by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Are you planning a Wedding? Are you planning a special event such as a birthday party or anniversary?

Chances are you will want to attend a Wedding or Event Fair to get ideas for your event. 

Here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your Wedding and Event Fair experience.

Before you attend the event, think about your top priorities for your event. Ask yourself, 'What are the two or three most important aspects of my wedding day or special occasion?'

Floral arrangements / your wedding dress / live music / price / writing the perfect wedding vows / having someone else be responsible for the pressure of your planning and day-of festivities / photography / videography / venue location / decor / food .. . . the list goes on.  

I have worked with hundreds of couples planning their weddings and people planning parties.  Their priorities vary immensely. When planning your event, it is helpful to determine what items you think are most important.  From there you can direct your focus. Use a mobile device or notebook to draft some questions surrounding your priorities. List the categories where you need help planning. Educate yourself in those areas that are most important to you. By doing this, you will develop more questions.

On the day of the Event Fair here are some items to bring.

• Your list of questions.
• Your list of categories where you need help planning.
• Camera or mobile device to take photos.
• Your appointment calendar.

On the day of the Wedding or Event Fair approach the event professionals that are top on your list. Be direct and tell them that their area of expertise is especially important to you.

• Take photos of items of interest. After you have photographed the items you like, snap a photo of their poster or business card to remember their name.
• Ask your questions. Don't shy away from asking hard questions. 
• If you feel good rapport with the professional, set up a private meeting to further discuss your questions in detail.
• For the remaining Categories where you need event planning help, gather what information you can from those event professionals and record which companies you might like to do business with.
• For the professionals that you are interested in, find your Categories list and record their business name. Take notes that will help you remember what made them stand apart from the others. This will be very helpful when you return home with a pile of brochures because you will be able to identify the companies that you want to follow up with.
• Sign up for the giveaways and prizes.

After the Wedding or Event Fair is over. Contact the professionals that you liked and go from there!

There are many great Wedding and Event Fairs in the Twin Cities as well as greater Minnesota. I personally think the smaller shows give you have a better opportunity of connecting on a personal level with the event professionals. But the larger shows are great for gathering a lot of information from many different sources.

For a list of shows where I will be performing, check out my web site at http://pianistforparties.com/events

I would love to meet and play samples of music just for you!

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Here is a tip to put your guests in a festive mood...Hire 'live' music!

I love arriving at a venue before the party begins so that I can greet the guests with my piano music when they arrive.

At the start of a party live music is a great ice breaker and brings smiles to the faces of the guests.

As guests arrive, get their beverage, and settle into conversation, I keep my piano music light and easy going. The music creates a pleasant atmosphere without being distracting. Guests sometimes stop by the piano to request a favorite song or even want to sing along. Children seem especially attracted to songs with a lively beat...for their dancing feet! If the event is a cocktail reception, upbeat jazzy holiday tunes create the perfect musical setting. If a sit down dinner is part of the event, I play quiet elegant holiday piano music while the guests are dining.

Guests often love to gather around the piano to sing their favorite Christmas carols. I have my songbooks ready to hand out for just that occasion!

Activities that involve music are a great form of entertainment.

'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. If some of the guests have a dramatic flair, selecting 12 people to act out 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' while the rest of the guests sing the song can really get the action going. Providing appropriate props can add to the fun or you can encourage your 12 participants to use their imagination in acting out their part of the song. You might be surprised by the crazy and creative ideas they come up with!

'Frosty the Snowman' .  This activity involves TP (yes, toilet paper...clean, please!). This can be done as several teams or as one activity. Each team selects one participant that will be their 'Frosty'.  When the song begins, each team will 'decorate' their Frosty with toilet paper and whatever items they can find to make their 'Frosty' look the most clever or original. The 'decorating' ends when the music stops. Guests vote on the winner. Have a prize for the team that wins....a bag of candy is an easy prize.

Musical Dice Game. Ask each guest to bring an inexpensive wrapped gift. Everyone sits in a circle, with all the wrapped presents on the floor in the middle. Players take turns rolling two dice on a pie plate. If your group is large you can use several pie plates each with a pair of dice. Start the plates going different directions. Have your musician play some lively holiday music.

If a player rolls a double, that person gets to pick a gift from the middle. The dice continue around the circle until all the gifts have been taken. At this time everyone that has a gift opens it. Going around the circle, those with gifts hold up the gift and explain what it is. They set their gift on the floor in front of them so everyone can see what they have. Set the timer to the length of time you want (10-15 minutes is decent). Ask your musician play some lively holiday music until the timer goes off. Send the dice around the circle as long as the music is playing. If a player rolls a double, he gets to steal a gift. Keep the dice going until timer goes off and the music stops. Anyone with more than one gift keeps only one gift and puts the rest in the middle. Those without a gift move their chairs in to make a smaller circle and continue the dice rolling (with music!) until each of them has won a gift.

Planning a 'Winter Party' is a good alternative if you wish to avoid religious connotations of a Christmas Party. 

Some clients, especially corporate clients, are sensitive about hosting a holiday party that reflects religious views. In order to make all guests feel included and comfortable, the client may want to keep the music and party plans secular in nature.  Hosting a party with a 'Winter' theme is a good approach. I always ask the event planner to let me know what music I am allowed to play. Some clients ask me to only play secular holiday music and avoid Christmas carols. A few clients have even asked me to avoid songs that reference St. Nick. Even though this limits my repertoire, I am respectful of such requests. If the event is longer than an hour, I will ask if I can include some non holiday music.

The enthusiasm and joyous spirit of the guests makes Christmas parties great fun to play for!  You can listen to several samples of my holiday piano music on my 'Listen' page.

'Tis the Season to Make Music!

Have you enjoyed some fun holiday party activities that involve music? Share your ideas in the comment box below.  

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

'Do you know any Brazilian music?' was the question asked of me when I was hired to provide piano music for a party.  

"Oh, Yes! I love playing Brazilian and Latin music!", was my answer. The event was a cocktail party and I knew the music would create a lively jazzy atmosphere which is just what they were looking for. The event was an Appreciation Party for those who have supported their cause over the last few years.

I appreciated the client taking time to share his enthusiasm about the Foundation I was playing for. He explained that Joy of the People (Center for Soccer) in St. Paul had a unique youth sports philosophy.

They believe that children should have a place to experience the joy of free play and that it should be accessible to all children. 

They recently signed a ten year lease on the building and property which means they can now move forward on some great field improvements. They also received a wonderful grant on the turf needed once they get the field prepared. So they are in fundraising mode for this great cause! 

Midway through playing for the event I learned the 'Brazilian' connection. The founder and a foundation member visited Brazil to meet with some of the soccer talents and learn more about their concept of free play in Brazil. They returned with renewed vision for their endeavor.  You will enjoy reading some of their findings on their Joy of People web site. 

 If you have a passion for allowing children to be children while enjoying the sport of soccer, you could help make their Field of Joy come true. I invite you to show your interest by contacting Ted@joyofthepeople.org

Joy of the People sponsored a beautiful evening of appreciation for their volunteers and sponsors. I had a fun time playing catchy Latin rhythms for this great group of people!