EBE @ Nicole Miller, Manayunk, this Sunday, Oct. 18

EBE Event Planner Elaine Igoe will be available to answer all of your wedding planning questions!

 

It’s Mock Mitzvah time: Sunday, October 4th

Mitzvah moms and dads love to plan with EBE

Planning the perfect bar or bat mitzvah for your child could be a challenge — but working with EBE makes it simple.

On 10/4 we will host another of our popular Mock Mitzvah events, showcasing some of the hottest new trends in mitzvah entertainment, including our most popular MCs and DJs, dancers, enhancements, prizes, and more! By attending our Mock Mitzvah, you and your family will have the opportunity to try us out — from music and event planning to photos and games — in a real party setting.

Join us for this fun-filled afternoon and experience for yourself the exciting difference EBE can make for your event!

EBE Mock Mitzvah

date: October 4th

time: 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm

location: EBE Showcase Theater

RSVP: Please call (888-323-2263) or email info@ebetalent.com to RSVP.

Mitzvah Moms and Dads love planning with EBE! As Philadelphia’s premier events and entertainment company, we know how to deliver an exceptional party with remarkable ease. From outstanding DJs and MCs to interactive enhancements and popular party favors, EBE is your one-stop mitzvah shop. Event Enhancements make the crowd roar! Games, favors, and other enhancements make your event fun and memorable for guests of all ages. Our most popular party enhancements will be on hand for you to try out!  Featured performers will include MCs Justin Horn, Eric Scott Gold, Amy Dougherty, Kelli Moshen, Sean “Slippy” Mensiah, and Isaac Zentner.

 

EBE Talent Spotlight: Matt Ostroff, DJ and MC

We sat down with Matt Ostroff this week, one of EBE’s most popular DJs/emcees, to begin our fun new “spotlight” series that will highlight some of the incredible people who work for EBE.

Recent recollections

“I did a wedding this past weekend that was very small.The bride and groom are incredibly shy, and they told me that no one would dance.We came up with all kinds of alternative ideas: I had a pianist perform for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then interspersed with me [DJing] during dinner, and we were going to use him for sing-alongs. We were going to do a trivia game about the bride and groom, and so on.

“Instead, I arrived early and observed the crowd. I could see the different personalities and used that information to create a dance party.These people never sat down. We never wound up doing any sing-alongs or trivia, but instead kept the dance floor packed with activity.  On a scale of 1-10 it was an 11, and you could feel the love and excitement.”

Raving reviews (from WeddingWire.com)

“We had seen Matt at another wedding, so once we were engaged it was just a matter of a phone call. Hiring him was the best decision that we made (and now my sister has booked him too). His suggestions were great and the dance floor was constantly packed. All night long people kept asking me where I found him. Would highly recommend [him] to anyone who wants to have an amazing reception.” — buju1012, wedding date: July 5, 2009.

Best day on the job. Ever.

President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy

A few years ago, Matt got a call from the events coordinator at the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton, who asked him to personally emcee a very hush-hush party. As it turned out, the guests of honor were to be the U.S. Senate’s Democrats, in Philadelphia for a day of top-secret meetings and desperately needing a chance to unwind afterward.

Matt’s brother, Ben, stepped in as his DJ, and the pair arrived at the hotel to be background checked and scrutinized for any red flags or weapons. A national-level staff member debriefed them on what to expect, what sort of behavior would be cool, and what would not. “And then,” Matt says, “she uttered the words that I couldn’t have wanted to hear more: ‘If you have a few minutes, Senator Kennedy would like to speak to you.’” A self-professed “Kennedy fan,” Matt even has the famous photograph at right hanging above his office desk. He could not have been more thrilled to meet Ted Kennedy.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Senator Edward Kennedy approached Matt and Ben while they began to set up. It seems that the senator’s 75^th birthday party was coming up, and he had been planning what songs his DJ should play by listening to the radio and jotting notes of song titles. “But you guys already know all these songs, don’t you?” the senator blustered, laughing at himself, before posing with them for a few pictures. “As the party got started,” Matt recalls, “you could see Kennedy just turn on and really enjoy himself and being with his friends.”

Matthew Ostroff and Senator Ted Kennedy.

The party was attended by most of the Senate’s Democrats (although John Kerry and Hillary Clinton went off to bed early) and their spouses, as well as some children, and it soon became apparent that the senators’ tastes ran toward the traditional. “The things that they were asking us to play were the kinds of things we normally avoid, like the ‘Macarena.’ I was out on the floor doing the electric slide with half of the U.S. senate,” Matt says. Senator Chuck Schumer asked if they could play a Horah, and soon Matt was helping to lift both Senator Schumer and Senator Kennedy in chairs over the heads of the other guests.

Ben Ostroff and Senator Ted Kennedy.

“That night was definitely the high point of my career,” Matt says, “My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. some sixty years ago, and there I was at this secret party. I don’t think they could have ever fathomed the possibility of something like that happening.”

 

“You are going to make a speech, right?” A few Do’s and Don’ts for giving an impromptu toast.

by Emily at EBE

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I attended his best friend’s casual wedding, and — just like last year, at his brother’s family-only celebration — he was asked to give a toast. Ladies and Gentlemen, my boyfriend is a very, very kind man, but he is really terrible at speaking off-the-cuff.

Before each of these weddings, I had warned him that he would probably be expected to speak, but he felt certain that was off the hook since the events were so low-key… which he probably still believed up until he was handed the microphone.

“Oh Lord, here it comes again,” I thought.

His speech began with a charming introduction and the beginning of what promised to be an entertaining best-manly anecdote, and then veered dramatically off into “we used to be in a band together” land for far too many rambling and awkward moments before finally meandering its way back to the congratulations due.

Most people arrive at events like weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs knowing whether they will be expected to make a speech; most sensible people prepare notes on what they want to say in order to ward off those in-the-moment jitters. A good party MC will organize the event timeline to allow time and introductions for planned toasts. But occasionally, for any number of reasons, you might be asked to give an impromptu speech with little to no warning before you’re on. You can’t refuse, but what should you say?

When you find yourself suddenly in the spotlight, mic in hand and thoughts racing frantically, keeping the following tips in mind will ensure that your impromptu toast doesn’t live on in infamy:

• DO look at the person or couple that you are toasting, and allow yourself a moment to compose your thoughts. Seeing the happiness and expectancy on their faces will give you courage.
• DO remember to clearly introduce yourself, and briefly explain to the other guests who you are in relation to the mitzvah or the marrying couple.
• DON’T mention how briefly you’ve known the bride (or groom, whomever) but that you are certain that “things will work out great.”
• DO try to think of an anecdote of your that will personalize your speech for the guests, and make the toastee look good, but…
• Do remember to thank your hosts — which also means getting their names right.
• DON’T ramble. Keep any stories that you tell short (a minute or two) and to-the-point… which means that they need to have a point. If you can’t think of an anecdote that sheds some light on the joyous occasion, then just keep your toast simple and succinct. Once you lose the attention of your audience, they are just counting down the seconds until they can sip their champagne. To paraphrase Mark Twain, a toast should be like a woman’s dress: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.

The very best advice for giving an unexpected toast? Take a deep breath, think about the people for whom you are there to celebrate, and speak from your heart… but not for too long.  Mazel Tov!

 

Things We Like: the Bridal Blogs edition

It seems like there are a million and one blogs (actually, more than 95 million according to Google!) devoted to wedding advice and planning, many of which are written by wedding professionals. When you need advice on how to handle a particular planning problem, wedding pros generally offer the most authoritative suggestions, based on years of experience in the business and their own thorough knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.

Sometimes, though, you don’t turn to the Web for professional advice; rather, you just want to see how other “real” couples tackle the logistics and emotions of planning and celebrating their weddings. In the midst of planning your own big day, a blogger who manages to both inspire, educate, and amuse you can be a real blessing.

On that note, here are some of our favorite “non-pro” wedding and bridal blogs that we follow. Check them out, and then make sure to add them to your bookmarks!

• Wedding Wire recently started the group blog Bridal Buds, with posts written by 24 brides-to-be. Its clean layout makes navigation easy, and these ladies’ succinct posts highlight their experiences navigating all the choices a wedding entails. Our favorite recent entry? Snapdragon Bud’s post titled  Not That Kind of STD — those pesky acronyms sure can be confusing!

• We’ve discussed the Offbeat Bride before, but she bears mentioning again for her great advice on unconventional nuptials, not to mention the great “wedding porn” section of her blog, which is ripe with great photos, ideas, and inspiration for making your event unique. One of the featured weddings that we especially love marries (ha!) the couple’s Irish Catholic and Jewish faith traditions.

• We always look forward to the Broke-Ass Bride’s updates on Twitter, but her fantastic blog offers a more in-depth look at her quest to plan her Los Angeles wedding on a minimal budget without losing her sense of humor. We hadn’t heard of the wedding tradition she discusses in her post In Case of Emergency, but think it’s a beautiful idea that represents B.A.B.’s variety of out-of-the-box thinking.

• Although the Parenthetical Bride, or (bride.), is now a (wife.), her skilled writing and clear vision of what she wanted from her wedding make her blog a must-read. In To Open or Not to Open, she tackles the ettiquette of opening gifts before the bridal shower (or, as she puts it, “gift arrival purgatory”) with the mix of rationality and confusion that most brides face at some point.

• Cats, Cheese, and a Wedding Please offers readers much more than just a catchy name. Her down-to-earth style and honesty are refreshing for anyone who is feeling the crush of pre-wedding stress. If we have to choose one post to highlight, it’s got to be Friday: Attack of the Panics, because, really, every bride needs to be prepared for Murphy’s Law!

• And finally, The Mad Gay Wedding is a great blog that highlights the joys and challenges of planning a same-sex wedding… at Disney World, no less! Sometimes… is a true gem of  a blog post that should serve as a reminder for anyone planning a wedding, gay or straight.

Happy Reading!

 

Behind the Scenes at EBE: “And this is where the magic happens…”

Have you ever wondered what the EBE Showcase Theater looks like? Or pondered how we manage to fit 13 bands’ weekly rehearsals into a the week, when each of those bands are often booked every night of the weekend? Or even just wanted to see what our place looks like?

Well, furrow your brow no longer — the behind-the-scenes tour of our Philadelphia production suite is here to answer your burning questions and keep premature worry lines at bay!

(PS: This video tour is conducted by EBE co-founder and head producer Mike Gendler, who  is also the dummer for L.A. Starz.)

 

This Sunday: EBE @ Nicole Miller (Manayunk)’s “Meet the Experts”

The invitation; please call to RSVP.

This Sunday, August 1st, EBE and Petals Lane Floral Arrangements will be representing at the Nicole Miller Manayunk store’s “Meet the Experts” event. Korbel will also be hosting a wine tasting as part of the store’s “Bridal Sundays”, which are held the first Sunday of every month. (I highly recommend browsing that Korbel website’s “cocktails” section. Yum. — ed.)

We’ll be at Nicole Miller from 12 – 4pm, so call 215-546-5007 to come on down!

 

A follow up email to our “Wedding Disaster Averted”

“I was definitely surprised when I opened this email to see my wedding story mentioned (2 years after the big day: the Princeton wedding). It was an interesting night to say the least. Big Ric made it all happen – I didn’t have time to get upset. I guess I thought the lights would come on within minutes (but in actuality they did not come on until the next morning).

“I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding (even with the lights out for most of the reception). The dance floor was filled the entire night. Big Ric kept the party going; and Eric Schnitzer was at the piano right behind him. My guests still talk about our wedding and how great Big Ric was that night.

“My husband and I hope to run into Big Ric again at another event.

“Thanks,

Lauren Rosenthal Hartenstein”

 

Always Be Prepared: A tale of wedding disaster averted

Sometimes even the best planning can’t keep your big day from heading toward catastrophe…

With so many “moving parts” susceptible to Murphy’s Law, it’s only natural to worry about the things that could go wrong on your wedding day. Wedding blooper videos are so common that they are one of the most frequent contributions to AFV, surpassed in popularity only by the unpredictability of kids and pets.

Since weddings are so charged with emotion and expectation, anything that goes wrong has the potential to “ruin” an otherwise perfect event. To head off those blooper-reel moments before they happen, careful wedding planners anticipate what could go wrong and come prepared to battle everything from wardrobe malfunctions to groomsmen with hangovers. Saving your wedding day from a truly unavoidable catastrophe, however, calls for stronger ammunition than safety pins or duct tape. If disaster strikes, you want the ingenuity and experience of the professionals at EBE on your side.

On Saturday, May 26, 2007, a violent storm ripped through the Philadelphia region, knocking out electricity to a large portion of the area. The power stayed off through that night and into the next day, but the festivities at three EBE weddings continued as scheduled because of the actions and dedication of our performers. In less than optimal circumstances, our DJs and bandleaders think on their feet and use their exceptional talents to make the very best of the situation. (That’s why we hired them!)

DJ Ben Ostroff, performing that evening at a large conference center, remembers, “There was no generator in the ballroom area, but there was one in the hotel section. I grabbed a flashlight from my car, and then connected every extension cord I had — a couple of hundred feet long — and was able to plug in my equipment to the hotel generator.”

“My booth was the only thing in the room with power,” he says. “The only other sources of light were candles lit by the venue’s staff.” Because of his quick thinking, the music only stopped for about ten minutes, and the party soon resumed by candlelight. What song did Ben choose to kick off the reception? “Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’.”

DJ Rick Kiene was performing at an historic Pennsylvania inn that did not have a generator. Rick retrieved a battery-powered boom box from his car, which he used to DJ for the rest of the night. By the end of the last dance the batteries were finally exhausted, but Rick made sure that the guests were, too!

Over in Princeton, New Jersey, Big Ric & Vegas were scheduled to perform at a wedding held in a luxury hotel. Although the hotel had a generator, they were unable to restore power to the building’s ballroom area, leaving the grand room eerily quiet and threatening to end the opulent wedding reception.

Within a few minutes the band members had wheeled the piano used for cocktail hour into the ballroom. For the rest of the night, the pianist accompanied Big Ric as he sang without amplification, leading more than 150 guests in sing-a-longs even after his voice grew raspy. The bride and groom and their friends and family continued to celebrate well into the evening, enjoying themselves in spite of Mother Nature.

No one wants to think that forces beyond their control might intrude on their wedding day, of all days. Little girls don’t include “no electricity” in their fairy tale wedding fantasies as far as we know. We want each wedding, mitzvah, or other special occasion that we perform to be absolutely perfect. But when the out-of-the-ordinary threatens to ruin an event, EBE is always prepared to save the day.

 

Next EBE Band Showcases: 7/27 – 7/30

You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, right? Don’t choose the music for your special occasion based on some edited video with poor sound quality – check out our live music showcase and know that what you see is exactly what you’ll get!

Bring your friends or family members along to watch each of our high-energy bands perform a short set. Our talented band leaders will also be available to answer any questions you may have and to discuss the details of your event. With EBE, finding the right music for your big day is simple!

Our next showcases will start at 7:30 p.m. on July 27th – 30th in our showcase theater.

Mon., July 27	Tues., July 28	Weds., July 29	Thurs., July 30
eFusion Love	Big Ric & Vegas	eFusion Imagine
Milan 77	London	Miami	L.A. Starz
Rio	Barcelona (video coming soon!)	Paris
	Dreamtime

Space is limited, so please RSVP online or call us at 888-323-2263 to sign up!