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.

The Hispanic/Latino Wedding & Party - Que Cante Mi Gente

A few years back, when 105.9fm first came on air (back when it was known as Caliente) it introduced itself with a one minute comercial highlighting the commitment to Hispanic culture and music. Rob and I loved this bit. It said everything we believed in with respects to the Hispanic culture and music and took into account the many different factions of Latino culture there was. It helped especially that the background mix of music included Ruben Blades’ “Patria” and Hector Lavoe’s “Que Cante Mi Gente.”

Although we are multicultural specialists, we have always been Latin Music specialists. Our literature has always said “beyond salsa and merengue.” I have always disliked that Spanish music is lumped into one category as there’s so much music differential. Not only do we have different sounds of music (salsa vs. Spanish rock vs. pop) but within each individual genre there are cultural/country specific music. As an example, salsa music, varies in style from the Fania era, the more Colombian Grupo Niche, the 80’s romantic slower versions and the more pop/like Marc Anthony & Victor Manuel’s. The speed of the song makes the song danceable or simply listenable. There are those songs that are pretty much dance favorites (lloraras, no le pegue a la negra, etc.) but even more so that will keep you dancing like you were at the Copacabana in the city assuming salsa music is your taste.

And this kind of differentiation flows through other types of Spanish music. From the older more tribal and African based latin music (perico ripiao, bomba, chapeta, etc.) to the more mainstream Spanish music of differing generations (1940’s mambo, 1960’s boogaloo, 1980’s salsa romantica, 2000’s reggaetón) and finally there’s very cultural specific music (Cuban guaguanco, Dominican bachata, Puerto Rican plena, Guatemala/Honduras marimba, Brazilian Samba, Argentinean tango, Colombian vallenatos, Chilenean cueca, etc.) These distinctions are important to some and we have the expertise of knowing the differences and having these types of music in our collection and the ability of playing them speficifally OR in combination at any event.

We honestly LOVE the music types, the dancing and the joy that Latin/Hispanic/Spanish music brings to any event. I find that even non-Spanish speakers and other cultures truly embrace the rhythm and movement that the music invokes. At one point over 80% of our events were at least half Hispanic because of our knowledge base of the music. Although the majority of our events are weddings, traditional quinceneras/sweet 16’s run a close second. Even though by looking at us you could never guess that Latin blood runs through our veins, watch us dance and you’ll know it certainly does!

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.

Taxicab Confessions - a Brooklyn Filipino wedding at Bubby's Pie Company

There's something distinctly beautiful in the classic Yellow Taxi. And although I know that the yellow cab is not unique to NYC, it has a distinct city quality and so it was only appropriate to be the mascot for a beautiful wedding at Bubby's in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.

Bubby's is an expansive space with home cooking and amazing pies! As a regular attendee of their amazing brunch, I love the fact that the space has become a very popular wedding venue. With a loft area, it's overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, a large dance floor and long bar, it has such character and is just perfection for any special event.

The loft and long staircase was perfect for the introduction of the many sponsors and the bridal party. And the details of this wedding did not go unnoticed and the line dancing to the Todo Todo and Lets Get Loud were led by that one Filipino aunt who knows makes sure everyone is in line.

The only Filipino tradition not included this evening was the famous Money Dance but the full dance floor made the night fly by without it being noticed.

Guests were very creative with the Polaroid guestbook, taking it outside and around...


Balcony view


Rob at work


With homemade pies as dessert, J&J opted to cut a small personal cake


And the on site photo booth led to lots of frivolity




Salamat J&J for having us be witness to your celebration!

Cultural Display - Chinese Double Happiness and Colombian Alegria comes to NJ from CA

Imagine planning your wedding from one coast while the event happens on an entirely other coast. Imagine on top of this personalizing everything to such detail that even the littlest of things reflect you personally.

No need to imagine it. Yeimy & Ronald, two scientists who reside in California brought friends and family from around the U.S. and as far as Colombia to celebrate their union in her home state of New Jersey at the Tides Estate in North Haledon. With a streamlined color and theme, and such personal touches including one of the groomsmen serving as officiant, their wedding was personal, beautiful and above all joyous!

I was lucky enough to coordinate this amazing wedding and ensure that the details they worked so hard on came together to be just what they wanted them to be while Rob dj'd it. I also have pictures of me in action which is a rarity!

You can read the fabulous review Yeimy gave us as well as the reviews of all her other vendors here!