CulinART - Quintessential Austin

It is my favorite night out of the year! I don't believe I have missed the annual surreal event in six years!

CulinArt is hosted by the Austin chapter of the International Special Event's Society(ISES)and The Wright House Wellness Center is it's beneficiary. They team up to deliver an evening of talent and craft to entertain each guests eyes and bellies and all for a wonderful cause. This is my idea of perfection.



Brittany, an event coordinator with [clink], spearheaded the night with an unexpected viewpoint into art, culinary deliciousness, and beauty. This year it was held at the Austin Music Hall in downtown Austin, the most exciting venue yet. Ilios Lighting created the mood while body artists walked among us spectators as we bid on glorious silent auction items. I went straight to the art. They never disappoint.

As I kept a watchful eye on the items I bid on, I enjoyed the tasty appetizers and made my way to my table and looked forward to the food. My favorite part of dinner was dessert as Delysia Chocolatier shocked and pleased me by pairing chocolate, wasabi, and rasberries on the same plate. I don't know who thought of that, but thank you.



After dinner, each year, I excuse myself to battle for art with pen to paper. I am competitive and I love to win! My house is becoming an homage to CulinArt! As always, I watch the live auction, the eager bidding numbers silhouette the evening, and listen to the exciting cheers of donations. It would be nice if this is the way I could live every day! I am proud to be apart of the Austin wedding community.


Enjoy the pictures of all the art I picked up and Dessert(From the Top):
"Warm" by Rene Norman
"Paintballs, Not Bullets" photo by Dave Berry
Dessert photo from Delysia Chocolatier
Painting by Jeromy Furguiele

Oh Yes, I Have My DJ

And her name is Jordann Mitchell. I am so excited and there isn't another DJ in the entire city of Austin that I would rather have emcee and play music at my event. I am so happy we have her at Complete Music and Video as the Director of Sales.

Music, of course, is the most important aspect to me at our wedding, so I am working poor Jordann to death during the weekend of my wedding. She is also an amazing musician and not only will she be DJing at the wedding, but she will be playing live music during the rehearsal dinner and playing our first dance live as well. Brandt has no idea either one of these things are happening and it will be a surprise to him. I am pretty sure Brandt doesn't read this blog, so I think my secret is safe.

I chose Jordann for a huge list of reasons. She is the consummate professional, so much fun, not cheesy, and is so great with customer service. This is what I need as a super high maintenance retired wedding DJ.

While I am trying to relax and not try to control every second of the music for the wedding, I also know for ease I want to have all of the prelude, ceremony, special dances on a CD for Jordann so she doesn't stress...too much. This will be my whole job for my wedding this month.

An interesting thing happened as I began to write this post: A very level headed, easy going, Vintage Villas bride walked through our door to drop off music for her wedding on March 12th. As I was discussing when the DJ would call her that she can set up an appointment, etc. She shrugged and said "as long as he shows up, dressed and ready to go, we are good, I mean, I know there are going to be a few mistakes at my wedding, but who cares." I let this very smart bride know that I would like to more like her. There will be mistakes, nothing is perfect and I am going to laugh it off and enjoy myself.

Complete Music and Video WON!!!!

Erica Smith, our National Wedding Wire representative just notified us that Complete Music & Video is one of the Bride’s Choice winners. We are so pleased and honored and wanted to share the good news with everyone!

Mancino Iron Works!

Whether you need a unity candle stand, shepherd hooks, arch, candelabra, or table accent, Mancino Iron Rentals is Austin's favorite place. I met the owner, Alan, years ago at an open house for Hamilton 12, an amazing venue with great food. Brandt and I had just started getting serious, and as I saw Alan load in all the beautiful pieces of iron, I was impressed, and started taking stock of his inventory. Yes, after years of working in the event industry it is hard to impress me, but impressed I was, and it was the first day I let myself daydream about being a bride at a wedding.

Lucky for me, Alan's table was right next to mine during the open house, so each moment I wasn't talking to a bride, I was persistently asking him questions. As I talked to Alan I gleaned quite quickly he was superb at customer service, knowledgeable, and made each person he spoke with feel comfortable and at ease. A prerequisite for hiring any vendor, in my opinion.

As my job duties changed at Complete Music and Video, I hadn't seen Alan in years until it came time to plan my own wedding. While not wedding protocol, and not something I recommend, he was the first vendor I called after I booked Vintage Villas. Now I am thrilled to have his rentals at my wedding, my chupppah maker loves working with him, and everywhere I go and say "I hired Mancino Iron Works" the reply is "Oh, I love working with Alan".

Go to his website at www.mancinoiron.com

Two Thumbs UP on the UP Lighting

Lighting tends to be so versatile and can truly create and recreate the atmosphere of any event. This is especially fun in a facility that has a permanent decor that might not blend with the colors you have chosen for your wedding.
For a wedding this past New Years Eve, the designer used every different kind of lighting imaginable: gobo lighting (custom monogram), static lighting, up-lighting, and spotlighting each table. The bar, the halls, and even the ceremony room was lit up in hues to match the colors of her wedding and enhance the beauty of the Melrose Hotel in Dallas. Throughout the evening we changed the colors as the night progressed from ceremony into the cocktail hour, then dinner, followed by dancing to provoke the desired mood for each stage of the night.
For my own wedding, set in Spring, and at Vintage Villas, we will do simpler lighting. Daylight will be extended and with the beautiful open windows, we have chosen to use up-lighting and gobo lighting in the Sunset Room, where the later portion of the night will occur.
We are using Complete Music and Video of Austin for both the up-lighting and gobo. All the photographs you see are at the lovely Vintage Villas, Complete Music Lighting, and taken by Becca Valley, the owner of Complete Music and Video. The up-lighting is wireless and synced together, so there won't be any ugly wires, tape, and is very affordable. Only $500 for the up-lighting. I am thrilled we offer this as a service and was the first bride to say sign me UP!

Wedding Registry....Ugh!

Ms. Manners says registering might be pretty common, however, not so polite. With that said, it is the custom to find several of your favorite stores, retrieve a scan gun and a registry list, and walk around like a crazy person, looking for UPC codes, wondering if you really need to register for a garlic roaster. On the other hand, I have several friends who, after years of living together, chose not to register and received 20 silver frames all engraved with their names and wedding date still sitting in boxes. Needless to say, we chose to register.

Here is the system, you want to register pretty early, right after the engagement. In some families it is customary to give engagement gifts, so it is best to be prepared. At the very least, the registry should be completed before you send out the save the dates which will include your wedding website. Your registries should only be found on your website or go through word of mouth.
NEVER, I repeat NEVER, should they be found in your wedding invitations. Let's meet Ms. Manners half way!
After years of talking to brides and seeing my friends register, registered myself, and vetted all these lovely stores, I have compiled a list of my top picks. I based my top picks on quality over quantity, Brandt and I registered together, insured the store had a good return policy, and thought about the affordability of my guests. While I love all of these stores, it is only appropriate to choose two or three. Who knew registering would be so taxing?



Top Picks:
1. Macy's - so easy for guests who live in smaller towns and smaller budgets. (Dillard' too)
2. Pottery Barn
3. William-Sonoma
4. Sur La Table - I wish my kitchen was that store.
5. Neiman Marcus - Did I mention I was from Dallas?
6. Fair Trade Global Exchange - Online - http://www.globalexchangestore.org/ - "Go green, whenever possible" is the Austin motto.
7. Crate and Barrel
8, Sears - Fore the groom, of course and very affordable.
9. The Honeymoon - Online - http://www.thehoneymoon.com/
10. Pampered chef

Not Your Mother's Ceremony Music

There is a trend of more and more weddings becoming secular in nature. People are moving their ceremonies to the outdoors, foreign destinations, or glorious, landscaped backyards. Whatever the reason, not all of us are committed to the traditional classical music that our mothers and grandmothers swooned over. Me, in particular, as I have attended thousands of weddings and heard Pachelbel's Cannon and Dodi Li so many times I immediately feel I am at work with the first few notes of many of the classical favorites. Not only that, but over the years, I absolutely loved creating one-of-a-kind ceremony music for each couple who wanted their ceremony to be truly theirs. It was an honor. While I could add hundreds of songs these are some of the top picks from our DJ staff. And yes, many of these songs will be included in my own ceremony.

Non-Traditional Classical Wedding Music

1. Butterfly's Day Out or Appalachian Waltz by Yo-Yo-Ma. (I cannot say enough good things about Yo-Yo-Ma)
2. La Valse d'Amelie From the Amelie movie soundtrack
3. Sarah Brightman
4. Yanni
5. Andrea Bocelli
6. Check out Cirque du Soleil music. Awesome.
7. Enigmatic: The String Quartet Tribute To Radiohead
8. Check out the Vitamin String Quartet's tribute to Coldplay, Tool, Bruce Springsteen, etc. They have over a dozen CD Tributes to a variety of bands.
9. Time Four Three is an amazing band. (garage style classical music)
10. For those beach weddings, steel drum classical music can add an interesting flare.



Non-Traditonal Contemporary Music

1. Only Time - Enya
2. Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (maybe a bit overdone)
3. Moon River - Henry Mancini
4. I'm Feeling Good - Nina Simone
5. Here Comes My Girl - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Bride's Processional)
6. Here Comes the Sun - Beatles (Lots of Beatles tunes would work)
7. Do you Realize - The Flaming Lips (What is the Light is also great)
8. Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
9. Check out Van Morrison, Ingrid Michaelson, Motown's Greatest Hits
10. Sideways - Citizen Cope
11. Green is the Color - Pink Floyd (Bride's Processional)
12. Question - Old 97's
13. Closer - Joshua Radin (lots of others songs by Joshua Radin would work as well)
14. Dream - Pricilla Ahn
15. How Sweet it is and Something in the Way She Moves - James Taylor
16. Soft and Sweet - Neutral Milk Hotel
17. Say Yes - Elliott Smith
18: She - Elvis Costello
19. Maybe, I am Amazed and Amazing Life - Jem
20. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen



Non-Traditional Recessional Songs

1. Stuck in the Middle with You - Bob Dylan
2. I Feel Good - James Brown
3. Wonderful World - Ramones
4. Hotel Yorba - White Stripes
5. It's the End of the World - REM
6. Wouldn't it Be Nice - The Beach Boys
7. Let My Love Open the Door - Pete Townsend
8. Heavenly Day - Patti Griffin
9. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered by Stevie Wonder and other Motown and Jazz Standard songs
10. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
11. Kiss - Prince
12. The Way you Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson

Wanna Dance?

As I am getting ready to DJ an amazing wedding this Friday, always taking sales calls, and, of course,answering slews of questions regarding music and dancing, I thought I would post a few items to help couples blend their own tastes of music with a packed dance floor.


How do I know my DJ will play the music I want?

Honestly, after you choose your DJ and the agreement, you can only trust them. (The importance of hiring a great DJ versus a cheap DJ) I have a friend who is getting married in December and she absolutely, unequivocally did not want a DJ. A band wasn't an option for her either, she wanted her music, her way, and was terrified of a DJ being cheesy or not playing her music. She has since hired a fantastic DJ in Dallas at my encouragement. But this is what I am having her do, in order to assuage her concerns and it is what I am doing for my own wedding, because music is what I love.
She is creating a list of music she wants played. Each hour the DJ will play about 15 to 20 songs, so limit the song list to the hours needed. Here is her template she asked me to create for her including the ceremony:

Prelude music: lasts around 30 minutes: The DJ will play about 10 songs but will need about 15 songs in case the time line doesn't go according to plan. If you want classical music for your ceremony then keep with classical for the prelude.

Ceremony music:
1. A song for escorting the mothers and grandmothers down the aisle.
2. A song for the Bridal Party
3. Processional ( a song for the Bride)
4. Unity Candle, Seven Blessing, Sand Ceremony, etc
5. Recessional (the entire wedding party leaving the ceremony)


Cocktail Music: While you are taking pictures with your bridal party and family, your guests will be listening to about 30 minutes of music while enjoying each other and scrumptious appetizers. The DJ will only play about 10 songs, but will again need about 15 in case your photographer wants you a bit longer. Cocktail and dinner music should be fun and upbeat (no classical), while allowing your guests the opportunity to speak clearly. The ceremony, cocktail, and dinner music are all great places to strategically place your own tunes that might fall flat on your dance floor. Ideas are: classic jazz such as Frank Sinatra, Texas Country Music, Alternative, some of your favorite underground indie rock, or even a mix of favorites from the Rolling Stones or the Doors, whatever your fancy.

Dinner Music: You will need about 25 to 30 songs for your dinner music. Dinner will last approximately an hour, and you might only have time for 20 songs, but your DJ will need more, just in case!

Specialty Dances: (Tip: Stick to 2 no more than three of these, your guests don't care and won't be watching)
First Dance
Father/Daughter
Mother/Son
Wedding Party
Parents Dance

Dance Music: Your DJ will need about 20 songs per hour. However, I recommend giving your DJ a DO NOT PLAY LIST, and letting your guests request songs within reason. If the most important thing is that your guests dance, go ahead and give them those solid 70's and 80's jams.

Songs you might have fun choosing, but most of the time people let the DJ do this job: Cake Cutting, Bouquet, Garter, the Last Dance and the introduction song.

How do I get my guests to Dance?
1. If the bride and groom are on the dance floor, then the people will come.
2. Don't get a huge dance floor, make it smaller.
3. Invite the capacity of people permitted in your venue. The energy of a packed room helps.
4. Play the music appropriate to your crowd. e.g. I love Texas country music, but only three people will actually dance to that at our wedding, so I am sadly nixing local Austin music from our list of songs.
5. Meet with your DJ and go over icebreakers. You might be surprised to find there are many icebreakers without the cheese!
6. When your DJ says "This particular song may not get people dancing" Listen to him/her.

You can send this music to your DJ and they should be able to buy it or burn the music to lots of CDS and give it to them.

(Song suggestions coming soon)

What's in a Name?

A Lot! While feminists and traditionalists have debated for and against a woman taking her husband's last name for years, it is my turn to make this decision. Surprisingly, neither argument moves me to choose, instead it feels personal and pragmatic.

After some time searching Wikipedia, various websites, and talking to married female friends I found out a few interesting facts. First of all, only English speaking countries expect a woman to change her name after she gets married. I also realized I was not alone in my panic of a new identity and, honestly, it is confusing to have two names in a household from veterinarian to pediatrician appointments.
I have always been Tara Humphrey and my last name, while I never loved it, means Peace. Peace is something I do like and I am proud my name has such a dignified meaning. On the other hand, I can't imagine a life trying to explain each time I make an appointment for our child, why we have different names.

While I am envious of all the other cultures that automatically assume a woman will keep her parent's name, I have chosen to take Brandt's last name, Herrington, and replace my middle name with Humphrey. No one uses my middle name but my mother and she still can! So my identity will still be Tara Humphrey and I am only adding to who I am instead of replacing who I was before I was married. Isn't that the point of marriage?

So how am I going to change my name? Oh, so much work, but a friend of mine gave me "The Name Change Kit". And it is awesome. I LOVE, LOVE this kit. It is helping organize the overwhelming process with lists and paperwork for a smooth transition to becoming Tara Humphrey Herrington. Here I go.
P.S. This is a long process, so make sure you are not leaving the country anytime soon after you start changing your name.

My Glorious Wedding Mistake

Yes, that is right, a mistake. I chose the Travis Room at Vintage Villas before I had written out the guest list to its completion. It's true, I know better, but I love, love the Travis Room, and I honestly didn't think our guest list would keep expanding. Even after we got the guest list down to only people we knew for eight years or longer we were maxing out the venue. So the past couple weeks Brandt and I had several conversations and I had to make a few embarrassing phone calls. The good news is Vintage Villas had their larger Event Center still available and I think my wedding vendors had a great time laughing at me. :)



We could have invited less, but we would have offended a few people. Weddings are like funerals in the sense that they are both times in people lives that can bring out the worst and the best in each other. Families true colors will come into being and whether you are selfish or generous the bride's and grooms behavior will be spotlighted. So, Goodbye Travis and Hello, Event Center!


Here is what I have learned or already knew, but ignored and payed the price:

1. Duh, write a COMPREHENSIVE guest list before you choose the facility!
2. If your venue has two reception areas available ask for the cost of both of them.
3. Do not order your invitations until you get closer to the date and you have finalized EVERYTHING! (I should have waited)
4. 25% of the people you will invite will probably not attend, but also remember, if you invite them, they will come!
5. Do not invite people you have not spoken to in the past year. Email counts as talking, but Facebook does not!
6. Add in the plus ones, especially if they have been dating your cousin for 3 years! A wedding is a social gathering and can be uncomfortable for many single people. I cannot tell you how offended I have been when I have been invited to a wedding, but Brandt wasn't, even though we had been together longer than the special couple.
7. A nice touch is to offer babysitting for the children.
8. You probably don't want to invite an ex!
9. A head table adds something great to a room, but if your wedding party are all married, opt for a sweetheart table instead and sit your wedding party with their partners.
10. If you don't want them there, don't invite them.