Find out what happened when a judge who was hired to marry a couple never showed up at the wedding!

The Central Minnesota Wedding Association hosted its Awards Banquet last week. The 'XO' eXtraOrdinary Award was given to the 3 top stories submitted by its members. The stories were judged on how a member of the Central Minnesota Wedding Association 'saved the day' for a couple that had hired them.  The 3 stories that won were written about Larry Rowe at Impressions Mobile Music , Sharon Planer at Pianist for Parties , and Paige Meier at Carlos Creek Winery.

I will share Larry's story in this post and the other stories in later posts.

Larry Rowe is DJ entertainer extraodinare at Impressions Mobile Music

Here is what the bride and groom had to say about Larry 'Saving the Day'! 

The story began on Sept. 27 2014 . . . .

We decided to have our wedding outside in a field on our farm.  We decided to have a Stearns County Judge do the ceremony.  I sent our choice of wording for our ceremony and the address, time and date.  The Judge stated he had a wedding prior to ours but would for sure be here by 5:30. 

Larry came out earlier in the afternoon and set up all of his equipment for the music and lights. 

I was in the house getting ready and all of the guests were arriving.  We had our BBQ started and dance floor was ready for the evening.  We were ready to go... the hay ride to the field was on it's way, it was 5:30 and we were ready. 

When we got to the field we were informed there was no JP yet.  Hmmmmm ... so we said we can wait a little to see if he is just running late.  Larry came up and asked if everything was okay.  We said, "Play some music for a little bit and we will see if he shows up."  Joe's sister had googled 'ceremonies' and had a plan that we would fake it and have Joe's brother just read the ceremony. We could get married at the court house at a later date. 

Larry came over and said, "I can't believe how calm you are.  Other brides would have been crazy by now."  And that was putting it mildly!  Ha Ha.  We told him this is our life, just winging it most of the time.  He offered to check and see if a friend of his was available to do the ceremony.  We said. "Well, we will wait a little bit."  

Larry called his friend just to see if he was around and well, he was fishing.  Larry came back to tell us what he had found out.  We thought for a bit and decided, "I guess we have to pull him off the lake!"  We said, "Okay. The JP isn't showing and we better get someone here."  Everyone was getting hungry and mingling.  So Larry called his friend and asked him to come. His friend stated he had to run home and shower but would be on his way.  I said, "He doesn't need to shower, we don't care if he smells fishy!"  

We were all watching the driveway for the next car to come in and wondered who it was going to be ... the JP or Larry's friend?  Larry's friend pulled into the drive way and  he calmly came up to us asked us if we wanted anything special.  Joe and I both said, "No just lets get married and get to the dancing!"  

Larry literally saved the day, went WAY above and beyond his job.  We loved his music he kept everyone young and old on the dance floor all night.  I cannot say enough GREAT things about Larry and how he just seemed to keep everything going calmly and of course pulling a JP out of his hat was quite amazing!  

We will never forget what Larry did and how professionally he did it.  We feel Larry deserves the XO award. Words cannot explain how lucky we were to have not only a GREAT DJ but one that knew a JP!  

Find out more about Larry Rowe at Impressions Mobile Music

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.  

Newlywed brides shared their insights with members of the Central Minnesota Wedding Association.

The Crown Room of Rogers was filled with professionals from the Central Minnesota Wedding Association who were eager to hear what the newlyweds had to say about their recent wedding experiences.

Moderator, Adam Welz of Prime Time DJ's, asked the brides the following question.

If there was one thing you could have changed about your wedding, what would it have been?

Here are some of their answers.

• "I wish I would have hired a videographer."

• "I wish my photographer would have given me more information ahead of time on determining what photos were to be taken of various family members."

This bride said it would have been helpful if the photographer has posted real photos of various family poses on the web site. In retrospect she realized there were some family members who were not included in photos that she wished had been included.

• "I wish I had hired a day-of coordinator."

This bride was pretty certain some problems would have been avoided had there been a coordinator overseeing that everything ran smoothly. In particular, the sound tech who was supposed to play recorded music for their Recessional, never played the song. At the end of the ceremony when everyone was clapping and the bride and groom were supposed to exit the ceremony to lively music...they had to walk out in silence. Ouch!

Adam then asked the brides the following question.

What was one thing you absolutely loved about a wedding professional that you hired?

Here are some of their answers.

• "Hiring two photographers was the best thing I did!"

This couple hired a husband and wife team, both were equally experienced. Some of their favorite photos are from the pre-ceremony activities of getting ready. A huge smile came across this bride's face as she described some of the incredibly fun-loving photos that were captured while the guys were getting ready and the gals too. Having the husband wife team made those photos possible.

• "The staff at our venue treated us like we were the most important client in the world. Even though this venue had many other clients, they always knew us by name and knew exactly who we were when we called on the phone. They took good care of us all the way through."

This couple did not have the opportunity to see their reception hall ahead of time on the day of their wedding, so when they walked through the door to their reception hall, it took their breath away. Everything was more beautiful and perfect than they had ever imagined!

• "I knew the exact wedding dress and dress designer that I wanted. As soon as I was engaged, I went out to buy the dress, only to learn that it had been discontinued a month prior. All the shops I went to did not have it.  I called shops all over the state and got the same response....except for one. This small shop decided to help me. She reached out to all her resources and finally found the dress!"

I enjoyed hearing everything the brides had to say but was hoping to hear about their music. As a pianist, I especially wanted to learn their impressions of their wedding music. So I submitted a question asking if they had hired live music for their ceremony or reception.

Most had live music for their ceremonies and DJ's for their receptions. One bride had a whole family of professional musicians and her music was outstanding. Some of the others found their musicians by word-of-mouth through friends or family. It made me realize just how important the advice of family and friends can be. If someone has had a good experience with a musician, they are usually happy to share their advice. From my point of view, it is a great honor when a couple recommends my piano music to someone they know. Very often the couple that recommended me will be in the wedding party or will be guests at the coming wedding and I have the joy of reconnecting with them!

When the newlyweds were asked, 'What top tip would you give to couples planning their weddings?', their answer was unanimous ...

"On the day of your wedding, ENJOY the day, it goes by so quickly!"

A word about the Central Minnesota Wedding Association.

The Central Minnesota Wedding Association has been a valuable part of my life as a wedding pianist.  The members live by a professional Code of Ethics. We are always striving to learn more about providing the best wedding services possible to couples engaged to be married. Last night's 'Bride Panel' was just such an example. Who better to tell us than the newlyweds themselves!

Let's hear from YOU!  If you are recently married, do you have a story to share or advice to give about planning your wedding?  Just click on the 'comment' link below and we will all benefit from your experiences!