Tips for the Bride: Planning your Wedding Entertainment

As Jen prepared her iPod for her trip to Japan and China we got to thinking about music. Just about a year ago today, we were planning out the playlist for Jen's wedding (OMG has it really been a year already?!) and so we figured it would only be right to give you some pointers on your special event entertainment based on first hand experience and research.  Part of the fun of planning a wedding or party is deciding on your entertainment, which is, of course, an essential part of any successful event.  If you want everyone out on the dance floor you need to be sure to select the appropriate music for your audience (and of course, you'll have to include a few oldies for grandma and grandpa). The biggest factors to consider when selecting your musical entertainment are your budget and your personal style and tastes.  Here is a breakdown of the pro and cons of each scenario to help you decide on entertainment for your wedding or other social event.

1. Hiring a small group of musicians like a jazz band or string quartet: Hiring a small group to perform instrumental songs at your wedding or affair can be a beautiful touch that creates an atmosphere of elegance and romance. If your venue is historic, you can consider playing music from that era, such as some great Sinatra or fun Ragtime Jazz.  But, keep in mind, classy bands like this come with a really high price tag that averages about $600 for the first hour and $200 each for every additional hour and it will vary depending on where you are from.  There are some great options if you can't afford this, though!  We suggest asking a friend or two to perform a song, such as your first dance song or for your walk down the aisle.  These are some of the most important moments of the night, so it's always a little more personal and romantic to add fun, unexpected touches that are sure to make a huge impact.  Plus, a friend might be willing to do this for you for free or in lue of a gift!

2. Of course, you may want to hire a professional band instead to play some of your favorite tunes. A band is certainly more fun, and more costly, than a solo musician or orchestra style entertainers  The up side is they play many of the songs that are currently popular, and that your guests are sure to love, and nothing can compare to the energy that comes from having a live band at your event (plus consider the general "coolness" factor!)  But also, keep in mind your musical tastes and remember a band might know a lot of current pop songs, but their repertoire is going to be limited.  They might know "Livin' on a Prayer", but are they likely to know that obscure Postal Service song you love or that old Elvis song your grandparents used to dance to? Probably not.  And, again, bands are very pricey, so if you are planning to budget for a live band in the NYC/New Jersey area you can expect to pay around $5,000 or more.  Or, if you aren't down for that price tag, consider scouting out some local talent - there are plenty of young, aspiring musicians out there that would love an opportunity to perform in front of a large crowd for a much more reasonable fee!

3. Hiring a DJ is very popular and for good reason.  DJ's can provide all of your favorite songs, can have an nearly unlimited selection to accommodate the largest variety of people, and are the most affordable option when compared to a live band or musician.  In addition, a DJ doubles as the MC of the evening and helps to control the flow of your event (which is crucial!).  Now, the biggest downfall to the DJ is not having full control over your music. Sure, Lady Gaga is super talented and we adore her, but do we really want to hear the whole album? Actually, we do...but our guests might not! And many of us might actually die if we hear [insert any lame late 1980's/ early 1990's line dancing tune]. But, simply providing a "do not play" list (and stressing the importance that you will literally hurl if you hear said songs) can help to ease your mind.  The other factor is to make sure to choose a DJ who's voice you can actually stand for multiple hours.  Some of the ones we've encountered are cheesier than others, so just be sure to choose one that fits your personality and can control the flow of the event without stealing the show.

4. And, finally, you can always be your own DJ and provide music through your Ipod. This is definitely the most affordable choice, plus you have the luxury of crafting your own playlists and knowing that it won't be messed with!  This is a wonderful option for the couple on a budget that has list of off-beat "must have" songs that a DJ is not likely to have in their collection.  We are huge fans of the Ipod wedding, but we suggest hiring a professional to run the playlist for the night.  Sure, you can just ask a friend to help out, but hiring a professional ensures that your guests can relax and have fun and also that your playlists transition properly and your night stays perfectly on schedule.

Please don't stop the music.

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Gay Marshall Sings Edith Piaf

I first saw Gay Marshall three years ago in the Off Broadway revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well & Living In Paris. She electrified the stage with her performance, and her version of Ne Me Quitte Pas is my favorite, other than the original (sincere apologies to Nina Simone). I tried to find a video of this performance, but there doesn't seem to be one. I did find another clip from the Brel show, as you can see below.

Gay Marshall is currently in New York, performing the songs of Edith Piaf. I saw her last night at the Metropolitan Room. She's beyond fabulous, bringing the music to life without attempting to imitate the original. Instead, she makes them her own (she did some of the translations and arrangements). There's also a free show tonight at the Barnes & Noble on Lincoln Center. I can't praise her enough- go see her if you're in NYC.

photos: images.broadwayworld.com, gaymarshall.com

Sting and wife found guilty of discrimination

Sting and his wife are in trouble for firing their chef for being pregnant. An employment tribunal ruled on Thursday that the woman had been unlawfully dismissed by Lake House Estate, Sting and Trudie Styler's management company, and was a victim of sexual discrimination. The 41-year-old chef worked for Sting and Styler for eight years, but says Styler began treating her unfairly after she became pregnant in 2005, forcing her to work long hours and expressing anger when she took time off work due to illness. The woman described Sting as having a "grandiose ego" and eventually left her post in April 2006 in light of the working conditions. The tribunal found that although Styler "had tried to distance herself from various unlawful acts and then have them carried out by minions on her behalf, when the evidence is looked at holistically, her involvement is clear. She is without doubt the driving force manipulating others to perform her dirty work." Styler announced that she and Sting planned to appeal the ruling.

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Courtney to auction off Kurt's stuff

Courtney Love plans to sell former husband Kurt Cobain's belongings, twelve years after the Nirvana frontman committed suicide. "I'm going to have a Christie's auction," Love told spinner.com. "[My house] is like a mausoleum. My daughter doesn't need to inherit a giant Hefty bag full of flannel f***ing shirts. A sweater, a guitar and the lyrics to Teen Spirit - that's what my daughter gets. And the rest of it we'll just f***ing sell... Everyone's been positive and behind me on it. We'll make a lot of money and give a bunch of it to charity." An rep for AOL, which runs spinner.com, announced today that no date has been set for the auction. Although Love has had a few boyfriends since Cobain's death, including actor Edward Norton, she says he's still a big part of her life. "I still wear his pajamas to bed," she says. "How am I ever going to go form another relationship in my lifetime wearing Kurt's pajamas?"

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Boy George arrested for assaulting gay escort

80s popstar Boy George (whose real name is George O'Dowd) has been arrested in charges of assault and false imprisonment in London after a male escort told police he was grabbed and chained to a wall in the singer's apartment. The escort told a British newspaper he was invited to O'Dowd's home after meeting on a gay website and agreed to pose for photos in kinky outfits for $890. O'Dowd and another man are accused of jumping the man and handcuffing him to a hook, and after the second man left, O'Dowd allegedly brought out sex toys and whips and told the escort, "Now you'll get what you deserve." The man said he was able to yank the hook out of the wall and ran to the nearest newsstand to call the cops dressed in underwear and a T-shirt. "I was convinced I was going to die," the man told a British paper. O'Dowd has been released on bail.

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Avril and Deryck buy $10 million home

Canadian music supercouple Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley have plunked down $9.5 million for Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler's former Bel-Air home. The eight bedroom home was the set for MTV's Meet the Barker reality show, and boasts ten and a half bathrooms, an elevator, a steam shower, sauna, pool, spa and ten-car garage. Lavigne is selling her Beverly Hills home for $6.2 million.

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Whitney and Bobby's divorce approved

Whitney Houston's split from Bobby Brown will become official on April 24 after the former couple's divorce was approved by an Orange County judge Wednesday. Houston was present at the hearing but declined to comment to reporters. Custody of the pair's 14-year-old daughter Bobbi Christina was awarded to Houston. The powerhouse singer has been working on a new album with Clive Davis since her separation from Brown last September.

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Britney's comeback "really coming together"

Britney Spears's comeback is on track, according to a producer who confirms he is working with the newly rehabbed singer. "I know she'll do exceptionally well now that she's out of rehab," producer Sean Garrett says, and adds that her work is "really coming together right now." Garrett is collaborating on five tracks with the popstar, and says the sound is like Toxic "times ten." "It's going to be a lot of fun and it's really exciting," says the producer. "We did a lot of great work before her break."

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Duran Duran bassist gets robbed

A Hollywood Hills house belonging to eighties pop star John Taylor of Duran Duran was burglarized Monday night. The house was ransacked and unspecified items were stolen, including a safe, according to police. Housekeeping staff discovered the burglary as Taylor and his family are currently in England. "At this point, the fingerprints and photos are being taken of the scene and it is an ongoing investigation," a police spokesperson said.

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JLo upsets Latino music stores

Hispanic fans of Jennifer Lopez are unhappy with the singer after she reportedly refused to promote her new Spanish-language album in Ritmo Latino stores, the largest Latino music chain. Ritmo Latino is permanently removing JLo's music from their shelves in all 50 U.S. stores after the singer "refused personally to promote her new CD in any of our stores," said the chain's president. "We've supported her from the beginning. Now we're told by her record company she will only visit Anglo retail outlets." Lopez made an appearance at an "Anglo" F.Y.E. store in the Bronx on Wednesday.

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Michelle Branch stalker apprehended

Michelle Branch stopped her concert in Sheboygan earlier this week when she spotted her alleged stalker in the crowd, asking from the stage for security to approach the guy. "Michelle Branch just said, 'Wait a second. There's a guy in the audience - striped shirt and glasses - can somebody check him out?'" said a concert-goer. "It left everyone just so confused, like, 'Is this a joke, part of the show?'" After security apprehended the man, Branch apologized to the crowd and played her last song. Authorities say the man has been following Branch to concerts around the country for more than three years and has weasled his way backstage and to aftershow parties, and even lunged at the singer at an autograph signing. "He used to get his way into meet-and-greets and private events somehow and would try to approach her and touch her and just really inappropriate stuff," said the Wreckers singer's road manager. Branch was especially concerned to see the man in her audience on Monday night because her 19-month-old daughter was there. "He's been to her last several shows, but it caught her completely off-guard that he was in Sheboygan," said a police lieutenant.

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Mary Weiland blames bipolar disorder

Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland's wife Mary has spoken out about her erratic behavior last weekend, blaming the hotel trashing and fire-lighting incidents on bipolar disorder. "The weekend's difficulties were brought on by a reaction to an imbalance in medications used to treat my bipolar disorder," Mary Weiland said in a statement. "Scott was simply trying to help calm me down. I want to make it clear that he did not hurt me in any way. For lack of a better expression, I was unstable and just lost it." Weiland added that she has "a loving husband, drug-free for 3 1/2 years now, who is able to care for me during this challenging time." She also says the couple's two children did not witness "any of these events."

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Black Eyed Peas star arrested for DUI

Black Eyed Peas member Taboo is the latest celeb arrested for suspicion of DUI. 31-year-old Jaime Luis Gomez was taken into custody after being involved in a collision yesterday morning in Industry, CA. The hip-hop star was issued a citation for possession of marijauna, possession of a prescribed medication and driving under the influence. He was released on $1,500 bail. Geez, these DUI arrests are becoming an epidemic.

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Eva's guy should keep his day job

Eva Longoria's fiancee Tony Parker should stick to basketball. The French bball player released a rap album yesterday to sour reviews. See what you think...

Wynonna splits from husband after arrest for sexual assault

Country star Wynonna Judd has filed for divorce a week after her husband's arrest on three charges of aggravated sexual battery on a child under 13. A statement posted on Judd's website reads:

"Wynonna Judd today filed for divorce against her estranged husband, D.R. Roach, citing irreconcilable differences. Roach was arrested on March 22, 2007 in Abilene, TX and charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery against a minor. 'I am obviously devastated. Our family will pull together, begin the healing process hopefully - by the Grace of God - become stronger. We will move forward with our faith, family and our friends to find resolution to this difficult situation,' Judd said. Roach had been seeking treatment for drug and alcohol addiction at the Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas since February 21, 2007. The couple was married in November, 2003."

A Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesperson did not offer specifics about the alleged victim's connection to Roach but said his arrest stems from an investigation by the police department's sex crimes unit that began in late February. Roach is being held on $750,000 bail.

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Scott Weiland's wife arrested for burning clothes

On the heels of a room-trashing incident at a Burbank hotel last weekend, 31-year-old Mary Weiland, wife of Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland, has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to the singer's $10,000 wardrobe in front of the couple's Toluca Lake home. Police responded to a call of a "female burning clothes" and booked Mary Weiland for investigation of felony arson vandalism shortly after midnight on Sunday morning. The couple have two children, who have thankfully been placed in the custody of family friends.

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Velvet Revolver singer and wife trash hotel room

A Burbank hotel is pressing charges against Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland and his wife Mary, claiming the couple trashed a hotel room during their stay last weekend. "A huge argument" between the pair started when Mary arrived at the hotel on Saturday and was witnessed by their two children - who were taken away by Weiland's assistant. Weiland then left and Mary could be heard throwing things around in the room afterward. Alarm clocks and phones were ripped from their sockets, "dents and gauges" were made in the walls and blood was found on the bed linens. The Stone Temple Pilots alum pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges against his wife in 2001.

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