By Natasha Miller–
Yes, you need some form of music for your ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. Do not make your guests or yourselves suffer in silence—it’s quite painful. Typically, the thought is to bring in a string quartet, vocalists, pianist, dance band or DJ. Those all make sense, are traditional and expected. But what if you wanted to add a little something special to the day and catch your family and friends off guard a bit? What if you wanted to do something “two-clicks” away from what everyone else does?
I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining and fulfilling my clients’ wildest, sometimes weird and often just off the beaten path, requests.
Once a woman from Florida, who was getting married in the Bay Area, asked if we could bring in a Judge Judy impersonator to be their officiant. Well, yes, we can. But it didn’t happen. I’m not sure what the story was behind this one, but I’m sure it would have been pretty funny. We liked her thinking.
Then there was the time that a bride, who was getting married outdoors, asked us to bring in a whimsical stilt-walker to escort her and her betrothed’s dog down the aisle. That one happened, and was a welcome and delightful surprise to everyone not in the know.
Just last month we had a request to have a Tin Man character come in to surprise the bride and groom who were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary at Bix restaurant in San Francisco. Unbeknownst to them, this Wizard of Oz character came bounding in and congratulated them on 10 years (for which the anniversary metal is tin) and posed for photos with everyone. We loved this couple’s creativity.
For a well-known actor/comedian and partner, we put together a group of musicians and vocalists to perform the theme from The Muppets Show for their Rabbi to process to. They also had a very unusual selection of songs for other parts of their wedding ceremony. No rules were followed, and it was at once refreshing, authentic and unforgettable.
If you want to liven up and kick to the next level the dancing portion of a wedding reception, I suggest bringing in a “wow” performance with a flash mob approach. A Samba dance group with a team of percussionists will get a conga line going and will be what everyone talks about after the party.
You can also do something related to your heritage or interests—the sky’s the limit! Think Mariachi, a La La Land dance performance, or even an aerialist act. You dream it; we make it happen. We can also help you brainstorm something amazing to inject into your already beautifully planned and designed celebration.
Booking any talent through a reputable and insured company is the best approach to ensuring a seamless and excellent result. My company Entire Productions (http://entireproductions.com/) makes sure to hire only the most accomplished and professional musicians, handles all contracting, and manages the talent as well as provides a COI (Certificate of Insurance) that most venues require and that many artists do not have.
Natasha Miller is a recovering classical violinist and jazz vocalist and owns the entertainment production company, Entire Productions, in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. She is one of The Knot’s “Wed 100” #theknotwed100
Frederick Sullivan and Jaime Botello, who oversee the Weddings & Occasions page for the San Francisco Bay Times, are the talented wizards behind Sullivan-Botello Events (http://sullivanbotelloevents.
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