Horner/Jacobs reception at Tryon Palace in New Bern on June 7th, 2014

Tryon Palace is known for being North Carolina’s first permanent state capitol and it could not be a more beautiful place for a wedding with 72 degrees outside on this day.  It was my first time playing here and I loved it! Completed in 1770 and on Lawson Creek off the Neuse River, it is a perfect place for an outdoor wedding!  Neala and Ben had their ceremony at Isaac Taylor garden and cocktail hour in the garden of Tryon Palace with a 3 piece acoustic trio of violin, acoustic guitar and stand up bass.  The 180 guests enjoyed walking through the maze, hearing some great live acoustic music, home made sangria and passed hors d’oeuvres before coming to the tent for the reception.

It was time for the reception and guests made their way to the beautiful open air tent and found their tables and reserved seats. Neala and Ben found their seats and Neala’s father thanked everyone for coming.  I started a mix of standards and soft rock for everyone to enjoy during the plated dinner.  After dinner and a few toasts, Neala and Ben had their first dance to “In My Life” by The Beatles, Neala’s father joined her for their dance to Dylan’s “Forever Young” by Audra Mae and Ben escorted his mother to the floor for their dance to “I Hope You Dance”. 

I opened the floor with some Motown and oldies that instantly filled the floor.  I don’t know where everyone came from! Haha.. It was great to see their older guests dancing with their friends!  After about 30 min, we stopped for the cake cutting to “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys and opened the floor again with some 70’s, 80’s and current music.  We paused again for the bouquet toss to “Single Ladies” and then back to dancing.

At night, the Tryon Palace planners Anne & Cathy had about 100 glowing candles on stands sporadically placed around the outside of the tent and it really made everything like a fairytale!  It was finally time to call it a night and I played their last song for their cat, “Lola” by The Kinks and everyone sang along.  It was such a beautiful wedding reception and I loved playing at Tryon Palace!  Thank you Neala and Ben for having me and letting me help make your day perfect!  I can’t wait to see the pics by photographer Traci Arney and videographer Jeff Brewer.