Wedding guests might feel the need to take photos, but if you want to make it clear that they should sit back and enjoy the ceremony, ask a wedding attendant to remind guests that no flash photography is allowed when they are being seated. You may also put a note in your wedding program.

Ignoring Place Cards
Weddings that have a reception following their ceremony may include tables with place cards. However, many guests ignore these and sit where they want. This is not good etiquette, as the bride and groom worked hard placing where their guests will sit.

A good solution is, during dinner, to sit at your assigned table, then get up and mingle with guests later. While the bride and groom are likely going to be too busy to remind guests of this, having an MC make announcements or a member of the wedding party remind guests can be helpful!

Dress Code
Guests that ignore the wedding dress may embarrass the bride or groom. When an invite is sent, it’s a good idea to base your dress on the time of day and venue if it is not stated clearly on the invite what guests should wear. You may consider having a wedding attendant be your contact person for questions guests have about the big event.

Scale Back the Theatrics
Some guests behave very inappropriately and end up upstaging the bride and groom. Bad behavior might include proposing at a wedding or drawing attention to oneself at inappropriate times. Having a wedding attendant keep guests in check is a good way to avoid this, but people might be unpredictable anyway! Reminding guests to be mindful of the bride and groom may be a good start to avoiding this type of behavior.

Drunken Antics
Weddings where a relative or friend has a few too many can be difficult. Not only does the bride or groom feel embarrassed, but the guest can get into trouble. Making sure the person serving alcohol is careful not to pour too many for tipsy guests is important to making sure everyone has a fun, but safe, time on the big day.

The post 5 Bad Wedding Guest Habits appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Set Deadlines
Getting organized with wedding planning is essential. Setting your priorities and making sure you get things done will help with stress in the end. Consider using a day planner specific to wedding planning to keep track of what must be done.

Communicate Often
It’s essential to complete tasks on time, but it’s also important to recognize that, in order to accomplish what you want, you must talk frequently with others. This could mean talking with family or friends so they help you complete tasks or talking with your vendors to make sure they have all the details for your big day.

Communicating might be difficult, but it’s not impossible! Speak up for what you want and take a stand. Your family will respect your opinion and vendors will work hard to make sure the work goes your way.

Recognize Mistakes Will Happen
Your flowers might not come on time or the DJ may mix up your songs in the commotion of your reception. This is okay! Embracing the chaos that comes with weddings will help you in the end. That way, if something does go wrong, you worry less about it because it was bound to happen in some way or another.

Enjoy the Time
While it seems cliché, your wedding day will fly quickly. You may find yourself waking up the next day wondering how you planned for months, only to have that big moment pass in the blink of an eye. Enjoy the process leading up to it and on the day of, celebrate!

The post How to Have a Great Wedding Planning Experience appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Chicago event. Here are just three out of many ways we can help make your next party bigger

and better!

Professional DJ Services

Avoid those tacky, cheesy DJ’s at other companies. MJ Unique Events DJ’s are highly skilled

professionals and will make your event run smoothly. We will communicate with you in advance

about your setup and make sure you have chosen the best songs for your event timeline.

Fun Photo Booths

No matter if you are planning a wedding, a corporate event or a birthday party, using a photo

booth from MJ Unique Events can make it even better! Let loose with your guests with our

fun props and check out our web gallery after your event to choose the best photos for your

scrapbooks or photo albums.

Elegant Lighting

Another key feature we provide at MJ Unique Events is event lighting for every occasion.

Perhaps you need uplighting or want to color wash a room. We can help with that! Our lighting

experts can help highlight your venue’s architecture while putting the spotlight on the blushing

bride, your corporate speaker, or whatever you choose! Contact us today to talk about how MJ

Unique Events can help at your next big get-together!

The post 3 Ways MJ Unique Events Enhances Parties appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

However, many people today, including Facebook CEO and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, are going against the norm and planning small, intimate affairs with small budgets. One might think someone like a young billionaire might stage an elegant, costly affair. Instead, Mark and his bride, Priscilla Chan, surprised family and friends with a small backyard wedding at their home in Palo Alto, California.

Outside of the bride’s dress, which had a price tag of $4,700 and was designed by little-known designer Claire Pettibone, much of the food and décor was low-cost. Affordable local caterers provided food for the wedding, including dessert. Their wedding is proof that you can have all the money in the world and still choose a small budget for your wedding. Perhaps this will influence trends in the future with young couples planning their weddings, but only time will tell.

The post Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s Countercultural Surprise Wedding appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Search for Reviews
One of the best ways to find a professional DJ is to search review sites that can showcase their work. Many of these sites contain reviews from customers and do not allow business owners to buy their reputation. Sites like Wedding Wire are perfect for seeking out a good DJ in your area. Read the reviews and look for DJ’s that meet your expectations.

Ask for References
If you find someone that works as a DJ, get a list of references you can contact. This is often a good way to gauge how others’ experiences went when hiring them.

Check out their Website
Looking at a DJ’s website can tell you a number of things about their work. For example, you can find out how long they have been in business and, frequently, you can find their starting prices. Keep in mind, however, going with an inexpensive DJ does not mean you will have a great experience. You often get what you paid for when it comes to musical entertainment, so if you want to pay less, realize the trade-off might be a low-quality DJ who doesn’t have the professionalism your event deserves.

The post How to Research High-Quality DJs appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Highlight Your Venue’s Assets
Perhaps your venue has a great chandelier or the wall behind the altar at your ceremony has a stylish design you can’t wait to capture. Utilize these existing features as you set your lighting design. Highlighting these areas works great at drawing attention to them and can make for great photos during the event. You might choose to dim the lights to bring guests’ attention to an area, but there are a number of other lighting ideas that can work, such as using colored lights.

Downplay Unattractive Areas
At the same time you are bringing attention to the areas of your venue that look fantastic on their own, draw attention away from those areas you aren’t overly fond of but cannot do much about as a person renting the space. Cover unattractive vents or put a table covered with a table cloth in front of an unsightly heating duct. Use fabric backdrops paired with lights to create an attractive focal point. Hiding or covering these areas temporarily makes your space better and can allow for lighting to focus on other areas that require attention.

Hire a Professional
If you are stressed about planning your event lighting, hire someone else to do it! Many lighting professionals can offer great options that save you time and transform your space into the theme and colors of your choice.

MJ Unique Events has a number of solutions for event lighting! Contact us today about changing how your event space looks!

The post 3 Steps to Great Wedding Lighting appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Take some of these steps to make your relationship better as you plan your special day!

Plan Your First Dance
If you decide to have a special first dance, planning ahead with some dance lessons can help! Not only will you have fun, but you will have a better idea of each other’s strengths when it comes to dancing and can improve before the big day.

Mark Your Milestones
Sure, your first anniversary is far in the future, but why not celebrate other milestones in your relationship as you plan your wedding? Have dinner where you had your first date or watch a movie that is important to you. This will help you see how far you have come together and where you are going.

Making sure you stay active and fit is important to anyone planning an event like a wedding. Get fit with your spouse-to-be! Try going bike riding or run on a regular basis. This will also alleviate some of that stress you have encountered recently.

The post How To Strengthen Your Relationship During Wedding Planning appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Colored Backdrops
A great way to add color to your photo booth pictures is with a pretty backdrop! Create one with decals or find a patterned fabric for your photo booth.

Colored backdrops come with some photo booth packages, but be sure to ask your photo booth attendant what options are available for your event.

Filters in Photo Booths
Getting creative with photo editing can make your photo booth pictures great! Some editing software can include filters that focus on one specific color. For example, if you have pink bouquets in the photo booth pictures, you can focus on that color and make the rest in black and white.

Add Colorful Props
An easy way to add colors to your photo booth experience is through colorful props! Use feather boas and hats to make your pictures memorable and fun! Pick contrasting colors to draw attention to yourself or match your outfit to look sophisticated.

The post Colorful Ideas for Photo Booths appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

Planning a sweet 16 birthday party can be a lot of fun! Use some of these ideas for the big day or create your own as you have fun during this fun event.

Party Colors Vary for Boys and Girls
Depending on your guest of honor, you may want to choose colors that complement their style. Girls might care more about the décor, so choose favorite colors or feminine color palettes, such as pinks or reds.

If your sweet 16 party is for a male, chances are he won’t care about the decorations as much. Go with deeper hues or pick simple decorations for his party. Chances are he will care more about having fun with his friends than how the decorations look.

For both girls and boys, cars might be good decorations! Buy or make a cake in the shape of a car if you plan to give one as a gift. What a great way to surprise them!

Pick a Theme
Themed parties can be a lot of fun for super sweet 16 birthdays! Choose a theme they will enjoy based on a hobby or select ideas from their friends if you plan to throw a surprise party. Some popular themes might revolve around their favorite TV show, or a beach theme might be perfect for their special birthday.

Have a Sleepover Party
A great way to throw a low-key party is to invite your child’s friends to a sleepover party. Pop some popcorn, rent a movie or a TV series and let your guests lounge around in pajamas. Order in pizza and let them stay up just a little bit later than usual before lights out.

No matter what you decide, throwing a sweet 16 birthday can be fun for everyone!

The post Super Sweet 16 Party Ideas appeared first on MJ Unique Events.

However, there is hope on the horizon! If your family has say in the wedding because they are helping pay for it, take some of these steps to avoid confusion and headaches down the road.

Plan a Meeting
Before anything is bought, sit down with your family members to discuss the budget in detail. Set limits for big-ticket purchases and plan ahead how many people will attend the wedding ceremony and reception. Taking these precautions can keep everyone on the same page and avoid any one relative from trying to take over planning, as everyone will agree at the meeting to the plans.

Communicate Regularly
A large part of wedding planning includes compromise and communication. If you want something specific for your wedding, talk to your family members and discuss why it is important to you. If an item is bought, let everyone know you have taken care of it so no one buys the item a second time. You will see great success if you keep everyone in check and informed about the costs of the wedding.

Expect Changes
Like it or not, your plans are bound to take a different course. Something is likely to change, for the better or for worse, during the wedding planning process. An idea might not work out well or you have an unexpected cost come up. If you prepare ahead of time with the mindset that you will have to adjust, you will find wedding planning on a budget to be more enjoyable!

The post Wedding Planning Etiquette appeared first on MJ Unique Events.