On the
Event Horizon
Logo designed by ©studio Kalderon
Receptions are more entertaining than ever;
here are a few reasons why.

P hiladelphia master
wedding consul-
tant Lynda Barness
thought she’d seen
it all. Until her
clients Shelby Zitelman and Dan
Stamm proposed the idea of a silent
disco for their June wedding. It was
a fi rst for Barness, of I DO Wed-
ding Consulting in Philadelphia
“I still love surprises, and Shelby
and Dan had one at their wedding
that I had never seen before,” she
marveled. Th e couple got married
at the Abington Art Center last
June and they decided to contain
the noise and have fun in a new
way. So, they hired Silent Storm, a
company that supplied 200 wireless
headsets and transmitters for the
7-10 p.m. after-party.

“For the after-party, there were
two — yes, two — separate DJs,
and the guests could listen to
the DJ and music of their choice
through the headsets and dance to
the music. But if you were standing
in the room, all you could hear was
the chatter of guests talking and no
music. Th is would be great for a
wedding in a township with a noise
ordinance, too!”
“Yeah the headphones are an
awesome, easy and inexpensive
gadget to add to any aff air,” said
Zitelman. “We’d experienced the
headphones at a music festival and
wanted to recreate the amazing ex-
perience for our wedding.”
Once again, technology grabs
the headlines.

Whether you’re planning a
Bar/Bat Mitzvah, wedding or cor-
porate event, there’s no dodging
the high-tech bullet. Depending
on the occasion, tech can be in the
spotlight, or on the down low, but
it’s always going to factor. Even if
you want low-tech, there are some
fun developments on the social
and corporate scene that can add
a sense of Right Now to your next
Big Day.

By Beth D’Addono
Social Media — Yes or No?
According to a survey by Wed-
ding Paper Divas, the average
nuptials guest shared 22 wedding-
related photos to social media sites,
and four in 10 recent wedding
guests reported a specifi c hashtag
was provided and social sharing
was encouraged for the event. Th e
company’s etiquette maven, Am-
ber Harrison, advises thinking
before you post. “Be very thought-
ful and deliberate about what and
when you choose to post. When
in doubt, hold off . Nothing will be
harmed by waiting a few hours, or
even days, to post that photo.”
Th ere’s no right or wrong ap-
proach to social media for a special
occasion or event, but the reality is
that attendees need to know how
the host feels. In the case of wed-
dings, Harrison says that “it’s im-
portant for the engaged couple to
establish the tone and make a de-
cision about what best suits them,
so they can clearly communicate
those wishes to guests along the
way.” If the hosts are all about the
share, then the simplest thing to do
Chandelier winch and wedding cake at Cescaphe
elegantly inspired
for every occasion
Phoenixville Foundry has been transformed into the premier special
event facility in Chester County, PA. This perfect venue for your
Wedding or Mitzvah’s can accommodate up to 500 guests and offers
first-class hospitality and amenities.

16 APRIL 9, 2015
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JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



is create a unique hashtag for use
on social media channels such as
Twitter or Instagram, and inform
your guests to utilize it. Th at way
you can also track the great photos
they’ll capture, too.

WedPics Award-Winning
Klezmer Music
Music For All Occasions
(610) 389-6036
www.phillyklezmer.com susan@susanwattsonline.com
Fantasy Realized
Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties are
more engaging than ever. One hot
trend in this department include
TV-show themes – think Walking
Dead or Game of Th rones, accord-
ing to party planner Marla Mace,
whose company, Party Poopers,
Susan Watts
YOU AND YOUR GUESTS CAN ENJOY ELEGANT
KOSHER, PARVE, GLUTEN-FREE, ALLERGEN-FREE
“CUSTOM” SPECIAL OCCASION CAKES
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• Customized Novelties
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Under Orthodox Rabbinical Supervision
267.288.5080 Elaine Hoffman
Watts www.glutenfreesweetmegan.com
HY PAUL STUDIO
Who doesn’t remember Pepsi
shaking up Super Bowl XLVII with
its crowdsourcing campaign that
invited fans to upload a photo of
themselves recreating a daily pose
by Beyonce? Th e photos were all in
one place where anyone and every-
one could view them. Th is technol-
ogy isn’t just limited to a big corpo-
rate marketing gimmick; it’s here
for everybody. WedPics is an app
that brings the same crowdsourc-
ing idea to wedding guests. Avail-
able for the iPhone and Android
Center is a big wow, a place to take
visitors and kids for a dose of Philly
cool. Get your own version of that
wall at your party or event with the
help of PSAV, a technology pro-
vider with locations from Philly to
L.A. and the Virgin Islands. Th ink
of the wall as a large iPad, with
custom videos, maps, logos, games
and slide shows. Use a live feed, put
guests in the spotlight in the mo-
ment, and turn up the wattage on
your next big shindig.

A 2LifeTalent Dj gets this Bar Mitzvah party started.

phones, the app allows high-def
sharing between social networking
sites like Twitter, Facebook or Pin-
terest, and in one click, the bride
(or anyone with admin rights) can
download all the pictures or send
them to Facebook, creating an in-
stant photo book.

plans elaborate Bar and Bat Mitz-
vahs in New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. Adventure and in-
volvement are popular, she added,
ranging from circus arts stations to
scavenger hunt boot camp and laser
tag. Karaoke, always fun, is bigger
than ever these days.

Turn That Cake Upside Down
Long Live the Selfi e
Joe Volpe heard about the hang-
ing chandelier wedding cake cre-
ated by Butter End Cakery for the
California wedding of Big Bang
Th eory star Kaley Cuoco, and he
was inspired. Working with Jenni-
fer Roach, Cescaphe’s award-win-
ning cake artisan, Volpe added a
winch to the newly renovated Ces-
caphe Ballroom to ensure stability
and maneuvering. Voila! A chan-
delier cake done up in icing, roses
and crystal swags is lowered from
the ceiling. Smack-dab at the inter-
section of delicious and drama, the
chandelier wedding cake sure does
jump-start the cutting of the cake.

Do you have social media fa-
tigue? Consider following the
advice of the party pros at 2Life-
Talent in Philly and bring on a
social media concierge to manage
it all for you. Th is person will be
your go-to for assisting guests with
hashtags, taking pictures with a
designated phone throughout the
night and more. Also trending:
video DJs who can mix music vid-
eos and live feed for a truly real-
time party. Th ese visuals, when
synced perfectly in line with the
audio, puts technology in the
spotlight to give your special day
an extra wow.

Interactive Video Wall
Beth D’Addono is a frequesnt con-
Th e video wall at the Comcast tributor to Special Sections.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
APRIL 9, 2015
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