Red Letter Events was assigned the theme “Winter Desert” for the inaugural show in Tacoma. It was our challenge to create a vignette that incorporated these two opposing themes. To do this, we used rustic and organic elements like burlap, twine, wood, sand, moss and succulent plants. We also used snow and cool blue lighting, as well as blue napkins and ribbon, and brown and blue fonts in the paperie.

We want to give a big ‘thank you’ to our vignette partners, Trendy Event Rentals, Burning Cupcakes, Valerie’s Invites, AA Party Rentals and Mercer Island Florist for all of the time and materials you put into this event.

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We’re taking you Behind the Veil with some of the Puget Sound’s best wedding and event venues and vendors. This ongoing series of personal interviews will be both entertaining and informative. Who are the real people behind these great companies and why should you put them on your ‘must-contact‘ list? Join us as we answer that very important question for you.

In this edition of Behind the Veil, we interview Nash Fung, Seattle Magician. We sat down with Nash recently to talk about why having a magician at your wedding reception would work, and really, to get to know Nash better and what he does.

Red Letter Events: So Nash, why should a bride and groom to-be hire a magician to entertain their guests? Isn’t this something only for a theme wedding, or is this something a traditional or modern bride could love too?

Nash: First of all, no one will be expecting it. It’s a great way to make your wedding memorable. Most people have gone to more than one wedding, so it’s nice to give them something unique and entertaining.

Furthermore, it’s a great way to break the ice among guests from both sides of the family. Imagine seeing a bridesmaid reading the mind of a friend from the groom’s side, or a card mysteriously change places while it is being trapped under five peoples’ hands. Interactive magic like these really help bringing people together.

It’s also a great way to release tables for the buffet (an idea from Adam Tiegs), keep them entertained between courses if it’s a sit-down dinner, or after-dinner if they don’t wanna dance.

Most of the weddings I’ve performed for are not ‘theme weddings’. I think it’s just great for bride and groom that like to think outside-the-box to entertain their guests.

RLE: Can you briefly describe your shows – what you might do at a wedding reception? Are you going to be the focus of attention, or will it still be on the bride and groom?

Nash: I’ll describe my show as “sophisticated magic mixed with clean comedy”. It is geared toward grown-ups, yet visual enough so the young ones can understand too.

Sometimes the magic happens in the audiences’ hands, or with the audiences’ cellphone, driver’s license, money, etc. So you can see, my magic is highly interactive.

I always ask if the bride and groom want me to bring the spotlight to them, or keep it off of them – as you know everyone is different. Sometimes I’m asked to create a special trick that involves them, like the bride wanting to surprise the groom with a secret gift. If they prefer not to have the spot-light on them, I’ll honor their request.

RLE: When and how did you get started as a magician and entertainer?

Nash: Well, I thought, “chics dig magic” – that’s how I got started… no just kidding. I started when I moved to Seattle at the age of 14. Magic helped me make a lot of friends and get adjusted to the culture.

My professional career started in my senior year at CWU. Most of my shows are for corporate banquets and social hours. Having that experience really helped, because at the heart of a wedding reception is a fun social hour and an elegant banquet – a setting I’m very familiar with performing. And yes, I do think chics dig magic… at least most of them.

RLE: What or who have been your influences in magic and your business?

Nash: Believe it or not, my friends and mentors Ruben Barron and Robert Stephens. They taught me the real magic is in connecting with your audiences. In my performance, I might bring up topics like the Seahawks, recent movies, or whatever fits the moment. People want to be entertained by a genuine person, not a robot that executes magic while reciting scripts.

In terms of weddings, Etienne Pradier, a popular French-British wedding magician inspired me to believe wedding magic can be done. And so far, the raving reviews from the weddings I’ve performed for confirm that belief.

RLE: What differentiates you from your piers?

Nash: First and foremost, my creativity. One of the biggest knocks on magicians is that we all do the same tricks – so I’m very passionate about creating new magic or putting my own twist on the classics.

Since the age of 19, I’ve published my original magic worldwide and lectured other magicians overseas. I perform mostly magic created by me and stay away from tricks that seem cliché.

Also, my expertise in both sleight of hand and mind-reading gives my audiences a more diverse show. It’s like getting a 2-for-1 deal – a magician and a mind-reader.

RLE: What is your favorite memory from a wedding or event you worked – good, bad or funny?

Nash: That’s a tough one. It’s a tie between the one I spoke of earlier with the special gift for the groom, and a Chinese wedding. When the guests saw that I speak fluent Chinese, they felt connected to me right away – it’s like they’re just hanging out with an old friend. Being able to speak their language definitely elevated the atmosphere for that wedding.

If you want me to explain that ‘feeling’, well, imagine while vacationing in Nigeria, you run into an entertainer from Seattle where you can chat about everything Seattle.

RLE: Is there an accomplishment or accolade you’ve received that you’re really proud of?

Nash: Recently, I won The Knot’s Best of Weddings 2011 Pick for my unique wedding entertainment. I’m pretty happy about that. It seems more and more people are recognizing that magic at weddings is not cheesy – it can be very elegant and serve as a great ice-breaker.

We chose to go Behind the Veil with Nash Fung because we like the way he treats his clients, we love his shows and we appreciate they way he treats other wedding and event vendors. Regardless of how you find a wedding or event vendor, we always recommend that you personally interview them before signing a contract. You should be able to count on a quality referral from your wedding and event planner, but you should always take the time to ensure that you like and trust a vendor yourself.

We’re taking you Behind the Veil with some of the Puget Sound’s best wedding and event venues and vendors. This ongoing series of personal interviews will be both entertaining and informative. Who are the real people behind these great companies and why should you put them on your ‘must-contact‘ list? Join us as we answer that very important question for you.

In this edition of Behind the Veil, we interview Generation X Productions. GenXpro are business partners Jered and Ollie. We sat down with Ollie recently to talk about what it means to him and Jered to be professional DJ’s, and about their partnership.

Red Letter Events: When and how did you get started as professional DJ’s?

Ollie: I remember a friend showing me a video when I was 16 years old (12 years ago,”1999″) of a DJ performing in Europe, as I watched the camera pan from just viewing this unknown DJ to the crowd he was playing for. I was utterly amazed at how this one person was influencing thousands of people with his music. “There must have been 20,000 people”, my friend said with excitement. The next day my friend and I purchased DJ equipment to learn how he was mixing music so flawlessly and by pure curiosity. After 6 months of frustration with the learning curve it takes and little-to-no mentoring to guide us, we gave up and just left them to gather dust. It was 6-12 months after giving up that I was at a family friend’s party and I was able to watch a local DJ live for hours play around on his equipment. That’s when I decided to give it another try. As most DJ’s can agree, the learning process that it takes can be long and annoying, especially to your friends as it’s not always the most pleasant sounding. After three and a half years, I had put out multiple CD mixes and was planning events for larger crowds. I met my business partner Jered in helping him with an event and from there Jered & myself were a part of many small to large events in the Kitsap Peninsula Area. We were addicted to say it simply – anything to do with music, events and promotion we wanted to be apart of.

Jered’s background is in audio engineering at the Art Institute in Seattle. He had worked with large and small concerts with all kinds of bands when I met him in 2003. His attention to detail and acoustics were new to me and so we were able to teach each other everything we had learned. We started accumulating equipment over the years from running events and got asked to DJ a friend’s wedding. Jered & I never thought that we would DJ for weddings and had no idea what it entailed. After DJ’n our first wedding we were surprised that the Bride and Groom and many guests complimented us, especially as we stuck it out through all the rain, and that we did a great job. I think that is when we decided to start offering to DJ’n weddings for friends and family and quickly fell in love with all the unique things weddings had to offer. Jered & I established our DJ company, Generation X Productions and are coming up on our 4th year. We have DJ’d over 250 weddings now and love what we do.

RLE: What/who have been your influences in music and your business?

Ollie: Well, I’d have to say it started with my father as he collected all kinds of music and had the same appreciation for its empowering effect on people as I do. Some of my inspirations would be close friends that helped me through all the learning curves, Jacob Meiers (DJ MBM), Matt Graham (Ticus), Jeff Bergerson & many others. Some of the big names in the DJ industry would be DJ Tiesto, Paul Van Dyke, Cosmic Gate, Trance Control and many others. As for business, it starts with my Mom and her dedication and hard work towards her dreams in her medical practice, compassion and honesty are very important in today’s business world and she made sure I never forgot those principles.

RLE: How do you get ready for a wedding? Do you listen to music? What are you listening to?

Ollie: We allow lots of extra time on our way to an event as it’s a sure way to eliminate any surprises earlier on so our clients never need to worry. Jered and I listen to all kinds of music as we have come to appreciate all the different styles, since that is what is expected from a wedding DJ.

RLE: What is the biggest misconception that brides have before they meet with you for the first time?

Ollie: The biggest misconception that we run into is the difference between a DJ playing music at their wedding or having a professional DJ company that helps with planning, day-of coordination of the Ceremony and Reception, keeping the flow and being very professional. DJ’s have an incredible amount of control at a wedding and can really affect its overall outcome and success. Lots of our clients are amazed as we walk them through our planners at the amount of details that weddings can have.

RLE: What is something unique you do that you are extra proud of?

Ollie: When we first started Generation X Productions, we purchased a very unique Laser Lighting effect. It turns a room into a night’s sky with stars and a nice blue cloud that moves and it’s really like dancing under the stars. Another thing we have noticed in this industry is that most professional DJ services are not upfront with their prices and we wanted to be different. So we decided to – our clients know if we are in their budget and it saves us a lot of time as we can focus more on how we can contribute to their special day and less on selling what we think we are worth.

RLE: What is your favorite memory from a wedding you worked – good, bad or funny?

Ollie: Well hopefully someone will read this and put it into a movie as it was one of the funniest things I’ve experienced in this business. We were at a golf course setup outside, under a large covered area finishing up an awesome wedding! The father of the bride let us know of a grand getaway that was on its way for the bride and groom. As soon as he said “helicopter”, we asked if we could play “Ride Of The Valkyries” as they boarded and flew away. For anyone that knows this song it’s a classical song that is played in movies during epic scenes. As the helicopter landed about 400 ft away on a nearby green we turned our speakers to face it, all the guests headed out to give a great farewell to the wedded couple. The bride and groom took awhile packing everything they needed and as soon as we saw them head to the helicopter we started playing the song. It was epic! Everyone laughed as they started towards the helicopter. What happened next was unbelievable – all of the huge sprinklers started going off hitting all of the guests and the helicopter. Panic quickly set in – everyone was running back to us and we kept the music going, as they ran back to us more sprinklers came on hitting them every step of the way back. By the time everyone had got to us they were all soaked and all laughing hysterically. The golf course staff could not turn off the sprinklers as they were on timers and the greens keepers for the golf course had already left for the evening. Eventually the banquet staff had to park golf carts in front of the huge sprinklers so the helicopter could take off safely. Haha!

RLE: What is your philosophy when working with couples?

Ollie: Our Philosophy in working with couples is that we want to compliment their style with the music choices, flow of the evening and overall wedding. We tell our clients that they are the boss and that we are there to do exactly what they have envisioned. It’s important for DJ’s to understand that at a wedding, it’s not about how good the DJ is and his abilities, but how good they can use their abilities to make sure the bride and groom have the most fun they have ever had. It’s a celebration that we don’t take lightly – our focus is to keep the spot light on the bride and groom and not on us. Our goal is to get hugs from our clients as we know that we were apart of one of the most important day of their lives and we always try to exceed the expectations of what is expected from someone showing up to play music.

RLE: What are some questions that brides should ask when interviewing DJs?

Ollie: There are many but here are some of the most important ones that are asked when meeting a Professional DJ Company:

• Are you the DJ that will be at my wedding? If not, will I be able to meet them before I book with your company?
• How long have you been in business and could I read some recommendations of some of your past clients?
• Do you have a contract or agreement; are you insured and do you have a business license?
• Are there any extra costs with equipment and meetings of what we have gone over?
• Do you drink or take smoke breaks at weddings? (We never do)
• Do you provide both MC & DJ services? (They should)
• Do you have backups in place for unforeseen circumstances? (Most companies don’t like this question)
• Do you use professional grade equipment, microphones and speakers? (Just gage how they respond, if they are confident,then you’re OK)
• Do you charge for setup & take-down and how early do you show up on the day of the wedding? (No charge & 1-1.5 hours is recommended)
• What do you wear at weddings and are there any options?

There are many more questions but these are the most common.

RLE: Can you briefly describe your services and relative prices?

Ollie: As we are upfront with our prices and know most of the really professional DJ companies in the Seattle area and are also on the same level of professionalism as we are, I’d say we are competitively priced. Generation X Productions services all of Western Washington, as we have worked at most venues we have detailed layouts and planners that guide us to do exactly what our clients have envisioned. From Weddings, Birthdays, Corporate Functions and everything in between GenXpro excels with our vast knowledge of equipment, music, talent and experience. We always guarantee an owner at every wedding to ensure quality and always provide 2 people on the day of your wedding to cover the Master of Ceremonies (MC) and DJ service. Always professional, on time and above all else, always trying to exceed our clients expectations.

We chose to go Behind the Veil with GenXpro because we like the way they treat their clients, we love the work they do and we appreciate they way they treat other wedding and event vendors. Regardless of how you find a wedding or event vendor, we always recommend that you personally interview them before signing a contract. You should be able to count on a quality referral from your wedding and event planner, but you should always take the time to ensure that you like and trust a vendor yourself.

Ice Cream Bars are becoming increasingly popular. You can offer a variety of different ice cream flavors for your guests to choose from (or just select a few), and have an assortment of cute glass containers full of candies, nuts, cherries, bananas, hot fudge, berries, cookies, sprinkles, brownie pieces… you name it. Oh, and don’t forget the whipped cream! Your Ice Cream Bar could be self serve, or you could have someone staff the table during your reception to serve your guests. It would be a refreshing late night treat, after hours of dancing the night away – or if you’re truly a non-traditional bride, you could offer an Ice Cream Bar instead of wedding cake!

Popcorn Bars have also become popular recently – you can offer it as your take-home favor for guests, or as a novelty treat during your reception. Offering a few different flavors to choose from would be a nice option (you can pre-make the flavors at home prior to the wedding) – and offer a few mix-in treats such as nuts, M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids and other types of candies. If you don’t want to try to pull it together on your own, you can hire someone to do it for you.

We’ll be featuring a Seattle-area based popcorn vendor called Pop! Gourmet Popcorn at the Tacoma Art Museum during the Wedding Walk Tacoma on February 20, 2011. You can check out their popcorn mix-in station to see if you’d like to include popcorn at your wedding. Hope to see you there!

Come join us at the Tacoma Art Museum on April 8th for and evening of delicious appetizers and beverages, provided by Jonz Catering.

You’ll get to meet an array of wedding vendors in an intimate setting, pick up some beautiful decorating ideas, and see the museum as you’ve never seen it before.

This free event is by invitation only. Please RSVP with us by email or by phone.

To celebrate the 4th of July, we want you to take a Fourth Off of anyof our service packages. If you book with Red Letter Events in the month of July, we want you to take 25% Off of the service package that’s right for you. Contact us today for more info or to take advantage of this special offer.

UPS Dining and Conference Services recently finished a big technology project and asked RLE to help with color selection, invitations, thank you cards, event timeline, appreciation board design, favors, table centerpiece design and creation, set-up and tear-down for their appreciation dinner. They were a fun group, and Natasha was great to work with.

According to WebMD, a leading medical website, it’s recommended to begin working towards “flawless” skin anywhere from 2-6 months prior to your event date. Start scheduling monthly facial treatments with a licensed and reputable esthetician, up to 6 months prior to your event.

Since allergic reactions are possible with the various skin care products and treatments, make sure to not schedule a treatment too close to your event date - schedule your last facial appointment at least two weeks prior. If you have a reaction, or the treatment brings many impurities to the surface, you will allow your skin enough time to heal and recover prior to the event. WebMD recommends that you do not schedule a glycolic acid peel, dermabrasion or anything chemical for at least one month prior to the event.

For at-home skin care, you will not want to change your skincare or haircare products within the month prior to your event. You can even give yourself monthly facials at home with various products available at local retailers. Make it a fun girls-night-in each month by scheduling a spa night with your bridesmaids and friends!

For last minute pimple emergencies – make-up experts recommend a small dab of tooth paste (not the gel kind) on the blemish the night before. On WebMD, Dr. Mauro Romita states that the best way to rid of a blemish quickly is to hold a hot compress on it, then a cold compress, and finally a dab of benzoyl peroxide to kill the bacteria. If it is still red on the day of your event, put some Visine (anti-redness) on the blemish. Cover with concealer, and finally with foundation and powder.

Since my favorite make up is bareMinerals, I would recommend using their SPF 15 Foundation and Mineral Veil. High quality mineral make-up such as bareMinerals goes on smoothly and easily, feels extremely light, and also provides a porcelain finish on your skin. It hides blemishes and various skin conditions such as rosacea. bareMinerals leaves your skin with a healthy glow, naturally.