We had the pleasure once again playing music for the Boypower Dinner at On-Center.  There were about 350 guests present along with Steve Forbes, Presidential Candidate and keynote speaker later that evening, to help raise funds for the local Boy Scouts. 

To help raise money, guests were having their picture taken with Steve Forbes.  When the pictures were done, Mr. Forbes came over to our setup, where John Carucci and I were, and was impressed with our system and music selection. He asked to my surprise, “Do you have any Little Richard?” Of course we did and he wanted to hear “Good Golly, Miss Molly”.  We talked about music, Syracuse and the places he visited in Central New York. He’s down to earth and so nice, and Steve knows his music! 

I have an area in my office where we put items from past weddings on display to give other Brides and Grooms ideas for their wedding day.  The other day I had a Bride in my office and we we were going over details about her wedding coming up in July.  When we were discussing her wedding ceremony this particular item caught her eye.  (more…)

The planning meetings that I have had in the past few weeks have been great.  With the long winter season finally behind us it is nice to talk about weddings and think about the nice weather we will soon be having.

The main question that Brides and Grooms have been asking us is “I can’t think of a First Dance, do you have any suggestions or what was the top wedding songs of last year?”  Well, I did a little research and this is what I came up with.  The top First Dance songs of 2008 were:

“At Last” Etta James, “I Cross My Heart” George Strait, “The Way You Look Tonight” Frank Sinatra, “She’s Everything” Brad Paisley (more…)

As soon as you walked into the Genesee Grande Hotel on Sunday March 1st, your breath was probably taken away by the obvious amount of effort put into the show. All the tables had different pastel colored tablecloths, appetizers and sweets were around every corner, and the atmosphere was complete with live music provided by Maria DeSantis. The men even had their own room- the bar which broadcast the SU Basketball game and provided beer and wine tasting. They also offered work shops to help overwhelmed brides and grooms with their planning and to offer new and interesting ideas. For their first bridal show, the Genesee Grande really hit it off and provided a great environment for us to promote our business. We would like to thank Tom, Janelle, Susan and staff for the great job they did and we will see them in the near future!

93Q presented Amy’s Slumber Party at the Doubletree Hotel on the nights of February 27th and 28th. About 800 women attended the event each evening to take a break from their normal Friday night duties taking care of the kids, cooking dinner, and doing laundry. Our company played the music in the Harbour Room where belly dancing, pilates, and yoga were a few of the activities that took place. We took requests all night from the ladies and vendors. After the fourth year of providing music for this event, the slumber party has grown into a Central New York tradition for women in the area to get together and have a great time.

This was our 12th bridal show with Annette, the owner of Greystone Castle along with New York Bride and Groom who offered a beautiful and diverse selection of bridal, bridesmaid, mother of the bride gowns and groom tuxes. We used our up-lighting and additional lights to enhance the beauty of the castle for the bridal show. Many brides, grooms, friends, and mothers came to gather information from the different vendors offered such as caterers, photographers, make up artists, jewelery makers, cake decorators, flowers, and many more. The New York Bride and Groom fashion show was a big hit and we enjoyed providing the music for the show. We would like to thank Annette once again for inviting us to her show and we are looking forward to attending and assisting you in any way we can next year!

Congratulations to Marcy and James on their ten year wedding anniversary and on finally being able to celebrate their wedding by having a reception! Their close friends and family attended the small gathering at The Point in Auburn, NY where they renewed their wedding vows.

We supplied a projector to play their DVDs.  What made this unique was, they coordinated each DVD with each formal dance.  Such as their First Dance DVD had images of Marcy and James growing up and images of them while they were engaged, as well as their wedding ceremony they had ten years ago that was with their parents and immediate family.  They also showed their growing family over the ten years with their two children.  For the father-daughter dance the images showed the bride Marcy, growing up and the Mother-son dance for James was done the same way.  There were a lot of tears in the room.  Very special.  

Even though the reception was during the day, the chairs were empty and the dance floor was full.  Much to the surprise of the bride and groom.  Again, congratulations to Marcy and James for their ten year anniversary on Valentine’s day and having the wedding reception they’ve always dreamed of.  We will see them on their 25th wedding anniversary!

Bridal Show Tips
Bridal shows can be informative and fun with the right attitude and preparation! Here’s some great tips and ideas you should consider when attending a show, from USA bride magazine.

Where to Find Them - Bridal shows are just about everywhere these days - hotels, malls, department stores and wedding reception halls. Some are small, some are huge! Don’t hesitate to attend a few. Have some fun, bring your fiancé, your mom, or your best friend.

Register Before the Show - If you registered before the show, most admission is free! If not, some will charge up to a $9.00 admission fee. Now, when you pre-register, some will give you a set of labels when you arrive at the door with your name, address, telephone and wedding date. Most every vendor at the show will have some sort of prize giveaway, and these labels are used for the drawing.

For the smaller, local shows, you might want to make up some pre-printed labels on the computer ahead of time. If you do want to enter the drawings then you won’t have to fill out your name and address a hundred times!

Prize Giveaways and a Word of Caution - Just about every wedding vendor at these bridal shows, has some type of promotion or prize giveaway, from a drawing for FREE wedding invitations, a FREE engagement portrait or a FREE tuxedo for the groom with rental of four others. Be aware that some of these “free” prizes may have a few strings attached.

Also, realize that when you put your name in for a drawing, that you may not win a prize, but you’ll most certainly get on every wedding-related mailing list for the next year!

Bring a Pad and Pen - Bring a small notebook and pen. You never know what tips or ideas you’ll find out and want to write down. There’s so much to see that by the time you get home, you may forget!

Get a Big Bag - Most shows offer a small to medium size carry-all bag when you enter the show. There’s so much information at each booth you can easily fill it up. Grab all the information you can! Take it home and go through it all later.

Meet Vendors - Most of the vendors are very friendly and will talk to you about their products and services in as much detail as you want. However, the shows are very hectic and noisy, so if you find a vendor that you like, it’s best to set up an appointment and meet with them later.

If a vendor tries to “pressure” you into booking their services and placing a deposit with them TODAY (at the show)… keep walking!

The Fashion Show - The centerpiece of any bridal show is the fashion show and you won’t want to miss it. Keep a pen and notebook handy in case you see a style or designer you really like.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed - When brides and grooms visit these bridal shows they can sometimes feel overwhelmed. There’s so much to see and so many vendors. Many can feel overwhelmed by all the choices and decisions that need to be made. But remember wedding planning is usually done over the course of a year… not in one day! It’s one decision at a time!

The above information from USA Bride. Thanks to Skip Ckark for this information

We had the pleasure of providing music for Willow Field’s annual elementary school dance and I made a promise to the children I would mention them on my blog.  The grades were from Kindergarten through Fifth grade and they worked hard practicing the participation dances which was taught by their gym teacher, Mrs. Sally Morel, so they would have a great time at their dance.  (more…)

K101.7 hosted a Bridal Show Extravaganza on Sunday January 25th at Ventosa Vineyards. Though it was a cold morning, it was still beautiful and sunny and the view on Seneca Lake was breathtaking. 

Our company has played at Ventosa Vineyards many times and when they invited us to be in the bridal show, we couldn’t pass it up.  RJ, the banquet manager is so very accommodating and professional as well.  It was nice to visit with him and talk about the upcoming wedding season.  There were many brides and grooms that haven’t booked their reception hall yet and they were definitely interested in Ventosa Vineyards.  (more…)