The Garter

I love sharing with my clients ways to create more fun at their wedding receptions because that's what it's all about! Here's one: If the Groom is into sports, have him wrap the garter around a football, baseball, or mini-basketball before he throws it. It's super-fun for the guys. This is a great example from Julie and Josh's Reception using a rugby ball. Watch the reaction from the guests as well.

The Korean Macarena?

Half of my clients love The Macarena. The other half hate it. That's why I will only play it if it is specifically requested by the Bride and Groom. The same goes for other group dances like YMCA and Chicken Dance. Eunice and Jim were SO sweet and they had a great time dancing with their family and friends at the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood City. They asked me to play The Macarena for the Bride's parents. This picture shows just how much they enjoyed it.Side note: Eunice and Jim had the same last name BEFORE they got married. What are the odds? It was also very comforting to know that if a guest passed out from dancing too much or maybe choked on a chicken bone, there were 54 Doctors in attendance who could have easily stepped in and saved the day! And with no deductible!

Dude, where's my surfboard?

Couples are showing more personality these days and are arriving to their weddings in some pretty cool vehicles. This "Woody" is the ultimate surfer vehicle. In case you're wondering what the connection is, the Bride and Groom (Karla and Shannon) are both avid surfers! In fact, those are their surfboards on top of the car! Did you notice the "Just Married" on the back door? Very cool.

A Spook-Tacular Wedding!

Have you ever been to a Halloween Wedding where all of the guests came in costumes? They are rare. In fact, I've only done 2 weddings like this. The first time was over 10 years ago and the Bride asked me to dress up as a cow. (Yes, I honored her request! lol)

Karen and Kevin held their ceremony and reception at Testarossa Vineyards in Los Gatos. It was spooky. There were witches and goblins. But we all felt at ease because Batman was near by. They even had a giant orange wedding cake with bats and spiders on it.

The ceremony was held in the Cave. There were candles and glowing pumpkins everywhere. They requested music from the movie soundtrack "Edward Sissorhands" for the ceremony. During dinner, I played Monster Mash, Warewolves in London, Superstition, Don't Fear The Reaper, Witchy Woman, Little Red Riding Hood, and of course Ghostbusters. They even had a Tarot Card Reader for the guests.

Karen and Kevin did everything they could to make this the most non-traditional wedding ever. And they succeeded. The guests loved it too. From the all-vegetarian dinner (yummy!) to the candy-apple wedding favors, everything was unique and memorable. Karen was so kind and considerate and checked in with me several times to make sure I had enough food and candy. How sweet! She even had funny pictures of her 4 cats on the tables. Now that was a unique wedding!

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!