Wine Bottle Wedding Guest Book

Here is a super simple but fresh idea if you would like to change up the guestbook at your wedding. Why not have your guests sign wine bottles?

At a really fun wedding this weekend where I was the DJ at Altamont Manor (20 minutes from Albany, NY), the bride and groom purchased four different colored wine bottles instead of a blank guestbook. Their mindset was a book may never be cracked open again a number of times over years, but a number of wine bottles certainly would!

To start a project like this, they removed the orginal labels by soaking the wine bottles in hot water to loosen the adhesive. Then, the couple cleaned and scraped off the remnants of the labels with lighter fluid, or you can use WD-40 to act as your cleaning agent.

Finally, they reapplied custom wine labels made up with their names printed on them, and the numbers 1,5,10 and 20.

That is it.

If you want to do something similar, your final move is to display your creations with sivler pens on a small table by the entrance to your wedding reception. Add a nice photo frame explaining that the bottles are in place of the traditional wedding guestbook. Explain that the newlyweds will drink the wine on their first, fifth, tenth and twentieth anniversaries to remember all their friends best wishes once again, as scribed on the bottles.

What a fun idea! It is like morphing together the traditions of the wedding guest book and freezing that piece of wedding cake to eat a year later.

Wedding Buffet Planning Tip

If you are planning a buffet for your wedding with stations, there are two things to think about. One is double sided serving and the other is placement of servers if there are any.

1) DOUBLE SIDED SERVING TABLES - this is important to allow your guests to serve themselves from both sides of the table. If you have your venue do this, you will have half the wait. You will have two small lines rather than one large one and this will allow for your guests to eat more quickly and get to the fun stuff.

2) PLACING SERVERS - If you have you caterers serving guests at some of the stations and have multiple tables in different places, try keeping the servers all together on one table station. This will allow for only one table to be clogged up in a line , while the others have free access with less wait.

Try these out and you will love it!

Karaoke Wedding Tips

Okay, Spiderman once said, "with great power comes resposibility." If you are considering karaoke at your wedding, realize that you have to set some guidelines or things could get ugly real quick.

 Handing a microphone over to anyone is giving someone the power, and if you lose power at your own wedding, it may not turn out in the end exactly as you had hoped for.




If you are going the karaoke route for your wedding, just keep in mind that you need to control it, or it could spin out of hand and become, "Uncle Jimmy's Drunken Karaoke Concert," rather than your wedding night.

To avoid giving away your entire wedding reception to people who want to sing "Love Shack" and " "Paradise By The Dashboard Light," create a few simple rules and everything should be alright.


1) SET A TIME LIMIT - Let the DJ know you only want karaoke at the very end, perhaps, so that it doesn't scare away guests who do not like it, and it doesn;t overpower the whole night.

2) ONE SONG ONLY - If you have a load of people who want to sing but only limited time, to control karaoke from taking over the whole night, maybe make a rule that a person can only sing once.

3) NO DIRTY SONGS -  Don't allow DJ to accept songs with suggestive yrics, as to not upset certain people at your party. Grandma my not want to hear, "Shake That @$$!"

4) BANNING CERTAIN GUESTS - This idea would be good, but it usually doesn;t work without hurting someone's feelings. Keep in mind that if you really don't want certain people to sing, you may not want to do karaoke at your wedding. It is very difficult and seemingly unfair to turn someone down who would like to join in on the fun.

5) FLIP THE KILL SWTCH -  Limit young children, or drunk people who drone on and make it not fun by having the DJ switch right back to dancing at the end of a terrible track. This will keep the guests around who put in earplugs.

Following a few simple rules like these could allow for just enough karaoke flavor to your wedding to actually add something to your special night, rather than to take away from it. Good luck!

2012 & 2013 Wedding Dates To Avoid

Planning a special "Holiday Weekend Wedding" or a party that falls on a special day, for that matter, can have many many unforeseen pros and cons across the board, whether it is in or around Albany, NY, or not.

There are many things to think about when picking a day that has something else other than your special day associated to it. Here are sone things to think about:

THE PROS ON A HOLIDAY WEDDING -One good thing is that your guests will have that extra day for recovery and travel, and also a Sunday wedding is often more affordable that a Saturday wedding works out to be.

THE CONS ON PLANNING A HOLIDAY -
1) TRAVELING SPIKE - Traveling costs more on holidays. Your costs, and the the cost for your guests' airfare traveling and/or hotels are often higher on holiday weekends.

2) GUEST AVAILABILITY - having a holiday wedding might hurt your wedding guest attendance. People are creatures of habit. Some families have regular commitments and traditions for on-going standing holiday weekend and quite often these are traditions that they would not to change, no matter what the cause.

3) RELIGIOUS DAYS - While you may or may not recognize a number of religious holidays, your guests might. Think about religious holidays when choosing your wedding date. There may even be church restrictions on if you are allowed to marry at these times, so you may have to make some calls if you go against this one.

4) COSTLY HOLIDAYS - Valentine's Day will make your floral bill shyrocket, and New Year's will make your venue more too!


HERE IS A LIST OF WEEKENDS THAT ARE CONSIDERED HOLIDAYS FOR 2012 & 2013:
January 16, 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday)
January 21, 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday)
February 5, 2012 Superbowl Sunday
February 3, 2013 Superbowl Sunday
February 20, 2012 Presidents' Day (Monday)
February 18, 2013 Presidents' Day (Monday)
April 1, 2012 April Fool's Day (Sunday)
Monday, April 1, 2013 April Fool's Day (Monday)
May 13, 2012 Mother's Day (Sunday)
May 12, 2013 Mother's Day (Sunday)
May 28, 2012 Memorial Day (Monday)
May 27, 2013 Memorial Day (Monday)
June 17, 2012 Father's Day (Sunday)
June 16, 2013 Father's Day (Sunday)
July 4, 2012 Independence Day (Wednesday)
July 4, 2013 Independence Day (Thursday)
September 3, 2012 Labor Day (Monday)
September 2, 2013 Labor Day (Monday)
October 8, 2012 Columbus Day (Monday)
October 14, 2013 Columbus Day (Monday)
November 22, 2012 Thanksgiving (Thursday)
November 28, 2013 Thanksgiving (Thursday)
December 31, 2012 New Year's Eve (Monday)
December 31, 2013 New Year's Eve (Tuesday)

RELIGIOUS-RELATED DAYS
April 1, 2012 Palm Sunday
March 24, 2013 Palm Sunday
April 8, 2012 Easter Sunday
March 31, 2013 Easter Sunday
April 7, 2012 Passover (Saturday)
March 26, 2013 Passover (Tuesday)
July 29, 2012 Tisha B’Av Saturday,
July 16, 2013 Tisha B’Av (Tuesday)
September 17 - 18, 2012 Rosh Hashanah (Monday & Tues)
September 4-6, 2013 Rosh Hashanah (Thursday - Sat)
September 26, 2012 Yom Kippur (Wednesday)
September 14, 2013 Yom Kippur (Saturday)
December 10 - 16, 2012 Hanukkah (Sat -Sun)
November 27, - December 5, 2013 Hanukkah (Sat -Sun)
December 25, 2012 Christmas (Tuesday)
December 25, 2013 Christmas (Wednesday)
December 26, 2012 - Tuesday, January 1, 2013 Kwanzaa
December 26, 2012 - Wednesday, January 1, 2014 Kwanzaa

Any questions about date selection for your wedding of party? Drop us a line at http://www.thedjservice.com/ Albany NY Wedding DJ

Easter Seals Fundraiser at Washington Park

In the picture to the side, we see Mayor Jerry Jennings and the good people of Easter Seals, right outside my DJ booth in Washington Park, Albany, NY. What a great day May 19th, 1012, Saturday was for all! I was able to take part in a morning of fun and fundraising at Washington Park for Easter Seals NY.

It was their 4th Annual "Walk With Me" on on Saturday May 19, 2012 and you couldn't hav asked for better weather. A turnout of more than 200 people along with my web site, TheDJservice.com, generated over $40,000 in the end for the Easter Seal's summer camp, Camp Colonie, benefitting Albany NY children with disabilities and special needs.

Being the Disc Jockey and participating in Easter Seal’s annual walk for the second time now, I again had a super time with DJ Maria being a part of these life-changing services. It was so good to see all the nice people come out to raise revenue for children with disabilities and special needs. ANd you can bet that this year's Easter Seal’s summer Camp Colonie, in Albany will be a blast for them, as a result.

Camp Colonie, an Easter Seals program that I bring services to a few times a year, offers an educationally integrated camping experience for children with special needs. To ensure the full participation of its campers, the professional staff provides individualized educationally benificial programs that meet each camper's individual needs. For the past five years, I have brought my brand of karaoke/dance/fun to the camp, this walk, and all the smiling faces at the local Easter Seals.

To read the rest of the 2012 Walk WIth Me ALbany Fundraising event, CLICK HERE - Albany NY DJ Kenny Casanova.

2012 Wedding Songs

You must be lookoing for new wedding songs! There are so many old ones on the net. Hopefully this will help! Here is a very updated new and fresh Top 20 Wedding Songs for 2012. These tunes would be great to use as your first dance, or introduction at your wedding reception. This list does not include anything more than a year or so old, and most of the songs are slow songs.
The link provided will let you hear the song off of Youtube, to help you get a better idea of whether or not the song would be right for you.

TOP 20 SONGS FROM 2011 FOR 2012 WEDDINGS by www.TheDJservice.com

1. "We Are Young" - fun. Featuring Janelle Monae
http://youtu.be/Sv6dMFF_yts

2. "Just a Kiss – Lady Antebellum
http://youtu.be/Xs9X8NhQJF4

3. "Love You Like a Love Song –Selena Gomez
http://youtu.be/4ulaGjwiIbo

4. "Countdown – Beyoncé
http://youtu.be/2XY3AvVgDns

5. "We Found Love – Rihanna (featuring Calvin Harris)
http://youtu.be/1KzEu5hWmRY

6. "I Do," Colbie Caillat
http://youtu.be/rYzdfyB7vyQ

7. "Give Me Everything," Pitbull
http://youtu.be/qpqBAOpamJs

For the full 20 song list, check out our blog site www.TheDJservice.com at CLICK HERE

...DJ Kenny Casanova is a wedding DJ out of Albany NY.

French-Canadian Pig Trough Dance

The French-Canadian Hog Trough Dance by Troy NY Disc Jockey, Kenny Casanova

In an earlier blog, I covered the odd tradition of the French-Canadian Ugly sock dance (click here to read) which is a strange wedding custom involving a bride's older sibling who is ridiculed at her wedding. I discussed how this tradition was making a comeback in Ontario Canada and other French-speaking parts, and bleeding into the states.

This seemingly odd tradition that punishes single siblings for not already being married by spotlighting them in an odd dance has trickled down into our states. Now I have seen a handful of French speaking Canadian-American brides and grooms who come from our northern neighbors giving these traditions a shot. This custom has moved into Upstate New York and even down around around Troy and Albany NY. Now another similar custom is on it's way.

Another odd Canadian tradition somewhat related to the Ugly Wedding Sock Dance is here, and it is called The Pig or The Hog Trough Dance.

The funny mindset behind this Trough Dance is still the same as making someone dance in ugly socks alone on the dance floor for public mockery. In the case of the hog trough dance, the idea is to punish your single older sibling at your wedding reception for not yet settling down. Here, the difference is the sibling dances barefoot in a pig trough or a wash basin in the center of the floor with hecklers laughing at their expense.

in the most extreme cruel and unusual forms of this wedding torture tradition, early on, this custom really was for punishment. Dirty old hog troughs were pulled right off their farms and placed in the center of the dancefloor for a barefoot dance. That is right; with mud, steaming fresh pig droppings.

You can bet that pig droppings would have really left some lasting impressions on the guests faceas sitting near the dancer’s piggies later on. This is all the reason more to make sure you are married before your younger brothers and sisters pass on the family name.

However, in today's more politically correct version of The Dreaded French-Canadian Trough Dance, we see a more forgiving version. Now we see relatives pushing victims into the Trough Dance in a clean trough purchased just for the occasion.

A few other variations to this odd custom exist. One variation to this tradition includes adding a mix of beer and other alcoholic beverages poured in the trough first, which are later drank by the dancer upon completion of the dance. And yet another variation includes the addition of food in the trough that needs to be eaten upon completion of the dance.

For additional information on French Canadian Wedding customs, read French-Canadian Ugly sock dance (click here to read)

To book DJ Kenny Casanova to be the disc jockey for your wedding, check out www.TheDJservice.com



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