Our Pirate Wedding is Coming...

Most of what I write here ends up being a lot of ideas for people planning weddings. The reason this ends up happening is I end up DJ'ing one or two weddings a week, and the events become easy content for my DJ blog. It is a no brainer.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let the readers know that I practice what I preach; Theme Weddings are one of the best ways to really make your wedding memorable.

About a year ago, I wrote a blog about how I would plan a "pirate wedding." The way I write my wedding theme blogs are I either go to a wedding that has an awesome theme and absolutely have to share what I saw, or I do a bunch of research up on an idea and write. In the case of my pirate blog, I had gone to my nephew's birthday party which had a pirate theme, due to his love of The Pirates of The Carribean movie franchise. Then I got to thinking how it would be interesting to take some of the fun birthday party ideas and work them into a wedding that afforded a bigger budget to the theme.

Before posting it, my fiancee read it and told me I shouldn't put it out there for everyone to read.

"Why?" I asked. "Is it not realistic? Do you think nobody will want to do it?"

"Not at all," she replied. "I want it for our wedding."

(This is why I am marrying her!)

Anyhow, we have had an absolute blast planning for our own special day.

Here are some shots of the best man, Marty Carbone (who also has a blog here) and myself, with the costumes that didn't quite make the cut:




And... Here is the gigantic decoration pile in sotrage waiting for the big day, along with a bit of an idea of what a centerpiece might look like:

Weird Al Finally Gets Lady Gaga's Blessing for Spoof

April 20, 2011 - Comedy artist Weird Al Yankovic, whose first hit was in 1984 with a Michael Jackson parody called "Eat It," has a new album due out this summer. In the above video, he noted that intended to include this new parody of Lady Gaga called "Perform This Way" on his new album, but was denied by the subject of his spoof, until what many believe was an internet backlash from fans last night.

From his wordpress blog, he explained that his "saga with Gaga" was a strange and dissapointing one, that is, until last night when Lady Gaga had a change of heart.

Before Lady Gaga changed her tune, Al explained that he wrote and recorded what he believed was going to be the first cornerstone single of his return album. But after Lady Gaga's people actually heard the track, they decided not to give him their blessing to release the song.

As the story goes, when Yankovic approached Gaga's management team about the song, they said they would only give permission after the track was totally recorded and produded so they could actually hear it, even though they already had the lyrics in hand. So Yankovic quickly recorded a rough for Gaga, which he typically does not do. Normally, artists consider it an honor to be spoofed by legendary Weird Al and it is well-known that his songs are basically a remake of the original song with different lyrics. ANyhow, because he believed in the song, he obiliged, and was still denied.

Being a comedy act allows him to release the song anyhow, but Al says that he does not do that without the nod from the original artist. After feeling disrespected, however, Al stated on his site, "It has always been my personal policy to get the consent of the original artist before including my parodies on any album, so of course I will respect Gaga’s wishes. However, given the circumstances, I have no problem with allowing people to hear it online, because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time." Therefore, he uploaded the track to Youtube early in the morning yesterday for his fans to enjoy free.

All day on April 20th, fans listened to the track and began their pleas to Lady Gaga. By six that evening, a different voice came from Camp Gaga. This one stated that Gaga had never actually heard the track herself and her management had screened it on their own and denied the track. Lady Gaga stated that she was, in fact, a Weird Al fan and would not, "get in the way to block the parody."

Since then tweets and an update to this Youtube video show that the show is back on and that Weird Al will putting out the spoof that the fans have demanded. A release date for the album featuring the Gaga track, "will soon be announced."

Small Wedding Venue - Inn at Saratoga

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing a wedding gig at The Inn at Saratoga, on Broadway Street. The Inn is a nice little place and I thought I would give those of you who may be planning a small wedding in the Saratoga area some info.

While a large guest list event probably wouldn't work well there, if you are planning a laid back, smaller wedding of 80-90 people or less, The Inn at Saratoga might be right for you. Their accomodations were comfortable for about what I saw there on Saturday, again, eighty people or so. Surpassing this many friends and family, in my estimation, would have been pushing it. .


CEREMONY LAYOUT - You can get married on location. The Inn at Saratoga has a courtyard with a nice white tent. This area is suitable for smaller outdoor weddings and has provisions to keep your guests safe from the elements. (On this past Saturday in particular, the tent turned out to be a godsent for the bride and groom, due to the drizzle and wind.)

COCKTAIL HOUR - This venue has an inside dining hall with a porch that leads out to the bricked courtyard. Both the courtyard and the inside area have bars and room for cocktail hour festivities. In my opinion, the outside bar on the porch by the ceremony tent would be the best bet for your cocktail hour, when the weather is nice. The inside cocktail bar is more like a hallwayledinginto the dining hall and people can't really minglenear the bar because of it. However, when it is rainy like it was the other day, it is great to know an inside bar option is available.

The Inn also has a popular public bar in the front, to compliment their actual restaurant. The public bar serves for a great hiding place for the bride and groom before their grand introduction into the dining hall, while the people are seated and waiting.


BANQUET ROOM - The room used as the main dinning hall, again, is not ideal for guest of 100plus people. It seems like a comfy and fun place at around 80 people or less. There is a small dance floor and enough space to the side to fit eight people comfortably at about ten round tables. In the eating space, they have a little fireplace, as well as a massive decorative victorian mirror by the dance floor.

FREE PARKING - Parking is limited but to no concern of the guests. The Inn makes up for limited spaces with providing a free valet service that actually works very well.

HOTEL ROOMS - It also helps that it is an actual functioning Inn. The Inn is located right near the nightlife of Saratoga city. Nearby is Congress Park and Canfield Casino. The hotel also provides free wireless Internet to everyone with no hassle. This may not seem like much to some, but being the DJ for the event, I had no problem at all downloading a random music request. (It’s awesome when you don’t need a wifi password.)

All in all, if your wedding is small, this hall is not a bad option.

For more of our wedding tips and reviews by DJ Kenny Casanova ... check out www.theDJservice.com


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An 80's Theme Wedding Can Be Awesome

I am a wedding DJ, so I see lots of weddings. Did you ever notice that later on in life, the many weddings you have attended all seem to blend together in your memory bank?

If you really think about it, the traditional wedding with tuxedos and the big white dress is a theme now, in itself. Everyone does it. So if you really want to be different, you have to take a risk.

If you remember the 80s and grew up in this crazy time, having a theme-based wedding set in the 80s can be, like, a totally awesome idea. This campy decade saw the rise of Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and even one-hit-wonders like Nu Shoes. Here is an across-the-board comprehensive idea list of 80s wedding theme tips that will make your 1980s wedding stand out and be momorable for years to come.

Click here to see our massive checklist of everything to think about when planning your own awesome 80s theme party AWESOME 80s PARTY CHECKLIST

This list includes multiple mini-lists including decorations, activities, music and costume ideas for your party!


For more of our wedding tips, msic lists and reviews by DJ Kenny Casanova ... check out www.theDJservice.com


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Wedding Theme List - Theme Ideas for your wedding reception

Below is a great list of possible themes for your wedding. Why have a theme? Everyone wants their wedding to stick out and be one that people will remember for a lifetime. Adding a wedding theme where guests participate in some different kind of way or actually dress the part can be a way to really make this happen.

As a DJ who specializes in wild and fun modern weddings, who readily thumbs his nose at tired traditions like the dreaded chicken dance, I have recently become one of the area's leading choices for "theme weddings." It is quickly becoming my specialty, though I did not plan it that way. Anyhow, it is a nifty little niche. With my past experience in the entertainment field, as well as being an aspiring fiction author, my creative side does well with theme weddings.

I cannot stress that a theme wedding brings everything together AND brings everyone together. Every element becomes so much easier and fun to put together.

I have a number of blogs with some great ideas now available, but thought it might be a good idea to give people a general idea of what kind of themes are out there. (Brides, you may want to really look at this list if want to get the groom more involved in the planning of your special day. I have noticed that when a theme has been added, grooms buy into the planning even more.)

Do I practice what I preach? YES!!! Stay tuned for my own pirate theme wedding pictures in May... For now, here is a growing list of wedding themes that I have come across and been a part of:

Awesomized 80's / 1980s
African Theme
Australian Wedding
Asian Fusion / Japanese & Chinese
Beach
Butterfly Theme
Carribean Theme
Country Theme
Cinderella
Christmas
Daisey Theme
Disney Theme / Mickey Mouse / Magical Kingdom
Easter Theme
Elvis
Ethnic Theme
Fairy Tale theme
Fall Theme
Fifties / 1950s
Garden / Flowers Theme
Goth / Gothic / Dark Theme
Halloween
Hawaiin / Island Theme
Heavy Metal
Hippie / Grateful Dead / 1960s
Irish / Celtic
Italian
International (many nations represented, or specific regions)
Japanese
Jewish
Mardi Gras Theme
Masquerade Theme
Medieval / Renaissance
Military Theme
Pirate
Rose Theme
Royalty Theme
Sci Fi / Space
Star Trek or Star Wars
Sound of Music
Superhero Theme
Under the Sea / Ocean /nautical
Vegas / Rat Pack
Valentines / Hearts
Victorian Theme
Western / Old West / Cowboy
Winter Wonderland

A few of these wedding themes above are hyperlinks to other blog entries, specifically about the theme. For more wedding theme ideas, check out our other blogs at www.thedjservice.com/blog

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(PHOTO CREDIT: http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/may2009/1/0/star-wars-wedding-pic-mike-walker-m-and-y-973806144.jpg )