50th Birthday Party - Russian Sailors' Theme. July 17th, 2010, Lake Ozark, Missouri

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Duane Park Restaurant, 157 Duane Street, New York City
Russian American wedding reception, March 28, 2010

Watch this video on www.YouTube.com website

Small Russian American wedding party took place at the Duane Park Restaurant on March 28th, 2010. Guests were from United States, Russia and Ukraine. Most of them were able to speak English. The ceremony was conducted in English, DJ Barnaul had to setup near the entrance because the lack of space inside of the restaurant. Singer Sasha Menshikov was coming to the small stage in the middle of the restaurant to perform his songs. MC Misha made all announcements in both English and Russian.

Before we even contacted Mikhail Smirnov (a.k.a. MC Misha) to be the Master of Ceremonies for our wedding this past September, we knew that we would be getting a wonderful celebrity personality since we’d already fallen in love with his humor as a judge on the NBC show “Superstars of Dance.” From the moment Mikhail answered our phone call, we also knew that we were in the great care of a true professional, masterful organizer, and patient soul. We’re writing to share our story of how Mikhail not only “met” but “exceeded” our great expectations for a memorable wedding reception. Like any picky couple, we wanted to add a few key songs to our wedding play list. Not only did Misha add these songs to the play list, but his D.J. (Barnaul) picked up immediately on the style and tone of these songs and added music to complement our taste perfectly. What’s more, even though we couldn’t afford a band, Misha surprised us with three professional singers. The first singer (Alexander Menshikov), a handsome gentleman with an angelic and operatic voice requiring no microphone, sang several amazing ballads including Dark Eyes that turned this ordinary wedding into a banquet fit for a Tsar! The second singer (Elena Harris) could best be described as a sultry, classic beauty, straight from a James Bond movie, who sang the jazz standard Summertime, which melted all single men in their seats. The third singer was Misha himself, who sang several Russian favorites straight from his heart has he strummed his guitar. This trio wove their talent throughout the night for a perfect personal touch to our wedding celebration. Guests were simply shocked.
 

We also wanted to make sure that our mix of Russian and American guests were guided in the right direction and made to feel comfortable throughout the night. As a myriad of guests entered the restaurant hall, they were met with a Misha’s classy and humorous greetings, which easily broke the ice between guests who did not know each other. Misha also provided Russian translation of speeches, and encouraged several guests to pay tribute to our special union. With his help, our wedding transcended the “mechanical order of events” associated with most receptions. Ours was a more intimate and heartwarming evening, in which friends and family shared stories, made toasts, and bonded with perfect strangers. Guests felt at home. Finally, in planning our celebration we worried that the evening might “fizzle out” too soon as we’ve experienced in so many weddings we’ve attended. If you are working with Misha, you can be assured that your evening will only escalate with joy, excitement, and wonderment. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, a person in costume resembling a larger-than-life gypsy woman appeared, and a playful gypsy song accompanied her across the floor as she danced and flirted with guests! People literally fell out of their seats with laughter, and the children sat still with magic in their eyes. Other surprise guests appeared, but I’ll stop my description now as not to spoil the surprise! Later in the evening, D.J. Barnaul hosted a Russian dance competition, also teaching guests how to do several traditional folk dances. Guests experienced an enchanted evening. Thank you, Mikhail and team for going “above and beyond” in making our wedding celebration truly unforgettable. We’ve enclosed some pictures, which we feel “speak louder than words” in describing how amazing this evening was.

Watch this video on YouTube.com website

Alexander Menshikov singing pop songs

American blues - 31 sec video

Rock-n-Roll 75 sec video

"London-Paris" 47 sec video

Alexander Menshikov 82 sec video

Alexander Menshikov singing folk songs

PHOTOS

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