  Also, you should get a signed copy of the contract for your records.

Is tipping/gratuity expected?

Tipping/gratuity is not required.  If at the end of the night you feel that the DJ has surpassed your expectations and you want to provide a tip, then feel free.

How early should we book?

Simply put…the sooner the better!  Some of the most popular dates can and do book as early as a year in advance.

Wedding Toasts

Some basic tips to follow when giving a traditional wedding toast, with samples.

Speeches are one of the most widely celebrated wedding traditions. Toasting is often part of both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception, and toasts are given by various people, including but not limited to, the bride, the groom, the best man, the maid of honor, the bride or groom’s mother or father, or a member of the wedding party. Here are some possible scenarios:

- The bride toasts her groom at the rehearsal or at the reception.

- The groom toasts his bride at the rehearsal or at the reception.

- The bride or groom toasts their parents and the wedding party at the rehearsal or reception.

- The father-of-the-groom toasts the couple at the rehearsal dinner (when the rehearsal dinner is hosted by the groom’s parents).

- The father-of-the-bride toasts the couple and thanks the guests at the reception.

- The best man toasts the couple at the reception (this is the most widely recognized toast).

- The maid or matron of honor toasts the couple at the reception.

Here are some pointers that apply to any speaker:

- Keep it short, about two minutes. If you go much longer than that, you are going to lose the crowd’s attention, and the message will lose its intended impact. Short and sweet is the way to go.

- Keep it clean. There should be absolutely no profanity in your speech because you run the risk of offending people, and that can make the evening very uncomfortable for everyone involved. What might be hilarious to your friend could be perceived as raunchy and vulgar by your fiancé’s great aunt. Don’t tell inappropriate stories about past relationships or out-of-control college parties.

- Don’t be a tipsy toaster. The drinks are usually flowing freely during wedding festivities, but there is really nothing worse than a drunken toast. You will ramble, and you certainly run the risk of saying something that will either embarrass you, the newlyweds, or the guests. Hold the wine until after the speech, for everyone’s sake.

- Be loudly, clearly, and slowly. Public speaking makes many people very uneasy and nervous, which can result in an inaudible and way-too-speedy speech. Just focus, take a deep breathe, and remember that this is a celebration — not a test!

- Practice makes perfect. Run over your speech out loud a few times, and make a mental run-down just before you are going to give the toast. You will have more confidence of you are prepared.

- At the end of a toast, the toast-maker raises his/her glass, but do not drink. The toast-recipient(s) also do not drink right away; they just nod appreciatively and smile.

If you and your fiancé want to toast each other, keep the following tips in mind:

- Recall how you met, or what you did on your first date. Think about special moments that the two of you have shared, like when you realized that you were in love, or how you got engaged.

- Tell your fiancé what you love about them, and how they make you feel.

- Talk about your future together, and what hopes and dreams you share.

- When you are making your toast, make eye contact with your fiancé. This will be a very touching moment for both of you. If you cry, just take a breath, and continue. There is nothing wrong with tears of joy at a time like this!

Here is a sample of what a man could say to the woman he is about to marry:

I remember the first time I saw you, Janie. You were jogging on the treadmill at our gym, singing along to whatever was playing in your headset. Our eyes locked, and it was like magic. I knew that there was something so special about this woman, and now I know that I was right. You have brought so much joy and laughter into my life. I love our scary movie nights, and our day trips to the lake. When I asked you to marry me, I wanted to do it in the most beautiful place I could imagine. I wanted everything to be just right. We went to Niagara Falls, and I knelt in front of you in the moonlight, and then I realized something: all of the beauty around us on this night seemed like nothing compared to the beauty in your eyes and the beauty of your love. Thank you for being my best friend and confidant. Thank you for making me laugh so hard that I cry. Thank you for saying yes. I am so proud to become your husband, and when I think of our future, and of the family that we will build together, and the memories we will share throughout our lives, I am filled with the deepest sense of happiness I have ever known. Janie, my sweet angel, I love you.

If you and your fiancé would like to make a toast to your parents and the wedding party, take this advice:

- Thank your parents not only for their financial contributions to the wedding, but for the support and love that they have showed you throughout your lives. Thank your fiancé’s parents for raising him/her to be such a wonderful person. Tell your fiancé’s parents how happy you are to join their family.

- Thank your wedding party for their help with the wedding, such as throwing a bridal shower or bachelor and bachelorette party. Thank them for traveling (if applicable) to be a part of your wedding, and for helping with the wedding plans. Also, thank them for their friendship, and tell them how much it means to you both to be able to share this occasion with such wonderful and supportive friends.

Here is some advice for the best man:

- Toast the couple, not just the groom. Make sure that you include the bride in your speech. You may have formed more memories with the groom, but try to stick to memories that have to do with both of them. For example, if you remember the groom telling you excitedly about their first meeting, tell that story. If you don’t have any stories to tell about both of them, try to talk about love and marriage, and how happy you are to see your friend with such an incredible woman.

- The best man is usually the toastmaster at the wedding, so if there are other people giving toasts after yours, make sure you introduce and announce them to the crowd.

Source(s) essortment.com

Bridesmaid Dresses

Advice on choosing bridesmaid dresses – letting your attendants pick, finding the right style to fit different body types, and discussing cost and payment.

Being chosen to represent the bride on her wedding day is an honor. If you’re chosen to be a bridesmaid, you must truly be a special person in her life. In addition to standing up for the bride, you get to help plan the shower, assist with the invitations and other activities and walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress.

When it comes to bridesmaids dresses, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In fact, anyone who has ever walked down an aisle in front of the bride has a bad bridesmaid dress story to tell: either the color is wrong or the style isn’t right, the sleeves are too puffy, or the dress is just plain ugly. There are theories that the bride chooses dresses that are all wrong for her bridal party, purposely, to avoid having any one show up looking more beautiful on her special day. There’s also speculation that the bride is so blinded by love, she can’t tell the dress she picked is all wrong for the women she chose to represent her. Since, in most cases, the bridesmaids pay for the dresses themselves and will end up keeping them, shouldn’t they have, at least, a little say in the matter?

The bride has much to gain by allowing her bridesmaids to assist in the choosing of their dresses. Happier bridesmaids are productive bridesmaids and will do all they can to help in the planning of the wedding. Photographs will also be nicer because the bridesmaids will feel more comfortable in their clothing. Plus, there will be no bad feelings. So, how does a bride keep everyone happy, especially since weddings these days can have up to a dozen bridesmaids? Easy, let everyone have a say. This way a dress will be chosen that flatters all involved.

One of the bridesmaids can host an informal get together for the bride and bridal party to discuss those styles they like. Each woman should show up for the gathering with samples gathered from websites and bridal magazines of those dresses they like best. Make it an enjoyable occasion with food, drinks and music. Keep it light and jovial. Allow spirited discussions but no fighting. If there’s a disagreement on a certain dress, take that dress out of the running until the field has been narrowed to two or three dresses on which all can agree. From there, everyone should choose a color. Because of different skin tones and complexions, shades should be chosen that not only agree with all types, but should fit in with the bride’s decorating scheme as well. Price range should also be discussed, as some of the women may not be able to afford a pricey designer frock.

Once you have a short list of dresses and favorite colors, an appointment should be made for all the bridesmaids to pick out the dress together. Since the bride has already approved of the dress styles and colors, it’s not necessary for her to go along if she’s busy, but she may want to do so to make sure all goes well. Have each of the ladies try on the different styles of dresses to see which dress works best on everyone. When everyone is happy, the dress is chosen.

This may seem like a lot of work. Let’s face it, it’s much easier for a bride to pick out a dress in a magazine or from a website and say, “this is what I’d like to see my girls wear.” The truth is, it’s not that simple, not if you want the women in your wedding party to look good and be happy with the chosen dress. When the bride chooses the dress without input from the rest of the party, she runs the risk of dressing someone in something that’s absolutely not suited to her skin type, figure or personality.

When it comes to the big day, most brides want to spare no expense, or at least, they try to make sure every detail is perfect. This should be the case with the bridesmaid’s dresses as well. Don’t ruin a special day by running the risk of alienating special people. When the bridesmaids look good, the bride looks good and that, in itself, is worth the extra time it takes to make everyone happy.

Source(s) essortment.com

FROM Yahoo News

By Renata Espinosa

Monique Lhuiller

New York – The Spring 2011 Monique Lhuillier Bride collection, titled “A Field of Dreams,” was all about bringing the garden party indoors.

Shown in the lofty heights of an airy two-level penthouse in the London Hotel on Sunday, April 11, in New York, models stood alongside picture windows with stunning Manhattan views in equally jaw-dropping gowns, where elements of nature added whimsical details to the dresses.

FWD101 Model presents a design at the Monique Lhuillier Spring 2011 bridal show in New York on Sunday, April 11, 2010.

Romantic embellishments like butterflies, branches, twigs, wheat stalks and feathers were woven into soft layers of tulle and organza and floral embroideries were appliqued onto sheer corsets.

“I thought this season it was about showing your figure off,” said Lhuillier after the presentation.

To that end, Lhuillier introduced some shorter dress lengths, one of which was a convertible dress that could go from long to short.

“Instead of changing dresses, why not have one dress?” said Lhuillier, noting that more and more her customer was asking for an all-purpose wedding ceremony and reception option.

A lean trumpet silhouette also dominated this season, “bringing out the diva-ness of the girls,” said Lhuillier.

Trumpet gowns “accentuate your curves,” explained Lhuillier. “They’re best for hourglass figures. Also if you’re petite, it elongates your silhouette.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/fwd/20100413/en_fashion_fwd/moniquelhuillierbrideshortandsleekforspring2011

Tara Reid

“I’ve always wanted that fairy-tale Cinderella look,” Tara Reid says in the new issue of In Touch Weekly.  She and fiancé, entrepreneur Michael Axtmann, plan to wed “somewhere warm,” she says, but doesn’t say when. There are still details to plan, including picking a dress.

“There’s only one moment in your entire life when you can dress like that, so I want to go over-the-top. A total princess.”

She has enlisted Rani Totman, of St. Pucchi, to design her gown, and she invited In Touch along take a look at some choices. “I’ve been married in movies and stuff,” she says. “But it’s not like this, picking out my own dress. Seeing myself and picturing Michael at the altar, I get butterflies in my stomach.”

By Rebecca Garland  Special to NWsource

“Have you ever wondered if you should have been born in a different era?”  That’s the question curator Laurie Kearney and photographer Rosemary Wagner are asking local brides who are on a budget yet looking to infuse their wedding with a shot of nostalgia, glamour, classic design and “Hollywood era” styling.

Your Vintage Wedding Fair will be held on Saturday, March 20, from noon to 6 p.m.  Hosted by Kearney and Wagner of Gossamer Collective, a group of five Seattle-based artists who collaborate to organize and host events that promote and inspire art and music in the community, the fair will be held in the Gossamer Collective space in the Central District.

For an $8 entrance fee paid at the door, guests will receive complimentary champagne, light appetizers and the opportunity to meet with a select group of local vendors who can offer unique and affordable options for the wedding day. The first 24 guests at the event will receive goodie bags, which will include a copy of either Seattle Bride magazine or Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom magazine, hair and skin-care samples from Stylus Salon  and discount cards from the participating vendors. If you can’t get there early, there will also be a table set up where guests can pick up vendor samples and discount cards.

Vendors are comprised of photographers, designers and stylists, including: event host Rosemary Wagner, a wedding photographer with a vintage styling and imaging niche who provides a variety of wedding photography packages; Jennifer Witsil Creative, an invitation designer who creates custom designs in a sophisticated, feminine vintage style through fonts and colors; Rebekah J Designs, who creates custom jewelry for weddings and special events, including bridesmaid and groomsmen gifts; Jenny Bowker, a makeup artist who can do a wide range of vintage makeup styles, including Hollywood glamour, classic and retro; Orange Twist Cards, a letterpress invitation designer who creates a vintage look as well as custom, hand-illustrated images; Odd Duck Designs, a letterpress invitation designer who works with vintage textiles for a unique look; April Brimer of PrettyLittlePhotos.com , a photographer who creates custom photo-booth portraiture with backdrops designed according to the theme of the wedding; Stylus Salon , a hair-styling and nail salon which has a staff trained to accommodate a variety of styling requests, including vintage and classic; and TerraBella Flowers , a Greenwood florist with a friendly staff who can recreate vintage floral styles. Tables will be set up around the front and back of the Gossamer Collective space in a market-stall feel, allowing brides to easily peruse the vendors.

“All of the vendors offer reasonably priced services with a specialized style,” said Kearney and Wagner, who hope to make this a regular happening at Gossamer. They also stress that the atmosphere will be relaxed, with no two-hour lines or competitive or aggressive sales behavior by vendors.

If you have a shop, sale, event or great product tip you’d like to share, e-mail seattleshopping@nwsource.com. Follow us on Twitter for the latest local sales, great deals and noteworthy products, designers and stores.

http://www.nwsource.com/shopping/fashion/your-vintage-wedding-fair-helps-brides-create-day-retro-glamour?cmpid=2628

Copyright © 2010 The Seattle Times Company

Scott Almeida

Wedding Payment Plan      Founder: Scott Almeida

A wedding is one of the most important days of your life. It can also be one of the most expensive, running $28,000 on average, according to some estimates. For those who don’t have that much, there’s a new company out of Norwell, Mass., that could help: Wedding Payment Plan will finance your wedding.

Scott Almeida, 35, says he got the idea from watching a family friend succeed at financing orthodontia and Lasik eye and cosmetic surgery. “My first thought wasn’t weddings; it was funerals,” he laughs. “But weddings are a lot more fun.” He wrote up a business plan as a nighttime MBA student at Babson College and began raising money from family and friends. He also tapped $100,000 from an account that he and nine former classmates had set up to back whoever came up with the best startup idea.

In 2007, he left his day job as a venture capitalist to work full-time on Wedding Payment Plan. The average loan runs about $10,000 with a fixed 9.9% interest rate paid back over five years. The company hasn’t yet financed 500 weddings, but in the last year applications have jumped 333%. Almeida is raising $500,000 to go national and says the lending venture could turn profitable as early as mid-2009.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand

FROM Peoplestylewatch.com

By Tim Nudd and Alexis Chiu

Russell Brand has absolutely no secrets to divulge about his upcoming wedding to Katy Perry. Well, maybe he can share a minor detail about the dress code.

“We are going to do the wedding naked! All the families will be naked!” Brand joked to PEOPLE at Sunday’s 2010 Grammy Awards.

He’s kidding. “We’re still deciding what to do,” he says. “There’s no juicy details yet.”

But actually, a naked ceremony is one of the less quirky visions Brand has had for the wedding day.

“All my dream weddings don’t make sense,” he says. That’s probably because his dreams – the literal, nighttime kind – can be a bit hallucinatory.

“The vicar will start melting,” he says. “The people in the front row will turn into people from my school. And then everyone will only say the word ‘potato.’ ”

“I’m getting married to a beautiful woman,” he says. “I’m enjoying my work.”

What could be better? “Nothing,” he says.”