Monday

TWO-STEP YOUR WAY TO INTO THIS!

Photo courtesy of The Wedding Choreographers

© Melissa Nowakowski 2009


Combine charismatic choreography, thrilling live performances and lessons that will get even your two left feet groovin' and you've got The Wedding Choreographers -- a dance entertainment company that is sure to add flair and that touch of originality to any event.

Founded by Minerva, The Wedding Choreographers has all the right ingredients for a dance company: youth to follow the latest music and dance trends, versatility to provide a variety of services from choreography, dance lessons and live performances in different styles, affordability and flexibility to work with varying budgets.

She may look young but don't let her youth fool you -- this dance mogul has talent and experience to impress. A professionally trained dancer, prior to launching the company Minerva was an NBA All Star Dancer and choreographer, performing across the globe and has performed with top artists like Matisse, Glass Tiger and more.

So what does this dynamic gal have to offer with The Wedding Choreographers?

Create a one of the kind First Dance as husband and wife or have your entire wedding party wow your guests with a thrilling entrance! At $125 per one and half hour session, choreography packages include 2 choreographers (one male, one female), a rehearsal at the reception venue, a 'music edit' (a combo of music blended into one song for all you non-technical folk) and a final copy CD with your song. But don't think you have to be Ginger Rogers or Fred Astaire to take advantage of these grooves. The Wedding Choreographers can work with anyone regardless of rhythm (or lack thereof) and experience (ditto!).


Kick up the party a notch with live performances in a variety of dance styles from Hip-Hop (our fave!!!), salsa (swoon!), Brazilian, Indian, Hawaiian, Belly Dancing and more. With a soloist starting at $250 and a group performance starting at $1000 these live performances offer an affordable and engaging addition to any event.

Need to turn your two-step into something with a little more...er...oomph? The Wedding Choreographers have got you covered with private lessons in a wide range of dance styles from salsa, swing, waltz and more. The best part? No need to get your groove on in the sterile atmosphere of a formal dance studio -- for $100 per lesson The Wedding Choreographers will come to you in the comfort of your own home! (so trip, fall or bump into your partner all you want -- you'll be the only one who knows about it!)

By now you know that this planner is all about giving guests an experience that they'll be talking about long after the event is over. That said, our all time fave service that The Wedding Choreographers provide is on-site hip-hop and salsa lessons for your guests! Whether it's a full routine or just a few steps, The Wedding Choreographers will get your guests on the dance floor and learning some super cool moves. A perfect way for your guests to feel a part of the celebration (not to mention a great excuse for your guests to interact with one another), on-site group lessons are an excellent form of entertainment for Weddings, Bridal Showers, Bachelorettes, Bar/Bat Mitzvah and more. In this planner's opinion, with rates starting at $250 this service is the ultimate in event entertainment!

Whether you have an audience of left feet or your guests are dance floor mavens, they'll dance away from your event having experienced an evening they'll never forget thanks to the talents of The Wedding Choreographers.



Friday

SING A NEW TUNE ON BRIDAL TWEET

Image courtesty of BridalTweet.com

© Melissa Nowakowski 2009

If you're in tune with social networking, you likely have a Facebook profile and even more likely are well aware of the newest fad in social media, Twitter.

But one gal has taken the world of 'tweeting' one step further. Christine Dyer is a wedding enthusiast from New York City who had just recently married in 2008. Dyer loved the way Twitter connected people and provided a way for like-minded people to network. However Dyer also wanted the ability to create deeper relationships with those whom she had connected -- much like Facebook offers.

That said, Dyer created a twitter community targeted solely for the wedding/event industry and its enthusiasts. A perfect blend between Facebook and Twitter, BridalTweet offers the opportunity to connect with people, places and products -- all wedding related and all under one roof.

BridalTweet allows you to 'follow' vendors, enthusiasts, brides and grooms much like Twitter but also provides many applications similar to Facebook like Discussion Boards, Groups and Photo Albums. As you navigate through this wedding community you can certainly add "friends" (those community members with whom you'd like to establish a relationship) but unlike Facebook, your community page is visible to anyone who stumbles across it.

BridalTweet also has one very cool feature that sets it apart from Facebook and Twitter -- it has a Blog section in which you can blog right on your profile page. Whether you copy and paste your entry from your own blog or write up an entirely new one, a notification is posted on the BridalTweet main page when you have posted a blog entry on your community profile.

Oh, did we mention that you can customize the look of your page too?

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about BridalTweet (besides the fact that it grows bigger every day!) is that while it is a fantastic new marketing tool for wedding vendors, it acts as a wedding COMMUNITY -- a place for all wedding-related people to gather, share thoughts and connect rather than a whoo-haa of wedding industry competition and advertisements. Of course, as word spreads about this wonderful new community the question will be -- will this fabulous community last as one big wedding familia or will it become overrun by competitive wedding vendors all vying for the attention of the brides and grooms? Only time will tell but in the meantime, this wedding planner is enjoying connecting with like-minded wedding peeps from all over the world.





Monday

ET LOFTE IS BACK!

Et Lofte Events apologizes for the long lag in blog posts. Rest assured, we had good reason for our extended absence and while we were out some excited things have come into play.

We're excited to announce that Et Lofte Events has garnered 2 new additions -- both personally and professionally.

On February 4th, 2009, Et Lofte Events' lead coordinator Melissa M. G. Nowakowski gave birth to a bouncing baby boy -- Tristan Josef Gino Nowakowski (how's that for a mouthful!). After a brief 3 month maternity leave, Melissa has jumped back into action, coordinating beautiful weddings and exciting events (Not to mention scoping out the latest trends and unique products for all of you out there!)

Also, on April 20th, 2009, Et Lofte Events welcomes its brand spankin' new Associate Planner Lindsay Honeyman!

Lindsay has been active in the wedding industry for the last two years as a certified wedding coordinator, a destination wedding coordinator and now as a certified Sandals Resort specialist She has has also spent 7 years working in various aspects of the music industry, from artist and business management to accounting and has worked with some of Canada's top recording artists. Lindsay has been an Assistant Planner with Et Lofte Events since January 2007 with responsibilities ranging from assisting lead coordinators with weddings and events to coordinating weddings on behalf of Et Lofte Events. And we're absolutely thrilled that Lindsay has now joined our team as Associate Planner!

We're also excited to announce that Et Lofte Events has officially joined the world of social media! Follow us on Twitter or visit us at the all new BridalTweet (more info on that soon!)

And Et Lofte Events is partnering with A Green Tie Affair, PNMedia and other exciting event industry leaders to create a super exciting, breathtaking event for 2010 and it's all for a good cause! Stay tuned for details on what we're calling the 'Cadillac of events'!

Be sure to keep checking the Et Lofte Events blog for more exciting trends, fresh new products and thrilling event industry news...there's a whole lot more coming soon!

(Oh, and just in case you were wondering about Et Lofte Events' Lead Coordinator Melissa M.G. Nowakowski, her planning career kicked off after years of working within Marketing, PR and special event coordination. In the past 6 years Melissa has coordinated and directed a wide range of events from galas, corporate events and product launches to weddings, social events and even concerts for audiences of 3000. Within the last three years Melissa has focused her talent mainly on weddings, special occasions and corporate events and has quickly become known and respected as a planner with out-of-the box vision, dedication and passion).