Wedding season has begun!

The end of March brought upon us the season opener to wedding season and now that we are in April, its no holds barred. Things get busy and I have to really become a bit more dedicated in getting here and posting more often. Its not that I don't have 101 things to say. It's more where in the span of time that is the days and nights I can manage time to do all these things. And so I'm going to try my best to get up and post more often.

With that said, I am going into this season with a new perspective. I read over the thank you notes and web referrals and I noticed a trend. I noticed how appreciative our clients were not only for our fabulous work as Rob is not only an amazing DJ but one who understands music and how it impacts an event. How to start it off so that all the guests, their individual cultures and ages all get taken into account so that everyone appreciates the music and enjoys themselves. He knows how to culminate the event leaving you wanting more. But I digress. Beyond that fact I noticed the appreciation in our openness to assisting them in making the day what they wanted it to be. Going above and beyond their expectation level. And that is my new motto. To try to anticipate needs and go beyond expectations.

And my weddings have been examples to that. I have had caravans follow me from ceremonies to picture locations to the reception venue. GPS can only do so much. I've ironed dresses and hidden exposed undergarments. I've bustled dresses that had no bustles. I have translated Spanish to English and English to Portuguese. And at nights end, I have left more invigorated then ever to the hugs of my clients and their smiles.

So stay tuned as I've already taken pictures and will share them shortly. It's already panning out to be a visually beautiful year of amazing locations, fabulous couples and unique ideas.

Why I like attending Wedding Ceremony Rehearsals

I like attending wedding ceremony rehearsals. We at Colorblind Productions make every attempt, if the schedule permits, to attend ceremony rehearsals. Regardless of the fact that ceremonies themselves ultimately take on a similar flow, there are particular items that are different, and variables to take into account that attendance at a rehearsal allows for. Most especially when we are providing photography or videography services.

I attended a wedding rehearsal last night and have the luck of pictures since I had my camera handy. You can see the things I look out for and the. Taking these pictures and sharing them with our staff affords them the opportunity of seeing the space as well. It's win win all around.

But there are very specific reasons I love attending rehearsals, especially in spaces I've not been to in the past.

1. Meeting the Bridal Party. Getting to see the important people of the wedding and know who they are is a great advantage.
2. Knowing the logistics of the space. Tiled floors, marble, carpet. Each of these variables can impact the way your camera rolls, what shoes you really should consider wearing, etc. How's the lighting? What are the acoustics? How much space do I have to move around?what kind of interesting shots can be taken? For example. yesterday I found myself in a small walkway alongside the church thinking how interesting a space it would be for a picture.
3. Meeting the officiant. This is especially important in religious institutions. Some priests are far more liberal and lenient then others. Some have rules and expectations. It is best to know before arrival what to expect. You can also ask poignant questions, such as is there a ceremony or mass before or after yours, can pictures be taken in the church following the ceremony, and most importantly, whether or not flash or lighting could be used.

Overall you can't go wrong with attending the rehearsal. And if the schedule permits, we usually do attend.

Thank You

If you come into our offices you'll see quickly that we really love our Thank You notes. I cannot tell you the kind of unbridled joy I get in receiving one. Thank you notes have really changed over time. Although as you see, the slip in picture ones are still prevalent, I love the creativity in a lot of them. But what I love most is the testimonials.

The written proof that they loved our music, thoroughly enjoyed the video and photos or what's even best we grateful to us personally for our input and participation in making their day beautiful and stress free.

The thank you cards spill across our desk and up our bookcase. I'm trying to figure out the best way to display them all (and ideas?) as they are a ever present reminder of the value of our services and a reminder why I love doing what I do so much

Professional bustle fixer at your service

I was looking through our reviews on Wedding Wire, Project Wedding and the like and kept reading a similar topic beyond the accolades and praises.

she fixed my bustle and throughout the night as I felt it fall, she was right there fixing it as I was dancing, didn't even know she was doing it

was able to repair my bustle twice (thanks for stepping on it, Mom…heehee)

as soon I bustled my dress, someone stepped on it on it and ripped the bustle, so I was there like ok what do i do, I was about to tuck my train in my waist to keep it off the floor and here she comes with a tackle box full of stuff to fix things

Then at a recent meeting I pulled out my wedding album to illustrate to a bride who is an avid dancer (Salsa especially) how trains, albeit beautiful, are generally a catch 22. When Alex left after that meeting, I thought – that would be a great blog post and just as quickly I forgot about it. And then I received a thank you card in the mail from a past bride (I LOVE GETTING THESE!) and and I was reminded again.

I have a great picture of you under my dress fixing my train after it came undone.

I’ll be honest. I am a huge fan of a long train. (this is me)

I love the look of a train – the elegance as it flows behind a bride while they come down the aisle. I get a kick out of watching it billow behind as the doors open to the church and she steps forward down he walk to her groom. And who doesn’t love the picture from behind of that moment. It is beautiful.




But following the ceremony and onto the reception, the train is pt into a bustle. Here is where my issue lies and here is what advice I can give because I have been to hundreds of weddings and repaired hundreds of bustles.

1, Your gown designer or alteration person might suggest or insist that a small bit of the rear of your bustled train should skim the floor. It looks elegant. I myself followed that advice. And they are right. It is elegant. Downright beautiful. And I use myself as an example here. (don't Rob and I look adorable?)


But then it gets stepped on. And I’m not even blaming other guests, You step back ONE time and you will be the guilty party. And as I was a salsa dancer meaning I stepped back every second, well can you see where this is going?


And it got increasingly worse.


And finally frustrated with it, I decided to just put it into KNOTS





So, as elegant as the slight brush of the floor is – I’d recommend not going in that direction.

2. Bustling options are simple. You either are doing a ballroom/overbustle or a French/Tufted/underbustle or a variation of these. The ways to hold up these are either button hooks, anchor hooks or ribbon ties. It goes without saying that ribbon ties are the most secure. They are also the easiest to fix should the bustle come undone. Most times when an overbustle doesn’t work out, I fix the train by transforming it to an underbustle. Given the option of an anchor hook or a button hook, I’d recommend an anchor. For some odd reason, button hooks are in my experience, so much more likely to come undone, even though they really look intrinsically prettier. The key to anchor hooks is to tighten the hook once the bustle is in. Most times these come undone simply because during dancing the contact point jumps off the hook.

3. Finally – give yourself time for a bustle, especially ribbon ties. They will take far longer then you anticipate getting them put together.

And if you hired us for your events. Well rest assured that I'll be there to take care of whatever may happen with it.

Home is where the wedding is - Fall Outdoor Beauty

What happens when a visual display manager for a large department store gets married? She surrounds herself with visually dramatic and aesthetically beautiful items that highlight the most simple of spaces.

An outdoor wedding in early October on the grounds of the brides' childhood home in Freehold was the perfect venue for a most perfect day. I had the pleasure of being the coordinator while Rob DJ'd for the day. As the coordinator I was introduced to a first for me! Transporting the cake from the bakery to the home, a distance of about 10 miles. Driving slow and turning even slower was my mantra through out. The cake was fully assembled and boxed and arrived successfully without issue.

But the fact is that the venue, its decoration and all those attending embodied Mike and Liz and their individual persona. Having helped hang the mum-balls that were personally made by Liz and candles from the trees, alongside my assistant Maggie, set up the ceremony chairs and then dismantled the space and moved the chairs under the tent to the reception, decorated the tree with laminated pictures, stacked the monogrammed pumpkins and ensured that all these fabulous details came together I saw first hand the kind of thought and initiative made in every detail of this wedding. It was beautiful, personal and fabulous. The graphic design of a flower was seen throughout, the invitations, the wish cards, the pumpkin carvings.































The day could not have been more beautiful.

Sometimes, something so perfect comes around and you have to tell the world

I was lucky enough to coordinate a wedding this past weekend at a venue I was familiar with but never had the pleasure to actually work in. The Bernards Inn in Bernardsville.

Generally, after working every weekend at banquet facilities, I am rather difficult to impress when it comes to locations. I'm critical of the ambiance, the food and the general service. But the exemplary customer service both Lauren and Tracey (the events staff) exhibited, the quality of their food and their bartenders (nobody speaks enough about the fact that having a knowledgeable bartender to make good drinks is important), the impeccable and beautiful decor of the guest rooms and the event spaces and the mastery of their cake art (because it is an art form) has made me a cheerleader for the inn. Although this is the first time I have worked there I hope that I and my team at Colorblind Productions will get to work there more often in the future.

The staff genuinely enjoys working there. That always speaks volumes to me. Because I'm a vendor, not so much a guest, I have the opportunity of seeing the behind the scenes and I will say that I'm impressed. I liked it so much that on Monday I came back with Rob to have our 6 year anniversary lunch there. I can both vouch for the food at weddings and the restaurant, which is particularly amazing. I cannot say enough about this place.

Special acknowledgment goes to Tracey Mancini and Lauren Montemarano. These two ladies go far above and beyond to ensure the comfort level of the guests and especially the guests of honor. It was an extreme pleasure to have worked alongside them both. Those who choose the Bernards Inn for their events are lucky to have both of them ensure that their event is perfection.

I'll have more pictures to follow of the wedding there as well as all my weddings from the insanely popular Columbus Day wedding weekend to come but had to take this time to really give credit where credit is due.

Seen it all - Fixing split pants in the men’s room…

I’ve said, time and time again, that in the years I’ve been doing weddings and events, I’ve seen many things. Part of that is being a PART of the many things that happen. Comical circumstances that leave an impression and in turn, generally a fairly good story to tell. So I give you one of my stories, which just so happened to have occurred this past weekend.

During a particularly fun dance set, one of the male guests decided that he’d show the world his ability to do a split. I have to say, being limber enough to do a split in your late 20’s/early 30’s is impressive. Being a guy and doing it made me tap Rob on the shoulder as he was mixing to witness the marvel. After his 3rd attempt something clearly went wrong. His pants were obviously NOT as flexible as he was. After some laughter and requisite pictures with the groom, I made my way over to his girlfriend to offer assistance. Namely, either a sewing kit or a number of safety pins. I do after all pack an ‘emergency kit’ of everything you can possibly imagine.

What happened next is where even more hilarity ensued. His girlfriend claimed “I can’t sew!” and he pleaded with me in his slightly inebriated state to help him fix his pants as he could not possibly do it on his own. Do you see where this is going? I agreed thinking he’d remove the pants in the men’s room, hand them to me where I’d fix them while he waited and then return them. Easy as pie right?

WRONG

On his and his girlfriend’s insistence, I ended up IN the Men’s Room (which was WAY uglier then the ladies room) with him and his girlfriend where he promptly removed his belt and pants in front of me as I stood there staring at the floor. He had managed to tear the pants at the seam from the zipper on the crotch all the way back up to the belt fold. It was quite the tear. I fixed it with safety pins while relentlessly giggling at the conversation between him and his girlfriend and repeating to myself – I can’t believe I’m doing this. And I was stuck doing it in the men’s room as not only was it was the place with the best lighting BUT they wouldn’t let me leave. I was midway done when the groom bursts through the bathroom door followed by a slew of men who had heard that Mr. Torn Pants was in the bathroom with 2 women. And there was the proof as I stood with the girlfriend and him in a dress shirt and boxer briefs! Bathroom party of 3 soon became the party of 20 as everyone crammed in for a photo op as even the photographer had made his way back.

I could not stop laughing. Even funnier to me was the fact that after the photo, one guy turned to me and Mr. Torn Pant’s girlfriend and said “I’m sorry but I can’t wait” and proceeded to make his way over to the urinals to pee!!! I was laughing on the verge of tears while simultaneously being incredibly embarrassed. I finished the fix and was out of there as quick as possible. But that story is definitely a keeper!

The photographer promised to send me the picture.