Balentine/Clay wedding at The Oaks At Salem on September 7th, 2014

I met Jillian and her mother during an open house at The Oaks at Salem in Apex in April.  We hit it off instantly and I was excited to play for this beautiful bride, her mother and their 200 guests and The Oak’s April and Joslin!  I provided mic’s for the ceremony that was held across the pond from the house under a huge tree.  It is a beautiful setting for a wedding and Jillian had harpist Amy Kortus provide music.  She plays beautifully!  After a short ceremony that somehow missed the rain, guests made their way back to the house for the cocktail hour inside the house and under the tent.  I had a mix of soft rock, country and classic rock playing as guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.   Photographers Three Little Birds took pictures of the wedding party around the grounds until the introductions.

I introduced the wedding party from the house into the tent to T.I.’s “Bring ‘Em Out” and Jillian and Zach came right in and into their first dance to Mumford & Son’s “Not With Haste”.  They took their seats and Zach’s father welcomed everyone and minister Jay Minnick blessed the meal.  Beau Bennett from Beau Catering explained the buffet menu to everyone and I went back into a mix of soft rock, country and classic rock for dinner. 

After dinner we had several toasts rounded out by Zach’s father and then the Ashley’s Cake (yay!!) cutting to “Build Me Up Buttercup”. I opened the floor with some Motown and current dance music for a few minutes until we paused for the bouquet toss to “lady Marmalade” and Jillian’s mother caught the bouquet!  So funny! We then had the garter toss to “Danger Zone” from Top Gun and back to dancing to some line dances and current top 40.  One of the highlights for me was everyone singing “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show and, of course, the look on Jillian’s mom’s face when she caught the bouquet.

The night ended with their last dance to Michael Buble’s “Everything” and a sparkler exit from the front of the house.  Thank you so much Jillian and Zach and congratulations!