WEDDING
PLANNERS/COORDINATORS
WEDDING
PLANNERS/COORDINATORS
PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PLANNERS/COORDINATORS
If it is your business to assist in some or all aspects of wedding planning/coordinating, we want to foster a business relationship with you. With your kind referrals and with others in your industry, it is our objective to book 20+ premium weddings per year (up from our present average of 6-8) and to make a lot of people very happy with their wedding day entertainment.
A short history of our act...
Since 1995, the "Van & Cristina" performing team has provided dueling pianos
entertainment nationwide in virtually every setting imaginable, including 15 nightclubs,
4 cruise ships, 19 casinos, 30+ corporate events, 11 charity concerts, 40+ wedding receptions and one
"cloud"...we'll explain that one later.
We lived and performed in Orlando (1994-95), New Orleans (1995), Reno (1996) and Las Vegas (1996-present). We debuted the dueling pianos concept in Las Vegas at the Main Street Station Casino and went on to produce and headline in the enormously successful NYPD - New York Piano Duos show at the New York-New York Casino on the Las Vegas Strip from 1997 to 2000. The following year, we opened our own, independent dueling pianos nightclub in downtown Portland, Oregon. For the past three years, we've also performed aboard Disney cruise ships sailing out of Florida, and Van currently produces and books the talent for Disney's dueling pianos show.
EQUATION FOR A FUN and UNIQUE WEDDING RECEPTION
Dueling Pianos 2GO + Drummer = Dance Band + Audience Interaction + Entertainment
= FUN!
Throughout our seven-year history, we've developed a number of different presentations
that appeal to different audiences in different situations. Developing the
right presentation for wedding receptions involves adding a professional drummer
to the dueling pianos format, because, with a drummer, our music is made more
danceable...and, we all know, people love to dance at weddings!
Pianos 2GO Anywhere
We keep our custom-designed, 5'4", sparkle white, Slam Grand Pianos here in
Las Vegas, and we have an account with a local sound and lighting company for
events in or within an hour's driving range of Las Vegas. However, much of
our work is nationwide, so our pianos are equipped with custom-built shipping
cases (with wheels!), which enables us to bring our pianos and our act to
virtually any location in the country.
In a recent span of six weeks, for example, we played two wedding receptions, two corporate events, a ticketed casino show (400 seats @ $15 per ticket, sold out) and a charity concert in Louisiana. These engagements took us to Renton, Washington (9/28), Naples, Florida (10/5), Sacramento, California (10/29), Bossier City, Louisiana (11/2) and North Bend, Oregon Coast (11/7 & 11/8)
We know that many of your clients are looking for that something different and distinctive. They want their day to be memorable and fun for themselves and for their families and guests from age 5 to 95.
Nearly all dueling pianos acts consist of two, male performers. We are one of only a very few male-female dueling pianos acts in existence. Having the male-female combo broadens our appeal, and, being that we are also a happy married couple, makes us even better suited to weddings.
We're the top dueling pianos act on Disney Cruise Ships, so appealing to a wide age span is no problem for us. Our comprehensive musical entertainment services are unique and well-suited to making "that special day," especially... special.
If you've seen dueling pianos in a nightclub setting, we think you'll agree that, in that form, it can be too bawdy and unrefined for weddings. If your client's exposure to dueling pianos is a couple of dowdily dressed, "raunch-and-roll" piano players barking out obscenities, you'll have to convince them we're nothing of the sort.
Having worked in and even owned/operated such nightclubs, we've taken the best elements of the dueling pianos "nightclub" format (the fun and lively audience participation, group dances we call "crazy choreography", clap-along and sing-along songs and the ability to play almost any request by ear) and dressed it up with a Vegas flair, by adding two, sparkling white pianos, custom fitted with laser lights and smoke machines, a professional drummer and a professional sound system and operator...and, most importantly, a classy (yet fun) presentation suitable for all ages or the particular group attending.
Please refer to the page in this site which details our services and our One-Price Package rates. In some instances, when your company is providing pianos and/or back-line, techs and stagehand services, our rates may be appropriately reduced. Our talent costs alone (for Van and Cristina, plus a drummer with pianos provided and all expenses paid) are $2000 in Las Vegas and $3000 nationwide.
Referral Bookings
If the booking comes by referral from your company, we will, in turn, pay
you a courtesy referral fee of 20%, which our company, Dueling Pianos, Inc.,
will pay directly to you. For example, if you put us in contact with a client
of yours (which constitutes a referral), and we ultimately end up providing
entertainment services for that client, Dueling Pianos, Inc. will pay
you 20% of the total price we are paid by the client, including any overtime
pay. So, based on our typical pricings for wedding receptions (without
overtime pay), your referral fee would be $800 in and around Las Vegas and $1100
outside the Las Vegas area.
Buy-Sells (Sometimes called "Margin Bookings")
If your company holds a valid "producer" or "talent booking" license issued by
the Nevada State Labor Commission or a comparable governmental agency in your
state, and you wish to directly contract our services (through our company,
Dueling Pianos, Inc.) for a wedding reception or any event you are
producing or booking, we will, as a professional courtesy, reduce our fees to
you by 20%. You may then, in turn, charge the client any amount you deem
reasonable and appropriate for your efforts. We needn't know the amount
charged the client, but please be aware that certain statutes may apply,
limiting the mark-up. In Nevada, for example, talent agency license
holders are limited to a 40% mark-up.
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES:
Tory Cooper (Wedding & Events Coordinator, Four Seasons Hotel
[Formerly of The Desert Inn], Las Vegas)
Numerous
Van & Cristina Dueling Pianos bookings (weddings and corporate events) from 1997
- 2003
Email:
ToryLCooper@hotmail.com
Mobile: 702-245-8679
