This blog will remain up – but all future updates and posts will be on the new one!

And then in six-months, I’ll probably destroy and rebuild again, LOL.

Check it out – www.TSWDJ.com – and leave a comment!

My eyes have been on this for a while and I finally purchased the Bose L1 - imagine even sound dispersion throughout the entire room – guests in the back will hear music at the same volume level as the guests in the front of the room - in addition to the most amazing sound technology and engineering you have come to expect from Bose!  The first song I played on this system was AC-DC’s “Thunderstruck”, and I swear, I thought the drummer was playing live in front of me!

To all my past clients, I apologize that you missed out on this sound experience at your wedding – but hey, at least you have something to look forward to at your friend’s weddings!

 Pics:

Even Sound Dispersion!

The Bose L1!

I just love winter weddings – it’s just a nice contrast from summer weddings – especially when it comes to colors and decorations!  And Samantha picked out a beautiful dark blue linen as one of her wedding colors.  I decided to help out and add two blue uplights that added a touch of class and elegance.  The two blue uplights were right behind their head table – a beautiful background behind a beautiful couple!

Oh, and while the decor of the wedding had a winter theme – at the end, as Matt and Sam took off for Key West, FL – it started to snow!  A beautiful way to end their winter wedding!

The Hollywood School House has a unique upstairs area that served as a cocktail session in between the ceremony and the reception.  If you get a chance, check it out – words cannot even describe the uniqueness of this area.  I setup a JBL Eon and made a jazz playlist on an iPod to serve as background music.

For Matt and Sam’s wedding, I took a few signature style events and tweaked them a bit.  First, I rewrote their Love Story the night before, and I was much happier with the outcome.  I also took the Bride and Groom Trivia Table Release and did a Bride and Groom Trivia Contest before the toasts.  It got loud and crazy as tables tried to win the coveted bottle of champagne!

Matt and Sam were a great couple to work for and I wish them the best of luck!  Congratulations you two!

Simplified Itinerary

Ceremony
Cocktail Period
Grand Entrance
Thank You to Guests
Dinner
Bride and Groom Trivia
Toast
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Father/Bride Dance
Mother/Son Dance
Open Dance Floor
Bouquet Toss
Garter Toss
Open Dancing
Last Song

Pics!

Corner Setup

Table Decorations

Uplighting Behind the Head Table

Another Shot of the Uplighting

Note:  All photos are taken before guest arrival and are used as promotion for Tony Schwartz Weddings only.  Photos are taken via the BlackBerry Curve for blog use only.  Any photos showed during the reception are courtesy of the wedding party and it’s guests.  Tony Schwartz will never take photos during any wedding reception he is performing at, as his focus is on the client.

Thank you to all that attended the show and visited my booth!

Come check out the TSW booth, #308, at the 2009 Tacoma Wedding Expo, January 17th & 18th at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall!

Tony Schwartz Weddings will be hosting a drawing for a dinner for two to the Pacific Grill, a gift card to Desert Sun Tanning, and a gift card to Starbuck’s!

Find out more information about TSW, meet with Tony, and leave your information to schedule your very own personal consultation meeting!

For more information on the Tacoma Wedding Expo, visit BridesClub.com!

I know I started this blog late in the season, but I thought I would make a post recognizing all the couples that I was honored to be a part of their wedding day.

Aaron & Shavon Starfire
Skyler & Angie Zoppi
Jake & Ashley Tiffany
Cameron & Sara Stratton
Dan & Serenity Larson
Jerry & Eldri Earles
Frank & Erika Miner
Wayne & Jackie Brown
Erick & Janie Detrich
Joseph & Jill Schlock
David & Julia Weisser
Justin & Stephanie Hite
Josh & Katrina Lelli
Aaron & Leah Burris
Phil & Emily Miller
Kjiel & Rachel Carlson
Ross & Sara Eide
David & Sarah Bingham
Justin & Stephanie Fagering

Nineteen amazing couples – nineteen amazing and unique weddings!  A special congratulations to all of them and best of luck on their life journey together!

2009 wedding dates are already being booked – over a dozen wedding dates have been secured!  Call today to check your wedding dates availability and to setup your personal consultation meeting!

On Saturday, November 8, 2008, I was honored to be a part of the wedding of Frank Miner & Erika Nelson at the Titlow Lodge in Tacoma, WA.  Erika had contacted me nearly a year prior to the date – this wedding was 13 months of planning and hard work!  As background, for Frank and Erika, it was both their second marriage – Frank is 48 years young and Erika 43 - and Erika was amazed at what my DJ service offered and did versus the DJ she had for her first marriage.

I was asked to build a slideshow for their wedding and it took a lot of hours, but the end result was amazing – of course, having a great selection of photos to work with really helps me do the best job I can!

This was an event I had looked forward to for a long time, mainly around the time Erika mentioned they were going to be having a Thanksgiving buffet.  Christie’s Catering hosted the buffet – and besides being a sweetheart – the food was amazing, passing the TSW test – if I can cut through the Turkey with my fork - no knife needed! – then they are a preferred catering staff vendor!  Also, check out the picture below of their van – very, very unique!  A great staff to work with, great food, make sure you do talk to them if you are looking for a independent catering company!

Also, we had a special planned surprise for the wedding party dance – we started out with Tim McGraw & Faith Hill’s “It’s Your Love” and I made a special edit to make it seem like the CD was skipping, followed by a record scratch, and then a jump into an edit of Chris Brown’s “Forever”.  This got everyone on the dance floor and for the next hour, very few people got off the dance floor!

As a final note, I did a new activity towards the end of dinner to segue into the toast – Who Traveled the Farthest?!?  This was fun because each table got to send up a representative from their table and see who ultimately came the longest distance to make it to the wedding.  For many tables, we had Puyallup, Olympia, and Tacoma, which led me to have fun with these guests - but eventually, we had our winner – a gentleman from Brooklyn, New York!  I also enjoy doing these activites – it adds a different dimension and level of fun to the wedding!

Other than that, a great night of laughter amongst family and friends, some truly emotional moments, and people celebrating and dancing in honor of a wonderful couple and family, Mr. and Mrs. Frank and Erika Miner!

Simplified Itinerary

Ceremony
Mini-Cocktail Period
Grand Entrance
Open Photo Session
Slide Show Presentation
Dinner
“Who Traveled the Farthest?!?”
Toast
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Father/Bride Dance
Longest Married Couple Dance
Wedding Party Dance
Open Dancing
Last Song of the Night and Hugs!

Pics!
Note:  All photos are taken before guest arrival and are used as promotion for Tony Schwartz Weddings only.  Photos are taken via the BlackBerry Curve for blog use only.  Any photos showed during the reception are courtesy of the wedding party and it’s guests.  Tony Schwartz will never take photos during any wedding reception he is performing at, as his focus is on the client.

There is one of the speakers - discreetly hidden to not take away from the beautiful decor! Check out the previous two pictures to get a feel for the relationship of my booth to the speakers!

Guest Tables!

Wedding Cake - Three Levels, Three Different Flavors!

Christie

Erika had a Great Vision of the Decor for her Wedding Ceremony & Reception!

One day after his birthday, David Weisser married Julia Wilkerson at the Monte Villa Farmhouse in Bothell, Washington.  It was a beautiful Sunday evening wedding – the ceremony was held outside where the weather was surprisingly nice for a late October Sunday.

David and Julia had seen me perform at a prior wedding for Aaron & Shavon Starfire, who were in attendance for this wedding.  As always, it is a pleasure to see past clients and hear how well they are doing!

When planning this reception, we discusses the fact that there may not be much dancing due to a Sunday evening reception – and rather, we should focus on my interactiveness with the crowd.  David and Julia opted for the 30 Second Wedding Party Bios – and they were a hit!  Then, with their help, I wrote and narrated their Love Story – which is always a pleasure for me to do.  Knowing their story and what they had to overcome to make it to this day, these two were made for each other!

And when it was time to dance – I did a 15 minute megamix session – mixing all their favorite songs and requests.  I counted playing 17 songs in 15 minutes – and then we sent David and Julia off on their honeymoon through a rice-throwing tunnel of their family and friends!

Simplified Itinerary

Ceremony
Cocktail Period
Grand Entrance
Blessing
Dinner
Words of Wisdom Cards
Toast
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Father/Bride Dance
Couples Dance
Teddy Bear Toss
Bouquet Toss
Garter Toss
Open Dancing
Grand Sendoff

Pics!

Setup

Guest Tables

My Viewpoint - Some Guests Wanted To Know How The Magic Happens!

Note:  All photos are taken before guest arrival and are used as promotion for Tony Schwartz Weddings only.  Photos are taken via the BlackBerry Curve for blog use only.  Any photos showed during the reception are courtesy of the wedding party and it’s guests.  Tony Schwartz will never take photos during any wedding reception he is performing at, as his focus is on the client.

On October 11, 2008, I made the trip across the Narrows Bridge to DJ for Kjiel & Rachel Carlson’s wedding at the Gig Harbor Yacht Club!  It was a smaller venue filled with family, friends, and co-workers – so space was limited – but did we ever have a great time!

Kjiel & Rachel were referred to me by another couple I previously did a wedding for this summer, Skyler & Angie Zoppi.  Angie was the Maid of Honor for Rachel’s wedding, and as always, it was great to see past clients!  I was also able to incoporate Skyler as the unofficial judge for the “Shoe”lywed Game!

And when the dance floor finally opened up for two hours – they danced to everything: ranging from “Brown Eyed Girl” to “Summer Loving” to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to “Just Died in Your Arms” to “The Thizzle Dance” to “Crank That” to “Sandstorm” to “You Shook Me All Night Long” to “Electric Avenue” to “Cotton Eyed Joe”.  80s, Hip-Hop, Classic Rock, Techno, I think I mixed about 75 songs in two hours – all either beatmatched or slammed in at approriate times!

Simplified Itinerary

Cocktail Period
Grand Entrance
Thank You & Welcome to Guests
Tables Release by Random Draw to Buffett
Centerpiece Giveaway
“Shoe”lywed Game
Toasts
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Parents Dance
Longest Married Couple Dance
Mom’s Suprise for Rachel & Kjiel
Open Dancefloor
Last Song of the Night – “Closing Time”

Pics!

Gig Harbor Yacht Club

Setup

22 Tables Packed Into The Room!

Centerpiece - Gave Away by Playing the Dollar Pass

 

Note:  All photos are taken before guest arrival and are used as promotion for Tony Schwartz Weddings only.  Any photos showed during the reception are courtesy of the wedding party and it’s guests.  Tony Schwartz will never take photos during any wedding reception he is performing at, as his focus is on the client.