I met with Eileen only a couple of months before her wedding. She read my reviews on The Knot and knew she really wanted me to DJ her wedding. When we met, she explained a few things about her friends and family. Most of them were very conservative Christian, so the music and content would have to be clean. Most of them do not, and would not dance…in fact, her and her fiancé, Abraham, were not planning on even doing a first dance. Finally, about half of her guests spoke only Spanish. Of course, I asked “why do you want this white-boy to DJ your wedding?” Her answer surprised me. She said “because I can tell you can entertain them without a lot of dancing.” I knew, at that moment, I had my work cut out for me, but I was determined to rise to the challenge. We discussed a variety of options to implement in lieu of the typical “get-em up and dance” plan that usually works. We discussed a variety of games, contests, and additional entertainment ideas to work in between the lengthy five-course meal the Armenian Banquet hall had planned out.
I knew I would be ok with the Spanish music, and I have been doing games and contests at weddings and corporate events since the 90s. However, I knew it was time to freshen things up and call in a favor…or rather a “Faver.” Scott Faver is an MC/DJ from Phoenix Arizona, known throughout the DJ community as “The Game Master.” Scott speaks and hosts his famous “Breakfast With The Game Master” mixer at DJ conventions and shows. He has a philosophy…he gives away all of his ideas so he is forced to come up with new ones. I emailed Scott and explained my challenge to him. Within a few hours, I received about 10 different emails, each one with a different game, contest, or idea to help me out. Armed with this great information, I was able to freshen up an old wedding bit, re-tool a couple of corporate contests, and add a brand new game to my repertoire. I was ready for the night!
MGM Ballroom is nestled on a side street in Glendale. I met Adam, the manager, the first time I did a walkthrough with Eileen. He is one of the nicest and most straightforward banquet hall owners I have ever met. His philosophy is to entertain everyone who walks through his door with food and drink and to make sure everyone leaves full and happy. (Only problem is this was going to be a dry wedding, so his food had to pull double duty!) He and I sat down with Eileen and Abraham at their food tasting to put together a schedule that would allow us to intersperse games and entertainment in between the five courses. On Sunday, the guests arrived from the church starving. No problem! Adam and his staff sat them down and brought out an appetizer spread that would rival most country club buffets. When Eileen and Abraham arrived following their photos, we brought the bridal party in to thunderous applause. Each couple in the bridal party entered to their own song. After a heartfelt thank you speech and a blessing from Abraham, it was time for course two. In between the next four courses, we played two games. The first was a variation of the Shoe Game (I call it the “Shoeleywed Game”), where we asked a newlywed couple and a recently engaged couple to join the bride and groom on the floor for this cute little contest about who knows each other better. Because it was Father’s Day, Eileen wanted me to bring the dads up to do something fun. I did a relay race called “21 Cups,” where we got two teams of five dads to run across the dance floor and build a pyramid out of Solo Cups. There was also a young singer who belted out “Bound To You” by Christina Aguilera as a dedication from Eileen to her husband. By the time the cake was cut and the bouquet and garter were thrown, it was 10pm.
I still had a couple of games and ideas left, but I decided to take a chance and see if the guest would, in fact, dance. I did an icebreaker and when I asked the tables to hold hands and come out to the dance floor, a magical thing happened. Every table ran around the room, still holding hands, in a train formation and made their way up onto the head table stage, across the dance floor, and back to the tables. This went on for about five minutes. When they finally stopped on the dance floor, I hit them with a power set of great Spanish and English hits. Guess what? They DANCED! For the next hour and a half, the dance floor was filled with guests burning off the gigantic meal they just consumed. At one point, one of the bridesmaids asked me “how long are you staying?” I said, “Until you stop dancing!” It was a Father’s Day wedding I will never forget!
Dave’s recommended vendors for this wedding are:
- MGM Ballroom – mgmbanquet.com (Ask for Adam)
- Scott Faver “The Game Master” – thepartyfavers.com (A phenomenal Master of Ceremonies, DJ, and idea man!)
- Nataly Lemus Photography – natalylemus.com (Nataly & Art Lemus)
- Tony Hernandez (Videography) – New Perspective Productions – Kicekwd@hotmail.com