A Gift of Love & Life Video You MUST See-To Life!

"To Life:: Vanessa's Wedding Surprise" from her husband, father, family & friends.
Created by Films by Francesco, New York | Palm Beach

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge absolutely LOVES this wedding video that my dear friend Ellen sent me from You Tube.

An original, touching surprise involving the entire wedding party and parents and their true gift of love, joy and for celebrating Life and family with STYLE!

Of course, many of you know this song, "To Life, L'Chaim" from "Fiddler on the Roof" (one of my all-time favorite films). As the song says, "It takes a wedding to make us say, let's live another day...."

I could not agree more. It really does take a wedding celebration or any special occassion ("simcha") to make us realize what blessings we have in this life, even when things are not always so great.

For comparison, here is a You Tube video of the song and scene from the movie. I think you will all agree with me, they ALL did a fabulous job!!

I couldn't help smiling and singing and clapping during this wonderful tribute to family, new family and to the beautiful bride, Vanessa. This just makes you (well me for sure), feel so good.

To the bride and groom, the parents, wedding party and family and friends, what a beautiful memory you created for yourselves and congratulations to Films by Francesco for preserving it in such a fun and touching way.

MAZAL TOV and may you all (and all my readers) celebrate Love and Life Today and Every Day.
To Life, L'Chaim!!

Canada Wedding offers up a Sweet & Sparkly Stunner!

From the Pages of Ontario Summer 2009, Canada's WedLuxe Magazine

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge thinks this has to be one of the most jaw-dropping fabulous singular desert presentations I have EVER seen!! I just had to share it with you!

These incredible sparkler topped ice cream sundaes served in ice goblets created by Ice Culture in Toronto, Canada must have had every guest gasping with delight as they were brought out and placed at each setting.

This is desert and theatre all in one! Ice is an incredible medium and its capabilities are so much more interesting, as you can see, than "ice swans".

Nicole & Adam, whose incredibly stylish & memorable celebration of love was featured in the Summer/Fall 2009 issue of Canada's Luxury Magazine, WedLUXE was full of incredible and delightfully wonderful surprises and gorgeous details.

The fireworks moved from the table to the sky for all to enjoy after the bride and groom's dance.

To see more of this wedding that is full of everything Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge LOVES + many other incredibly, TRUE LUXE weddings, visit the Real Wedding Section at www.WedLuxe.com. I encourage you to bookmark the site and blog and get yourself a copy of this gorgeous publication. I love Las Vegas, but as a proud Canadian, I am so happy to see the fabulous, sheer brilliant events happening back home in Toronto and across the country.

Are You Really Enjoying Your Las Vegas Wedding?

Grooms @MGM Grand on their way to their double wedding!

Image taken by Tracey Kumer-Moore

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge met these these two "dapper" blokes (and a whole bunch of their mates) from England earlier this week while at the MGM Grand! They were on their way to meet their brides and celebrate their weddings in a double wedding at one of the chapels on the strip (didn't mention which one).

So yes, these two maybe be propagating the stereotypical good bad & ugly and wacky, tacky "Vegas Wedding", but I've got to tell ya, I could not have been more happy to see these two fellas having the time of their lives (at the best time of their lives) and really enjoying and embracing what Las Vegas Weddings are all about!

FUN...YES, they are about FUN!

Whether plain and simple, extravagant and elegant, sexy and sophisticated or just plain slap-happy, silly in love, Las Vegas weddings are about setting yourself free from the conventional and just embracing the romance of your love and celebrating it with your friends in Style. Here are three tips for you...

• Plan a great wedding to start (regardless of what your budget is; there is something for everyone here) by finding solid & talented wedding professionals (Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge can assist you with this from consults to full planning & production of course)!

• Embrace your imagination and be bold; try something interesting on (maybe not the gold suit), but be open to ideas to take your vision and your party (no matter the size) to where it will be memorable-the fashion, entertainment, food, whatever!

• Trust your instincts, trust your wedding professionals, enjoy yourselves & HAVE A BLAST!

I wonder how the brides were dressed?:)!!

Did you enjoy YOUR Las Vegas Wedding? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment & let me know something special about how you celebrated your fabulous day?

Luxury Las Vegas June Issue Focuses on Weddings

Current June 2009 Issue Cover of Luxury Las Vegas Magazine

Do make sure to pick up the latest issue of Luxury Las Vegas Magazine which is geared entirely towards weddings. Fab decor and some of the best restaurants, floral designers, venues and more (many who I have had the pleasure to collaborate with).

If you aren't in Las Vegas to enjoy the beautifully published magazine in person, you can check out their website which has some of the features online. Luxury Las Vegas.com always has the 411 on the very best of fine living in this great town. Trends, dining, entertainment, shopping and more. It's one of Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge's favorite daily reads! 

Have a Stylish Weekend!

Featured Wedding-Andy & Elizabeth | Four Seasons 5.17.09

All Images by Altf.com Photography

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge had the great pleasure of planning & directing the absolutely beautiful (if I do say so myself) wedding of Andy & Elizabeth at the always elegant Four Seasons Resort, Las Vegas this past May 17th. 

It has been one of my absolute favorite weddings this year for so many reasons beginning of course with a couple who I have come to know & love over the past 15 months. 

The wedding locations took some twists and turns from when we first started out but, I'm a firm believer in "beshert" (Hebrew for "destined to be") & the celebration could not have been more perfect than in the gorgeous Fountain Terrace of the Four Seasons thanks to the fantastic Asst. Director of Catering, Dennis Silknitter. 

Andy & Elizabeth incorporated not only the beautiful green color but also as many "Green" elements they could into their wedding. From cutting down on paper & having an elegant seating chart/menu combination to bio-fueled luxury transportation for guests and environmentally, socially responsible wedding bands, the affair reflected this couples wish to celebrate in style & with respect for the environment. 

It was a wonderful evening and truly a celebration of love, family & friends enjoying a beautiful environment, a fabulous Las Vegas night, delectable food & drink (Donut Bar & Eskimo Pies included) & live entertainment all night long. It wasn't just a wedding, it was a PARTY!!

Thank you to the unbelievable, talented team of Wedding Professionals who made this event such a success. It's a pleasure & honor to work alongside you. You make me look GREAT & you all ROCK!

Weddings like this & couples like Elizabeth & Andy are why I truly love my job!

• Tifany of Gourmet Invitations for the amazing custom "linen inspired" invitations & reception pieces. 
  
• Randi of Naakiti Floral & Sit on This Chair for the gorgeous florals, decor, linens & chairs who is just a joy to work with & always goes above & beyond my expectations.
  
• The uber-talented John Michael & Dalisa Cooper of Alt F Photography. It took 6 years to work with you FINALLY, & it was worth the wait:)-I'm going to make sure it won't take that long again. 
  
• Lori White who is one of my absolute favorite hair & makeup stylists to work with. 
  
• SWANK A/V for those super cool light balloons.
  
• The Steve Beyer Band for keeping us rockin' all night long.
  
• Vegas Photo Booths for all the photo fun. What WAS going on inside that cabana?;)!!
  
• Pat Harris & the awesome Sight N' Sound Events Video Team
  
• Nicole from Earth Limos for the Eco-Luxury Rehearsal Dinner Transportation
  

And Thank YOU Andy & Elizabeth for allowing me to be a part of your lives this past year & help you bring your vision of your wedding to life. It was truly an honor & pleasure! Mazal Tov you two & may you have a long life (120 years or so) full of good fortune, good health, lots of laughs and of course, much love all ways and for always! X0

T.

Beautiful Wedding in Gold & Red at Four Seasons, Las Vegas 4.17.09

Wedding was held at the beautiful Four Seasons, Las Vegas Resort

Bouquet of deep red roses, flame cala lilly wrapped in bronze & accented with some sparkle!

Decor was inspired by Bride's bronze gown & wedding song "Lady in Red"

The beautiful ceremony site also featured a red high gloss dance floor for the aisle

Stunning Custom Staircase Decor for some fabulous photo ops

Gorgeous Belly Dancers in the wedding colors were just 1 part of the amazing entertainment

All images provided by Ray Iavasile, Ray Anthony Photography

To see more "Sneak Peek Images of this event, visit Ray's Blog

Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge had the pleasure of planning this gorgeous wedding celebration that took place at one of my favorite venues, The Four Seasons, Las Vegas Resort, on April 17, 2009 in 28 days! Yes, JUST 4 WEEKS! 

That was the first time, believe it or not, I had the opportunity to squeeze about 6-12 months of planning into less than a month and I must say for the record that it was a very busy 30 days and one of the most unexpected pleasurable planning experiences I have had to date. 

From the time I met the Bride & Groom (due to a privacy contract I signed with the couple, I am not at liberty to reveal their names or any images of them or guests), I quickly discovered this was going to be a fantastic and very memorable party for them and their guests. 

With the assistance of Asst. Catering Director Dennis Silknitter of the Four Seasons that served a sumptuous 6 course wedding meal, I began assembling a team of some of Las Vegas' top (and my favorite) wedding professionals to create this gorgeous, warm ambience set in tones of bronze, golds, reds and oranges to compliment the bride's gown & love of beautiful, bright and warm colors. 

The wedding party walked down a petal lined, high gloss red aisle to a collection of red & orange florals on pedestals. Guests dined under a fabric canopy accented with crystals and flowers, lounged on European style gold sofas & ottomans, at antique gold mirrored tables and a monogrammed bar. 

The beautiful decor was created by Andrea Sage, Marian Menezes and Nina Sauter of Destinations by Design.

The bride wanted to treat their guests to an after-dinner show and boy, DID WE PUT ON A SHOW. Thanks to Bruce Sampson of Steve Beyer Productions, we assembled a parade of entertainment to dazzle guests including belly dancers, a magician, "Cirque" performers, ballroom dancers and a magician, all orchestrated by a DJ & and "All Night Mike", a great MC who kept everyone happy, laughing and dancing on the red dance floor all night long (when they weren't enjoying the hot wedding trend Cold Stone Ice Cream and Hot Doughnut Stations)!!

The bride looked gorgeous thanks to my ace makeup artist Barbara Jo Batterman (THE BEST) and all the incredible images here were taken by the uber-talented Ray Iavasile of Ray Anthony Photography. I picked Ray to work with this couple as I knew this wedding was a great match for his style and I'm sure you will agree, I was right on!

The rest of the week long celebration included golf at Shadow Creek Golf Course, a Maverick Helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, a family dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak and welcome in-suite receptions & brunches.

The event was a fabulous success which proved to me that when the stars align and you get  amazing clients and wedding professionals to work with, planning a fabulous Las Vegas Wedding with great Style like this one in 28 days is a pleasure! THANK YOU!

 

"LA Photo Party" Photo Booth-Great Entertainment & Memories at Your Wedding!

From LA Photo Party.com

I am all about having fun at weddings and parties and finding ideas for you that will delight your guests, make your celebration a memorable one and provide great memories too. 

When Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge attend The Special Event Show last month, I found the LA Photo Party Booth and instantly fell in love with their "photo booth without walls" concept. 

I love their tag line, "bringing happiness to the people – one supersized photo booth photo at a time". 

The whole setup is very clean and modern and looks just like a studio setup. With a white only background, it lets the subjects shine. Without the walls, 10 friends at a time can get into the action and have a blast dressing up with all kinds of fun accessories. 

The camera can take a picture every 5 seconds so you get that real energy and feel of being in a photo studio. It's so much fun, adds an extra dimension of photographic memories in addition to your wedding photography. 

They print the best shot of your "session" right on the spot on high quality photo paper and they look fantastic. Custom photo frames are available as upgrade to enhance the print "favor" your guests will get. 

Bravo TV has used this LA Photo Party at one of their events as are tons of other big name companies, but this is DEFINITELY something I would love to see YOU enjoy at your wedding. 

The cost is competitive with the traditional photo booths that have an attendant and there are different packages based on number of prints and additional service and accessory upgrades that can enhance the experience even more. It's not inexpensive, but I strongly believe the value of an amazing interactive idea like this photo booth pays for itself where you and your guests can make some great memories. 

You want to make sure you also work with both your band or DJ and your photographer! Let them know so they can prepared and fine tune their performance and their coverage of the event when additional entertainment or specialized photography like this is involved. You still want your guests dancing and while also having fun at the booth and enjoying every element of the party. Photographers will want to know because then they can focus more on documenting you and your guests as opposed to posed reception shots. Your wedding consultant ,entertainment company and photographer all will assist you in planning to ensure this is done effectively so both get the attention they deserve and you get the full value and credit for being so innovative!

So, do you think you and your guests would love this idea as much as I do? Let me know!

The iPod Wedding-The Sad, Sorry Truth Revealed!

Image found at Angel Zapien.com: Cabo San Lucas, MX Wedding Videographer

Way back in February 2007, I wrote one of my first blog posts on "Why You Should Not Hire an iPod to DJ Your Wedding".

Fast forward 2 years and I'm going to revisit this topic because it is too important to be hidden back in blog archive land.

Now remember, I LOVE iPods. I have 2 of them and I also think they DO have their place within certain aspects of a wedding but they are no replacement for a live professional who will keep the events flowing smoothly , allow your guests to be the guests and keep the energy "up" all night long so the dance floor stays full! 

For the record, the guy or gal in the tacky sequined suit/hat or whatever, sitting by bored or being the overbearing and tacky jerk playing all "his/her" favorites is NOT a professional. 

As I was reading the blog of my friends and one of my most trusted wedding professional partners, Sight N' Sound Events, I noticed Jodi Harris, owner & "CEO of Fun" had posted an article on this very topic recently. In the post, Jodi shared an article from the American Disc Jockey Association (of which she is a member) on "The Truth About iPod Weddings".

You can read the article and see the video at: http://www.adja.org/general/ipodwedding.asp

It's an excellent article from an association of fellow event professionals that I highly respect who truly care about raising the bar of excellence for disc jockeys and educating both colleagues and consumers about the value of working with a professional; especially at such a monumental event as a wedding. Trust me, the difference is glaringly unfortunate, expensive and alas, too late.

The video that accompanies the article is produced by the ADJA. It's a real life, unedited wedding where the iPod was the DJ. I am 1oo% certain this video and the article should settle the issue and many will realize the iPod DJ route is generally "penny wise and pound foolish". 

Thanks Sight N' Sound Events and ADJA for the link, the article and information.

Wedding Concierge's "Groovy Kind of Love" Playlist

Click on image to see full size text

I saw "Bride Wars" last week and at the end they played one of my all time favorite songs by by Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

I was fortunate to grow up in an era that put forth some pretty fun, groovy & memorable music; much of it that fortunately is still being appreciated today thanks to the movies. From The Carpenters to Blood Sweat & Tears, Barry White, Stevie Wonder, The  Four Seasons and The Beatles, the music was up-beat, light & made you feel so good to be in Love!

So one thing you may not know about me (which should be part of that list of 25 I may get to one day), is that Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge's other dream job was to be a DJ. Yes, you heard it here first!

I used to help some of my friends who had some fledgling DJ businesses back in the college days during house parties, and occasionally some bigger events for larger paid parties as well.

My good friend Jodi Harris, the CEO of Fun at Sight N' Sound Events here in Vegas will attest to just how much I love the music aspect of wedding planning & to my DJ aspirations. She actually has shown me the ropes a bit and allowed me to play DJ for her with her equipment at the "Wag-a Tail Walkathon" for the Las Vegas Humane Society. Now THAT is a good friend:)

Although the professional DJ career will never materialize because Jodi & other great DJ friends are THE BEST in the biz as far as I am concerned, you can bet that I will always be there for you to help you collaborate with the best DJ's, bands and entertainers in Las Vegas in selecting music for your event that will will become "The Soundtrack of Your Wedding Day" from the processional to the final cut of your wedding video. 

So I'm going to be "Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge DJ for the Day" and share some of my "Groovy Kind of Love" playlist with you. Hope you enjoy and perhaps you might find some inspiration for your own wedding soundtrack.

You can download most of these from iTunes or Rhapsody, Amazon.com or other music subscription sites you belong to. If you can't find them, ask your DJ or band or your mom or dad! 

Why you should not hire an iPod to play at your wedding

Dear Brides and Grooms,

The time has come for selecting your wedding reception entertainment!

This is probably one of the most fun aspects of your wedding planning because it's all about the party (woo-hoo) and what you and your guests are probably looking forward to the most..having a wonderful time and dancing the night away! And for this reason, in my opinion, your choice of entertainment and style is one of the most important (if not the most) decisions you will make that is the difference between a good party and a truly memorable one for all.

And so dear readers, here is Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge's plea. 

Please Do not hire an iPod to play at your wedding!

I will be the first person to tell you that I am positively addicted to my iPod! I carry it everywhere and close to needing a second one. I show clients slideshows on a special i-Pod dock, I turn them on to the Wedding Podcast Network for planning ideas & I always have my iPod & portable player in my emergency kit at weddings (with ceremony & reception music playlists) for "emergencies". However, I will never refer my clients to an iPod (or their kin) as their 1st choice for their reception entertainment.

Now you may be thinking this is so I can keep my DJ and wedding band friends in business. Although it's true that I certainly want my fellow wedding professionals to do well, this is not about their livelyhood, it's about the success of YOUR party and one of the reasons you choose a Las Vegas wedding...keeping it stress and hassle free for you and your guests!

• In hiring an iPod for your wedding, someone,(not your iPod) will have to rent the proper sound system and equipment to play the device so that it is appropriate for the size and space of your event.
• When you hire an iPod, you still have to enlist the volunteer assistance of one of your friends to "babysit" it when the volume needs to be turned down for toasts, playlists to be changed, or the device may have technical difficulites. Wouldn't you rather your "techie friend" was out there on the dance floor with you having a good time doing "the Robot" instead of worrying about what song is coming up next or fiddling with the wires?
• Did the iPod you hired bring a backup iPod or CD's in the event of technical difficulties?
• Your iPod really should come dressed in a different outfit and come as your laptop instead with iTunes and all your playlists at hand so the iPod babysitter can manipulate the music choices better. Are you going to enjoy shlepping your laptop and cables with you to Vegas along with all your other belongings? Are you sure everything will work with the equipment you are renting?

I am sure, smart readers that you are getting the picture that, as cool you think hiring an iPod is for controlling the style and flow of your music and reducing costs, this "wedding vendor" will still cost you in money, stress and time.

• Money that could be spent working with a professional band or DJ who will listen to you and play music that is a great mix of your style & the grooves that make a party fun and memorable for all the right reasons!
• Stress that could be reduced in knowing that your wedding planner found you a professional entertainer who has all the right equipment, backup and the know how to set it all up. And you didn't have to lug any of it to Vegas yourself!
• And the time...oh the time you will enjoy not running around getting the equipment, returning it because it won't work with your laptop or iPod like they said it would on the phone. The time you will get back with your iPod babysitter and iPod MC's so you can enjoy their company (which is why you wanted them there in the first place!).

An absolutely amazing way to include your iPod in your wedding is to have your photographer download digital images on site at your wedding to create a slideshow that can be played instantaneously and loaded on to your iPod to take with you on your honeymoon. Now that is COOL!

So, bring your iPod to Vegas, plug it in the MP3 radio in your hotel room, enjoy it at the pool and spa, but then give it the night off for your wedding reception. Your iPod will appreciate the break while you and your guests enjoy the night partying with the real professional music makers!

Have a Stylish Day!