OUR WEDDING DANCE BLOG

July 21, 2010

When a White Wedding is a Green Wedding!

Filed under: 2nd Time Around,Ballerina Brides,Green Weddings,How Cool Is That?,Moms & Dads,Wedding/Reception Venues — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:09 pm

Everywhere I turn I read about green weddings these days!

Speaking as a lifelong gardener who has trouble entering her front door due to her menagerie of plants that are taking over,  I can truly say… I love it!

Now, you might ask, “What exactly is a green wedding?”

One of my grooms laughingly told me it’s when all the guests shower him with money as he walks down the aisle…

Nice try ;-)

According to the Green Bride Guide,

“A green wedding is any wedding where the couple tries to decrease the impact of their event on the planet.”

What a concept :-)

Everyone I’ve talked with about this great green idea from wedding vendors to brides to coordinators have all assured me you can be “super chic without the waste!”

Whether you want to go dark green and make everything earth friendly from the material of your dress to the flowers and food you use at your reception or just light green with eco-friendly invitations and favors; every little bit helps our environment.

Try doing a Google search on “Green Weddings” and you’ll be amazed at all the information out there.

Here are just a few of the URLs* I found:

Great Green Wedding

Tree Beginnings (favors and gifts)

The Spiraled Stem (eco-friendly flowers)

Green Weddings and Events

The Knot’s Green Weddings

How Green Is Your Wedding quiz

Books for Green Weddings

“Being green is not difficult, but it requires forethought and desire.  Most weddings, on average, produce 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide gas”, says Kimberly Goetz in her article, Member Helps Couple Arrange Totally Green Wedding in the June/July 2010 Association of Bridal Consultants newsletter.

Wow, that’s amazing!

So if you’re still in the planning phases of your wedding or know someone who is why not share a little of the green.

With some unusual choices you’ll not only help our beautiful planet but you’ll create a one-of-a-kind, personalized experience for both you and your guests.

Happy Green Wedding,

Jillian

OurWeddingDance.com / ArgentineTangoWeddingDance.com

949.400.7347 / Email

Go Green!

*Please note I list the Green Wedding URLs above for your convenience.  No endorsement is made of any particular one with the exception of Christine Saunders at The Spiraled Stem who is an Orange County ABC member with me.  :-)

As always, make sure you research any vendor carefully and if you’re purchasing on-line look for the SSL certificate that ensures that your credit card info is safe from prying eyes traveling along the corridors of cyberspace.

June 16, 2010

“The Best Thing To Hold Onto In Life Is Each Other” – Audrey Hepburn

Filed under: 2nd Time Around,Ballerina Brides,Dance Tips & Tricks,Dancing,Father Daughter Dance,Grooms,Learn Wedding Dancing Fast!,Military Brides & Grooms,Moms & Dads,Pimp Your Bride,Types of Wedding Dances — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:31 am

Well, I got my daughter graduated from UCLA – go Bruins! and I thought I’d share with you a little shop talk about the frame of the dancing couple since I get a lot of questions about that during my lessons.

When your guests watch your first dance do you think they’re looking at your feet?

Probably not. ;-)

The bride’s feet are most likely hidden by her dress and the groom’s feet may possibly be as well.

Your guests’ gazes are on your radiant faces and your dancing frame, that is your arms connected to each other hand to hand on one side and the groom’s right hand upon the back of the bride on the other.

The frame can make or break a dancing couple.

A “noodle” frame can make the dancing couple look soft and squishy and make the lead and follow very difficult to give and take.

A “rigid” frame can make the bride and groom look stiff and awkward and may even actually hurt the bride to take the lead, especially if her dashing groom is a strong armed one!

So what’s the best frame for dancing?

The leader should always frame up or down to the height of the follower.

I like to start my couples off by having the bride put her arms out to her sides, horizontally from her waist so the groom can see what looks good with her shoulders.

Especially if the groom is six feet three and bride is four feet five I want to make sure that their dancing frame is angled to her height not his.  After all she would look rather silly dancing her arms way up to him for their first dance!

Having established her correct frame height, then we move on to the bride’s three connection points and I focus on  impressing upon them the necessity for an “energy transference” toward each other at all times.  No one person should pull away or just plain “not be available” to the other in the frame.

Once we have the frame we move side to side and forward and back in it.

We walk in it.

We sway in it.

We get used to it.

People don’t really dance like this anymore so it can take a little getting used to the frame once you’re in it.

My grooms sometimes say it is hard to keep holding up their arms.  This might mean the bride is being “heavy” and using her groom’s arms as an arm “easy chair”.

My brides sometimes say that they feel like they’re “in the harness” of the frame and can’t move easily within it.  This might mean that the groom is holding her too stiffly and not letting the lead be communicated easily through his arms and his connection points.

During our first lesson we work hard to alleviate any stress in the dancing couple’s frame and make it a positive part of the dancing.  Since the frame connection is the pretty part and, I think, the romantic part :-) it is vitally important that it work for us in the first dance.

Be it a foxtrot frame, a rumba frame or a swing frame – the couple’s dancing frame is an integral part of the mechanics and beauty of their wedding dance.

And as Audrey said, “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other” – we may as well do it right for the dance!

***

It’s wedding season so email to Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com or call Jillian at 949.400.7347 today and reserve your favorite day and time for lessons now!

Happy almost Summer!

Dance With Jillian

February 26, 2010

Words to the Wedding Show Wise

Filed under: 2nd Time Around,Ballerina Brides,Dancing,Father Daughter Dance,Grooms,How Cool Is That?,Moms & Dads,Wedding Shows — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 1:21 pm

Wedding Shows

Two words that conjure up images of lots of people, lots of noise and lots of choices!

Is a wedding show good for you to attend?  I believe it is but first let me qualify that.

Having been a participant at over 25 wedding shows in the Orange County area during my many years as a wedding dance instructor I can tell you from experience they are not all created equal!

There are gigantic ones at the Anaheim Convention Center all the way down to intimate ones at various wedding reception venues all over Orange and LA Counties and the Inland Empire.

In fact this Sunday, February 28th from 11am-3pm I’ll be dancing at a lovely local complementary wedding show in San Clemente, 111 Avenida Vista Montana San Clemente, Ca 92672.  Visit this link for more information.

Some are expensive to get into, others are free.  Some feel super high end, others feel home town and local.  Some are run by conglomerates who do three to six shows a year in several counties and even many states and others are offered by reception venues and cater to brides and grooms who have already decided to use their services.

Whatever the show, you’re sure to find lots of cake, food samples and vendors of every type to satisfy your wedding planning needs and maybe even a fashion show or two.

But be prepared…

Bring a large bag since the show might not provide one for you to collect paperwork and you don’t want to be balancing a lot stuff as you walk around and sample food.

Some really on-the-go brides and grooms even bring their own address labels complete with their wedding date on them so if they want to fill-out a raffle ticket or info card for a vendor they don’t have to waste time and tire themselves out writing but just stick one of their labels instead.  :-)

Definitely wear comfortable shoes.  You will be walking and standing a lot.  Keep in mind too, if you’re bringing along your groom his comfort as well.  I see more and more grooms coming to wedding shows and I always try to make them feel especially welcome and not like they just stepped into a “girls only” sector.

If you are just getting started in this great big task of putting on a wedding (read that – you’re a year away from your big day) you might want to attend what I call the “overall picture” wedding show.

This show is usually fairly large about seven dollars or less per person for entrance and held in a local hotel.  Be sure to take a look at the vendor list in advance and see where the vendors are based out of and what kind of web sites they have.  You can tell a lot about a vendor from their web site and also the testimonials listed on it.

Often you can call a vendor listed on that particular wedding show list and they might have a few free tickets available for the show they’ll be at and they can send you some or leave them at the door.

Keep in mind, if the show has a lot of vendors based out of your area that might not be a good show for you to attend if you’re looking for local people so you don’t have to drive too far for consultations and follow-ups.

During the early planning stages you want to attend shows that will give you the maximum amount of knowledge for your time spent researching.  Other considerations include how big your wedding and reception are going to be and what your budget is for them.

If you know you’re having an intimate ceremony and reception for under a hundred you don’t need to go to a giant wedding show.  In fact you might only go to a wedding show in this case just for the fun of it.

Yes, guys – wedding shows can be fun.  Where else will everyone be really nice to you because you’re getting married and ply you with goodies and cake to eat and freebies and coupons to take home??  Just think of all the brownie points you’ll get to use when you need to have guys poker night or game practice.  ;-)

At any rate, I’ve only just touched on the giant area of wedding shows here. I’ll post more later on this year so check back often to see what’s up!

Email me at Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com if you have questions.

You can also visit my wedding show page on my web site to see more of my experiences at wedding shows.

Jillian at the Richard Nixon Library Wedding Show

February 5, 2010

Valentine’s Day Is Coming Up!

Filed under: Gift Certificates,How Cool Is That?,Moms & Dads — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:16 am

The sweetest of holidays is just around the bend and what will you get your loved one?

I checked out Sees and yum those red hot hearts looked enticing.

Victoria’s Secret has some sexy, lacy little nothings too.  ;-)

There’s always the adorable stuffed bear holding a tiny bag of chocolate hearts or a “chocolate long stemmed rose” or just a beautiful card.

But I say how about dance lessons for your honey?

Our Wedding Dance offers gift certificates in one lesson, three lessons and five lessons.

You can give them to yourself, your fiance or a bride and groom you know.

You can even give them to your Mom & Dad as a special thank you for all the wedding prep help they’ve been giving!

Whomever the recipient I am sure they’ll appreciate your wonderful idea and may even thank you for a) not putting anything enticingly chocolate and fattening in front of them and b) not adding to their probably constantly increasing collection of “stuff”.  :-)

Dance lesson gift certificates can be redeemed up to a year from purchase and come to you either quickly over the internet in a file that you can print out or by snail mail in a hard copy certificate form.

Either way you can share in the sweetness of the holiday or just give a “sweetheart of a gift”.

Contact me at Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com or visit my Gift Certificates page or call me at 949.400.7347 and get started now on a Valentine’s Day gift that will be remembered for a long time!

January 21, 2010

Be An Early Bird…

Filed under: Dancing,Father Daughter Dance,Grooms,Moms & Dads — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:45 pm

It’s January and lots of inquiries are coming in for first dance lessons right now!  Maybe it’s the rain deluge we’ve been having and everyone is stuck inside and looking at the internet… but regardless…

The excitement is contagious and I can’t wait to work with these fantastic brides, grooms, moms, dads and wedding party participants.

2010 looks like a “bumper year” for weddings!

I’ve had questions about father/daughter dances, first dances utilizing musical numbers, wedding party group dances and beautiful bride and groom waltzes, swings, foxtrots and rumbas.

So far May and July are going to be big months for saying, I Do. 

The average sized wedding is coming in somewhere between 100-175 guests. 

Brides and grooms seem to be trimming their guest list so they don’t have to trim their wish list!

Popular right now…

The bride’s shoes in a color to match her bridesmaids dresses and her wedding colors.

Currently I have one dancing bride wearing gorgeous deep purple high heeled sandals with a rhinestone circle and another wearing red pumps to kick off a Valentine’s Day wedding!

Grooms are getting even more of that traditional “to do” list to do than in years passed.  At least 50% of my calls and emails have been from grooms this month;  fitting since they’ll be doing the leading in the first dance, I say!

So if you were thinking about dance lessons but putting off getting some info and firming up some evening or weekend dates… the time is now!

Be an “early bird who gets the worm” and email me today or call me at 949.400.7347 and start getting some dance figures and technique in your muscle memory today.

Happy almost February!

August 10, 2009

Mom & Dad Dance

Filed under: Moms & Dads — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:51 am

Are you a Mom or Dad who would like to learn how to dance for your daughter’s or son’s wedding?

It’s not uncommon for me to get phone calls and emails from Moms and Dads saying they want to look good at the wedding they’ll be attending or planning since everyone will know them and be watching them to see how they look!

No pressure, right??

You’re only planning or working on the biggest event ever with your daughter or son… and the last thing you need to be worrying about is dancing lessons…

Well, I tell my Moms and Dads to think of it as one hour a week where they don’t have to think about the planning.  The only things they have to concentrate on are following or leading, a handful of steps and a few technique points.

And it works!

I have a fantastic Mom and Dad right now who are learning Foxtrot and Jitterbug.  I think it’s a bit of a surprise for their guests so I’ll keep their names a secret for now.

Suffice it to say, she’s having a blast getting her husband of many years to finally Jitterbug with her and he’s enjoying “Master and Commander” status as leader and getting tons of brownie points he can pretty much use for the rest of his life!

Their Foxtrot is coming right along with him making gorgeous heel leads and using his leading arm to communicate to her – something she tells me they have never done while dancing together – and she’s following like a dream and gliding across the floor like Cinderella at her very own ball!

I love to see the look of relief as a Mom and Dad realize that they can dance together and that they look good doing it!  Often they haven’t tried dancing together in years or they do try to dance together and it is difficult and not that much fun.

With just five hours of instruction before the big event, Moms and Dads can learn following and leading skills and have at least five to ten steps to show off on the dance floor.

So treat yourself to some “you” time in the midst of the all the pre-wedding excitement. 

You’ll be glad you did – both to preserve your sanity and also your status as the “party giver extraordinaire”.

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