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Take your event to the next level with Kramer Formals.

Michael Ferino, an obvious professional, has written a piece for his blog called Mistakes Brides and Grooms Make and so far, it’s incredibly informative. This Connecticut DJ has definitely been around long enough to spot some faux-pas that couples make that can severely effect the flow of your wedding day. Here’s one of the big ones:

The Time between the church and reception.

If you are having a church wedding ceremony, the time planning process is crucial to making things convenient for your guests. Plan things correctly and the guests will arrive at the perfect time right as the wedding facility is ready to open the doors. Get it wrong, and your guests will be sitting and waiting in a parking lot. Here is the solution….

Find out the entire duration of the ceremony. If you are doing a receiving line at the church, add on an additional 15 minutes per 100 guests. On your free time, make the drive from the church to your wedding reception facility. If the route requires travel on a major highway, look into traffic issues. The highway will have different conditions for a Friday evening compared to a Sunday afternoon event. Calculate that time in and factor on your guests arriving 5-10 minutes before the reception start time. NEVER assume anything. You don’t want the wedding guests showing up 30 – 60 minutes before your contract start time. This can get ugly.

I have seen wedding guests forced to wait in the parking lot, or crowded into a hall way with the doors locked to the facility. Even if your hall lets the guests in early, it is a bad first impression when your guests are standing in a room where the staff are vacuuming, setting up tables and DJ doing a sound check.

If a caterer has another wedding during the day, they will need time to clean the room. Never assume that your guests can go wait outside in the garden area because what if it rains? What if there is a ceremony going on from another party? Always call your wedding facility and ask their policy on guest arrival. Get your facts straight and in advance so you know what to expect.

Thanks again to Michael Ferino, Founder of Music in Motion Entertainment.

We were lucky enough to provide the DJ/MC and the lighting services to our dear friends Dan and Carlene Iverson during their much anticipated wedding at the gorgeous Avila Beach Golf Resort.

This was a perfect venue for the ~200 guests. Outdoor ceremony facing beautiful Avila Beach, a huge tent to shield the sun during cocktails and dinner with transparent walls to let the awesome surroundings in. We hung garden string lights inside the tent to give a warm, star filled vibe after sunset. (Awesome photos coming soon!)

Jack from Jack Hutchinson Videography shared his “Sneak Peak” with us and, as always, it’s awesome. I love this idea! Jack films and edits together some of the coolest shots from the ceremony and by the time cocktail hour is finished, he’s displaying the awesomeness on his huge monitor AT THE RECEPTION! It’s always a huge hit with the guests. Jack’s friendly, accommodating and most of all talented. Always a joy to work with.

Well a great way to scoot around the dance floor, is to add a little SPICE. That’s right, I’m talkin’ about SALSA! For years the latin dance flair has been the talk of parties. And now, with a little cooperation with a Central Coast non-profit organization, you can get some experience from a real professional.

On July 24th at 6pm, meet some other Young Professionals at The Clubhouse in San Luis Obispo for a Salsa lesson with the beautiful Lilliana Graham all for the cost of a donation.

Learn the basic steps, a few twirls, get your confidence up and ready to impress the crowds. More importantly, how could this not be fun?!?

Carley and Matt really put their trust in some of our favorite wedding vendors for their one-of-a-kind ceremony and reception held at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch. Let me tell you, it paid off.

The flowers, the decor, the food….. second to none. And the experts on chic at STYLE UNVEILED took notice.

Check out their write up on all things Carley & Matt.

Our favorite part is the “Advice from the couple”….. Hire a wedding coordinator and hire a PROFESSIONAL DJ. Do not have your friend “who has a lot of music and does house parties” DJ your wedding. You wedding DJ is so much more than someone who plays music. They help keep the time of the whole day, they are your voice/emcee of your wedding and they must have a knack for reading the crowd!

Kramer Entertainment DJ’d our reception. I have also worked with Kramer many times and I absolutely love them. Beau and Melissa are experienced, professional and just all around really fun energetic people. They both take great pride in what they do and have built an amazing business. They are great people to consult throughout the planning process and will make your life so much easier. They also have an amazing special event lighting business that includes gobs, uplighting and just about anything you can imagine. Their lighting services truly transformed our venue. I am a huge believer in event lighting and think it is a must for every wedding!

Thanks, Carley and Matt, for sharing your perfect wedding day with us as well as the STYLE UNVEILED spotlight!

Wow. I knew the wedding saavy crew at Here Comes The Guide.com was good, but after an in-depth look at their website, we’ll have to upgrade them to GREAT!

When it comes to an in-depth resource for all things wedding, they know where to point you. Although expanding to new areas like Chicago and DC, their real bread and butter (or wine and cheese?) is California. And not just the Central Coast. They’ve got the squeeze on trusted professionals in the Northern and Southern ends of the left-coast state.

If you’re looking for help such as finding a quality place to tie the knot, a gown to dress the part, a ring to seal the deal or a bridal fair for all of the above, the clear, concise organization of Here Comes The Guide.com will likely point you in the right direction. Even advice on how to pull off weddings on a budget or going green when wearing white is something these gals are happy to help with. Don’t forget to check out our Special Offer!

Check ‘em out. Chances are, you’ll learn something cool!

Those privy to the Central Coast wine trails are no doubt aware of Meridian Vineyards. The gorgeous arbor that marks the entry along the beautiful Highway 46 just outside of Paso Robles is hard to miss. A journey through the gates will lead you to a massive, but incredibly picturesque view of the East Side wine region, but the faces inside will always great you with a warm, small-town smile and some wonderful wines to compliment the scenery.

What they may not know about, are the merits to choosing Meridian Vineyards as a wedding ceremony and reception venue. With multiple breathtaking viewscapes capable of supplying any sized guest list with a memorable ceremony, beautiful gardens perfect for cocktail hour, infinite photo opportunities and an enormous, yet cozy barrel room, Meridian has something for all the senses.

With the wonderful teamwork of some of our favorite wedding professionals, we were able to give one of our couples an unforgettable experience with regards to their wedding decor.

Anxious to try out some of our latest decor lighting features in the gorgeous barrel room, we teamed up with superstar wedding coordinator Laura Robertson with TOS Events, the Bloomdiva herself, Corinne Smith with panacea event floral design and the all-star team of caterers with Epic Weddings. Laurie, the Special Events Supervisor at Meridian was a dream to work with, providing us with everything necessary to ensure the event would go off without a hitch.

Following the carefully thought out design plans of Laura and Corrine, we up-lit the surrounding barrels in brilliant light, draped the entire area with beautiful garden string lights, added pin-spots to showcase the beauty of panacea’s centerpieces and washed the dancefloor in a unique pattern of textured leaves.

Of course we really couldn’t share the magnificent decor without the help of the incredible photographic team of Jill and Allyson with Allyson Magda Photography. Jill jumped in the barrel room ready to shoot and captured every element that set Tara and Ty’s wedding apart. So excited to work with these two awesome gals at future weddings.

When we first met Tommy and Rosanna at Venteux Vineyards to go over their wedding ideas, we could tell right away that their event would be one-of-a-kind AWESOME! The love these two share for eachother and everyone around them is immediately felt and we were ecstatic to be part of the love.

They chose to make it official at the beautiful Venteux Vineyards in Templeton, California. A wise choice for rural scenery, a caring yet fun loving staff and a BEAUTIFUL barrel and tasting room.

After the beautiful ceremony on the lawn, their family and friends gathered for dinner on a long, conference style table while the uplighting around them made the wood barrels glow and the Starry Night effect directedinted thousands of softly moving lasers above them.

The subtle yet warm garden string lights draped across the patio left guests with just enough warm light. And look how amazing their first dance as Husband and Wife looks….

A few extra lights focused on the wedding cake can make all the difference in the world! Look how brightly it shines.

The creative crew at Venteux had us set up our DJ booth atop a fully restored old, Dodge Flatbed! We even shined some lights under it to set the party mood. Look how that beautiful barrel room glows…. awesome!

Tommy and his grooms man surprised the bride and the guests with a surprise rendition of the 1982 hit song “Rosanna” by Toto. Complete with instruments and costumes!

The uplighting on the beautiful tree really added some depth to the fantastic landscape that left everyone in awe of the beautiful venue.

A thousand thank you’s to Viera Photographics for the amazing shots. We hope to work with you guys more often. Find your way down to the Central Coast!

The right team can turn old fashioned elegance into timeless beauty. This point was proven when we got the chance to work with the ever-so-talented Mark Padgett on a photo shoot for the Paso Robles Inn. Originally constructed in 1864, this landmark has seen it’s fair share of affluence and celebrities as well as disaster dealt by the hand of mother-nature via fire and earthquakes. Nonetheless, the Inn has been able to maintain it’s seat on the Central Coast as the historic center of Paso Robles and has the beauty to make a lasting impression.

The ballroom is jam-packed with craftsmanship. Beautiful high ceilings surrounded in fantastic, deep wood moulding. This venue can lend itself to any couple looking to leave an impression on their guests. Especially those with larger guests lists.

Mark Padgett and Corinne from panacea event floral design really showed their skills when designing the color palette and arrangements to showcase the ballroom. The soft yellows, brushed silvers and lively centerpieces adorned expansive room making it feel warm and comfortable.

We lit the room from wall to wall using our advanced, yet low-profile LED fixtures to give the room an essence of candlelight. The deep wood coloring and the shadows created by the artisan carpentry really set this room apart from other ballrooms. It’s always awesome when we can light an entire room using only our decor lighting. None of the house lights were used during this event.

A huge thanks to Jake at Mike Larson Photography for his talents behind the lens. His ability to capture light astounds me. Thanks for making this shoot such a success.

It was a special pleasure working with Jan, Special Event’s Coordinator at The Paso Robles Inn. Her professionalism and positivity helped us understand the beauty of working hotel. Not just in architecture, but within the staff that keeps this landmarks guests moving through the Central Coast with smiles.

You can really see how the focused pin-spot down lighting made the beautiful centerpieces and table settings shine.

Read more about this photo shoot here:

http://markpadgetteventdesign.blogspot.com/2010/05/phoenix-rising.html

http://panaceaflowers.com/blog/2010/05/17/design-tid-bit-paso-robles-inn/

The clean and organized layout of CentralCoastBride.com’s website really proves that it is your complete wedding resource for the Central Coast. Not only does it put you in touch with the best local wedding vendors, it offers fantastic articles to help you through each and every planning stage and answers questions before you ask them! Such as, How to Get Started, How To Book Your Wedding Venue, or What Happens At The Wedding Rehearsal? just to name a few. They also offer fantastic bridal shows!

It really is impressive how easy it is to get the information you’re looking for from CentralCoastBride.com. Unlike some other wedding resource directories, they have done a fantastic job making sure you’re not bombarded with ad’s that aren’t relevant to you. Their internal search engine works great and all the links are clearly organized. We at Kramer Entertainment are happy to included in their directory and are positive that anyone getting married can benefit from a visit to CentralCoastBride.com