{Livermore,CA} – February 7, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Fantasy Sound Event Services has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for DJ!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Fantasy Sound Event Services was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.
Fantasy Sound Event Services is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes  the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.
“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Fantasy Sound Event Services for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”
We are happy to announce that Fantasy Sound Event Services is one of the very best DJs within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able  to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.
For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/fantasy-sound-event-services-livermore/2b4f47c1c347be17.html.
To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.
About WeddingWire, Inc.WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

Thank you so much Sarah, for sharing these images with us, and congratulations Ricalyn and Charles!

A Peach and a Pear is a vintage rental resource that caters to any old soul with an interest in antique and retro furnishing and accessories on a budget. From beautiful, rustic farm tables and chairs to vintage cameras and silver accent pieces, A Peach and a Pear provides the statement pieces of an earlier time to any party, wedding or photo shoot.

The founders of A Peach and a Pear Vintage Rentals have handpicked their entire inventory of one-of-a-kind pieces from estate sales and flea markets around the Bay Area, to ensure that your event will be a day to remember. From an intimate affair to the big day of “I Do,” they have the large (and small) vintage pieces that will have your guests in awe! Whether you are a bride, event planner, wedding coordinator, photographer or stylist, they will work with you to create a stunning experience based on your style and vision. Visit their website to see their collection and projects or to schedule a consultation.

Hello! My name is Sarah Russell and I am the newest addition to Fantasy Sound Event Services and I am so excited to be here. After high school I attended Las Positas and the went on to Sacramento State where I majored in Intercultural Communications. While I was at Sac State I joined the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma and it was the best decision of my college career. I met so many people and left college with not only friends but people I can call sisters. I was extremely involved while in Phi SIgma Sigma. I held the position of Greek Activities Chair, which was very time consuming but it was my life and I loved it. I learned so much through Phi Sig and it definitely has changed me for the better. While being in college I managed to juggle an internship, job, sorority, family, friends, social life, and a long term relationship. With all of that it only helped to me to become very organized and have great time management skills, which are both things that I think will help me be successful as the new administrative assistant at Fantasy Sound.

Also, I am a big sports fan my favorite is basketball but I pretty much enjoy all sports especially going to live games. I also am a huge Disney fan along with Twlight and Harry Potter.  I am a totally obsessed with anything involving the sun and water. I love the beach, boating and pretty much anything in the water or near it. To sum myself up I am very outgoing, driven and all around just love having a good time with life!

We are so excited to welcome Sarah to the Fantasy Sound family! If you want to say hi, feel free to email her at Sarah@fantasysound.com

Mandy Healy and Bengy Guptil were joined in wedded bliss on August 27^th, 2011 at the Leal Winery in Hollister, California. This was our first time working at Leal Winery, and we immediately fell in love with the venue! It was like a little slice of heaven in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by vineyards as far as the eye can see. Mandy and Bengy exchanged their vows in a sun-drenched ceremony on the grounds of the winery, in front of a sprawling pond that included a fountain and waterfall. It was a perfect day for a wedding, with not a single cloud in the sky! The bride and bridesmaids all held beautiful bouquets, arranged by Jinger of  The Flower House.

After Mandy and Bengy shared their first kiss as husband and wife, the reception began across the property in the barrel room.  Fantasy Sound Event Services was on hand to provide all the lighting. Mandy wanted to achieve an elegant and classic look, which she achieved with 6 candle chandeliers hanging throughout the barrel room, 1 custom monogram GOBO on the dance floor, and uplighting on the wine barrels. All the lighting, combined with her color palette of purple with black accents really lent a timeless feel to Mandy and Bengy’s wedding.

We really enjoyed working at Leal Winery , and we want to thank Mandy and Bengy for introducing us to such a great venue, and allowing us to be a part of their day. We wish them all the best in their future as a happily married couple!

Jodi Phillips and Matt Mikel became Mrs. and Mr. Mikel in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Martinelli Event Center on August 6th, 2011. It was a sunny and warm August day, without a single cloud in the sky. Jodi and Matt are a very energetic couple, and that energy definitely shined through during their ceremony. They exchanged jokes and laughter, which of course led to both Jodi and Matt shedding some happy tears.

The party moved in to the Banquet Room at the Martinelli Event Center, where the color palette of chocolate and ivory looked stunning with the amber uplighting and GOBO washes. Jodi and Matt’s energy was magnified throughout the reception, and it seemed as though everyone was bit by the energy bug! Jodi’s father gave a speech that was absolutely hilarious, and he brought the house down with laughter. The guests all had a great time in the photo booth, which was provided by D. Lillian Photography. She was the photographer for the wedding as well, and she provided all the pictures on this blog. We had an AMAZING time working with her! You can learn more about her at www.dlillianphotography.com, or call her at 916.662.3513.

Our DJ, Marshall, made sure to keep everyone on the dance floor, busting a move until the late hours of the evening. The bridal party made sure to get in on the action, by standing on the chairs at the head table and getting their groove on to Ke$ha’s “Your Love Is My Drug”. The real crowd-pleaser, however, was when the groom’s mother was introduced to the Oak Ridge Boys’ classic hit “Elvira”. The dance floor was packed, as every single guest at the wedding joined the bridal party in line-dancing.

Congratulations Jodi and Matt! We wish you all the best in your marriage, and we want to thank you for having us be a part of your special day!

Our videographers Jillian and Fallan were on hand to capture all of the love, and they had an amazing time working with this couple. Kate and Patrick were extremely fun and energetic, and as such it was incredibly easy to transfer all of that energy to the screen. We have just finished editing their video, and we wanted to share it with all of you!

Thank you Kate and Patrick, for allowing us to be there to capture all of the magic on your special day. We wish you all the best in your life together!

By Caitlin Arnold, Caitlin Arnold Weddings and Events

If you’re on a small wedding budget, or just having a small wedding in general, a wedding coordinator is usually last on your list of things to spend money on. It makes sense when you think about what is necessary and what isn’t – you have to have a dress, a bouquet, pictures/a photographer, etc., etc. Regardless of budget and size, most brides think a coordinator goes into the “unnecessary” category, especially if they’re organized and on top of it themselves. But let me give you a list of 5 reasons why the coordinator should be in the necessary category.

1. You’re the bride on the day of the wedding, not the coordinator – When you’re getting dressed, walking down the aisle, taking pictures, listening to toasts and dancing, you can’t be on top of it. Even if you have planned the wedding down to a “T” yourself, on the day, you can’t oversee the set up or flow of the event. Or if you try to, you’ll probably have a distracted, stressful day!

2. Your friends and family should be your guests - Your mom, maid of honor, best friend, whomever it was that you were going to place in charge really wants to celebrate this day with you! You don’t want them to have to “work” or stress that day, but enjoy themselves. Especially if you and your fiancé are hosting the wedding, shouldn’t all your guests get to have a great time?

3. Your wedding will have problems – Every wedding has problems. I know that as a bride, you don’t want to think there will be glitches, but there will be. The best way to plan for those is to have someone whose job is solving problems in the fastest, easiest way possible. More importantly, if that person is your professional wedding coordinator, not only will they likely know the best way to solve the problem, but their main goal is to ensure you have a great wedding day – that means you won’t even know about the problem unless you have to! I remember a wedding where the cake somehow got smashed in on one side during delivery. The bride didn’t even know about it until weeks after the wedding, because the florist, caterer and coordinator worked to solve it – with beautiful cascading flowers decorating the cake! No one noticed except for them. That’s the way it should be!

4. There’s more to notice at a small wedding – Even smaller weddings have the basic needs of coordination – in fact, usually they need it more, because it is more likely for something to get noticed and every detail will matter. Plus, my guess is that you’re having a small wedding partly because you want the intimacy, so make your guests feel comfortable and at home with a well-planned, well-hosted event that they all will feel privileged to attend.

5. Coordinators save you money – All of this is fine and good, but let’s talk money. I did say you should have a coordinator even with a tight wedding budget, right? Not only will some coordinators work with you to make sure their fee fits your budget, but they can help you create an overall wedding budget that ensures you stay within your means. Most couples that don’t have a professional create a wedding budget for them will overspend their cap by a couple thousand dollars. Instead, if you have a budget created by a professional who knows the industry, you’ll be pretty dead on in the end, with the coordinator fee in there! Having a coordinator might even save you money by allowing you to take advantage of the many discounts they receive from vendors and suppliers.

Still not convinced? Ask someone who has had a coordinator – usually they’ll tell you they were worth every penny. I understand the concerns – years ago, I used to think coordinators were an optional luxury in wedding planning. Then I talked to some coordinators and previous brides, watched some weddings with a coordinator to see all they did, and I was sold. It doesn’t hurt to contact someone to ask questions and feel free to ask for testimonials. Brides and their families will usually tell you they would never do it again without one.

*Our newest guest blogger, Caitlin Arnold, can be found at www.caitlinarnoldweddings.com. Be sure to stop by her website to learn more about Caitlin!*