Monday, March 15, 2010

Photographers and Band Showcase #4

I realized that I didn't give you any updates on our two photographers we visited last weekend: Deja Vu Studios and Franklin Square Photgraphers. We liked them both a lot which I was totally shocked about because for some reason...I didn't think I was going to be much impressed. Franklin Square was such a cute, family owned and operated business. Two brothers run the business their parents started years ago and are also the two main photographers. Both their wives and other family members help them in other aspects of the business as well. We toured the facility, right down to their printing and video production room. They have a really great business going and we had a good feeling there. However, I also really enjoyed our time at Deja Vu. The owner, Allen, who we met with was extremely personable, and down to earth. We both felt so comfortable and at ease with him that we also just really want to work with him in general. Not to mention, Deja Vu gave us a better price than any of the other photographers we've visited so right now, Deja Vu is in the lead with price and personality. Both places have some really cheesy pictures on their website...in fact a lot of these places have at least one on their website that make me just want to say "really?" I know I've talked about this before, but you know which ones I'm talking about...the girl draped over a white piano with her dress hanging down and a single red rose draped over her chest while she looks wistfully up into the sky thinking about her love. Yes...that picture and any number of its brothers and sisters are unfortunately found on both the sites of the places we visited on Saturday. My favorite would have to be this picture below. I can just imagine the photographer directing this one. (For argument's sake, let's say their names are Brett and Michelle).

"Ok...Michelle, I want you to sit down and lean back like you're going to lay down, but don't actually lie down. Now, lift your right leg at an awkward 90 degree angle. Now Brett, kneel down, grab her raised leg by the ankle, and kiss her cheek so it looks like you're getting ready to get on top of her. Good..now hold. Great..I'll just blur the edges a little bit once this is developed and it'll look like a dream."

While pictures like these can make me cringe...I have to tell myself a few things:
1. There are a lot of girls out there who like pictures like that and they need to cater to their broad range of clientele. (By the way...I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, or if you have a picture just like this either in your wedding album or plan to take a picture like this...and I'm especially sorry if this is your picture above.)
2. I certainly don't have to pose any way I don't want to. If the photographer starts to say any of the following statements to me I have the right to say "no":
      "Ok lift your leg high in the air..."
      "Here, hold this red rose across your chest and look longingly at your husband..."
      "Sit in the middle of the room with your head flung back while Chris kisses your neck. I'll take the picture from above.
      "Laura, lay across the piano while Chris pretends to play"
      "Chris, lay across the piano while Laura actually plays"

3. They have a ton of other great pictures on their website that they have to offer as well...and one or two faux paux's should not deter me from anyone entirely. The Photojournalist sections offers great pictures that I would be more than happy with.

But the fun doesn't stop there!! Nope! We went to two more photographers on Saturday! As my friend Christina stated last week:
"Your hunt for the right wedding vendors should be compared to an expidition...somewhat Lewis and Clark like..."
Well...yea, Christina is pretty correct in that assessment. I'm beginning to think we just like going and meeting new people who like to plan weddings, it's not even really about the photography anymore. Of course, I'm joking...while we have enjoyed meeting new people and seeing how different each place is (because each place really is SO different in how they present their product), we are absolutely done looking for a photographer. This past Saturday we visited Perceptions Photography and Silverfox Studio . I love the pictures at Perceptions but I have to say it was one of the worst, most unaccommodating, most awful customer-service we have encountered so far in the wedding hunt (and the most expensive!). They certainly do well for themselves, they get a ton of business and they also photographed the Jonas wedding at Oheka Castle a few months ago (a fact I didn't know until we arrived and there were Jonas wedding pictures all over the place), so they've gotten all the press they need.  Silverfox was really great, and the guy we dealt with was an excellent salesman. He took us through each individual main and 2nd photographer they have and told us about their personal style as well as individual personality so help pair us with who we think would best suit our style, which I was extremely impressed with. I loved their albums and I loved their video as well. He used to be a wedding planner so he was also very helpful in giving us some of his personal opinions on the bands that we've heard so far (He was very fond of Heart and Soul, as we were..and also thinks we're going to really like Arcadia when we see them on Wednesday). All in all...we are done with the search for photographers..just need to figure out a few more things and we should have our final choice by the weekend!

On the band front, we went to see the band Stages on Friday night at Empire City in Yonkers. I had quite a different vision of what Yonkers was like and what Empire City would be like...and let's just say this was not the most glamorous of places. Stages seemed fun, they had a good crowd up and dancing, and we talked to their band leader who was really nice. However, Heart and Soul are still in the lead for us.
We have 2 more bands to see this week...one of which we think might be a real true contender (Arcadia on Wednesday night) and we will reach a decision about both our photographer and wedding band by this Saturday, if not sooner. Then, I'll be onto the next phase of planning: Bridesmaid Dresses!

Video of the Day:
This is sooo cute and creative. This couple took 500 engagement shoot pictures and created this video. However, they don't get points on environmental friendliness for letting the balloons go at the end.


tori and austin from sarah yates on Vimeo.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Band showcase #3

Well now we are just downright confused. confused. confused. Heart and Soul last night was two words. Ah. Mazing. Ah-Freaking-Mazing. They were all around the best band we've seen so far. Their lead singer Ganessa has the most amazing voice I've ever heard on someone NOT already famous, and their lead male singer was also top-notch. They were fun, energetic, had a wide variety of songs and styles. They were great. The confusion lies in the fact that we still also really like Full House. They had a laid back, classic-oldies and rock style about them that we both really jived with. Full House also had the 3 brass players (sax, trumpet, trombone) that we really liked. Heart and Soul differed in that they were more contemporary and didn't do a whole lot of those classic oldies. That's not to say that they can't do them...it's just that we didn't hear them perform Frank Sinatra, or Bruce or anything like that. They had one guy who switched between sax, clarinet and flute, which was nice but not the same as three horns together. I realize I'm being very nit-picky but this part is really important to both me and Chris so we're being extra picky on this. We still have 4 more bands to see..so maybe we'll like another one better and won't have to decide between these two. But, I can almost gurantee that there is no way we're going to find a better female singer out there than who we heard last night. 
There's more that adds to our confusion between these two, but again, I'll recap all the "yays" and "nays" of the bands once we reach a decision.

Picture of the Day:
I love Chris...and I also love food, particularly desserts. While I'm MORE THAN happy with the way my proposal went, I can't help but feel a littttle jealous at whoever got proposed to this way, especially because there are oreos involved:

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Band Showcase #2

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Last night we went to the Carriage House at Milleridge Inn to see the band Code Bleu perform live. They did a real nice, long showcase and it was very different from our experience last week. This was at a catering hall, they had a few drinks set up in the back and we sat at tables while we watched. They opened up with some light cocktail hour music (guitar and a pianist/singer who did reallly great Billy Joel). Then they went into the full band. They were really good, especially the two main male singers. Their lead guy, I think his name was Tony, was unbelievable. He could sing anything classical, jazz, oldies, current.

I view Code Bleu as a very good, polished, by the book wedding band. They do it all...they did the Hava Negila, an Irish Jig, an Italian Ballad, the operatic "Time to Say Goodbye", Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, etc. etc. They absolutely had more contemporary songs on their setlist than Full House, BUT for some reason, we both individually agreed that we liked Full House better and just weren't feeling like this was our wedding band. I'll go more into detail on our likes and dislikes on each one once we've settled on a band, but that's where we are at right now.

Tonight we see Heart and Soul at Chateubriand!

Today's Funny (and Canadian) Wedding Ad:
You can't afford bad photography.

Friday, March 5, 2010

The First Dance

Unfortunately, Chris and I don't have "a song" ....we just never really found that song that defined us. Sometimes this bothers me...most time it doesn't. Considering I was a music major I feel like I, of all people, should have "a song" because music is so important to me. But somehow...Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata", or Chopin's "Waltz in E minor" just doesn't make the cut as a first dance song (though ballroom dancing would be pretty impressive!) We also have very different tastes in the music we listen to. "All I Ask Of You" from Phantom of the Opera is quite different from Van Halen's "Why Can't This Be Love". I also tend to like more mellow musicians like Jack Johnson, Guster, Matt Nathanson, John Mayer...and Chris likes rock music. We both like DMB, and may end up going with one of his songs...but certainly not "Crash Into Me". Though I truly love that song, it's so overdone at this point..and reminds me too much of all those long lost crushes of 8th grade.

It also reminds me of my '99 family vacation to Canada where I told my parents to listen to this "really amazing song". They popped in the cassette tape (jeez I'm old) I had copied and started playing "Crash Into Me" as we drove to Niagara Falls. My parents remained silent for quite some time as the song played, and kept exchanging worried glances at each other. I was very confused..."What's wrong with it? This is a great song! I don't get it!" What followed is a bit hazy, but by their worried expressions it suddenly dawned on me what the song was actually about. As the lyrics "Hike up your skirt a little more" came on, I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack and I sat in the back with my sister willing the song to end but it just.kept.playing. In short, I was mortified, my parents didn't really care to listen to any more songs and "Crash Into Me" was never quite the same for many years after. 

It's exactly what happened in 3rd or 4th grade when I brought home the Ace of Base CD that I borrowed from a friend. The first song on it was "All That She wants, Is Another Baby" and I'll never forget the worried expression on my parents faces as they dissected the lyrics and told me they didn't really think this was appropriate. Again..I never even THOUGHT about what the song was actually saying, I was in 4th grade!! All I knew was that I liked to dance to it in my friend's living room. (For the record, they still let me buy the cd, Thank GOD! Who didn't have Ace of Base's "The Sign" growing up?) However, from that point on...everytime I listened to the cd, I thought I was this rebellious, grown-up kid who listened to those crazy baby-making, "Living in Danger" singers from Ace of Base.

Back to "our song", I've never had that one song that I always wanted to dance to at my wedding from the ripe age of 10. That certainly would be helpful to me now. Ugh!! Why wasn't I planning my wedding at 10?? This would all be so much easier!! Haha, so for the time being..I am making my way through the songs on This Website. So far I'm on page 3 of 26, but it has been tremendously helpful, not only for picking a first dance song, but for picking songs I like in general. Many of these would be great for slideshows, or to just be played at our wedding in general and I'm enjoying going through them.

This site has the good, the bad, the ugly and the confusing. For example, I'd like to point out that "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast is on this list. It's a great song..but for a first dance? Also, "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. Can you imagine if Chris and I are introduced for our first dance and on comes "Before He Cheats"?
"Right now, he's probably slow dancing with a
bleached-blonde tramp
And she's probably getting frisky
Right now he's probably buying her some Fruity little drink
'Cause she can't shoot whiskey
Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool-stick
Showing her how to shoot a combo
Oh and he don't know..."
Actually, "right now" he's dancing with his new wife, who hopefully isn't a "bleached-blonde tramp" and hopefully not getting "frisky" because lots and lots of people are currently watching. I mean...if we were following the new trend of doing a funny dance, this song could work, but come on, let's have a little faith here people! You've been married for 2 hours!! Hopefully he can put off cheating at least for the night!

Lost of new love songs will come out between now and our wedding, and there are so many good classics that I would be happy with, too. I'm obviously not in a huge hurry, just starting to think about it and get an idea of what we'd like to have.

This weekend, we have two appointments with photographers: Deja Vu Studios who were recommended by sandcastle and Franklin Square Photographers, who I'm much more eager to see. I'll let you know how they go!

Finally, My dear friend Ben sent me and my fellow engaged friend, Ashely, this Slimfast ad this week. For the record he stressed not once, but TWICE that he was not sending this to us because he felt we needed to see the ad. Sure Ben...sure. ;)
Need to lose a little weight before your wedding?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Laura..you waited too long to do this

I've run into my first "Laura..you waited too long to do this" moment. It's not so tragic, but two bands that I was interested in seeing are already booked for MAY 21, 2011!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?? The Projekt and Renegade are already booked...and I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before Code Blue is booked, too. I was interested in The Projekt because they are a spin off band of the band that played at the Chris's parent's wedding in 1981. They've had a few different names since then, but for the past 11 years, they've been called "The Projekt" and apparently have become highly regarded. The guy I talked to on Thursday night from the band was literally one of the nicest people I've ever talked to. We talked for about 15 or 20 minutes and he was so excited that I was referencing these people from Chris's parent's wedding band that he knew or knew at one time...I think he was genuinely bummed that he wasn't available for our wedding!  I'm so impressed by those couples out there that already have their bands decided for their May 2011 wedding. Jeez...I thought I was ball, but apparently not.  I should have done this before the reception hall search! It's really not a huge deal, there are still a ton of bands out there that are great, but I am interested in seeing just how good these two bands are that they are booked that far in advance. I wonder if people out there who have an engagement for less than a year find it extra difficult to book the vendors and places they want?! Anyway, I've switched around my piano teaching schedule for the next two weeks so that I can go to more band showcases. There are 6 we plan on attending in the next 2 weeks...so there will be lots of updating!

In other news, in the midst of all this band searching, I also scheduled an appointment with a photographer this past Saturday morning. Chris and I have passed their building (Twelfth Night Photography) several times driving out by our apt/house/whatever it is we technically live in. I had noticed it before and always said to myself "Oh I gotta check that place out online when I get home" and then of course never did. Luckily, Chris remembered to check the website out last week and sent it to me, and I was very intrigued. I like the idea/concept/visual aspect of their website, though not the most user friendly. I thought they seemed really great, local, convenient and would be worth checking out. But then, I read some reviews about them online and I slowly became more and more obsessed. I read amazing review after amazing review.I really liked the place. It was a comfortable atmosphere. Dom, the owner, is extremely personable and I could tell he would be great to work with. 

He talked A LOT....sometimes I wanted to say "ok..we get it...we understand" But I refrained. What I really liked about this place was how digital everything was. He understands that in this day and age...we just want the files. We don't need every single picture printed in a huge book to look over..give me files, give me the ability to upload them to my computer, and give me the ability to print them myself. And he does that. He even told us that we should upload the pictures to Snapfish or kodagallery and create our own scrapbooks for our friends...(but to still get a nice professional one for us and our parents of course). 2 hours and a cup of hot chocolate later...we left Twelfth Night, feeling quite satisfied! We plan on going to a few more places just for price comparison before making a decision, so we I hope to also have this solidified by the end of the month, as well as our band.

That's all for now...I have another really busy week ahead of me with work, so I hope I can update one more time this week.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

I’ve got the bug!!!


Well folks...it has started…I’ve got the “Band-Search Bug”! Chris and I decided fairly last minute yesterday to head out to a wedding showcase that the band Full House (*cough* Michelle Tanner *cough*) was giving. We looked at their schedule online and saw that this was the only wedding showcase they were doing for quite some time, and pretty much decided it was now or never. We had a 40 minute drive out to their location, but it went really quickly and really was not all that far away.

We both had very different ideas of what the night would be like. I envisioned a dance hall with about 10-15 engaged couples sitting around in chairs with the band playing on a small stage. I envisioned the band getting us out on the dance floor and pretty much creating a feeling of “This is what your wedding will be like.” I mistakenly told Chris before we left that he better have his dancing shoes on because we were going dancing!

Chris was envisioning a small bar with tables for two and a waitress bringing us drinks. Some people may dance…others may not, and he…most certainly…would not be dancing.

We took bets on the way there…though not actually for anything, which turned out to be for the best because BOTH were very wrong. This took place at the Eko Music Recording Studio in Deer Park. The band was set up on the sound stage, with 10 chairs in front of them to watch. We walked into the actual recording studio section with all these high tech mixing devices, and walked around to the sound stage with the Band. Chris and I were 2 of 9 people in attendance. There was one other couple, a girl about our age with her parents (who looked sooooo bored the entire time, I wanted to punch her) and two women in the first row who I think were there on behalf of one of their daughters? We couldn’t tell.  Chris and I sat in the back on a couch, and proceeded to be entertained by a live cover band for the next 45 minutes!!! For free!!!!…and they brought donuts!!

I mean..how cool is that? Especially given the fact that our plans last night consisted of eating oreos on the couch while finishing up the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Don’t get me wrong…I was excited for our big night. Buuut this? This was pretty cool. They did shortened versions of all the classics, The Beatles, The Four Seasons "You're Just too Good to be True", Tina Turner's "Proud Mary", Etta James "At Last", "Don't Stop Believing" etc. etc. etc. I LOVED the three horns they had (saxophone, trumpet and trombone) they sounded really great and added a lot to the sound as a whole. It was all I could do not to get up and dance.

I had a fabulous time and of course…now I want to go see every band in the tri-state area so I can just be entertained live for free every week. I have two more showcases that I plan on attending in the next two weeks that we already know are scheduled. Before, I was dreading this and the time it would take...but now I’m excited!

We talked to the band manager and lead singer, Joe, afterward. He was nice and so chill…he totally has a laid back rocker/guitar-player feel. He was the main singer of the band, very talented and very charismatic. The band has been together for almost 30 years, so they have a long standing reputation. Chris and I both agreed we would be very happy if they played at our wedding…but of course, want to go see some others before deciding on anything. The good thing is...our date is being tentatively held with them since we already went to see them. Joe will now call us before booking anyone else on that date to let us know that if we don’t decide soon we could lose them, which I think is very professional and courteous!

On another note, I got the following email from a member of the band Code Bleu on Tuesday night. This was sent to me after I told them that Monday night showcases were difficult for me to get to because I teach piano on Mondays, and asking if they could please send me a DVD:
Hi Laura,
My band Code Bleu is performing again on March 8th. I hope you can attend. May 20th just booked, but the 21st of May is still open. Perhaps you can make arrangements to make it down that evening. A few of my guys teach as well. I know you'd have to juggle students, I'm all too familiar with that, but I believe you will be glad that you did. The band is extremely tight, very appealing and is one of the "first call" bands in the Tri-State area.
 Unfortunately, we don't mail out DVD's because it's a poor representation of our abilities what we offer. All of our clients say that although the DVD is good, it doesn't come close to seeing the band live.
Again, I know juggling students is a pain in the neck, but truthfully, shopping bands by DVD is one of the biggest mistakes a bride can make while planning her wedding.
Please know that I am only trying to be helpful!!!!
 let me know if you'd like to attend.
 I look forward to meeting you.
Regards,
Sean
I can't tell whether to be frustrated/insulted/or very grateful. Obviously, Sean is giving me some great advice and trust me...I took it to heart. Honestly, the fact that they are already booked Friday, March 20, 2011 is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. The fact that he is the ONLY person that has said to me "you know what? No..YOU come see us. We're not going to make this easy for you" makes me want to know if they really are worth it?. He's playing "hard-to-get" and why I don't technically appreciate the "game" of all this...it's working, and I am indeed interested in seeing this band perform. I merely was trying to break down my options based on DVD's not pick entirely based on them, but whatever. So I may switch around my Monday March 8th teaching schedule so I can schlep out to Milleridge (which is actually a venue I was interested in seeing) to see Code Bleu perform. Oy...The things I do for love I mean, bands.

Full House: Check

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy 7 Month Engage-Aversary

I am a Horrible Horrible person!!! There is NO excuse for not updating for about a whole month!!! But I'm going to give you some excuses anyway and you can take them or leave them.

1. I am suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affect Disorder). I decided last week that I'm just going to say "I have SAD" as an excuse for everything over the next month..and I think that's a pretty good idea. "I didn't take care of that business report? Oh I'm sorry...it's just I have really bad SAD." (who am I kidding? I don't do business reports!)  "I ate an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey? No fear!! I'm just suffering from SAD!" It's like a free pass. Anyway,  I said to Chris last week "It's not that I'm depressed, I just have no will or drive to do anything with, or for, my life right now" *cricket cricket*  ..."Um....that's depression"  Haha ok so maaaybe he's right, but honestly folks, this doesn't transcend anything other than what we are ALL feeling right now, and that's the "winter blues." All I've wanted to do is go home, curl up with a glass of hot cocoa and do nothing. Now you may be thinking "Come on Laura...when's the last time you updated your blog from home?? We all know you do it while you're at work" And to you I say "touche" But work has been surprisingly busy over the past month and I've actually had to hunker down and well...work. So that's the #1 reason I have not updated lately...low Vitamin D and actually having to work. And that's ok..because in just one glorious month from now...Spring will be here and everything is always better when Spring comes around!

2. My ankle hurt. That's all..my ankle was just bothering me...very stressful.

3. I was dragging my feet (maybe that's why my ankle hurt!) getting started on the band hunt because I just didn't know where to begin or what to look for. However, I have learned a lot over the past two weeks and hope to kind of kick our asses into gear on picking a band within the next month. So, since today is another anniversary for us (7 months engaged to be exact) I figured I need to get back up to speed. Not to mention some people have complained about my lack of updating...I know you've allll been in super suspense.

So. Bands.

Had I known how much time you need to devote to look into bands..I would have started this process...ohhhh..last month. Every website I go to about bands says something about how the best way to pick a band is to go see them live. Really? I have to make time to go see 5-10 bands perform LIVE? That's a lot of time. I know, I know..I don't have to be a crazy sociopath and go see that many and the fact that I feel that way is nobody's fault but my own. Deep down...I like this researching, and investigating, so I'm really only complaining for affect here.

I have narrowed down my search to 9 bands that I am interested in pursuing and learning more about. Haha it's kind of like choosing a mate.  I have requested a DVD/CD or just general information from each one of them and also asked for their showcase schedule to see if I can go to any upcoming showcases.
So far, I like the following bands. Please feel free to comment on what you like, don't like, have heard about, have not heard about, etc. to help me narrow this down!:


Peat Moss and the Fertilizers -They were voted the #1 Long Island Cover band for 2 years in a row. I LOVE this band. I really do...their videos are fantastic, they have a great website with a full calendar in which they are consistently booked for weddings throughout the rest of 2010. They have adorable choreography, they are all young ADORABLE men, they can literally sing anything, and I have read nothing but fantastic reviews online. My one...ONLY ONE qualm is that they have no female singers. At first..I was really close to just writing them off because they were all boys and I really wanted some female singers and especially a good heavy brass section, but the more videos I watched, the more I just didn't care. Plus..I hear that they come with a DJ to play during their breaks. Soooo I could just request that the DJ play mostly female singers so we'll still get that. Also, they don't just perform anything that's typically sung by men...their extensive song list includes Britney Spears, some good old Lady Gaga and the like, so they literally do it all. This would not be a "traditional" wedding band, it would be a little different...and I like that.

In the end, I may end up deciding to go the more "traditional" route with my wedding band. i.e. a few male AND female lead singers, keyboard, drums and brass. I just love a good brass section. I always had a vision of having a really great saxophone player at my wedding, and most of these other "traditional" bands have a saxophone player. Damn you Peat Moss. You have me all twisted and confused..I feel like if they had just one female singer with them OR a saxophone player they'd be a shoe-in.

Code Bleu- Code Bleu is making me angry. And I should just write them off at this point except it's just that I've heard soooo many good thing about them online. They seem to be quite a popular wedding band in our area and if that's true..then I want to hear them! But they make me mad because they have zero videos on their vague and mysterious website. I've emailed them two or three times now asking for a DVD and they just keep asking me if I can come to their showcase tonight, Wednesday or next Monday. No, no and NO! can you please just send me a DVD?? I get that they want their client to book them based on the real deal, not some canned video, but please can you give me something, anything??!

Full House- Besides the obvious fact that I LOVE this band's name,(how can you NOT think of little Michelle Tanner when you see the name of this band?) I also have heard some great things about them as well. Again..most of my knowledge comes form liweddings.com, which I'm not ashamed to admit is my trusty resource. It seems that as a whole, Code Bleu is generally a bit more popular than Full House, but that they are still just as good as the rest of them when you really get down to it. I noticed most of their videos had a male singer and no female singers...but I searched around a little and found some females, who were very talented.

Soul Revival- I heard they are good. They were mentioned often on message boards.


The Stingers- They apparently are very well known around New York, and apparently performed at Katherine Heigl's wedding!! That being said I think they may not work for two reasons. 1) price and 2) They've been around for a looong time and looking at their song list..I think they specialize in mostly oldies and motown, which I love..but I need some Beyonce and Lady Gaga in my life!!! Haha.

Franklin Wayne Orchestra-they have three bands, one of which is called "Heart and Soul". Their DVD is already being shipped and I should get it tomorrow. I've heard a lot of good things about them as well.

Live Wire-- Just read they were good. Their website annoys me though. It, too, is vague with no video and leaves me very unfulfilled.

East Coast- They are the House Band for The Inn at New Hyde Park, which was one of our top 3 choices to have our wedding, and a really nice venue. If this is their house band, then I certainly trust them to be good, so that was enough for me to be interested. 

Vali Entertainment- Their band leader/Manager already called me today to speak with me about my wedding. While I was impressed with his good business skills, email works JUST fine for me, especially when I'm at work. They already seem a little bit pricier than the other bands and he wants to meet with me directly in Manhattan on a work week. Which is both not fun for me, and annoying for Chris..sooo we'll see what we decide with them. I really like their website though.

So I should have a full mailbox in the next three days!!

I swear I'm back on the "BANDwagon" now!