Do you have a song that, every time you hear it, takes you back to a moment you’ve nearly forgotten about? You catch yourself in the grocery store daydreaming while staring at a can of beans or while waiting at a stoplight, and you’re suddenly snapped into reality when the person behind you honks their horn during the chorus. Well, the song that Eric and I have chosen for our first dance, and the song my dad and I will dance to, have done that to me for years. And it’s so exciting to know that for the rest of my life when I hear them after the wedding, I’ll immediately be thrown back into that moment. READ MORE
Nothing could make by fourth-grade heart melt quite like All-4-One’s masterpiece love song “I Swear.” Now, my fourth-grade self may have been years from having a boyfriend, let alone getting married, but I swore (pun intended) this song would definitely be played during the first dance at my wedding (which, fingers crossed, would be to Jonathan Taylor Thomas). I confided this in my sister, Claire, knowing then she’d be my maid of honor and would totally support my decision. (I was wrong, and she still teases me about my corny song obsession to this day!) READ MORE
Wedding by Terrain. Flowers by Sullivan Owen. Photo by Alison Conklin.
If you’ve shopped at Terrain before, or eaten in the so-lovely Garden Cafe, and always wondered what it would be like to hold your wedding there, you’ll get a chance to more than just imagine it next Saturday, February 9, when the venue holds a bridal open house in the evening from 6 to 9pm.
The space will be set up like an actual wedding from each season, so you can get an idea of what it might actually look like on your Big Day, whether you’re thinking of having it in the spring, summer, fall or winter. Terrain will be showcasing their own decorating services, though you’ll also be able to see the work of—and chat with—other local vendors, including florist Sullivan Owen and photographer Michael Ash of Ash Imagery.
Lovesick Inc will keep the tunes coming the whole night, and reps from BHLDN will also be on hand (Terrain staff will even be wearing BHLDN dresses, so be sure to take note for your ‘maids!) showcasing their wedding gowns, accessories and wedding decor for your perusal. You’ll also be able to taste samplings from their event menu with appetizers and food stations from the Garden Cafe. (Along with wine and refreshments, of course.)
The open house is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. RSVP here, and happy planning!
I’ve been feeling a lot like Paula Abdul recently. Not because I’ve been practicing my early 90s dance moves or because I’ve been taking crazy pills. (I have done neither.) It’s because Sean and I have been trying to decide on a band, and it feels a lot like the audition process for American Idol.
I’ve been to weddings with both DJs and bands, and see that each experience offers its own advantages. Originally, Sean and I had planned on booking a DJ, until we talked it over with my dad, who is very pro-band. So we immediately widened our search to include bands. Some initial searching lead me to a few local agencies, such as Brandywine and EBE. I called these agents to find out whether they had any bands available for our wedding date, and what the pricing was for them. READ MORE
I refuse to believe there’s a one of you reading this who is not familiar with the wonderful wedding scene in Love Actually in which musicians pop out of the crowd to serenade the happy couple as they walk back up the aisle. Right? (If someone doesn’t know what I’m referring to, let’s talk.)
That’s the first thing I thought of when a co-worker showed me this most amazing video in which guests at a Copenhagen wedding break into a flash mob-style rendition of “One Day More” from Les Misérables. Oh, that this could happen at every wedding. But you know. Only with songs from the good musicals.
Deciding on a song for your first dance is likely not on page one of the wedding to-do list, but I was excited to tackle this decision, so excited I didn’t feel like waiting.
I love music. I listen to it in the shower, in the car, while I’m working, while exercising, while traveling. I love to fill my day with music.
My dad brought me up on old-school Motown, soul, funk, and jazz. I remember the inevitable dance parties that broke out in our family room when my dad took out his records, the jam sessions that erupted during car rides, the Earth, Wind, and Fire concerts. I remember thinking, “Man, I was born in the wrong era.” READ MORE
Carmen Tomasetti of CTO, left, with Eddie Bruce at the party announcing their new relationship.
Eddie Bruce has been performing at weddings maybe forever.
Well, ok—since probably about the early 80s, but he’s so iconic in the biz, it might as well be forever. (He once told me that a bride of his literally announced to her parents that she was engaged by simply saying, “Time to call Eddie.” He had performed at her sisters’ weddings, and had become such a fixture with the family that that was all they had to hear. This sort of thing seems to happen a lot with him.)
In 2008, he left behind the entertainment group he had started in 2001, EBE Entertainment—yes, the company still exists under the same name—to go out on his own. Well, on his own, as in, with his super awesome orchestra, which can play at your wedding with seven to 15 people in it, including Eddie and the always fabulous Charlene Holloway.
CTO World Entertainment, headed by Carmen Tomasetti—who, it should be noted, was a fan and admirer of Eddie Bruce’s long before he had established CTO—is now the exclusive representative for Eddie Bruce and his aforementioned super awesome orchestra. (And yes, you have undoubtedly heard of CTO thanks to any one of their rockin’ bands, including Park Avenue and Tribeca.) So now, whether you want to look into any of CTO’s fab entertainers or check out what Eddie Bruce is all about, you can nicely and easily hit up the same place.
It’s a really cool coming together for these two well-loved and -known and -respected entertainers, and we’re excited to see what they do together next!
Admittedly, we were a little behind on this whole PSY “Gangnam Style” business, but we think we have the whole deal understood now, from the dude’s YouTube success to his bizarre dance moves and appearance on Ellen—and, then over the weekend, on SNL. (Finding out that Gangnam is a ritzy district in Korea was a real lightbulb moment for us.)
Anyway, as can be expected (let us not forget the amount of “Call Me Maybe” parodies in the world), a couple made a “Gangnam Style” wedding music video, and this thing is, like, produced. It’s pretty funny, actually, and ends at the couple’s actual wedding. The bride is gorgeous. Her dress is gorgeous. Check it out.
What’s the number one thing you remember about a wedding? The foodies will claim cocktail hour. The fashionistas will say the dress. The creative, artsy guests will remember the programs and the centerpieces. What do I remember most about my favorite weddings?
To me, the sign of a great wedding is simply how many people flock to the dance floor—how many people are completely letting go of all inhibitions and just feeling the groove. They’re singing, laughing, twirling, sweating, and most of all, bonding with unknown guests seated on the other side of the room that they would have never spoken to had they not been serenading each other with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” READ MORE
So, maybe Eric and I haven’t always been known for doing things just like everyone else. We’re both the babies of our families, so it might stem from years of wanting to do things, well, differently. Some might call this “difficult” or “challenging,” but it’s just the way we approach things (sorry, Mom and Dad!).
Needless to say, our wedding planning hasn’t been standard. We have some wedding resources that have general time frames and month-by-month breakdown of planning—but we are far from following them, whoops! So shortly after we chose our venue, we confirmed our band. (See? Far from standard, considering most timelines advise you to book this between six and nine months away from your wedding; we were well over a year.) The early band selection happened because of a few factors: our love for music, our love for a band we already heard and knew, and trusting a few friends. READ MORE
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