Let the Music Play … the way YOU want.

When it comes to your wedding reception, needless to say, music plays a vital element. There are many decisions to be made, so how do you start? The basic breakdown of a reception is as follows: cocktail hour, dinner, dancing – plus specialty songs for introductions, formal dances, cake cutting, bouquet/garter and last dance. The “feel” of a reception is really up to you. For the cocktail hour, do you prefer jazz, adult contemporary (i.e. Jason Mraz, Michael Bublé), mainstream or something else?  Keep in mind that even early on, songs with lyrics matter. Songs about love, romance – a good positive feeling, set a great tone.  Songs such as “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Everlasting Love,” or “I’m Yours” create a good upbeat vibe.  But your style and tastes are important. Getting some of your favorites into the mix is a nice way for the DJ to announce “These are some of the bride and groom’s favorites” to get your personality into the reception early on while you’re getting your photos done. Dinner is typically soft music, from standards to love songs, and then — the party!

Weddings are filled with friends and relatives from 8 to 80! So a nice mix of new and old works best. Line dances are popular at weddings because they build a sense of camaraderie and you don’t need a partner, per se.  Your DJ can read the audience and adjust the dance music to what is moving the crowd. Your specialty songs such as the introduction can be upbeat and fun (remember, your reception is like popping champagne to your new life) or rather reverent. Since DJs do a lot of weddings, when your are stuck for a song idea, we can help. So, sitting down with your DJ to explain your tastes and requests is a great idea. Music – it’s what we do.

Your first dance, father/daughter, mother/son dances.  These should be songs where the lyrics represent your feelings or songs that mean something — a great song you heard on your first date, a song dad or mom loves. Deciding on the direction and choices of the music is a fun exercise and your Astro DJ is here to assist you every (dance) step of the way!

Astro DJs can make you “light” on your feet!

 

If you are looking to add some pizazz and a very unique addition to your wedding reception, try Astro’s LED Dance Floor. Remember Michael Jackson in the “Billie Jean” video or John Travolta’s dance moves on the lighted dance floor in “Saturday Night Fever”? Astro’s LED dance floor takes lighted dance floors to a new level. LED is the cutting edge state-of-the-art way to illuminate, and the LED dance floor has hundreds of color combinations for dancing and can be customized to match the color scheme of your reception. The lights can pulsate with the music or be set to a dreamy white for your first dance. Astro’s LED dance floor can be customized to perfectly fit any of The Yacht Club at Marina Shores’ party rooms, too!

Customize Your Wedding with Astro Entertainment

It’s your big day and you have chosen The Yacht Club at Marina Shores.  Your DJ is Astro Entertainment – now what?  Astro and The Yacht Club have much to offer to personalize your wedding to your exact tastes. For example, recently Danny Gray DJ’d the ceremony and reception for Katie and Jeffrey Hoover. The ceremony had a traditional feel to it as classical music filled the air. The couple modernized the event by adding a tree planting ceremony in lieu of a unity candle.

As the ceremony wrapped up and the wedding party was off to take photos, the guests were invited to partake in the cocktail hour in the stunning Coastal Room. While guests enjoyed hor d’oeuvres, Astro’s Instant Memories Photo/Video Booth offered them a chance to capture some fun photos and leave the newlyweds a video message.

Once the photos were finished the wedding party was introduced to Chris Brown’s “Forever” followed by the bride and groom dancing their way in to T.I.’s “Bring Em Out”. Katie and Jeffrey then joined in their first dance to The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Dancing in the Moonlight“.

The night progressed into dancing and fun well into the evening. As the music continued to get folks up and moving, the smiles and laughs could be seen and heard throughout the venue. The night wrapped up with all the guests surrounding the newlyweds chanting “Hoover, Hoover, Hoover” as Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” played.

Customize your wedding. Start with the elegant charms of Marina Shores then let Astro customize the rest. Want to add interactive elements? Visual displays? Lighted Dance Floor?  Photo Booths? Astro offers much to customize your wedding to your exact specifications!

NICOLE AND SEAN’S BIG DAY

Saturday evening June 29th, Nicole and Sean were married at The Yacht Club at Marina Shores.  The DJ, Delvin Peeks, kept the guests entertained and the bride and groom had a good time.

The food was provided by Cuisine & Company and the flowers and decor were beautifully done by Black Iris Floral Designs.  The guests enjoyed the photo booth and the props.  A great time was had by all!

Congratulations Nicole and Sean!  Best wishes to you both!

- ShutterBooth Hampton Roads

It’s The Little Things

Personalize your photos, song list, or even the way that you’re introduced into your reception with a nod to you or your spouses profession! In the ShutterBooth prop box, its always great to add props that reflect your profession or hobbies!

These adorable school teachers met teaching and fell in love! So they would have to bring their love of teaching to their special day!

This bride found a hero! A perfect match, indeed!

Sew a secret message onto the underside of your gown—only you’ll know it’s there, but it will add a sentimental touch to your bridal ensemble. This bride cut fabric from three generations of family members’ clothing into the shape of hearts. They were sewn into her dress so that she could “carry their hearts” with her. What a special something blue!

 

Or you could secretly scrawl a love letter for your ‘sole’ mate, on the sole of their shoe!

Bring lots and lots of beautiful color into your day with these ideas.

Colorful pom-poms can be tossed as the newlyweds exit down the aisle. And of course what a fun way to entertain the kids at your wedding by making a game out of picking up pom poms!

In lieu of having a receiving line or rice toss, this couple took a group photo with all of their guests, in which each person held a colorful balloon. After photos, have everyone let the balloons go and watch them float away! Or, simply bring them into the reception and use them to fill your party with lots of color!

Are you and your groom as obsessed with Instagram as I am? Then, display a sign at your reception with a specific hashtag guests can use to track photos from your wedding. I love this idea, pictures can be shared and who doesn’t love coming up with hashtags?! You can even upload mini videos!

When you come up with something that is special about you and your fiance, don’t just sit there with it, make it work for you to enhance your special day!

- Courtesy of ShutterBooth Hampton Roads

Photobooths are cool, but how can I tie it in with the rest of the wedding?

Brides are faced with all sorts of challenges, from dress choices to budget to cake flavors.  Every detail of her wedding is carefully thought through and weighed against many things.  And of course, the question of “To PhotoBooth or not to Photobooth” comes up (we certainly hope!!).  Some brides are afraid that the awkwardness of a booth at their reception would outweigh the fun of the booth.  Well, fear not, there are many ways to incorporate the photobooth into other aspects of the wedding that blend it seamlessly.  One of these fun and classy avenues are bookmark sleeves.  These nifty little sleeves are stuffed with either escort cards or little notes inviting guests to use the booth at their leisure.  The inserts are color matched with the personalized logo that appear on the strips (coordinated with the bride and her colors/theme).  These little touches are a fantastic way to tie in the photobooth with both the theme and color of the reception.

“Every Good Party Has A Photobooth” -Matt Lauer

“Every good party has a photobooth” – Matt Lauer on the Today Show, and we at ShutterBooth couldn’t agree more! Today’s trendy bride rolls out the red carpet for her guests, including a photobooth for all of her guests to hop in, show their true personality, and to have a memorable keepsake to take home!

The trickling stream of photobooths as the “It” factor to any party has becoming a raging flood. The true way to tell a great party is by the entertainment and what guests talk about after the lights fade and the music’s gone. Photobooths are truly the one memento that gets proudly displayed on refrigerators everywhere. Don’t miss out on this great and fun trend, make sure there’s a ShutterBooth at your next party!

Thank You from Arch Entertainment

Blogging is not an easy task for a DJ company. Although each wedding is unique to us, it is difficult to blog and not have the same repetitive story. We truly love celebrating with every one of our couples, along with their friends and family. It is an honor to be apart of such a special day. We are so thankful to our clients for giving us the opportunity to do what we love, but in this blog we have decided to write a “Thank You” letter to Marina Shores.

Gale, Sue, Todd, Jason and all other Marina Shores staff members involved, work so hard to make this venue perfect for their clients. As stressful as planning for a big event can be, you offer your clients an easy and stress free way of planning every little detail. Each feature that has been added… the permanent LED ceiling lighting, hardwood dances floors, the custom made window treatment, the newly renovated deck on the Shoreline Room, all come together to make the Yacht Club stunning. Not one single component has been left untouched! I am very excited for all that is in store for the soon-to-come Coastal Room. Your outside deck provides the perfect waterside location for a wedding ceremony and/or cocktail hour. It is hard to compete with the atmosphere that is created on a beautiful night. The staff at Marina Shores has done an outstanding job of marketing this venue and has gone above and beyond to make it one of the most sought after wedding and special event venues in our area.

We, at Arch Entertainment Company absolutely love being a part of your preferred vendors list. We consider ourselves blessed to be work with you at Marina Shores, and enjoy performing along-side all the other amazing vendors that make up your team of wedding professionals. We hope to continue our relationship with you for a long, long time.

Rodney Charles, Arch Entertainment Co.

 

Bridal Open House Success!

What a fantastic turnout!  We had over 200 brides attend our 5th Annual Autumn Bridal Open House this past Sunday, October 23rd, 2011.  Each guest was welcomed by our friendly staff, served an array of delectable foods by Cuisine&Company and greeted by each of our reputable vendors.  Many brides left with arms full; loaded down with fantastic door prizes! We would like to thank all our vendors for putting together a beautiful show with lots of options for our future brides.  There’s nothing better than having the opportunity to meet each professional face-to-face and ask questions about their services.

Check out our photo gallery below from the Bridal Open House.

*Flowers & table setting provided by Black Iris Floral Events.  Catering provided by Cuisine & Company.  Photography provided by Tom Sanderson Photography.

 

Let Us Help You Go Green On Your Wedding Day!

 

There’s a hot new color on the wedding palette. Eco-conscious couples are adding a big splash of green to their wedding plans. It’s a great way to begin a sustainable lifestyle together and encourage friends and loved ones to do the same.

Here are some tips for planning your eco-friendly wedding:

Invitations
Invite your guests on unique papers made from kenaf, rice or recycled papers. Another option is to send invitations out via email (save paper invitations for those who do not have Internet access) and set up a website where your guests can find all of the pertinent information. Select a website host who is eco-friendly. Thinkhost.com is a hosting service powered solely by renewable energy.

Rings
Shop for eco-friendly, fair trade gold and platinum. 18 carat gold and platinum from reprocessed sources is also an option. If purchasing diamonds, make sure they are conflict free diamonds. Diamonds grown in a laboratory are a stunning alternative. Check out unique rings made from wood or coconut.

Wedding Attire
The growing eco-friendly industry has widened the choice for wedding attire. Regardless of your taste – fancy or simple – hemp and organic cotton dresses are available. Select a dress or suit you can wear again or have dyed after the wedding. The same ideas apply to bridesmaid dresses. Opt for a family tradition, wear your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress or shop vintage stores for just the right fit. After your wedding, donate your dress to the idofoundation.org.

Blooms and Candles
The flowers and plants that adorn your wedding venue should be organic, and preferably locally grown. Use potted plants when possible, especially for reception centerpieces, and allow guests to take them home    as a reminder of the important role we all play in preserving our natural resources. Plants and flowers can also be donated to nursing homes or Hospice facilities after your ceremony. Philodendrons are a top choice because studies have shown they remove formaldehyde from the air. Black Iris Floral Events has planned a number of green weddings.

Candles add a romantic air to your wedding, but select environmentally friendly unscented or candles made with 100% nontoxic essential oils for your wedding day.

Reception
Arrive in style at your reception in a hybrid car  or limo. Select our eco-friendly caterer Cuisine & Company, a Certified Green Company.