It's been three months since our wedding...and my guests are still talking about it!  They couldn't believe how much fun they had, even though it was a daytime wedding!  Thank you!
Kelli & Thanh, happily married July 2004

December 18, 2005:  Sometimes, one simple thing can throw a wrench into many months of planning and preparation. It is how the entertainer responds that will truly make or break the celebration. KAT & NEIL’s celebration is one example. Will your DJ and MC know what to do if there is a power outtage? With no electricity to power anything, how do you keep the party going? Marino and his team were truly challenged that day.

For months leading up to Kat & Neil’s wedding on December 18, much plans were laid out. Kat & Neil had wanted a very interactive and fun wedding, something that involved their guests and included many practical jokes between the bride and groom, and among their guests. After all, Kat & Neil were natural jokesters, and they wished to include many of those personal touches into their celebration. From the first meeting with Marino all the way to the day of the event, their conversations and emails were usually lively and full of many creative ideas. Neil had secretly wished to play a few practical jokes on his wife, and likewise, Kat wanted her husband to be teased mercilessly for his ability to do her hair and makeup. Nothing could derail this wedding.

Including a power outtage.

The day started off rather normally. The wedding ceremony had gone off without a hitch, and everyone laughed when the wedding party was introduced. As each couple entered, Marino read a simple but funny biography about each person (written, of course, by Neil), that had everyone giggling, especially the wedding party, who were very close to Neil & Kat. When the newlyweds were introduced, Marino told the guests their love story, ending the tale with the Grand Entrance of the couple. Kat looked radiant in her dress, and Neil looked ecstatic with his wife next to him.

The surprises kept on coming as everyone entered into lunch; Neil and the men of his party had secretly gotten ahold of Koauka, Kat’s favorite group, and they performed an upbeat and fun set during lunchtime! Neil beamed with pride as his lovely wife smiled at him for the pleasant surprise.

Once the formal program started, we breezed through the recognition of family, out-of-town guests, cake-cutting, and the formal speeches. It was great we were able to have all the men get their "licks" in, because soon after the last groomsman had given his toast, the unexpected happened…the power went out.

With no power to run the sound system, music, and slide show, many people would be frozen as to what to do. After all, we still had not done the bouquet, garter, the formal dances, or the slideshow, and Neil & Kat had many surprises for their guests during those events. So what did Marino do?

Fortunately, from his experience and training, Marino knew exactly what to do. From his voice training, he naturally projected his voice farther and was able to be heard throughout the large ballroom. Thankfully, the videographer had a battery-powered spotlight on his camera, and we were able to use this as a light to highlight what was going on. Through creative work, Marino was able to get the guests involved without the use of music to complete the Circle Dance (bouquet giveaway game), garter removal & toss (including the surprise fart machine gag that Neil wished to include), and the Reverse Garter in which everyone came to the dancefloor to laugh and see up close!

Without a sound system, the average DJ would give up and not be able to provide music for the bride & groom’s First Dance, chalking it up as an "Act of God" that simply would not have any recourse other than to wait out the outtage. Fortunately, Marino is not an average DJ, and through some quick thinking, was able to use his battery-operated laptop to play back Neil & Kat’s first dance, followed by a long set of slow songs for the money dance. By the time the money dance ended, the power had returned, and we were able to show the slide show and finish the remainder of the formal program.

What could have been a disaster turned into something magical, as Kat & Neil were relieved at the end of the day, when all of their plans had turned out well and everyone had a great time. In the end, they certainly will have a great story to tell to their future children!

June 25, 2005:  HOW DO YOU MAKE A DAYTIME WEDDING BOTH FUN AND FORMAL, WITHOUT BECOMING BORING? Having a daytime wedding presented a unique challenge for LIANNE & PETER. While they while they wanted a very FORMAL and ELEGANT wedding, they also wanted it to be INVOLVING and ENJOYABLE. They had been to friends’ weddings in the past, and daytime weddings typically resulted in being drawn-out, boring affairs in which the guests left soon after lunch. They wanted their guests to really enjoy themselves, be a part of the wedding day, and not simply feel like they were obligated to attend. At the same time, Lianne preferred to have a very REFINED party—not flashy, crazy, or wild. After all, with their wedding at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental and many of their guests coming to Hawaii for the first time, they really wanted it to be a very nice civilized affair. All they needed was someone to bring it all together.

Marino loved the challenge of designing a celebration that wasn’t boring or cheesy, but at the same time quite elegant and refined, an event which would allow the guests to feel a part of the wedding day without feeling like it was another boring daytime wedding. But with the right ideas, plans began to take shape. Throughout the planning and preparation process, emails and phone calls were exchanged, and soon, the wedding day arrived!

So how do you make a daytime wedding both fun and formal? Simple—you present the reception as an elegant affair while involving the guests in the activities. For instance, during the lunchtime buffet, to release the first table to the buffet, guests participated in a trivia game with questions based on Lianne & Peter’s life, and the table that knew the newlyweds best got to go first to the buffet. It was a fun way to get to know the couple better, and it was entertaining to see guests walk around and ask Lianne & Peter’s parents the answers.

Peter had said that many of his friends enjoyed playing golf. Consequently, to incorporate this into the fun, we put out a simple practice putting green on the dancefloor. As the remaining guests awaited their turn to the buffet, they could come to the dancefloor and hit a hole-in-one…and if they did, they were awarded with watching the newlyweds kiss. Peter’s friends lined up to take a putt, and whenever anyone sunk a putt, the audience would applaud and cheer.

Because many of Lianne’s guests were married, at first she decided not to have any bouquet & garter presentations. But when we told her about the Anniversary Dance to honor and include the married couples, Lianne felt right about it. And although it wouldn’t be to give away the bouquet & garter, it would be a nice touch to entertain and include their guests, while keeping things fun and classy.

The day ended with everyone on the dancefloor (keep in mind that this is a daytime wedding), celebrating and dancing to Lianne’s choice for a last dance, You’re the One That I Want from Grease.

In the end, Lianne got the formal and refined wedding she always wanted, while her guests had a fantastic and memorable time!

But don't just take our word for it.  Read what they had to say about their experiences with us.

July 10, 2004.  DAYTIME WEDDINGS DON’T HAVE TO BE BORING LUNCHTIME AFFAIRS. THANH & KELLI first contacted us in March 2004. They had gotten a strong recommendation from their caterer (the Pacific Beach Hotel) and had heard many great things about us. But they had their concerns. They had been together for 10 years and had been to all sorts of weddings & receptions. One of the common themes they noticed was that daytime receptions tended to be quick boring affairs in which the guests came, ate lunch, and went home soon after. Since theirs was a daytime wedding, they feared that their celebration would simply be like every other daytime wedding they had been to. They didn’t want a boring reception; Kelli & Thanh wanted something FUN and INVOLVING, an event that their guests would REMEMBER for a very very long time!

So how do you make a daytime reception fun and involving? Make the guests a part of one’s day…not simply just audience members. We met with Kelli & Thanh, talked in detail about their celebration, and gave them many ideas on how to make their celebration more involving for their guests. They told us that, because many of the guests were older and because it was a daytime wedding, there might not be dancing. In fact, since they were shy of the spotlight, they ultimately wished to forgo the First Dance as well. Would that mean that the party would be boring? Absolutely not! By helping them develop a fun entertaining program, the guests would still have a lot of fun and great memories, and that, although there wouldn’t be any dancing, the guests would still tell them at the end of the day what a great time they had.

Once Kelli & Thanh reserved us for their date, over the next few months many phone calls were made, many meetings at McDonalds’ Keeaumoku occurred, and much email was exchanged. One of Thanh’s big concerns was that all of the vendors knew what was going on. Marino helped keep Thanh feeling unstressed by working closely with the Pacific Beach Staff, Bianca from Bianca Photography, and Chung from to make sure everyone was on the same page. By mid-June, the program was finalized…and Kelli & Thanh knew that this daytime reception would be a special treat for their guests, something unlike they had ever experienced before…

When doors opened to guests on July 10, everyone was expecting just another lunchtime reception. Guests mingled, enjoyed the nice cocktail music, and simply shared in each other’s company. When Kelli & Thanh arrived, they did a quick receiving line; most of their guests had come straight from the temple and were patiently waiting for the newlyweds’ appearance. Once the guests were in the ballroom, Marino quickly lined up the wedding party, explained their roles, and reminded them that this was not going to be an ordinary wedding reception. The wedding party really needed to help make this celebration fun! Having warmed them up, Marino then introduced himself to the guests, welcomed them to the party, hinted a little about Kelli & Thanh’s plans, and then asked everyone to help welcome the wedding party!

"After 10 years together, family & friends, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you your guests of honor, Mr. & Mrs. Thanh & Kelli Tran!"

The festivities commenced with a "firecracker-filled" introduction to a traditional Lion Dance!  Guests laughed and cheered as the lion made its way to the head table and gave Kelli & Thanh its blessing.  Following the performance, Kelli’s father blessed the food…and it was time for the fun to really begin! During lunch, as expected, the guests began clinking the glasses to get the newlyweds to kiss. Kelli & Thanh turned the tables on their guests by calling out married couples to have them teach the newlyweds how to kiss! Soon guests were getting creative and original with their kisses, and everyone was laughing and having a great time! Was lunch a boring time? Absolutely not—especially with Kelli & Thanh choosing fun friends & relatives to "demonstrate" ways to kiss!

By the end of lunch, everyone was laughing and in high spirits. The party was already in forward momentum and was about to take another great leap in the "fun" factor. After a quick recognition of family & out-of-town guests and very elegant cake cutting, it was time for the speeches & toasts! Best Man JASON & Maid of Honor ESTELLE delivered a sentimental, yet profound speech to the newlyweds, ending with a round of hugs among the wedding party. Thanh’s really good friend LIBERT had the guests laughing by telling a funny story about the groom. With the energy high, we played a game to get the unmarried women to the dancefloor…And it was time for the bouquet giveaway!

Kelli wanted an original way to give away her bouquet, and tossing it felt pretty traditional. So she opted for the fun and upbeat CIRCLE DANCE, with the bouquet ending up going to her niece!

"Technical difficulties" prevented us from going straight into the garter removal & toss (the garter wasn’t on Kelli’s leg), but Marino quickly improvised. He quickly went into the centerpiece game, allowing Kelli & Estelle time to slip the garter on quietly behind the head table. By the end of the game, Kelli and the garter were ready, and Thanh (to the cheers of his friends) took the garter right back off!

Thanh knew that he had more married men than unmarried men at his celebration, and because of this, he felt a traditional garter toss would be quite embarrassing to have. So we helped him create a fun game called LAST MAN SITTING that involved not just the unmarried men, but EVERYONE. After the unmarried men were seated on chairs lined up on the dancefloor, Marino would call out an object to retrieve or an action to accomplish. The men had to run into the audience and find the object or do the action…and while they were searching, Marino removed a chair. One by one, men were eliminated until we were down to two "Survivors." The last task: Find Thanh! Thanh, of course, had gone into hiding somewhere in the ballroom, and it took FRANK a minute to find the groom underneath a table! But finding the groom was only half the task; bringing him back and having him seated on Frank’s lap was the other! The audience and Kelli erupted with laughter and applause as Frank PICKED UP THANH and CARRIED HIM back to the dancefloor!

But the fun wasn’t over! Kelli & Thanh really wanted to do the Reverse Garter…but because Kelli’s young niece had won the bouquet, we substituted Estelle (the Maid of Honor). So Estelle sat on the chair, Frank was set to put the garter on her…and we stopped the action to blindfold him. Again, the guests erupted with laughter when, after blindfolding Frank, we switched Estelle with…LIBERT, Thanh’s really good MALE friend. Everyone clapped, laughed, and cheered as Frank slowly put the garter on Libert’s leg. The applause and laughter escalated when Frank began rubbing Libert’s leg for good luck. And the room exploded with cheers when Frank removed the blindfold! The look on his shocked face was simply undescribable!

With everyone in high spirits, we passed the microphone to Kelli & Thanh. They wanted to thank their guests for coming and celebrating with them. Although there wasn’t going to be dancing afterward (not even a First Dance, as requested by the newlyweds), they had sincerely hoped everyone had a great time. After a very stirring and honest thank you, the formal program ended. Marino invited the guests to stay, talk story, and enjoy each other’s company.

The funny thing is…many people did stay, all the way until closing time at 3:30pm in the afternoon. Many wanted to see if Kelli & Thanh had more surprises coming up.

Above all else, many guests told Kelli & Thanh that theirs was the "best wedding reception they had ever been to." Many had a lot of fun and were surprised that a daytime reception could be so entertaining. The compliments to the newlyweds were overwhelming. As they went from table to table and group to group, you could see the joy and sense of fulfillment in Kelli & Thanh’s smiles. Before they left the room, Kelli & Thanh came over to us, gave us a very big hug, and thanked us over and over for helping them create something FUN, INVOLVING, and MEMORABLE for their guests. Was it worth it spending just a little more than planned on quality entertainment? Absolutely! Especially when the return on investment is a lifetime of wonderful priceless memories…

Who says daytime receptions have to be boring? With the right mix of fun, energy, and excitement, it doesn’t have to be.

But don’t just take our word for it. See Kelli & Thanh’s celebration in pictures.