How to have An Amazing Wedding – Where do you Start?

The Most Important Thing You Need To START WITH to Have the BEST WEDDING BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE!  

And often the MOST SKIPPED!

BONUS – What to do Later to Make SURE your Amazing WEDDING is not Interrupted or Disrupted.

No matter how much time you have to prepare for your wedding weeks, months or years, universally speaking, every bride and groom want the same thing: To have the most amazing day they can imagine, and hopefully better than that. So the first most important thing is where to start? How do you go about preparing the easiest and smartest way?

The #1 place to start is to decide what is it that would make your party experience unbelievable and unforgettable.

You simply have to take some time to SEE or VISUALIZE what you want your wedding reception to look like, feel like and sound like.  Essentially what you want to EXPERIENCE.

This is a slightly different approach to imagining and visualizing the wedding.  The focus is on what you how you want to feel inside, more so than what it will look like outside. The outside is much easier to produce.  The internal experience is what's going to make it last forever.

Many brides have imagined their wedding for years if not decades, and have a specific idea of what it should look like, and just assume that if they create their vision the rest will fall in place.  But once planning starts getting into details if everything is hinging on all the elements being perfect for that experience to take place, you put yourself at the mercy of external things.

So you begin again and do it for real.  This time focusing on the quality of experience you want to FEEL, SEE, SMELL, TOUCH and TASTE.  More on this below.  So there are two main type of planners, some that know exactly what they want and some that have an idea and imagine that if they put together the elements they'll have the experience.

Yet surprisingly many brides and grooms don’t really sit down and talk about what would make the most amazing day or night for themselves. They have an idea of what they want, an expectation, but just get right into the planning and the chores and expect that it will all come together eventually.

Here’s a quick illustration.  Rarely ever would any woman (at least those I know) go to get a hair cut without KNOWING what she wants her hair to look like when it's finished. “Just cut it” would rarely come out of her mouth. 

Guys pretty much get the same thing each time so they're not thinking about it that much.  They maybe have an idea, but once the barber/stylist gets going they never say anything.  Women often  have pictures they bring in or can describe in great detail the exact cut. 

That’s the kind of attention to the clarity of end result you want to have for your wedding pre-planning.  Not just eh look, but the feel, the energy, and the sound, All the senses are covered. 

But there’s a lot of elements and stress that may come about from family, to budget etc, so that sometimes curtails the true visualization. If you can't have it why imagine it?

Please do yourself a favor and don’t allow those distractions at

the beginning.  Just imagine and see what will make you feel the most happy and fulfilled.  

Many amazing things can happen to get you to the greatest party that don't require large expenses.

For instance personal touches that get your guests involved in your event, like Top 10 wedding advice cards, or allowing them to get to see you and your groom in a whole new light.

So what does the greatest vision of your party will look and feel like:

All dancing? Laughing? Great food? Quiet time? Music? Lights? Wild free-for-all or posh dinner dance?  Sophisticated class or uninhibited revelry? What does the room look like? Classy? Clubby? Regal? Casual? Serene? Pulsating? Special effects? Great social environment with lots of mingling? What happens during the party? Casual Dancing, followed by gourmet eating? Wild Dance Club – with sexy guests or just FUN with relatives?  Are there toasts or roasts?  Do you want laughs or shouts of excitement or both?

Once you identify the elements it gives you, the site and a talented planner the keys to insure you are on your way to success. Once you have an idea of the elements, you prioritize them in order of importance to you.

For instance a bride may decide her party is all about the fun factor and not really care about the food per se. The food is secondary to the party being non-stop fun. That’s an important distinction to make, because for the venue, caterer or restaurant, normally food is their priority. And food is important, certainly we all love a great meal, but it’s your party and vendors should do their best to accommodate you.

So once you get to your vision of the best wedding, appoint a Director, whether that’s your MC, maitre’d, maid of honor, or best man that is in charge of making sure your goals and vision is being fulfilled your way. That’s the person who will be in charge of making sure your priorities are adhered to.

Another illustration:  We’ve encountered situations where the maitre’d demands stopping the party for a course even against the client’s wishes. We like to make parties as seamless as possible, but obviously that makes for a pickle, when the caterer is demanding a stop to the music and the guests be seated when the client wants to keep going.

That’s another reason why it is important to be clear about your desires in advance with everyone involved in your affair. It’s your party. You have the right to your party your way. Often times when the bride has clearly imagined her party and prioritizes her wishes, we can captain the party for them to head off any thing that will take away from those wishes. All we need is a clear direction from the client and we will assure it happens.

A good director/ planner will be able to determine what’s most important to you by asking you, getting your answers and checking in with you to make sure your desires haven’t changed.

Once your elements are prioritized, everything comes into focus and becomes much more easily managed, plus you’ll feel much better going forward because you’ll know what it is you are going for and what it’s supposed to look like when you show up.

Also the vendors you have selected will be able to know exactly how to make your party great for you. So in recapping, although it may seem like an obvious thing, sit down with your fiancée and begin to imagine, visualize and fantasize about the specific experiences you want to have and allow a clear vision to unfold.  this will always tell you if you are heading in the right direction.

This fun 15 minutes to 1 hour can be the greatest time you spend assuring the success of your wedding.

Here's to the most amazing wedding ever!

About The Author: Michael Sage Schindler is the owner; Master Celebrations Director and Master of Ceremonies of Lightning Shakes New York Events and Entertainment. Planning and working as an DJ company, MC, advisor, coordinator and  event choreographer for 20 years in the major event venues all over NYC for such well-known people as Donald Trump, Joan Lunden, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, CEO of Westwood One Network Joel Hollander and NBC sports announcer Len Berman. He’s one of the most preferred MCs at Trump Plaza, Harrahs, Showboat and Trump Marina in Atlantic City for special events. Michael has been invited to perform in Europe, the Caribbean, and Hawaii and all over the US as well. With LSNY, he has produced events for such companies as Wells Fargo, AIG, Brooklyn Museum, Merrill Lynch and Rado Switzerland.

For a free entertainment evaluation for your wedding ( a $350 value) please call 201 475-5769 or email me at michael@lsny.net