EMG

Miami-Dade special needs students don silk, satin for prom day

Rebecca Wu — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:09:55 +0000

By: Carol Marbin Miller

Amanda Lambert might never share a first-date kiss, drive a car or play a varsity sport, but the 21-year-old Michael Krop Senior High School student will always be able to claim a title that generations of teenage girls have coveted: Prom queen.

Thursday, during a luncheon dance that the Miami-Dade School Board threw for students with special needs, called the Spring Social, Amanda — in a body-hugging hot pink cocktail dress and sparkling earrings — took the tiara and declared: “I was shocked.’’

Then she added: “It’s really nice being prom queen.”

The countywide event, in its eighth year, may be the only one of its kind in the U.S., and has grown larger and more elaborate every spring, this year hosting 600 young men and women battling sometimes life-altering disabilities.

Unlike conventional proms, attending this event at Jungle Island didn’t cost a fortune. Thanks to the district’s special education teachers and administrators, and community contributions – Fox-Mar Photography took portraits of every child, EMG Entertainment spun the records, and both Men’s Wearhouse and Becca’s Closet donated gowns and tuxes – it was free.

Bernie Fernandez, a special education teacher who helped supervise 35 students from South Miami High School, said she incorporated prom preparation into her lesson plans in recent weeks. The students talked about dressing up, etiquette and communication in class.

Students in her program seem to master their skills more easily when the lessons are fun, she said, and her “kids have been very excited” about the prom for weeks.

The dance, she said, allows children with learning disabilities to use social skills they’ve been practicing at an event that caps the school year “on a positive note, and celebration.”

Chris Martin, who teaches adaptive physical education at North Miami Beach Senior High, arranged his students in a circle Wednesday to teach them dance moves to the beat of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. “We have goals in the class, but I really enjoy seeing them smile and have fun,” Martin said.

Amanda, who is developmentally delayed, practiced her dance moves with music videos, so when a DJ rolled Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night, she was ready to dance with her “king,’’ George Pink of Project Accept, in a felt crown.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho cancelled a business trip to crown the king and queen, and announced to raucous applause that disabled kids in the district will always have a prom of their own – so long as he’s in charge.

At Krop, prom day began at 8 a.m. sharp. About a half-dozen girls from the school’s Best Buddies program, which pairs disabled children with typically developing peers, helped girls slip on their silk and satin dresses and fasten their shoes. Boys in tuxedos sat like penguins on ledges waiting for limos to arrive. Moms primped their daughters’ hair. Hugs were exchanged and pictures taken. At 9, the school’s honor guard made an arch of swords through which the children walked arm-in-arm on their way to two limos. Teachers, administrators and students applauded.

Tracy Biondolillo adjusted her son Louis’ tie, and told him how handsome he looked. “He’s 19, and he’s beautiful,” she said, losing the battle with her tears

In the limo, one girl in a lime green gown became suddenly petrified. “I wanna go home,” she cried. “I’m scared.”

But Juan Ramirez, who knows the girl from Best Buddies, reached over and held her hand.

“You’ll get to dance with a lot of cute boys and nice girls,” said classmate Iona Weissman, who runs the school’s Best Buddies chapter. The girl became calm as quickly as she became tearful.

The students arrived at Jungle Island’s ballroom in school buses and fancy white limos. Some boys wore tuxedos or suits, though one showed up in overalls, befitting the party’s Western theme.

Girls wore flowing sequined gowns and strapless dresses in every color of the rainbow. Some clicked across the dance floor in high heels; others, with fragile feet and unsteady gaits, wore sneakers.

Some attended in wheelchairs.

On the dance floor, a tall boy in a pink shirt jumped up and down, oblivious to the beat. Another, in a red bandana and a straw hat danced arm-in-arm with his teacher. A small girl with Down syndrome sang along as a hit song by Pitbull thump-thump-thumped in the background: “I just want to feel this moment.” Another boy blew bubbles.

And if they didn’t keep to the beat on the dance floor, no one snickered.

“You know what?” asked Krop’s Manny Quiroga, who oversees vocational programs, “these kids don’t care.”

Quiroga helped raise money for limos, corsages and the formal wear by selling bagels at school early in the morning.

Thursday was Ana Sevilla of Krop’s first prom. “It’s very nice,” she said, as she nibbling on strawberries. “I want to come here next year.”

By the afternoon, Amanda Lambert – her hair now a little wilder, her pink dress a bit wrinkled – slipped back into a limo after more than four hours of dancing. She had been up since before 6 a.m., styling her hair with her mom, fighting the excitement.

“I think it’s really nice being prom queen,” she said. “I’m going to wear this crown tomorrow to school.”

Original article located at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/25/3364997/miami-dade-special-needs-students.html?story_link=email_msg

Spring Wedding Trends

Rebecca Wu — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:21:40 +0000

Do you smell that? Spring is in the air and so is wedding season! Check out these top 10 wedding trends presented by The Knot and provided to you by the one and only EMG!

1. Spring Wedding Trends

One of the must-haves for spring wedding receptions is a unique lounge area. That’s right — one-of-a-kind rental pieces aren’t just for celebrity weddings. Event designers and couples are sourcing unique furniture pieces like mismatched benches and armchairs to create trendy, yet relaxed seating vignettes.

2. Spring Wedding Color Trends

Emerald green may be Pantone’s color of the year but spring wedding color palettes will take on a softer look — think berry pink, mint green or even guava. And the idea is to create a tonal color palette. For example, berry pink might be paired with similar shades like coral and persimmon.

3. Spring Wedding Flower Trends

Textural, lush, garden-fresh arrangements will pop up all over spring wedding reception tables this spring. Plus, a few added bold flowers – like the yellow and orange Mexican poppies in this centerpiece – will steal the spotlight.

4. Spring Wedding Gown Trends

Wedding dresses with feminine touches are in for spring — everything from lacey or even beaded necklines, like the Marchesa gown on the left, to airy overskirts, like on the Christos gown to the right. Even ready-to-wear trends are making their way into spring wedding dresses, with subtle peplum designs and pretty cap sleeves.

5. Spring Wedding Cake Trends

This white wedding cake with a sugar-made blossoming dogwood branch made by Maggie Austin Cakes is just the beginning. We’ll also see classic white cakes with colorful floral accents like sugar-made tulips, hyacinth and delicate sugar peonies.

6. Spring Wedding Menu Trends

Seasonal food bars like this one — featuring strawberry pies, strawberry shortcake and chocolate-covered strawberries created by Peter Callahan Catering — or even a fresh olive oil bar with lots of spring herb-infused options are all fresh, fun food ideas for spring.

7. Spring Wedding Cocktail Trends

The buzz word for spring cocktails is refreshing. We’ll see lots of cocktails made with flavored spirits like pear vodka and St. Germain (elderflower liqueur), and then finished off with seasonal fruit like strawberries.

8. Spring Wedding Groom’s Style Trends

Rather than the traditional black tux, we’ll see a lot of grooms in fitted gray suits. And we’re talking many shades of gray depending on the formality of the wedding: lighter grays for outdoor, rustic weddings and darker charcoal for more upscale settings.

9. Spring Wedding Bridesmaid Trends

Colorful printed bridesmaid dresses, like these two by Amsale, were all over the runway and are particularly popular for spring. Consider mixing and matching necklines and hemlines for a fun, flirty, laid-back look.

10. Spring Wedding Beauty Trends

Think pink! Rosey cheeks and pretty pink lips are the hottest trends in beauty for spring weddings. No need to find the perfect red stain, just a tinted gloss or coral lipstick will do the trick.

CHEERS to 10 Wedding Facts!

Rebecca Wu — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:11:38 +0000

1. Eighteen percent of couples ask their guests to arrive in black-tie attire.

2. One in five couples include purple in their wedding color palette.

3. According to Pantone, there are 116 shades of pink.

4. Twenty-five percent of couples have themed weddings.

5. Fifteen percent of wedding receptions are outdoors.

6. One out of every 10 brides doesn’t wear white or ivory.

7. Eight percent of grooms get a prewedding peek at the dress.

8. Twenty percent of couples have a groom’s cake.

9. Sixty-nine percent of brides wear a veil.

10. The average bridesmaid dress costs $147…and only 2 percent of bridesmaids will actually wear their dresses again.

11. Seven percent of brides don’t wear a wedding ring.

12. You can squeeze 70 songs into an average four-hour-long reception.

EMG on NBC

emgartists — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:04:35 +0000

EMG BCS Championship Recap

emgartists — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:02:30 +0000

EMG BCS Championship Recap Film from EMG Artists on Vimeo.

South Florida’s # 1 Entertainment and Lighting Company since 1997 specializing in High End lighting and design, luxury entertainment, celebrity DJ’s, premium surround sound technology and unique products for any corporate and social event. A proud member of The Knot and The Great Bridal Expo. We have entertained over 2500 events from celebrity weddings, to Royal Family events to large corporate international events. No event is too small or too large for us. Every event is important to us, and our main objective is to deliver “Excellent” service, and continue serving our past clients in all their entertainment needs for many generations to come.

We have highly trained and talented Artists that are exclusive with our company.