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GigMasters.com has created a national contest to find the best Charity Fundraising story told by the originator of the event along with any pictures to share so we may all experience a little of the excitement.

You may not think that your fundraiser is anything to write home about.  Or you may feel that it was just for a local charity and would not be of interest to anyone outside of your town or even your neighborhood.

Please let the judges of the contest make that decision. Write it up and enter the contest. Go to GigMasters.com and follow the instructions to enter.

Many of the best ideas for fundraisers start out in a small way for a small, but needed, charity event.  I think we tend to forget that our efforts to relieve and help a situation with donated funds raised by our local community just might be a reflection of what needs to happen somewhere else, and you, who came up with the bright idea on how you could create and help organize your wonderfully brilliant event (and have  now written it up) could be the inspiration that makes the difference and gets that other situation the needed funds.

We all like to hear about successful parties or events and the charity it helped.
We like to help our fellow man more than we like to harm him.

And most of us have experienced times that, without the help of our family, friends, church members etc. we would not be here today.

So share with us your stories!
 

Step and Repeat LA created a very special  step and repeat banner for the first  annual 3D Film and Music Festival that is held worldwide in fifty different cities, such as; Austin Texas, Seoul South Korea, Tokyo Japan, and Hollywood California.

The World Tour will be reaching Hollywood California in one hundred and twenty days. In fact, if you go to 3dff.org you will see a live countdown meter ticking away the moments until they arrive!

With more than 40 events in four days and spread out over a city block, 3DFF Hollywood is the largest event of its kind in the world.

3DFF is taking the world by storm with its all-encompassing marketing of 3D in all entertainment mediums. They have the 3D Music Festival (a new activation as of 2011),  3D Academy (film-maker education program founded in 2008),  3opolis (the world's first and largest network of 3D enabled bars, nightclubs, and live music venues),  3D Lounge (the program that started it all and is now in fifty cities world wide), and last but certainly not least the first 3d enabled Light Parade.

Here is an impromptu interview in front of the Step and Repeat LA banner filmed at the 3D Film Festival with Tony Money (Shifted 2U), The Music Group Alyssa Suede ( a shout-out  for her 3D music debut with her award winning song 'Hollow') and Jimmy Collins. 

Alyssa Suede's 3D music video 'Hollow' can be seen on YouTube.

Smilebooth and Step And Repeat LA  were extremely well received at last year's Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards.

 "I believe in love at first sight because I've been loving my mother since I opened my eyes." 
- Unknown 

Six years:  Mom knows everything
Eight years:  Mom knows a lot
Twelve years: Mom really doesn't know everything
Fourteen years: Mom knows nothing
Sixteen years: Mom, what mom?
Eighteen years: Mom is out dated
Twenty-five years: Maybe Mom knows
Thirty-five years: Before deciding, let's ask Mom
Forty-five years: I wonder what Mom thinks
Seventy-five years:
I wish mom were here to ask her" 

You've decided to get married and have just announced your engagement to your family and friends.  Everyone cheers and yells and a lot of hugging and back slapping occurs along with jokes and comments about the newly engaged couple.

As the excitement starts to cool down someone interjects "Have you guys decided on a date?"

When the couple don't have an immediate answer, you start hearing the mothers shouting  "Oh yes! We must have enough time to plan the wedding!"  and again we are off to the races with everyone throwing in their opinions while the men sneak off to get a drink and commiserate with the groom, knowing their parts have just been relegated to spectators of the upcoming event.

Not So!

Now the groom-to-be and all of the wedding party (bride-to-be, bridesmaids, maid of honor-to-be, groomsmen, and the best man along with the parents) have all just been volunteered to participate in the newest fad that is sweeping the country... wedding dance processions and first dances of the wedding reception (bride and groom, father and daughter and even the wedding party dance!)

We are not talking just one night of walking through the wedding ceremony and procession. We are talking choreography and practice for a dance number as if  it were going on the road.  It will be filmed, edited and will probably show up on YouTube.  It will be a dance  that won't be forgotten by family and friends alike.

I believe what started this movement was a homemade video that went viral on You Tube in 2009  when Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson danced down the aisle with their seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen, and four ushers.  The video quickly became a wedding sensation that has now had over five-million views.

If you go to YouTube and type in wacky wedding dances you will see at least a dozen different dance numbers done by couples all over the country and you can Google wacky wedding dances and it will lead you to wedding sites that will connect you to some fabulous planners who might be able to help you become the next stars on your own video.

The video can also be done by professional videographers that you can find online.  One of the neatest sites is the Wedding Bee which is organized in an extremely easy-to-use way for any prospective couple.

Step and Repeat LA has made many step and repeat banners and media walls for these weddings and receptions. They  include the red carpet and lighting that are great for the photo shoot for the wedding couple and their dancing wedding party. It shows off their beautiful dresses and the handsome tuxedos of the groom and his merry band of men.

Here is a sample of the wacky dances you can see. Enjoy! 

A lot of questions have been asked about Step and Repeat banners and media walls, from what they are, to why one would be interested in them?

I have looked online to see if I could find the history of Step and Repeat banners and honestly answers were hard to come by.

How did step and repeat get its name?
Who was the first company to come up with the concept of the step and repeat banner?
Who were the first recipients of a step and repeat banner or media wall?
When I first heard the words step and repeat spoken together I immediately pictured a possible dance step in tap dancing or possibly the instructions given to the wedding party as they proceeded down the church aisle.
I had no idea that step and repeat could be a specialized term describing a printing method used by media and printing companies world wide.

It actually refers to a photoshop term used for the process of duplicating an object and spacing.
Step and Repeat LA has a FAQ page that answers the general facts regarding these products.

There are many ways in which these versatile partitions have been used.
Although they have been used mainly in the film industry and in places like movie premiers and sporting events, they have started to appeal to newer and more personal areas  such as a party ,shower, bar mitzvah ,wedding, and local and state beauty contests,and business openings. 

They have the allure of the glitz and glam of the hollywood scene which can be fun for any event and because of the way that they are constructed,they make ideal places for photo shoots and media interviews to take place.

Any professional photographer or videographer will tell you that there are certain elements necessary to pulling off the lighting one needs for good camera work. The materials used in these specialized banners and media walls are made to specifically address this issue.

The logos one chooses to be made into the pattern of the step and repeat will allow the sponsors of their event to be subtly acknowledged when seen by the participants and audience alike.  When the pattern has a personal theme then it may signify the newly wedded couple or the person that the party is being held for.

I have personally seen these lovely banners and media walls at movie premiers and benefits and at grand openings and I find that they lend a certain anticipation to the event. They make you wonder who is going to appear and who will be having a photo shoot done?  They bring a little excitement and anticipation to any event.  After all, how many of your favorite sports figures or movie celebrities have you seen being photographed in front of these displays?

Step and Repeat LA has worked within the film industry and would love to add you to their special clients list.  Check out this reputable company for yourself and see if they can provide you with something that will make your event even more special.

When researching different films for the Cinematic Wedding Planners blog, I came across the delightful comedy "You Again" which co-starred Kristin Chenoweth as the vivacious and dynamic Wedding Extraordinator, Miss Georgia Brown.

Kristin played this character with wit and charm and showed off her talents as a dancer spiraling down into the dance studio on silk ropes, where she was introduced to the wedding party she was coordinating.

Kristin's unusual last name had me googling her to remind me of the correct spelling and after writing up the blog I became curious as to who this person was and what she has done.

Well! I am ashamed of my prior ignorance... but delighted to discover, that Kristin Chenoweth is a true star of stage screen and television.

Born July 24th, 1968, this firecracker has been performing in one way or another all her life.  Starting out on the top of the pyramid as a high school cheerleader and then singing and dancing on stage and in musical theater.  Her bubbly personality and incredible energy has helped make her a very funny lady, both on and off stage, and she has delighted talk show hosts such as David Letterman, Ellen, Chelsea Lately and their respective audiences so much that she has been captured on YouTube enumerable times.

This lady who stands no taller than four feet eleven inches in her stockinged feet has a voice to rival Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand!  She has won the Tony Award for her portrayal as Sally in "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" (1990) and an Emmy Award for her role as Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama "Pushing Daisies" in 2009.

She originated the role of Glinda in the musical "Wicked" (2003) and one of her best-known roles is Annabeth Schott in NBC's "The West Wing". Kristin made her Broadway debut in "Steel Pier" and has done five City Center Encores! Productions, Broadway's "The Apple Tree" in 2006 and "Promises,Promises" in 2010.

She is currently starring in "GCB" an ABC TV Series, which premiered in March of this year.
She has cut many albums and has hosted several award shows.  I can see why they would ask her because she is a pro!  She makes it all look easy, but you know it's not!  Her magnetic personality and wonderful sense of humor keeps you glued to your seat as she tells a funny true-life story about herself or when she gives a performance in the role she is portraying on stage, screen or television.

I think the reason I haven't become familiar with her before now is that in each performance she gives, she is so good and believable in the part she is playing that you forget any other role and just see her in the present one.  Truly a great gift for a performer to have!

Step and Repeat LA applauds this wonderful performer in all her endeavors and hopes to see her at the Emmys winning an award sometime in the near future! 

Here she is singing "For the Good" to Oprah

Kevin Spacey, well-respected actor,director and art director of the Old Vic Theatre in London, has created a foundation to support new, young talent in screen writing, acting and directing through workshops and productions around the world.

As Jack Lemon (Spacey's friend and mentor) once said "Once you have made it in your career, never forget, it is important to send the elevator back down and help those that are just starting."

Kevin has taken this to heart and developed the Kevin Spacey Foundation for just that purpose.

Listen to what he has to say about it. 

Art Directors and Event Planners share a common theme in that both occupations are making a dream into reality.

Whether they are staging a concert, a movie premier or the party that happens after a big event, these creative and highly-productive people are pulling all the pieces together. 

They coordinate staff, direct the action and keep track of a million details, all the while maintaining a clear picture of what their end products are.  They soothe the frazzled nerves of their clients while bringing the dream event to life.  Like a good chess player, a good Art Director or Event Planner will be strategizing two to three moves ahead at any time, from the conception of the idea to the    sweep-up at the end.

These professionals usually do not get applauded and the only public acknowledgement might come almost as an afterthought at the end.  But that isn't what these people are looking for anyway.  When it comes time for the next rabbit to be pulled out of the hat and everyone is looking to see who the go-to people are, that Art Director or that Event Planner will be remembered and enlisted once more. THAT is all the acknowledgement they need.  

A satisfied client will usually tell others what wonderful service they were given and this is very true in both of these professions.

Word of mouth is the real applause.

Step and Repeat LA has worked closely with both of these professions and it is our honor to recognize the value and hard work that we have seen first-hand.

This time our cinematic wedding planner doubles as a cinematic baby shower planner and interior designer for the baby's suite.

In Father Of The Bride, George Banks (played by actor/comedian Steve Martin) has us laughing in our seats as he worries and frets his way through all the ups and downs and ins and outs of planning and executing the wedding of his only daughter (played by Kimberly Williams).  Diane Keaton plays his extremely patient and understanding wife and mother of the bride, (Neenah  Banks)
Martin Short is the fabulously eccentric wedding consultant by the name of Franck.  He speaks in a totally improvised Slavic-type language that leaves everyone giggling, as we try and follow his meaning along with George. His wife and daughter seem to follow with ease.

In this sequel, Annie has a special announcement that sets the scene for the entire movie.
" You got your wish!  I'm going to have a baby!"

While everyone is congratulating the young couple and the prospective 'grandparents' George Banks is temporizing about his feelings about Annie's husband, Bryan.  George begins his journey into a midlife crises and decides to prove he is not too old.  He dyes his hair, tries lifting weights and has a spontaneous romantic encounter with his wife in the kitchen of their home.

As the plot unfolds and one thing leads to another, George and Neenah get their own surprise..Neenah is pregnant!

Enter Franck (Martin Short) and his assistant Howard Weinstein (BD Wong) just as the Banks are leaving the doctors office.
When Franck finds out about the baby and about Annie's baby, he offers to throw a double baby shower for the prospective mommies.  Of course, George Banks is emphatically against the idea.  But when he decides to make up for being unsupportive to Neenah when she first discovers her maternal condition, he contacts  Franck and has him give a surprise double baby shower in the back yard of their house, which he incidentally had to buy back after selling it without Neenah's knowledge.

Franck starts giving interior design suggestions for the baby room and they all decide to build on a baby's suite addition. Franck, and his assistant end up spending a lot of time at the Banks home and bonds with the mommy's-to-be.

Step and Repeat LA hopes you enjoy this look into the Cinematic Wedding and Baby Shower Planners! Great ideas for all wedding planners and event planners alike!