WASHINGTON, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
June Weddings
Profile America — Thursday, June 16th. For centuries, the month of June has been the most popular choice for weddings. One of the purported reasons was that some hundreds of years ago, this time was just after May's annual bath, so the happy couple and the guests were about as clean as could be hoped. With the ensuing advances in plumbing and overall hygiene, dressy weddings are readily staged year round, from simple civil ceremonies and backyard or back-to-nature vows, to elaborate church functions. Each year, there are more than 2.1 million weddings across the nation. Americans are marrying at older ages — the median age at first marriage for women is now 27.6 years old — up five years since 1980. Men are now an average age of 29.5 when they first take their vows. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.
Study of US married and soon-to-be married LGBTQ couples by The Knot and Logo finds couples feel more pressure to marry, are spending more on their weddings plus participating in more wedding-related events.
NEW YORK, June 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Knot, the #1 wedding brand and marketplace, and Logo, a leading entertainment brand inspired by the LGBT community, today released the results from the fourth annual The Knot LGBTQ Weddings Study. The study surveyed 979 LGBTQ respondents in the US who were married or are engaged to be married to reveal the average cost of a wedding for LGBTQ couples, how couples are proposing, wedding spends, family acceptance and support, traditions, and other key statistics related to LGBTQ weddings in America.
One year after the Supreme Court ruling to recognize marriage equality in the US, The Knot LGBTQ Weddings Study 2016 found that wedding spend has increased 85% among LGBTQ men and 56% among LGBTQ women. The average cost of a wedding for male couples is $33,822, and $25,334 for female couples. In contrast, wedding spend increased by a mere 1% for men and 15% for women from 2014 to 2015, and the average cost of a wedding prior to legalization was $18,242 for male couples and $16,218 for females. Couples are now inviting more guests to their wedding, and participating in more wedding-related events than ever before, from engagement parties to showers and more. For the first time, LGBTQ elopements are down.
Findings reveal the trends behind the bride-to-be's planning process, from the something old to the something new
STAMFORD, Conn., June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Philips Zoom, the #1 professional teeth whitening brand, and a favorite among brides, conducted a recent survey to explore the emerging trends that couples are incorporating into their weddings and the preparation that goes into them. While new trends have emerged in the day-of festivities, the key to a bride's confidence is often attributed to the preparation behind her wedding look.
Despite the amount of attention that couples seem to pay to their appearance in preparation for and at their weddings, most are not totally satisfied when they reflect back on the photos taken on their wedding day (70%).
When we started planning our wedding, one of the first decisions my husband and I made was to handle the music ourselves via our trusty iPods. Music is integral to both of our identities, something we’ve always shared—we were writing, exchanging mixes, and going to concerts together long before we realized we were something more than friends—and we wanted to extend that to our wedding. The key word that we both seized on when describing the music for this important night was “personal”; the unspoken expectation was that the right combination of the right songs, through some kind of alchemy of sentiment and aesthetic, would converge into a perfect expression of ourselves and our relationship, infusing each moment with meaning, like the best movie soundtrack of all time.
Nobody cares about the playlist as much as you do. As important as music is to us, thinking back to the weddings we’ve been to over the years we remember very few of the specific songs that were played—even for iconic moments like first dances. The songs that do stick in our minds don’t tend to be the coolest, the most gushingly romantic, or even the ones we like the best; they’re the songs that were playing when we looked over and realized the bride’s dad had happy tears streaming down his face, or when the newlyweds started shouting along, bouncing in each other’s arms, murdering all the lyrics and laughing so hard. Choosing the playlist for your wedding can be an incredibly personal expression of self—of history, meaning, aesthetic—but in the end it’s really just background music. It’s the wedding that infuses the soundtrack with meaning, not the other way around.
Don’t be afraid to break your own rules, either. We included my in-laws’ request, “Hey Jude,” in our dance playlist, and yep, it cleared the dance floor. But seeing them swaying blissfully, alone and completely oblivious to the world around them, is a memory we’ll both treasure forever.
Included in the PGDMK6-XLR mic kit you get: three PG56 snare/tom mics, two PG81 small-diaphragm condenser mics, and one PG52 kick drum microphone, that doubles as a killer bass cabinet mic.
Shure PGDMK6 Drum Microphones are included in some of our Live Music PA Systems.
Recently, we had a discussion in my Theater of the Oppressed class about the question: what makes theatre "good"? What are the characteristics of a theater experience that makes it "successful"? One of my students, Mark Shell, wrote on his blog some of his thoughts, and he suggested that I post them to my blog and encourage the other students in the class, and (he hoped) anyone else who might want to join in, to contribute their insights. I am happy to oblige, and you will find Marks' thoughts below.
What Makes Theatre a Success?
I have my own ideas of this, as everyone does, but I feel bold enough to post them to the world. Although, frequently whenever I express my viewpoint and opinions to the class, or the world for that matter, I feel somewhat idiotic. So what? Here goes nothing.
Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan give you seven effective strategies to get your music noticed that are easy on the pocketbook
In some music business schools, they still give students assignments that go like this: “Assume that you have one million dollars. Make up a marketing plan on how to promote a band.”
Here’s a more realistic assignment: “Go online. Pick a band. You have zero dollars. Now go promote them.”
Although most bands would like to have the kind of budget to promote their latest album on TV, radio, and billboards, they are more likely to have just enough to print up posters for the next gig. And yet indie artists can get the kind of attention that major label acts get. You just need to plan appropriately and implement a few tried-and-true strategies.
Here are seven effective strategies to get your music noticed. The good news is they’re easy on the pocketbook and can be acted on today. All they take is a bit of time and some thought about how to get your music directly in front of the people who are likely to be your new fans. While they may not have heard of you yet, if you follow these strategies, they will.
A short video guide on how to quickly change the frequency channel on the Shure SLX4 wireless receiver using an SLX1 Bodypack or a handheld SM58 microphone.
Big Deal Entertainment provided sound and backline equipment for Back Porch Orchestra - a touring band from North Carolina. Our Concert PA Package worked perfectly for this diverse and energetic group.
Equipment Used
Big Deal Entertainment provides sound for Arizona State University's Annual Staff Appreciation BBQ. This event is located outdoors on an athletic field, so wide coverage is nessesary. Our Pro Concert PA Package had more than enough power to fill the entire area. A steel band played through the majority of the event, the president of the University made a speech, and there was even a comedian!
Equipment Used
Big Deal Entertainment provided sound for the Pitchforks, Arizona State University's female a cappella group. They arrange and perform all of their own music, covering a broad range of genres, from classic rock to pop to jazz. Our Concert PA Package along with 18 Shure SM58 microphones complimented their sound very well.
Equipment Used
Big Deal Entertainment provided sound for Priority Male, Arizona State University's male a cappella group. The group consists of 14 members who come from all walks of life. A total of 14 Shure Wireless Microphones and our Pro Concert PA Package allowed the performers to move about the stage without having to worry about tangled cables.
Equipment Used
Big Deal Entertainment provided sound for Landfill Harmonic, a paraguayan musical youth group of kids that live next to one of South America’s largest landfills. This unlikely orchestra plays music from instruments made entirely out of garbage. Our Pro Concert PA Package and Shure microphones picked up the unique sound of this group extremely well.
Equipment Used
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