I had the opportunity to attend an event at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco today.
Welcome to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco
I didn’t have a chance to take any photos inside, you know copyright infringment and all. The event was hosted by the Northern California chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES). Passed hors d’oeuvres and lunch were provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering and they did a fantastic job.
Walt Disney Family Museum in Historic SF Presidio
The Museum located in San Francisco’s historic Presidio is an impressive combination of old history and cutting edge technology. I am not so sure the kids will find the museum nearly as exciting ad Disneyland, but for anyone with an interest in the history of Walt Disney the man and the creation of an entertainment empire, you will love this place!
Golden Gate Bridge as seen from the Walt Disney Family Museum
Leaving the museum I can’t help but wonder, would Uncle Walt be proud of what his creation has become or sad that it no longer exemplifies the family values he originally instilled in his company. In any case, it is worth a visit and as it turns out, a great venue for an event!
Posted in: Event Planning
Tags: International Special Events Society, ises, Presidio San Francisco, Walt Disney Family Museum, Wolfgang Puck Catering
Let’s get right down to business here. Your Dj can make a big difference on your wedding day.
These days especially, the Dj is all too often chosen simply based on price. It is very important to make sure the Dj you pick matches your expectations. This topic deserves so much more time than I am able to dedicate to it at the moment. Here are a few tips for you to consider no matter who you choose as your Dj:
1. Meet with your Dj in person in advance of your wedding day at least once if not more.
2. Make sure everything you expect from your Dj is in writing. Do not ever rely on verbal commitments.
3. Give your Dj a clear itinerary of events to follow for your wedding day. If you have a professional coordinator they should do that for you.
4. Give your Dj clear direction on the music. Not to say you should have to direct your Dj, but make sure to set clear perameters. A simple way to do this is providing your Dj with 3 lists. Must play, must not play, and general requests.
5. Prepare your own cd and give it to someone you trust to bring it to the wedding with the songs that are most important to you. I just attended a wedding where the Dj played the wrong song for the first dance and in the end did not have the correct first dance song.
6. Preparation is the key. Make sure your Dj understands any announcements or introductions you expect them to announce for you. For introductions your Dj should have all the correct names with correct spelling and know the order of introductions. The same wedding I just attended the Dj asked all the names of the bridal party just before he introduced them. That is not the time to get the information. A good coordinator will also help to ensure the Dj knows who he is introducing in advance.
7. If you are having a buffet how are the tables being released? The Dj I just saw did what we call the “Cattle Call” from behind his console, calling out the name of each table for the buffet over the microphone. The Dj, coordinator, or usually catering staff should walk to each table personally inviting them to the buffet keeping a tight cap on the number of guests in line.
8. Ask the Dj how he will dress, what time he will be there, what he needs (table, linen, power, shade, etc) and make sure these things are all in writing.
As I stated, this is a big topic and there is so much more we could go over here. If you have other questions feel free to post them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them for you quickly.
For most brides and grooms the Dj is very important. These tips can really help improve your wedding Dj experience. Simply put, if the Dj is very important to you for your wedding then don’t just go out and find the cheapest Dj you can get.
For more information contact Jason Diavatis at Bay Area Entertainment 707-745-3812 or http://www.bayareaentertainment.com/
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding DJ, Wedding Entertainment, Wedding Planning
Tags: cheap wedding dj, day of wedding coordinator, disc Jockey, dj tips
I just downloaded the Wordpress blog application for my iPhone. So, I am going to give this a try.
I am at a weddding in Sacramento as a guest today for some very good friends. The Groom is SO stressed out and is doing the best he can to give his beautiful Bride a wonderful wedding. even from the perspective of a guest, it is clear there is not a competant coordinator running things here. I know they were trying to keep on a tight budget, but a good coordinator would have made their wedding day so much better. Maybe even prevented the hotel staff from allowing guests to start using the Chocolate Fountain before dinner. The Dj played the first dance only to discover it was the wrong song. He turned it off and started it over again. Finally the bride and groom asked him to stop it all together. What makes a great wedding is really the people you invite to share the day with you, but a good day of wedding coordinator would have solved or prevented 99% of the wedding day problems the bride and groom encountered. The lesson here is make sure you have a good, professional, experienced day of wedding coordinator on your wedding day no matter what your wedding budget is, I promise you it will be worth it!
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding Planning
Tags: day of wedding and event coordinator
I have been in the event industry for 17 years. When my, then fiancé and I, were looking for a venue for our wedding reception 2 years ago, we really wanted a beautiful venue that we could bring in our own caterer. We wanted a fun reception, but didn’t want to spend a fortune on the party.
The ability to bring in your own catering can save you SO much money and offer you the opportunity to customize your menu beyond what you would find with most “Wedding Venues.”
We drove all over Northern California visiting venues that would allow us to bring in our own food and beverage. We were disappointed in what we found. We were unable to find even 1 site that met our combined standards. They were run down, bad locations, too costly, or just plain not attractive AT ALL!
I have since found 2 very unique and beautiful venues that fit what I was looking for 2 years ago, a little late for me! but still managed to find them.
The Kenyon Estate is a private estate in the hills above American Canyon 500 feet south of the Napa County Line. It has sweeping views from Mt. Diablo to Mt. Tamalpais. You can see natural hills, water and the sunsets are spectacular! The Kenyon Estate offers indoor seating for up to 172 guests and outdoor seating for up to 400 guests. You CAN bring in your own food, beer and wine! You need to see it before you make any decisions, the pictures don’t do it justice! www.KenyonEstate.com
Long Branch Saloon and Farms, located just south of Half Moon Bay is another unique venue that allows you to bring in your own caterer, beer and wine! Long Branch is like stepping back in time to the “Old West.” With Long Branch you take over the whole town which includes an old saloon, parlor and main street. www.LongBranchFarms.net
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding Planning
Tags: bridal consultants save money, bridalassn.com, Half Moon Bay Event and weddings, jason diavatis, Kenyon Estate, Kevin Palmer, Long Branch Saloon and Farm, Napa Valley Estate Wedding, old west event, old west wedding, Planning Your Wedding On A Budget, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Design, Wedding Planner, Wedding Venue, www.bayareaentertainment.com
It’s not new, but it is now becoming more popular than ever. Custom monogram projections are a great way to personalize your wedding! Much the way a company “Brands” their identity with a logo, Brides and Grooms are choosing to personalize their wedding with their own custom identity.
Custom Monogram at the Claremont Resort and Spa in Berkeley, CA
Custom Monogram on a 6' Ice Bar with Ice Luge - Claremont Resort, Berkeley, CA
Custom monograms may be used on your stationary (invitations, thank you cards, etc), cocktail napkins or an ice sculpture at your reception, and even projected with a special light. We have projected the monogram at the entrance to the reception, on the dance floor, behind the head table, you name it. There are endless possibilities.
The process starts with design. A monogram usually consists of three letters. The first letter is usually the first letter of the brides first name, the middle letter is the first letter of the couples last name and is typically the largest, and the first letter of the grooms first name follows.
Once the Bride and Groom choose a suitable design, the artwork is made into a gobo. A gobo can be made from sheet metal, the least expensive, or special glass, a more expensive option. A gobo can be created to project a single color to full color images and even a photo if desired. The gobo is inserted into a special theatrical lighting fixture, typically an ellipsoidal lighting fixture.
Costs range widely for this service. As an add-on to an existing lighting order you may pay as little as $250 for a single color projection. In an effort to keep this simple I have only covered some basics of this option. In design there are many ways to implement this technique to achieve amazing results.
Color gobo projection
Color gobo projection on the side of a 150' cliff in Half Moon Bay
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding Planning
Tags: AFSCME, Berkeley, California, Claremont Resort, Clay Paky VIP, Custom Monogram Projection, Ellipsoidal, Glass Color Gobo, Half Moon Bay, Ice Bar and Luge with Monogram, Lighting Design, Martins Beach Half Moon Bay, Personalize Your Wedding, Personalize Your Wedding With A Custom Monogram, San Francisco Design Center Galleria, Wedding Design
If you are like most brides, you are trying to keep to a tight budget while planning your wedding, and there is nothing wrong with that.
First of all, let’s be realistic – you are most likely not an expert at planning a wedding. If you are going to buy a house you hire a realtor, an expert. Why wouldn’t you seek out expert advice and guidance in planning your wedding? It is a common misconception that hiring a wedding consultant is expensive and unnecessary. That is simply not true. You can get a good wedding consultant for as little as $100 per hour. A good wedding consultant can often save you more money than they cost you, not to mention all the extra headaches.
We all know that these are bad economic times, but will that stop you from wanting to have a wonderful wedding day celebration? Hardly. In fact, if you know what you are doing you can take advantage of the bad market and stretch your wedding budget further than ever! Have you ever heard the saying ”You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” This is the time to negotiate. Everyone is hurting for business right now. There are deals to be had if you know where to look and how to find them.
I suggest you start by retaining an expert Wedding Consultant and create a REALISTIC wedding budget. If you have a budget under $15,000 you should consider retaining a consultant on an hourly basis to get you started and provide guidance through key parts of the planning process.
To arrange for a free consultation call Bay Area Entertainment at 707-745-3812 or visit our website at http://bayareaentertainment.com
Another great resource for finding a Wedding Consultant in your area is the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC). You can find their website at http://bridalassn.com
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding Planning
Tags: BayAreaEntertainment.com, bridalassn.com, jason diavatis, Planning Your Wedding On A Budget, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Planner
Friends and collegues have been encouraging me to blog for a long time now. This is my first blog.
Today is the final day of the Association of Bridal Consultants annual conference. This years conference is being held at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach, Southern California. Every year Wedding Consultants from all over the world meet to discuss the business of weddings and share information on the upcoming trends in the industry.
The consensus is that the biggest change this year will be – BUDGETS! Brides are looking for the deals! Why should they not. Everyone wants a good deal. The key is getting not only a great price, but great or reasonable quality as well, thus being a “Good Value.”
Brides choose to work with professional wedding consultants for expert guidance, to save time, and of course to save them money! An experienced wedding consultant can often save a bride enough money through their expert guidance to partially or in some cases completely erase the consultants fee.
This year’s featured speaker was none other than Colin Cowie, an acclaimed event designer who’s success was spotlighted by Oprah. At a luncheon today where Cowie spoke to a packed house, 12 wedding consultants donated $10,000 each for the opportunity to shadow Cowie at a future event. The $120,000 raised benefits the ABC Scholarship program.
Colin Cowie speaks to a packed luncheon at the annual ABC Conference
Posted in: Event Planning, Wedding Planning
Tags: bay area entertainment, bridal consultants, bridal consultants save money, bridalassn.com, colin cowie, jason diavatis, professional wedding consultant, www.bayareaentertainment.com
