As some of you may recall, last March the Office Groom and I booked our wedding DJ. After some debate on whether we should do it ourselves or not, we finally decided that having a pro look after one of the most important elements in a wedding reception (in our opinion) was the better way to go.
Luckily, we were referred to DJ Andrew Hussey by our venue co-ordinator, and we immediately loved his style when we checked out his site.
Well, today, we will be meeting Andrew in person for the first time! The Office Groom actually met him a while back to give him our deposit, but today we will have the chance to sit down and talk about our music in more detail.
Not wanting to come unprepared, OG and I set aside last Friday to figure out what key songs we wanted for the night. With a couple bottles of wine, we chilled out in our living room and had a great time picking out tunes for entrances, the garter toss, special dances, and general partaying :)
We're hoping for some classic jazz and blues during dinner, and then the real fun begins for the dancing. We're going to ask that the night begins with some oldies but goodies for the older crowd - The Loco-Motion... Tutti Frutti..that kind stuff. Then we'll follow that up with some classic rock like More Than A Feeling, a sure hit with everyone especially our karaoke loving guests. Then some retro 70's to 90's (sigh, how sad is it that the 90's is officially retro? lol), and finally we'll end the night with some contemporary music that ranges anywhere between The Beastie Boys to Dave Matthews Band.
I'll be interested to know how open Andrew is to all this, and I hope our first meeting goes well! Fingers crossed!
And you know what? I'm glad I did! While it may have not screamed "cool," especially at an age when everything depended on whether it was cool or not, the choir I sang with was actually really good, and still is. Years ago, while I was still living under the same roof with my devout Catholic mom, going to church on Sunday was not questioned. After years of doing my best not to fall asleep during mass, I eventually realized that the best way to keep myself busy (and awake) was to join the choir.
To this day I can still sing along to most of the songs from memory. And while I haven't quite figured out how knowing the lyrics to "On Eagle's Wings" can help me in every day conversation, it has been very helpful as of late when deciding on the music for our wedding.
Our priest, who by priest standards is very cool and modern, requested that we either choose traditional music from the choir music selection or classical music. So far in my research, I've really grown attached to these pieces:
Luckily, the Office Groom and I were able to sell him on the idea of playing the UP theme song (our favourite movie) during the signing. Hopefully our guests will catch on to what the song is and be as choked up as I will undeniably be lol :)
I'm not quite sure how many songs should be sung or played during the ceremony, so the search continues!
Last night, the Office Groom and I checked out a Hot Docs Festival film entitled "Teenage Paprazzo." Written and directed by Entourage star Adrian Grenier, the documentary follows the life of a 14-year old paparazzo named Austin in his hometown of Hollywood.
Not knowing much about the film going in, OG and I really enjoyed it. Layered with different takes on the world of paparazzi, the documentary included interviews with celebrities such as Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, and Eva Longoria Parker, and much more (surprisingly) candid talks with some of Hollywood's most succesful paparazzi.
While there were a lot of laughs throughout the film, there were moments where the audience was quiet - mostly shocked that this kid is doing this at such a young age, and the implications of his character and his childhood upbringing. There are times where I was shaking my head in disagreement, and when the credits were rolling, OG turned to me and whispered "We're never letting our kids talk to us that way." LOL.
You'll have to watch the film to understand what he meant.
On another note, the film was screened at the new Royal Conservatory of Music venue, Koerner Hall. I was in complete awe of the interior design - a great mix of old and modern architecture.
Along with musical performances, the venue is also open for private event bookings. No doubt that this would make one spectacular wedding venue! (See how I managed to tie this post to weddings? Crafty!)
Yeah, that’s right. I’m quoting J.LO and I’m not ashamed!
Because as of yesterday, the Office Groom and I booked our wedding DJ!
In the early stages of planning, OG and I agreed to do our own music via itunes. Between the two of us we have a wide selection of music that could work well for dinner, and get our guests on their feet for the dancing afterwards.
However, as time passed, there were a few things that came up that made us change our mind:
1. Having a wide selection of music is one thing. Putting it together into a playlist that will flow in just the right way is an entirely different thing. Creating even ONE playlist requires a lot of time, patience, and disagreements – things that OF and I either lack or don’t need any more of in our lives presently 2. Question – Who’s going to look after the music on the day of? We have a remote that can control our laptop, but we would still need someone to control…the control. We certainly didn’t want to do it. We didn’t want to ask our bridal party or family members to do it because they should be having a good time. Same goes for our guests. If we just let it play for the night, there was no way of knowing if we’d have enough music, or if guests would “feel free” to change it up on their own. 3. Eventually, OG’s parents offered to pay for a Dj as a gift and told us that this was one thing we shouldn’t DIY and let a pro take care of.
Done, and done.
However, going the DJ route still presented some concerns for us. We wanted to avoid cheesy games, and even worse, cheesy music. I’ve been to one too many weddings with “original” games to get the couple to kiss, the chicken dance, and swirling a napkin over my head in a lame attempt to win the centerpiece. Although all of these were fun to be a part of, it’s just not “us.”
OG went on the hunt for DJs but the first few he got in touch with were either too $$ or not very accomodating. That’s when Andrew Hussey, from After Dark Entertainment, came into our lives. Andrew, aka DJ Hussey has been in the business for over 14 years and has performed for all types of events, including many weddings at our venue. In our first e-mail convo, we knew that we were dealing with a pro. Without even asking, he provided us with a professional resume, a price quote (affordable!!), quotes from previous clients, and a link to a mix session he did for a corporate event.
The real selling factors though were that he was all for no games and he’s got a great selection of music with room for OG and I to throw in a few from our own library.
Sah-weet.
So, we went the DJ route, and we’re really happy with that decision. However, I should point out that I still think that an itunes wedding could’ve worked if we had been more dedicated to the whole idea. I’ve heard many success stories about ipod/itunes weddings and I think they can be a lot of fun and really showcase who the couple are. In our case, we’re learned that we’re somewhat lazy but nonetheless, unique :)
Now I’m going to listen to a few dance sons on-line and get some inspiration before meeting with DJ Hussey in a few weeks!
So last night, Office Groom and I met our wedding photographer for the first time in person!!! After months of messages back and forth via Facebook (oh, how technology has changed the way we communicate), we finally found an opportunity to meet up.
The oh-so-talented Shannon Lepere resides in Thunderbay, Ontario. We found out about her through a mutual friend who used her for a corporate photo shoot and has also partied with her on several occassions :) OG and I wanted to be sure that not only would our photographer be amazing at their craft, but also fun to be around with. After all, it's one of the few people you will hire for your wedding who will be there for most of the day, and often at the most intimate moments.
When we saw her photos online for the first time all those months ago, we immediately knew she was the one we wanted to work with. We had met up with a few local photographers beforehand but most of their work looked the same and just didn't feel like us. We decided that bringing Shannon down for the weekend was definitely worth it!
We love her unique style and sense of "fun" in every photo. Shannon has an amazing eye for detail and use of light, and whatever magic she does in post is exactly what we want for our pics! And meeting her in person last night just confirmed it even further for us that she's going to be fun to work with. She's small in size but her personality's big and full of friendliness and good humour. We talked a bit about the wedding - there are still six months to go, so plenty of time to work out details. But we spent most of the conversation talking about her new hobby: Roller Derby.
Come on, how cool is that?!
So needless to say, our first meeting went really well, and we are really looking forward to being her models in September :)
Oh! And the reason she was in town was to be with her boyfriend, Jean Paul De Roover, who is doing a music tour around Canada. You can also check out his music video, for which Shannon did the stop motion animation.
I've been featured on another blog! Miss Ashley (who's actually a Mrs) from HI-FI Weddings loved my workout music playlist post, and wanted to share it with her readers! If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you should! Especially if you're really into music and putting together your own playlists. I've gotten some great song ideas from her site, and I'll definitely be incorporating them into our big day, and for just about any other occassion when I can turn up the beats and have a good time.
Great way to start this drab Monday morning! Thanks Hi-Fi!
A while back I did my annual check up only to discover that I was officially over weight. Needless to say, the news bummed me out and I promptly went to the hive to pour my heart out to the ladies. Afterwards, I made the decision to make better health choices - regular physical exercise and good eating habits.
Since then I've been going to the gym 4-5 times a week (with the Office Groom - best motivation I could ask for!) and opting for walnuts and soda water over chocolate bars and beer. While I still indulge from time to time, I don't binge. And you know wat? I feel great! My biggest challenge was on Sunday when I was at a pub with my friends watching the Canada vs USA Hockey game (YAAAAY Canucks!!!!) and I didn't have a single pint of beer. And trust me - that's big for a beer guzzlin' Canadian chick such as myself :)
I also found that setting goals has helped. Obviously the wedding is a huge incentive to get fit but that's just one day of lookin' good. I've decided to set myself some physical challenges as well. This coming April I will be participating in my first CN Tower climb. That's 1776 steps to the top! And I'd like to accomplish a 5k run this summer too. And way beyond the wedding day, I hope I will continue to set myself new goals and challenges!
But enough jib jabbin' about all this! You're reading this to get a kick ass music playlist for your workout! I usually start out with 45 minutes of cardio; 30 min on the treadmill and 15 min on the eliptical. Since I go in the morning, I need an extra boost of energy, which I get from music. It gets me pumped and motivated and helps "kill time" (instead of constantly looking at the timer and thinking "Oh God, 10 more minutes...uuuugggghhhh").
Here's the playlist that'll get you pumped! And if you've noticed, it's in alphabetical order because the itouch automatically lists it that way when a playlist is created. It just so happens to work perfectly!
"Acceptable In The 80's" - Calvin Harris "Are You Gonna Go My Way" - Lenny Kravitz "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix A Lot "Bad Boy For Life" - P. Diddy & The Bad Boy Family "Bang" - Rye Rye ft. MIA "Block Rockin' Beats" - Chemical Brothers "Business Time" - Flight of the Conchords "Canned Heat" - Jamiroquai "D.A.N.C.E." - Justice "Funky Cold Medina" - Waxing Off "G-Stro" - Busta Rhymes "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" - Will Smith "Give It to Me Baby" - Rick James
Put on your headphones and get ready to move your bootay! And have an awesome workout!
Etta James, Frank Cinatra, The Beatles - Classics are always a safe choice for your first dance. But if you and your partner are looking for a more modern love song for your first dance, here are a few recent hits to consider! Everything from rock to country to RnB...
Those who know me well know that I love to dance. I'll admit - If I could get away with this at work, I'd do it (minus the stripping lol):
Which got me thinking about dancing at the wedding. The Office Groom and I are both outgoing people with a great sense of humour, and a lot of our friends are expecting us to do something unexpected for our first dance. I think they will all be surprised when they see us dancing like a normal couple in love to our song. There will be many other opportunities to surprise our guests, but our dance is just for us.
However, that doesn't mean that I still don't get a huge kick out of some of the most original wedding dances I've seen online! Here are a few of my favourite. You never know - you might learn a few new moves for your dance :)
Log in at 9 am. Check work e-mail. Visit 2-3 wedding blogs. Finish reports. Ignore annoying co-worker's phone call. Order flowers. Eat a big lunch in the food court. Regret it an hour later. Show up to meeting late. Plan a wedding.
All in a day's work for the office bride.
