Run Forest Run!

Event Sponsor New Balance Shoes hired me to play music and make announcements at the San Jose Rock & Roll Half-Marathon. What a fun event! Almost 15,000 people showed up to run and walk the 13.1 miles. While some people ran because they are world-class athletes, others ran for fun or to support wonderful organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I swear that I saw someone running who looked just like Forest Gump!

Attack of the Cheeseheads.

Many of the 135 guests at Steve and Yunmi's reception were from Wisconsin (including the Groom). People from Wisconsin are proud people. They love to be called "Cheeseheads". Most of them probably have Green Bay Packer blankets on their beds. Of course, who am I to talk? I have a stuffed green frog on my bed. Hey, don't laugh! Those Cheeseheads were a bunch of fun! Photo by Todd Rafalovich.Steve and Yunmi have great taste in music and they both love to dance. They also had some very cool songs for special dances:

Processional: "Ever The Same" (acoustic) - Rob Thomas
Recessional: "As" - Stevie Wonder
First Dance" "So High" - John Legend

I got misty-eyed while watching Steve and Yunmi's first dance. You may think that I am a big baby. I prefer to think of myself as a romantic with a sensitive side. lol. I just loved the way that they looked at each other and held each other. It was so beautiful.

Besides Wisconsin, people came from other parts of the United States to attend this lively reception and some even traveled from as far as Brazil and Korea. And they came to party!

Greatest First Dance Ever?

You Be The Judge!

A New Energizer Bunny?

Hey Fluffy Bunny, watch out! There's a Bride who has more energy than you! Her name is Natalie and she married Trent last night. Natalie danced to almost every song at her reception and showed no signs of fatigue! Sources say that she could be the new Energizer Bunny. Company officials declined to comment. Here is a pic of the energetic Bride dancing with an excited guest. The Parents got to pick out the songs for the Father-Daughter and Groom-Mother Dances and kept it a surprise until it was time to dance. Cool idea. (Unless you're scared that they may choose a polka!)

Go Sharks! Former San Jose Shark's Hockey Player Mike Ricci was a guest last night. The Bride Natalie used to babysit his daughter Jade. (Jade was the flowergirl) Hey, I even saw Mike Ricci dance! Not bad for a hockey player! Although I think he would have been much more comfortable if we threw some ice on the dance floor!

Aloha!

It's 1:00am and I should be in bed right now but I just got back from an awesome wedding reception and wanted to write about it. What a fun night! 200 people celebrated at Hotel Sainte Claire in Downtown San Jose last night at Maureen and Alex's Wedding Reception. This was a super-fun crowd with many guests representing Santa Clara University, San Jose State, and The University of Pacific.Up-and-coming local artist Ryan Auffenberg ( a close friend of the groom) performed during the dinner. The Groom joined him to sing a song that he personally wrote for his new wife. It was very romantic.

Since Maureen is from Hawaii, she and Alex presented all of the bridal party members with a Lei as they came in during the introductions. Their wedding favors were yummy Hawaiian Cookies AND an Oral B Toothbrush. (Alex is a Dentist) I love it!! This was a huge dancing crowd and they boogied to Disco, Motown, 80's, and Current music. The guests also enjoyed a special hula-dance presentation by the Bride's Cousin. What a SUPER-FUN night! I am pooped! And now I will go to bed!

300 People and 1000 Cranes

I love the Asian Cultures. They have so many neat traditions. This says "Love". It's a collage of 1000 Origami Cranes all hand-folded by the Bride and her friends and family. Very cool. Almost 300 people gathered for Stephanie and Jeff's Wedding at the Hayes Mansion in South San Jose. They had their ceremony outside on the lawn and cocktails on the patio. Then, everyone came inside the banquet room for dinner and dancing. First Dance: "I Could Not Ask For More" - Edwin McCain
Father-Daughter: "Because You Loved Me" - Celine Dion
Farewell Dance: "All My Life" - KC & JoJo

Jeff and Stephanie's Parents were so much fun and I saw them on the dance floor many times. Jeff and Stephanie also had 3 sets of Grandparents in attendance who have been married 59 years, 62 years, and 64 years. Now that's inspiration for the newlyweds!

Me and Mandy

Singer/Actress Mandy Moore was in town today for a concert and I met her before she went on stage. Wow, she is tall! And so sweet too! I think she likes me. lol.

La Boda Loca

Is that a new Ricky Martin song? Nope! For those of you not fluent in Spanish, La Boda Loca means "The Crazy Wedding".

Anita was one of the most unique Brides I've met in the last 20 years. She was all personality. She's cool. She's crazy. She's fun. She's the only Mexican I know who has a southern accent and likes 80's Rock Hair Bands like White Snake, Poison, and Bon Jovi. So unique!
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What a great night! Let's start with the cake which looked more like a circus! I was cracking up when I saw it. I thought it was the coolest. I salute all couples who dare to be different!
Bride Quote Of The Year from Anita: "Rich, if the guests look at me when I'm coming down the isle, I may throw-up!"
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That was so funny. I joked with her that maybe I should make an announcement before the ceremony. It would go something like this:
"Ladies and Gentleman, the ceremony is about to begin. Please DO NOT make eye contact with the Bride or she will throw-up on you. Thank you."

We had a good laugh at that one. Yes, she was nervous. VERY nervous! Here is a picture of the beautiful Bride with her new husband Tim. Look Mom! No more nerves! Two Bands and a DJ: Anita celebrated her Mexican culture by having Marriachi's play during the cocktail hour. Tim celebrated his Italian culture by having an Italian Trio play during the dinner. Very cool.

First Dance: "For Once In My Life" - Michael Buble
Cake-Cutting Song: "With You" - Jessica Simpson
Farewell Dance: "What am I Gonna Do" - Tyrese
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Yes, I loved this Bride! But the Groom was awesome too. He was kind, articulate, and had a great sense of humor. And you could tell how happy he was to marry Anita. What a great couple.

Motown Wednesday!

That was so cool. I just got back from the Four Tops-Temptations Concert. I was the Master Of Ceremonies for the show this evening. I love being an MC! What a fun job I have! What a great show too! Here is a cool pic I took of the legendary Temptations on stage while they were singing "My Girl". (a very popular song at weddings!)

Wedding - Mountain Winery

100 people attended Tyson and Sahana's celebration at the Saratoga Mountain Winery last night. And what a beautiful night it was! The groom Tyson is my hero. Here he is dancing to "Like A Prayer" by Madonna with a bunch of girls and a groomsman. It is rare to see a guy dancing to Madonna. Two thumbs WAY UP for this groom!
Tyson and Sahana could not make up their mind on their first dance song. In fact, they didn't tell me what it was going to be until 2 minutes before they were actually going to dance to it. But I could easily tell after the song started that they were very happy with their decision. The guests loved it too.

First Dance: "Is This Love" - Bob Marley
Father-Daughter Dance: "Stand By Me" - John Lennon
Farewell Dance: "When I'm 64" - The BeatlesHere's a great picture of the beautiful bride Sahana having fun with her husband! They had 3 cakes last night. One cake for them...and then one cake for each of their friends who were celebrating a birthday. What a classy move to think of others on your wedding day.

Lunch with Kenny.

I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the biggest artists in the music industry. I was the MC for concerts with Rick Springfield, America, The Doobie Brothers, Huey Lewis, Hall & Oates, Madonna, and so many others. How fun it was to introduce them all on stage!

The staff for Bay Area radio stations 94.5 KBAY and MIX 106.5 got together today for lunch on the patio at Hotel De Anza and Kenny Loggins joined us! Here is a pic of me and my new bud Kenny!

Kenny is in town for his concert at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga. But the best part is...he sang a bunch of songs for us! Just an intimate little mini-concert for 30 people. That was so cool! That was fun. What a great way to kick off the weekend!

3 Little Words.

NO CHICKEN DANCE!! That's the only thing the e-mail said from the Bride Kristen. She sent me that e-mail 2 days before her wedding. She forgot to cross that song off of my list and just wanted to make sure I didn't play it. I laughed pretty hard when I read it. Okay okay, I won't play it! NO CHICKEN DANCE!! ha ha. Kristen and Zack were very sweet! Hey! Look at all the happy people dancing !!
Unique Numbers. 222 guests arrived on 07-07-07 for Kristen and Zack's wedding at Villa Ragusa in Campbell. They booked me for their wedding a year and a half ago for the most popular wedding day of the decade. It was so cool to see my past clients Monica and Mike at this reception too.

Funny Stuff: The guys in the Bridal Party printed t-shirts with photos of the Groom Zack on the front and they wore them underneath their tuxedos. Later on in the evening (after a few drinks), they decided to show them off. What a crack-up! Photo by Charles Le.

Hi Mom!

My Mom loves to dance. And she is no stranger to my events. No, she doesn't sneak in. She just knows a lot of people and she gets around! lol. Actually, my Mother is my biggest fan and she has recommended me to many people. As a bonus, those people invited my Mom to their weddings. Here is a fun pic of my Mom at a wedding reception doing the YMCA. She is the short one in the middle with her mouth wide open. Isn't she just SO CUTE? That's my Mom!!I wish everyone could meet my Mom. She is the coolest!

You Animal!

When I was in High School, I took one of those career personality tests to see what field I would be best suited for. I thought it was amazingly accurate. The results said that I should be a radio personality or a zoo keeper. Of course, I ended up going into radio and eventually started my DJ business as well. But it wasn't an easy choice because I love animals SO MUCH and thought zoo keeper would be a cool career. That brings me to my clients. Karin is an Anthropologist who studies primate behavior. David is a Zoo Keeper at the San Francisco Zoo. Talk about unique careers!

Speaking of unique, I knew this reception at the Los Altos History Museum was going to be very cool when I arrived and saw their table names which included: Elephant, Fox, Tiger, Zebra, and Monkey (my favorite). Imagine arriving as a guest and finding out that you will be sitting at the Monkey Table. That's funny stuff!

Does it surprise you that they requested "Brass Monkey" from The Beastie Boys? Probably not. Karin and David picked out two of the cutest songs EVER for their first dance and farewell dance.

First Dance: "Ice Cream" - Sarah McLachlan
Farewell Dance: "When I'm 64" - The Beatles

Bouquet's Gone Wild!

I've seen some wild things happen when the Bride tosses the Bouquet. I've seen a waiter catch the Bouquet. (that was so funny!) I've seen the Bouquet land on top of the cake. I've seen the Bouquet disintegrate in the air and smack 5 or 6 people in the face. I've even seen women wrestle each other to the floor for control of the Bouquet. (a new sport?)

Last night, the Bride Karissa tossed the Bouquet from the mezzanine level of the Opera House in Los Gatos. Many eager women were waiting below. Unfortunately, they will have to wait for another wedding for a shot at the bouquet because Karissa threw the bouquet almost straight up and it crashed into the ceiling. Then it fell to the floor below like a sack of potatoes. It was pretty funny. Most people don't know what to do if the Bouquet hits the floor. Most of them just stare at it. Yup, that's what happened. Fortunately, kids are not that way. A cute little girl named Sierra (probably 6 or 7 years old) made a beeline towards the bouquet and scooped it up off the floor faster than you could say "Mommy, I think I had too much sugar tonight". As the women walked off the floor looking a little dejected, Sierra smiled proudly and posed for pictures. It was very cute.

Tom and Karissa danced and partied with 125 of their closest friends and family last night. It was a fun night. The Bridesmaid Kristi was very sweet and surprised Tom and Karissa with a slide show after her toast. There were some great photos from their childhood and college life. It was very cool. (Although I still wonder how she got that picture of Tom in his underwear!)

First Dance: "She's Everything" - Brad Paisley
Father-Daughter Dance: "The Way You Look Tonight" - Tony Bennett
Cake-Cutting Song: "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" - Frank Valli
Fake Last Dance - "Last Dance" -Donna Summer
Real Last Dance: "At Last" - Etta James