Flash Mobs: Still Cool or So 2013?
According to Wikipedia, the internet’s most fabulous source of all things informative and the tool most often used to settle bets on trivial matters, a flash mob (or flashmob)[1] is a “group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.”
(Where am I going with this, you might be wondering?……Stay tuned and allow me to set the scene.)
This weekend, we had the pleasure of working at the uber trendy, recently renovated Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel Philadelphia in the heart of the city in the prestigious Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. After $20 million of upgrades, Radisson Blu Warwick reopened to the public at the end of 2013 wowing everyone with the incredible transformation and attracting hip and happening crowds from across our beloved nation.
Our lovely couple, Jenni Gonzalez and Brooks Wildasin, (the newly betrothed Mr. & Mrs.!) chose this hot spot for their nuptials, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled to work with their gracious team – especially Terri who was incredibly welcoming and accommodating to our needs. Once they said their “I do’s”, the new couple spent the evening dining, drinking, and dancing to the latest jams from Philly’s own DJ Perry Angelozzi, enjoying their friends & family, blissfully unaware of what was in store for them.
Just when we thought this was going to be another typical Saturday evening, the bride’s father began his toast. As the crowd prepared for the standard father-daughter-tearjerking-speech-about-how-Jenni-will-always-be-his-little-girl, etc., etc., etc., he engineered an incredible twist changing the course of the night completely. He, as well as the entire bridal party broke out into a fully choreographed, rehearsed, and perfected flash mob like Shutterbooth Philadelphia has never seen before. With each cheesy dance move, each energetic shimmy, swing, and two step, our crowd became more and more enthralled with the show unfolding before us.
We started this conversation by briefing you on the definition of a flash mob and the merits of Wikipedia…..I refer back to their definition:
‘A group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an “unusual” (ok…yes….unusual for a wedding, even more unusual for a father of the bride speech), “seemingly pointless act” (yes, right again, I suppose some people at the event may not fully comprehend the awesomeness that was this flash mob), for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.’
I don’t know about satire or artistic expression, but what I do know is there is almost nothing more entertaining than a flash mob, and the group this weekend certainly didn’t disappoint. In the midst of all of the coolness gushing from the sophisticated clientele at the hotel, one might wonder: Are flash mobs like so totally 5 minutes ago? Something tells me that Saturday’s crowd and the Radisson Blu crew don’t think so……