Sweet 16’s and Quinceñeras

I know I talk a lot about weddings. That’s not to say that we only do weddings. Weddings may, in fact, be the majority of our business, but coming in second place is the Sweet 16/Quinceñera. And I’m not talking about basic birthday parties, or the MTV-esque Super Sweet 16’s. I’m talking about the classic Spanish/Hispanic/Filipino Sweet 16’s and Quinceñeras, with a court of honor and a choreographed entrance and dances.

We work with several choreographers in the area that we’ve built relationships with because of our flexibility in understanding their role in the event. Some of them come to us, even when we’re not the entertainment for their event to compile and edit the music. Like most event vendors, the levels of interaction and responsibility of the choreographer varies from person to person. You have those who just put together the dance and those who extend their services into full event planning. In either case, the entrance and dances are of most importance to them. It is also very important to the parents and the guest of honor. We understand that so we work closely with all present to guarantee that it runs smoothly.

Colorblind Productions makes it a point to attend the final rehearsal for these events as 99% of the time they are held at the location of the party. We find it important to be in attendance to observe exactly how the presentation occurs, how the dances occur, what the choreography looks like and where the music needs to start/stop. It gives us the opportunity to meet with the choreographer and beyond that review the announcements made, the correct pronunciation of names and the general flow of the presentation. If we are providing video or photography services it also allows us to see where we need to be focusing to get the best video of the sweet 16/quinceñera girl and her court of honor.

We also let photographers and videographers know on the day the way the presentation will be so they can get the best shots of the group and know where they should or shouldn’t be throughout the presentation.

I plan on highlighting some of our past Sweet 16’s and Quince’s in the upcoming weeks.

Cultural Display - Egypt meets the Dominican Republic at The Tobacco Warehouse

We had a totally glorious wedding not to long ago at the fabulous Tobacco Warehouse. I love when we have the opportunity to really feel a part of the wedding and with unique venues I seem to feel this so much more. Let me take this opportunity to say something about a-typical venues (i.e. non-catering facilities.) They truly allow for a very customized kind of flow. Catering facilities have their plus points as they take care of many specific details that truly can be worthwhile for many. But they have a pretty standard time line that is dictated by their serving patterns. With independent catering and a varied serving style, the vibe of the whole event can be customized to really center on what the bride and groom want to focus on. And this is a great example of it.

They started with a unique procession...

The Egyptian wedding procession is called Zeffa/Zaffa. During this the bride and groom are brought to the wedding party in the evening, led by a music band. For this procession a particular, rather slowly played rhythm is used: Dum tata tak tak dum tak tak. The drums playing this rhythm will tell you from far away, where a wedding is taking place. So from the entrance of the park to the tobacco warehouse the drummers drew the attention of guests and park goers alike. Upon arriving at the tobacco warehouse Rob mixed traditional music with the player and guests gathered to dance a welcome.

From there the party had a natural flow with cocktail hour continuing and photos taken throughout.

Guest were invited into the main tent. Dinner was served continuously family style throughout the night, a combination of cold platters and hot platters of delicious ethnic variety. Catering was provided by the amazing Roquette Catering headed by Monica who also owns Tini Wine Bar in Brooklyn and I cannot say enough of not only her wonderful food and staff! Dinner included watermelon, feta and olive salad, babab ganoush, mahummarrah, stuffed grape leaves, grilled lamb chops, chicken skewers, skirt steak bruschettta and more. Totally lip smacking delicious!

And Rob DJ'd a perfect balance of Arabic and Spanish music along with everything from 80's to funk to club. I will say that the vibe of the guests was so celebratory, the dance floor was continuous flow of activity.

And let me not fail to mention the amazing details thought up by Randy & Sherien. Everything was thought out so wonderfully. From the table cards, to the color scheme to , the belly dancer, the flamenco dance troupe and the Dominican Wedding Cake I will admit to having had 4 pieces of.

Perfection!

And now that I've shared my meager photos, let me share with you the link to the AMAZING professional photos taken by Angelica Glass. Note Rob and me in the last shot of the post. Randy & Sherien on Angelica Glass' Blog.

Idea: In memoriam on your wedding day

At a recent wedding I helped the bridesmaid attached three very special pictures to the bride's bouquet with ribbon. To keep her grandparents close on her wedding day, she carried these individual pictures attached to her bouquet.

During the grand entrance/formal introductions into the main room, Rob introduced the grandparents before the parents and the bridal party as "looking down from up above." It was a simple and loving touch for such important people in the bride & groom's lives.