Win An Apple® iPod® nano 8GB MP3 Player, "Best Kiss...Ever!" Photo Contest

Imagine cuddling with your honey while listening to your personally selected, extremely romantic play list on your brand new Apple® - iPod® nano 8GB MP3 Player. What? You don’t have a brand new Apple® - iPod® nano 8GB MP3 Player? No problem. You can win one right here!

Celebrate your love of Valentine’s Day and each other by entering the "Best Kiss...Ever!" contest. Simply enter a photo of you and your special someone or significant other engaged in a warm, romantic kiss. Submit your own, unique pose or enter a photo of a memorable kiss exchanged at a romantic locale...like a beach or a mountain top.
Email your photo, along with your mailing address* and the names of the lucky participants, to ron@ronruthweddings.com, Include any descriptions you’d like to enhance your photo (i.e.: “This photo was taken immediately after I proposed.”). All entries will be posted right here for everyone to enjoy. Don’t worry! Your names will not be used on-line...unless you win.**

Here’s the best part. The photo of the most creatively romantic kiss (as selected by our group of impartial judges) will win the Ipod®. I should mention that the judges not only want to "feel the love," they can also be swayed by the overwhelming support of your friends and family. So, invite them to stop by and leave a “comment” on your behalf.

The winning entry will be announced on my blog on Sunday, February 15th at 3:00 p.m.

So, what are you waiting for? Pucker up! Don't kiss-off this opportunity to win an Apple® - iPod® nano 8GB MP3 Player!

*Contest open to Kansas and Missouri residents that live within a 200 mile radius of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

**Your privacy is respected and your information will not be shared. All entries become the sole property of Ron Ruth Wedding Entertainment. Only photos from valid, confirmed email addresses will be entered.

My Son, Sean, A Volunteer In This Week's "Extreme Home Makeover."

On June 11, 2008, a twister six blocks wide did, an estimated, $70 million damage to Chapman, Kansas, population about 1,400. It wiped out the city and left a great number of its residents devastated.

In November, 2008, Ty Pennington and the gang from ABC’s “Extreme Makeover -Home Edition” went to Chapman to help one family rebuild…choosing an injured, Iraqi war hero who had given to his country only to come back to his hometown and find his house destroyed. That 2 hour episode will air this Sunday, January 25, 2009.

I’m very proud that my son, Sean, and his employee's were among the countless volunteers that went to Chapman to assist in the rebuilding. Sean owns Redi Systems, Inc. a company in Manhattan, KS that sells, installs and services home theatres, home security systems, distributed audio systems, lighting controls, conference systems and just about anything related to wireless technology.

Sean's company was responsible for wiring the new home with cable/satellite hookups, data lines and a security system. Sean is humbled knowing that his expertise will contribute to a better life for years to come for someone so deserving.

Happy Anniversary TJ & Stacy Hackler

Happy one year anniversary, TJ & Stacy Hackler!

Stacy is a nurse and TJ is a chiropractor, having just past his boards at the time of their wedding. They, both, received their bachelor degrees from KU where they also participated in track and where Stacy still holds the school record in a number of distance running events.

On January 19, 2008, their family and friends packed, what was then, the brand new ballroom at the Hampton Inn on the Plaza with theirs being the first reception to take place in that venue. As a matter of fact, I could swear I saw a ladder going out the back door as we were coming in the front!

The ballroom was decorated in the richest color of red that I've ever seen, producing a warm and romantic ambiance for what was an amazing evening of laughter and fun.

But, no doubt, the biggest surprise and memory of the evening came when Stacy & TJ surprised their family and friends with an incredibly well choreographed and rehearsed first dance that began with "All My Life" by KCi & JoJo before abruptly breaking into "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies (one of TJ's favorites) and ending with "Lovestoned" by Justin Timberlake (a favorite of Stacy's).Congratulations to TJ & Stacy on your one year anniversary. May you have a hundred more!

It was my first opportunity to work their extremely talented photographers, Tyffany & Jeff, from T&J Studios and their equally talented videographers, Barry & Stephanie, with Fat Cat Productions. Both companies headquarter in Wichita, KS. If you'd like to visit, or perhaps relive some of the fun and magic of TJ & Stacy's wedding celebration, Fat Cat still has a really cool, short video recap of TJ & Stacy's wedding day and reception on their blog. You can also view a few of the amazingly beautiful and emotionally charged photos still available on the T&J Studios blog.

Ron Ruth Wedding Entertainment Interview Featured on PWG!

Who doesn't love seeing their name in print?

The Perfect Wedding Guide has just posted an interview they recently did with me on their web site and within their "Tips" section.

Check it out.

"Know Your Audience!"

In my business there is a saying that goes, “Know your audience.” These are valuable words that are embedded in the brain of any seasoned, professional entertainer that has ever held an “open mic” in their hand. Their meaning is simple. The words chosen to say aloud for, let’s say, a Shriner’s convention with a primarily male audience are probably not the same words that would be best selected for a local PTA meeting.

I think it safe to say that we’ve all allowed words to come out of our mouths that, immediately after they moved beyond our lips, we wish we could suck right back in, hoping that that the intended target wouldn’t notice. Fat chance, right? Imagine that happening while it is being amplified through a 1500 watt sound system in front of 300 people.

Unfortunately, those that are less experienced at public speaking and have not heeded the words, “know you audience,” are more prone to saying something inappropriate, embarrassing or just plain stupid on a microphone. I’ve heard novice DJs joke over a microphone about, among other things, the weight of a guest and say extremely crude words during a garter removal, all for the sake of a laugh that will never come. I’ve experienced Best Man toasts that are so riddled with drunken, embarrassing comments that the Bride and Groom and their family and friends are all made to feel uncomfortable. It’s not easy to get up and walk out of your own party.

In my workshop for Grooms only, “The Best Groom…Ever!”, I remind Grooms of the importance of discussing the Best Man’s toast with him in advance of the wedding reception. In short, it is suggested that they lay the ground rules of what is and what is not appropriate. In most cases, the Best Man is enough of a friend to the Groom to understand the importance of “knowing the audience,” and would never place him or the Bride, or the parents and grandparents, or any of the guests in an awkward situation. But it never hurts to have that discussion in advance of the reception, just in case.

With that said, I stumbled across a video of a Best Man’s toast that either confirms that this guy knew his audience or that he did not. You decide. You’ll have to go to the web site http://www.freakybestmanspeech.com/ to view the video. It’s about 4 minutes long and I suggest that you do not jump to the end. Instead, watch the whole thing and leave a comment of your thoughts.

It should be noted that I have no idea as to when or where that wedding reception took place.

I'm back!

Admittedly, I’ve been absent from blogging for some time, primarily so I could devote more time to my family over the holidays and to the few corporations that kept my services in their holiday party plans, even in this tough economy.

But, I’m embarrassed to say, those reasons were also an excuse to walk away from, what has been for me, a difficult task. What I’ve learned in my short time as a blogger is that blogging is hard...at least for me. Those that are good at it make it look easy. And I should have known that if it looks that easy, those writers must have devoted some time to learning how to effectively convey a message with the written word. That’s something I’m not so great at. And, as is human nature, who wants to struggle with difficult tasks when the easy ones are much more fun?

So, I was left with 2 choices. I could either let my blog vanish into the deep abyss of cyberspace or take some additional time to research other blogs authored by incredibly talented individuals and maybe read a few books on the art of blogging (more on these at another time) in an effort to, at the very least, try to make a marked improvement in my message, have more fun doing it and provide a blog with information, thoughts and ideas that doesn’t bore you. Since I’m not one to quit so easily, although it was tempting, I chose the latter.

I was also reminded of Thomas Edison. From medleague.com, “After Edison’s seven-hundredth unsuccessful attempt to invent electric light, he was asked by a New York Times reporter, “How does it feel to have failed seven hundred times?” The great inventor responded, “I have not failed seven hundred times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those seven hundred ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”

OK, so I’ve not tried 700 times to write a successful blog. But his point is still valid. With a committed effort, I will get better at it…preferably sooner than later. And, hopefully, my readers will provide enough constructive criticism along the way to help me expedite the process.

In short (another one of those things I need to get better at), I’m back!