Fa La La La La...Holiday Parties with a twist!

Congratulations my friends! You've made it to the 10th month of 2009. The time of year when the weather starts to cool, the "Boots" come out, and you local drugstore is filled with candy corns, pumpkins, and the occasional dancing Santa Claus.If you haven't caught it already, there is a new bug out there (and it's not the Swine flu). We are talking about the Holiday bug. All of a sudden, nothing seems as bad. The tunes start pouring in on the radio and your phone calls from friends and family begin to increase. But then, the awaited questions start, "What are you doing for the holidays? You having a party? How can we make it different this year?" Or maybe it's your boss or employees, "Where are we going to have our Annual Holiday Party? Can we even afford a party? Who is going to plan it? Who in our company even has time?!"

No one needs this kind of stress especially at the end of the year when we all should be celebrating. That's where organized folks like ourselves come into play. The superheros of organization and creativity, Ryncta Productions (I think we need a theme song already!)Here are some simple ideas you can try to bring some jingle to your party and some cheer to your guests. Enjoy!

1)Give the gift of a Gratitude Box
This holiday season, give a gift that comes from the heart with a gratitude box.The cost is as little as $6 to $36 to make, depending on how elaborate you want to get. You can cover a shoe box in wrapping paper or buy cheap, fun boxes online, for as little as $2 a piece A beautiful ribbon adds a personal touch with a monogram made from hot glue or hot glue some cranberries. Pine cones, flowers or other seasonal items also make great garnishes.If you're hosting a party or having a holiday meal, buy small boxes and have them waiting for your guests at their place settings. Next, ask your guests to write a special note to each person at the table. To make it easy, create printable note cards:
"What I love about you…"
"Thank you for…"
"My holiday wish for you…"
Print out and cut up multiple copies so your guests can write their messages and slip them into each guest's box. Your guests will go home with lovely party favors filled with heartfelt sentiments.

2) Create edible centerpieces- Individual sweets on a pedestal in the middle of each table double as décor and dessert! Picture candy apples dipped in caramel or chocolate and then individually wrapped in cellophane with beautiful ribbon and nested among evergreen sprigs. Not only will the centerpieces look festive and eye-catching, guests can either eat their candy apples for dessert or take them home as favors. You can also cut a few pieces of evergreen from your Christmas tree to use as the base.

3) Specialize your drinks instead of a full bar- Instead of a full bar for a party or dinner consider having a few special mixed drinks only. For example, have just Hot Toddy Holiday Cocktails and mint martinis. Fewer drinks means fewer ingredients and means that you can buy larger (and less expensive) mixers and alcohol bottles. For more ideas about holiday drinks read 10 New Years Eve Party Cocktail Recipes.

4) Make it fun, bring your kid out- One of my favorites is a Charlie Brown themed Christmas Party. A Charlie Brown Christmas has been charming the world with it's touching tale of the true meaning of Christmas. Google it! Your party could be the talk of the year! Gotta love Charlie Brown!

5)Why not have your holiday party after the holiday?- There are no rule books, so why not have something that your family and friends can still look forward to?? Hire a planner who is tasked with cutting costs, and then schedule your event for January, when the holiday rush is over, enabling your planner to better negotiate rates. Once the holiday season is over, vendors will cut costs even more and you will be able to enjoy more perks!

Want more tips?? I'm here to help! Become a fan of Ryncta Productions, Inc. or visit our website at www.rynctaproductions.com.

Happy Holiday party planning!

Ryan Gonzalez
President
Ryncta Productions, Inc.

Click, Snap, Shoot, PROPS!

Your wedding photos play witness to your day, add a visual to the unseen eye (your children, future relatives & friends), and they map out the most important day of your life from start to finish. A photo is just not your photo unless you take the time out to make it yours. The wedding day is probably the most important time for every married couple. These moments must be captured so they last forever. Since weddings happen only once in a lifetime, the photos must be of top quality and must capture the true feeling of the moment. Photographs should capture all the special moments of a wedding. As whatever happens that day will not come again in life. Wedding photographs leave an everlasting memory in the life and family of all members. Once the wedding is over, one can keep those wonderful memories alive only through wedding photographs. Even after the couple grows old, they can show the photographs to their later generation and could recall all past memories.

Alina and Don did a fantastic job at using their surroundings and props to add some SPICE and DRAMA to Clearwater Beach. With the evolution of technology, the possibilities are endless when it comes to making your wedding photos gush with creativity! Photographers can do amazing shots but sometimes many lack the creativities of how to add items into the photo that can enhance your look. You simply cannot rely on your photographer to show up on your wedding days with ideas and props to put in the picture.

Alina and Don gave their wedding a tad of everything that defined them as they wanted to be remembered and I truly admired the thought and love that it took to come up with such fantastic ideas. I loved their use of the wedding color blue. The blue backdrops for the showcasing of her wedding shoes, to the starfish swags hanging from the guests chairs, to the photojournalistic emphasis on the bridesmaids feet as they entered the ceremony with feet jewelry playing up their blue, summery, fun dresses. My absolute favorite wedding shots have to be the parasol shots. The parasol, in my opinion, is the best prop for a beach wedding because there are so many ways you can incorporate these into your wedding day. It can be used as an alternative for a wedding bouquet, an added accessory to photos, and even a sun protector on the hottest days. A parasol can do wonders in your photos and give you the classy and professional look that your wedding day photography needs.

Things to think about - firstly, you need to feel comfortable and most importantly be yourself so that your unique personality would reflect on the photos. But a girl needs all the help she can get and if a few props will help you to relax and have fun – why not! Take some props with or ask the photographer to supply some interesting objects that you can use during your photo shoot, for example a hat, colorful sarong (that will double up to keep your dress clean in case you have to get down and dirty), a wedding invitation, your garter, a cigar for the groom etc . Give your photographer some healthy attitude and the right tools to be creative.

We so often invest our precious time in things that won’t last – yes, its important that you look absolutely breathtaking but besides looking beautiful, the photo shoot takes priority as this is what you would take with you long after the champagne has lost its bubble. You can either shy away and lose out on stunning memories or you can forget yourself, go beyond yourself and have fun! I know Alina and Don sure did! Thanks to the Shaw's for bringing me along for the ride!

Ryan
Ryncta Productions, Inc.

Anis Wedding doesn't end with a reception...

Another wedding...another success!!!

I was priviledged to share in another special day of two very special people: Michael and Kim! This wedding was beyond the "norm" and truly showed that in weddings anything goes! What planner expects the end of the night to consist of helping the bridesmaids and the bride hold up the bottom of their hot pink poofy dresses as they cross the railroad tracks to a club where a VIP area awaits for the Wedding "after party." Who knew. No one says its not allowed to go to a club in your wedding dress. It's the bride and groom's big day after all and if it's what they want, it's up to us as planners to make it happen. Traditionally, the bride and groom end with the reception, as guests await to say goodnight and give their best wishes. Then, typically, it's off to the bridal suite where the magic happens. But, nowadays, a four hour wedding reception is not enough of a party.

Couples engaged to be married often spend a year’s worth of planning for their special day, which often passes in a blink of a lovestruck eye. It’s no wonder more of them are extending the festivities to after parties. These post-nuptial shindigs are about ditching the formal wear, letting the hip DJ spin some loud grooves and perhaps scarfing down taco-truck grub with some of the couple’s closest friends.

Etiquette rules for these events are still in the works. Invitations aren’t necessary; couples can post party details on their blogs, Facebook, or even send an e-mail about the after-hours affair. Count on older wedding guests, such as parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, bowing out of the evening after the wedding. It’s the younger folk who are ready to rock when the hotel ballroom closes up at 11 p.m.

Venues for the after-parties vary from hanging out at the hotel suite to moving the celebration to the hotel bar to even going to a private residence. Food is essential to the late-night gathering to appease partygoers stricken with the munchies post-reception. Other touches may include cigars and whiskey, mojito bars or theme decor.

If couples stick to tradition, most likely they’ll pay for the event. If the party shifts to a neighborhood bar, then guests may chip in for drinks and snacks. How elaborate or laid-back of an evening will determine the price.

Ask your planner (people like me) for advice on how to make "The Official After-Party" a success. And if your a true party animal like Mike and Kim, leave for a 6:30 AM flight to Hawaii! (no just kidding).

Ryan Gonzalez
Event Guru
Ryncta Productions, Inc.
www.rynctaproductions.com

RYNCTA PRODUCTIONS website LIVE!

Ryncta Productions, Inc. is excited to launch our official website. To view, please visit www.rynctaproductions.com.

Enjoy!!

Wanna get your guests up and dancing??

I don't know how many times I have gone to weddings, gotten through the "tear fest" of the ceremony, the "mixing and mingling" of the cocktail, then the preliminary "must-haves" of the first dance and first course, only to await the "dancing". Then, when the time comes your looking at the strangers across the room wondering who will be the first one to initiate the PARTY. You hope it's not the bride and groom because then you just feel bad and the guilt sets in. Also, what if the same five people take up the dance space the entire night and you are forced to hold back that fire that is burning inside?

Well, the Caminos had the perfect solution! Having come from traditional Puerto Rican backgrounds, this couple wanted to incorporate their culture in all the details. But, getting the guests to dance had to be one of my most memorable moments of the wedding. The Caminos decided to hire a traditional Plena band. Why don't you try it? A Plena is a traditional Afro-Rican rhythm and musical genre, and Plena Libre means free-form, or liberated, plena. It is thought that the plena emerged in Puerto Rico at the end of the 19th century, with immigrants from Barbados whose song repertoire mixed, over time, with local genres to create the plena. Traditionally, plena was performed using three different-sized hand drums called panderos that were pitched low-to-high and played interlocking rhythms. The seguidor is the bass drum, laying the rhythmic foundation; the mid-pitched punteador plays a complementary pattern to the seguidor. The higher pitched requinto alternates between playing yet another complementary pattern and improvising solos that respond to the sung lyrics. The güiro (scraper) and the vocalists — with leader and chorus in call-and-response style — complete the basic ensemble. Over time, the plena took on different forms — from the simple addition of the accordion or cuatro to full orchestral variations. Musical forms aside, the plena became central to the lives and culture of migrant agricultural workers who moved from one location to another with the harvest of different crops. It was their orally transmitted newspaper, informing people of the latest, and it accompanied every celebration.

After attending this wedding, I was impressed with the way guests jumped off their seats to become a part of the action, the interaction and participation between the guests and the band, and most of all the music! Also, what I great way to burn off all those courses. I felt proud of my Puerto Rican culture that night and I think many others experienced a plethora of culture that they will take with them whenever they are asked how the Puerto Ricans throw a wedding.

Thanks Myra and Richard for letting me be a part of this experience!

Want to look into your own Plena performance at your wedding or special occasion?
Contact Ritmo! at Entre (305) 298-2380 and ask for a Plena/Bomba band.
Or, take a look at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtOXDkfSAMI to view a plena performance.

OPA! Greek/Venezuelan Weddings are FUN!

Who says you can't make the most of both cultures? On January 31, we had the unique opportunity to be a part of the Conde/Papadopoulos wedding at The Palms, South Beach. I met the couple about two months ago and it was a roller coaster ever since! I was first informed that they would be married in a Greek Church, that the groom had a best man that was actually a woman, or as the Greeks call it a koumbara, and there would be plate breaking! Wedding planners live for this kind of stuff. Then, we get the the next loop on the ride: the bride is pregnant! But, it doesn't end there....

Next, we find out that they will also be celebrating the Venezuelan tradition of "Cotillion". For those of you who haven't seen something like this before, it is a real treat. Under each table, we place a big white box full of funny glasses, noisemakers, hats, wigs, funny headbands, and other crazy and loud items. Before the end of the night, the DJ makes a loud announcement. The bride and groom disappear (with some sly magician work on behalf of the wedding planners) and re-enter the ballroom with the most ridiculous attire. For our Nico and Carla, I think they were going for Elvis and his "BABE". In the circle of fun, Miguel Irias of Miguel Irias Photography took some amazing shots and let me tell you I have no idea how he got around the huge crowd of guests overtaking the dance floor. Miguel, your awesome.

This is what us Wedding Planners live for: a beautiful in love couple about to start their journey together and a little piece of their journey included us. Thank you Nico and Carla for letting us throw rose petals, where funny glasses, and most of all getting to know you as not just clients but also as friends.