Hey DJ, Pump this Party

It has finally been done. We have finally booked a DJ. There will be music at the wedding. People will dance. They will not need to do their best rendition of Madonna's Like a Virgin or Outkast's Hey Ya. And I think I can safely say that we are all happy that my father won't be singing any Neil Sedaka or CCR. As it turns out, said booked DJ is Art's friend's sister's uncle's cousin's room mates' third cousin once removed (I forget what the actual relationship is) and so therefore we are giving money to someone with whom we sort of have a connection. We were just about to book with the Pros when we finally managed to get in touch with this guy, Rob. Now, I'm sure the Pros DJ would've rocked the house, I felt like we were settling as we had not met the dude and were only truly considering him because of the cost. We were also struggling over whether or not it was worth $200 more for the cocktail hour. Lo and behold are newest vendor costs less for 5 hours than the Pros DJ was going to charge for 4 hours (already a real bargain after having shopped around for a while). To further our good fortune, October 3 was the only available date in October that Rob had open. It is nice that something turned in our favor.

As my mother mentioned, he is another definite to go towards our 100 guest minimum.


Eh. As long as he's got the Grease remix, we'll feed him.

Four Months and Counting...

According to my mother's monthly text message, we're just four months away from tying the knot. That's right, folks. Four months from today, we'll be bustin' a move on the dance floor of the Three Village Inn. What song will it be? The electric slide? The chicken dance? YMCA? The Grease montage? Oh, please let it be the Grease montage. Please. Please. Please.

In actual fact, we don't have the music situation squared away yet so it might just be rounds of row row row your boat. Maybe I can dig up some old mixed tapes.

So where are we at within the wedding count down list?

Side note, there are approximately thirty bridal related magazines at the bodega at the 34th Street Path station. There were even several on getting engaged. I don't really understand what is in that magazine. I don't think I want to know. Anyway, according to various wedding expert sources, we should:

1) Book the rehearsal dinner and day after brunch venues. We're working on that one. We know where the post-wedding brunch will be. My childhood abode. Thanks mom and dad. The rehearsal dinner is another story. We have one place in mind because of its proximity to the wedding venue and affordability. However, at the end of the day, since we are paying for most of this ourselves, it is still just another expense. Then there is the question of the guest list. Do we invite all out of town guests? How can we possibly afford that? Do we just invite those actually in the wedding and close family and let all of those who traveled far to be with us fend for themselves?

2) Check on the wedding invitations. "Umm....hi, costco....umm...are they ready?"

3) Select and order the cake. Attend several tastings. Cake. Yummy. Well, it is included at the Inn. Too bad. We like to taste.

4) Purchase shoes and start dress fittings. Well, my first fitting is not until August. I'm thinking gold. I like the Manolos below, but I'm not Carrie Bradshaw so if anyone sees some knock offs, let me know!

5) Schedule hair and makeup artists. Luckily, one of my best women volunteered.

6) Choose songs. Grease montage!

7) Plan welcome baskets for guests, if desired. What says Long Island? How does one get a thick accent into a welcome basket? Seriously, they are desired. We have some ideas.

In any event, it is nice to see that without having looked at the "lists" in a while, that we are looking pretty good.

Grease is the word!

Please Don't Stop the Music

Music. One of the essentials of a good party. I remember when I lived with my former roommate and we would compile the list of itunes to make sure that we had the perfect ambiance. For example, we might start with sort of chill Rat Pack diddies or a little Bossa Nova. This allows for nice background music as one is still sober enough to have real conversation. Later on, we might usurp said conversationally appropriate melodies for the latest top 40 hits a la Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Rihanna. This would be followed with one or two of our newest danceable discoveries such as Queen's "Free" or Bowie's "Golden Years." Ah, and the 80's music. I almost forgot the 80's music. That would have been blasphemy! The point is fun - sheer, drunken, dancing fun. Prior to the contributions of the invention gods at Apple, we would pick out the CD's that we wanted to play on our stereos and guests would often take over the dj'ing at will. It would all ultimately end in a Andrea vs. Samia room battle of the dancing.
And we had the BEST times.

Now, Arthur and I are on the hunt for someone to DJ the ultimate party. My groom-to-be has contacted many of the local DJ companies and they have given us price quotes and packages (free sunray light anyone? Wait. Anyone know what a sunray light is?). Ok. Great. How do we decide? How do we know without actually going to an event that the DJ is working, whether or not these people will be any good? I can read testimonials 'til I'm blue in the face. I'm pretty sure none of these companies are going to showcase the negative reviews, which talk about how nobody danced or how attendees left early.

When Arthur first mentioned the ipod idea, I'll admit that I was against it. I thought it might seem cheesy. The more I think about it, though, the more I like the idea. I like that we can painstakingly pick out the songs that we want to be heard and enjoyed and danced to without fear of rebellion by DJ I Know What is Best or DJ That Music Should Never Be Played. We have found only one DJ company that will rent equipment and take care of the ipod at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, that DJ is New Jersey based. This leads me to wonder, why is that industry so behind the times? And why must we pay a month's rent for someone to play their itunes?