Seth Hoisington

April 5 - Jill + Jeff

Seth — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:36:56 +0000

Venue: 7 Senses
Photographer: Tony Valadez - Flash Box Photography
Florist: Cymbidium
Cakes: Panini Cakes
Caterer: Gil’s Elegant Catering

Jill and Jeff had met at a party while in Law School in October of 2004. After offering to give her a ride home (from said party) as well as an IM chat that lead into the night that evening, the two began to date and quickly fell in love. If you’re curious how you could introduce yourself to a beautiful, yet random, stranger at a party during the month of October, then maybe try Jeff’s introductory line… “For Halloween, My friends and I are forming the crew of Gilligan’s Island, would you be interested in being our Mary Ann?” As I look back to April, one really cool aspect of thier reception, was their choice of location. They chose 7Senses (link above) which is actually a furniture and art work design facility, that the owner decided to double as a private event venue. What better way to showcase your artwork and designs, then by allowing people to come in and be surrounded by them during a reception or party. Every table was unique and every room was different. If dancing was not your thing, there were endless pieces of artwork, designs and furniture to look at and discuss. Another cool aspect of their reception, was that Jeff and Jill decided to allow me to present their “Love Story” which is an option I give all my clients. With out spending too much time on it… This is where my clients expose to me about how they met, how they fell in love, why they fell in love, how the proposal took place…. the reason they are getting married. I then compile this into their story and present to their guest. (Which is why I knew what line Jeff used to introduce himself to Jill) I have to tell you…. I had to be cautious about reading this particular story to my wife…. at least the proposal part. (I read them to Jessica as practice and to gain feedback) Jeff proposed to Jill on a hillside amongst a private vineyard (which they snuck into) at sunset in San Giminano, Italy as they sipped wine. My wife, being Italian, and has always wanted to goto Italy.. and loves wine (who doesn’t) would kill to have had that as our engagement. (Thanks for setting the bar high Jeff) A humorous moment of their proposal was as they stood to watch the sunset, Jeff dropped to one knee to propose. Jill, not expecting a proposal, thought we was ducking from the owners of the vineyard. (since they had snuck into this hillside private vineyard) So as he looked up at her with the ring in his hand, she wasn’t there.. She was right down on her knees with him, staring him directly in the face. Once she realized what was going on, and Jeff had persuaded her to stand back up, he proposed. Awesome on so many levels!!!

That’s why I love weddings! Playing music that people love and dance to is great… but even better is learning about all the reasons and ways that my clients meet, fall in love, propose, Why they are getting married and having a reception to celebreate that fact… That is what fuels my addiction to my role as a Master of Ceremonies and DJ at wedding receptions.

New Toy

Seth — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:35:01 +0000

So I got tired of my photos always coming out so so, and when you are taking photos of your family and friends, you want them to come out great. Jessica and I have had a Canon G1, and then got a Canon digital Elph. Then we got a SD850is that we still love and is extremely portable (we still use it). But now I have decided to step it up a notch and bought a Canon 40D. Let me just say, I (we) freaking love that Camera. We took it too Michigan, and it took awesome pictures. Before heading out, I watched a couple of very informational videos on YouTube on how to go beyond the standard “Auto Mode” I still have a lot to learn, but did find myself switching off Auto a few times so I good choose my focus point and choose what to meter or going into Av and Tv modes to play around and see how the photos would turn out with different aperatures and shutter speeds. There were a couple of hindsight moments that I wish I could go back and re-do, but hey, it’s a learning process. I know my SD850is has some similar modes, so now I need to play on that one as well. 2 bad things about buying the 40D though…. 1, I am going to have to buy a good raid set since we have already shot about 8 gb worth of photos…(might want to add a offsite backup option as well) Also, I am already looking at what lens to add to my collection. Do I go for a good wide angle lens or a prime portrait lens….. There were a couple of times this last week, were I wish I could go wider because do to rain, we spent a lot of time in doors. But I also see Jessica taking tons of pictures of the kids, so maybe the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM would be a good addition. (or go crazy and get the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM)

Hopefully in future posts, I’ll have a couple of photos from the events I work at. Don’t worry, I won’t loose sight of who I am (as the Disc Jockey, not the photographer). I leave you with a shot of Aiden waiting for our plane in the early early morning.

March 22 - Nick + Sharon

Seth — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:52:12 +0000

Venue: The Adolphus
Coordinators: Trudy and Sarah - Lagniappe Weddings
Photographer: Joseph Ellis
Lighting: Absolute Lighting
Ceremony/Cocktail Music: Nick DiGennaro
Officiant: Marty Younkin
Linens: BBJ Linens
Florist: Junior

Nick and Sharon had met in highschool and they were the coolest couple. Working in conjuction with Trudy and Sarah, they put together an awesome evening with an awesome look and feel to everything. The evening kicked off with an incredible ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the Adolphus. Nick DiGennaro and his trio provided the music and I provided the Mic-ing. To transform the look of the ballroom and make it fitting for a ceremony, The east wall of the ballroom was run with Pipe and Drape and was up-lit in a warm tone. Then the isle was lined with mixed height column vases and floated candles and rose petals. Then the isle and stage were also pin spotted from the ceiling (done by Absolute Lighting). Marty Younkin performed the ceremony and I have worked with Marty more times than I can seriously remember. If you need someone to marry you and you don’t know who to hire, you have to hire Marty Younkin. Once the ceremony was over, then the behind the scenes of an entire room flip happend. The guests were escorted to the foyer for the cocktail hour and Nick and his trio provided the music. Inside the ballroom, the airwall was retracted and everyone got to work. Phillip and I rushed to reset on the stage as soon as the Adolphus staff rolled it into place. The sky lift came out and the guys from Absolute had to move and re-aim ever pin spot for the reception layout. (ps, that sky lift needs some oil, it screeched like a banshee) They also flew and aimed an elipsoidal loaded with Nick and Sharons monogram on the dancefloor. Meanwhile, the staff of the Adolphus came out in force and moved all the tables into place, deployed the water glasses and lit all the candles. It was amazing to see this much done in such little time. When the guests came back in, the room was completely transformed. Everything went great and I noticed an interesting effect of the Grand Ballroom. Right outside the windows of the ballroom are wash lights to illuminate the face of the hotel. This created a Vegas, loss of time reference, effect. Even when Phillip and I were tearing down in the middle of the night, it felt like 8pm, due to the windows still having a sunlit feel. It was actually kind of cool. It was that, or all the caffeine I had drank.

Here was Sharon’s mother’s reply the Monday right after the wedding

Seth,

Thank you so much for your talent and taste. Everyone is still buzzing about what a wonderful time they had and you were such a grand part of making the evening a very special one. The music was perfect and it made everyone get up have a fantastic time dancing. Thank you for your part in making that happen and it was a pleasure working with you. Hope to see you at Mike’s wedding if he ever settles down.

Lyn

On The BluBlog

Seth — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:30:03 +0000

Some great photos and a review of Marie and Ian’s Wedding by Mike and Rejana of BluDoor Studios. My review to come later, but I wanted to reference their entry and great work. Enjoy!

http://bludoorstudios.com/blog/2008/07/16/marie-ian-wedding/

Don’t Stop, Believing…..

The Fam

Seth — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:31:27 +0000

I realized that I don’t have any pictures of my Family on here, well here is a picture of Ethan, My Wife, and Aiden. This photo was taken by the incredible Mike and Rejana Krause of BluDoor Studios, more photos can be seen on their blog here: http://bludoorstudios.com/blog/2008/05/29/ethan-aiden-brothers/

The Fam

March 8th 2008 - Casey + Jennifer

Seth — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:10:51 +0000

Venue: Belo Mansion
Coordinators: Trudy and Sarah Lagniappe Weddings
Photographer: Gary Donihoo - f8 Studio
Videographer: Turquoise Video
Florist: The Wildflower
Centerpiece Pin Spotting: Lite Dallas

This was the first wedding of 2008 for me, as I blocked out January, February and March because we knew we were expecting our 2nd son Aiden in January and I wanted time to get acclimated to being a father of 2. I also have to admit, that I was slightly nervous about this event (and the rest of 2008 for that matter) about 1 month earlier when I went in for surgery on my right forearm. I had a near golf ball sized Lipoma Tumor form in my arm and it was shutting down the nerve communications to my right hand, which happens to be my dominant hand. So I was mainly hoping and praying that all went well so Casey and Jennifer wouldn’t have a 1 armed DJ at their wedding. Luckily the surgery went great and I only had to wear a wrist splint, which I took off for the wedding. So besides having a somewhat funny grip on the Mic, all went well. With Trudy and Sarah running the coordination side of things, I knew that I would be working with an awesome team. Which was correct. Casey and Jennifer had hired Gary Donihoo to shoot the wedding (He took the photo of them shown above) and Turquoise to video, who are some of Dallas’s best and sought after wedding professionals.

Casey and Jennifer were great to work with and here are the items that stick out in my mind from this event.

Jennifer’s Uncle put together a great CD of music for the cocktail hour. It contained all sorts of music, both up tempo and slow, which made for a unique and eclectic cocktail hour.

Casey and Jennifer also had a photo montage made and Phillip (my assistant) and I stopped by Hotel Zaza on our way to the Belo to pick up the DVD and Projector from Casey. He had borrowed a projector from work and it failed to work the night before during the test run, so his company overnighted him another one, so I offered to pick it up so he wouldn’t have to worry about it. During setup, the AV tech from the Belo Mansion plugged the audio from the DVD player into the house sound system, which happend to be on and turned all the way up. This in turn caused a horribly lound pop and crack through out the room. To make maters more humorous… That happened at the exact moment that Phillip had plugged in our lighting rig. So he thought the lighting was blowing up, I jumped because I thought it was my sound system asploded and everyone else jumped, because it was loud and every where. We all laughed afterwards once we realized what happend. The photo montage was awesome and had a great soundtrack to fit the different sections of the show. So setup humor aside, it was a great montage.

The Wildflower did awesome centerpieces and they were set off with precise pin spotting done by Lite Dallas. If you have ever been in the Belo Mansion Pavillion, the cielings are extremley high. I now have more respect for lighting crews, after watching these guys climb up probably the tallest a-frame ladder available and jumping them around the room (or Ladder Walking as they call it) to hang and aim the lights. Also, a table had to be moved forward and the light crew was gone As the coordinator at the Belo was looking up Ryan and Andy’s number to call the team back, I offered to climb up the ginormous ladder and re-aim the light. Let’s just say, I had two people holding the ladder stable for me, where as the guys from Lite Dallas would just run up the ladder solo and wobble all around with no fear of falling. Those guys are definately pros.

Congratulations Jennifer and Casey!!!

Coming Soon

Seth — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:47:06 +0000

So I haven’t really blogged lately, but I have about dozen wedding reviews in the works, here is a quick preview of what’s to come. (and why I have been so busy lately)

Since 2008 has started

January 4th Ethan turned 3
January 17th Aiden was born
January 28th I got another year older
February 20th I had a near golf ball size tumor (lipoma) removed from my forearm

And then Wedding Season Started…..

March 8
Who: Casey and Jennifer
Venue: Belo Mansion
Coordinators: Trudy and Sarah - Lagniappe Weddings
Photographer: Gary Donihoo f8 Studios
Videographer: Turquoise Video

March 22
Who: Nick and Sharon
Venue: The Adolphus
Coordinators: Trudy and Sarah - Lagniappe Weddings
Photographer: Joseph Ellis - Joseph Mark Photography
Lighting: Absolute Lighting
Ceremony Music: Nick DiGennaro
Officiant: Marty Younkin
Linens: BBJ Linens
Florist: Junior

April 5
Who: Jill and Jeff
Venue: 7 Senses
Photographer: Tony Valadez - Flash Box Photography
Florist: Cymbidium
Cakes: Panini Cakes
Caterer: Gil’s Elegant Catering

April 12
Who: Daran and Sarah
Venue: Maple Manor
Photographer: Kobin Caddick
Florist: Dr. Delphinium
Cakes: Panini Cakes

April 26
Who: Mike and Vanessa
Venue: The Adolphus
Photographer: Mike and Jessica Lepsch - Absolute Photography
Florist: Earth Blooms
Cakes: Fancy Cakes by Lauren

May 17
Who: Michael and Carolyn
Venue: Addison Event Center
Photographer: Kelli & Brendan - Nine Photography
Videographer: Terry VanDerHeyden
Officiant: Marty Younkin
Cakes: The Cake Lady

May 24
Who: Ian and Marie
Venue: Melrose
Photographer: Mike and Rejana - BluDoor Studios
Cakes: Romano’s Bakery
Florist: Cindy Davis

May 31
Who: Jason and Courtney
Venue: Coopers Guest Lodge
Photographer: Michael Clements
Florist: Special Occasions Florist
Cakes: La Duni Bakery

June 7
Who: Will and Roques Ann
Venue: Parks City Club
Photographer: Amy Herfurth - Daisy Productions
Cakes: Romano’s Bakery

June 14
Who: Tom and Teresa
Venue: Four Seasons
Coordinators: Trudy and Sarah - Lagniappe Weddings
Photographer: Kym Skiles - f8 Studios
Cake: Frosted Art
Florist: Fete des Fleur

June 28
Who: Reid and Summer
Venue: Four Seasons
Photographer: Mark Swindler
Florist: Lewisville Florist

July 5
Who: Cody and Amanda
Venue: Brookhaven Country Club
Photograher: Lisa Manis - Texas Traditions Photography
Cakes: Family Friend - Ellen Nevil

Now that things have slowed down… I hope to do write ups on each one of those weddings in the next following weeks so check back.

Recomendation: Weather and News

Seth — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:48:34 +0000

Recently I have discovered a great service that I am recomending to all my friends. Storms have a tendacy to hit fast with no warning, especially at night when the TV isn’t on. I started to Google around and found that www.Weather.com offers a free SMS/Email alert service for National Weather Alerts that effect a specific zip code. So I signed up. I sleep with my phone near my bed, so alerts from the servers I manage will wake me up, but this is a much better reason to be woken up.
Here is the registration page:
https://registration.weather.com/ursa/alerts/step1

Breaking News Alerts:

Also, if you have a twitter account, friend CNN Newsbreak for breaking news
http://twitter.com/cnnbrk
So far, they haven’t blasted me with a ton of messages. If you look at their page, you will see that only the top headlines get twitted.

Wii

Seth — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 05:50:03 +0000

Last Monday, I stopped by Walmart during my lunch break on a hunch. It was the first shipping day after black Friday, and it takes a while to process a truck. I managed the warehouse for a Compusa for a while when I was in college, and that was our schedule. Well, I made my way back to the electronics department and after about 5 minutes, they rolled out a cart from the warehouse with about 16 Wiis on it. All week, Jessica and I have had fun playing it. I didn’t want to buy a game system that we couldn’t enjoy as a family and after testing the Wii out a couple of times, both Jessica and I were hooked. So the last couple of nights, I have started an experiment. Is it possible to teach a 2 year old to play Wii Golf. It is. Ethan actually likes it. Tonight, him and I played through 9 holes. By the end of it, he was wacking the ball at full force. Most of the time, when he is close to the green, he knocks the ball out of bounds, but he thinks it’s hilarious. “Look dad!!! I hit it into the water!!!” Now we just need to work on swinging easy. When he does sink a putt, he yells “High Five Daddy!!!” Now, I need to work on bowling and boxing, since Jessica always beats me at those.

Yes, I am still alive!

Seth — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:48:49 +0000

I start a new job tomorrow!!!! I have worked at DMS for the last four years and I will miss the place, but in the interest of progressing my career and being more able to support my family as child #2 is to arrive in Feb 2008, I have accepted the Network Administrator position at IRMI I will now be working over on the south west corner of the High Five interchange (635 and 75) So if you are in the area and you want to do lunch one day, let me know. While I will miss the family I grew to know at DMS, I look forward to what is on the horizon.

ps. Yes I know I live in Denton, and yes I know that the High Five is far, but it’s actually the same drive time as my last job. Also, now that I am addicted to audio books from www.audible.com, the drives fly by.