An Italian Wedding for Brittney and Tony at Merrimon Wynne

Merrimon Wynne is kinda my home away from home and I was thrilled to be there for Brittney and Tony’s wedding on February 22^nd!

Their ceremony was held inside the carriage house and officiated over by Reverend Ed Sansbury. The room looked beautiful with floral arrangements by Plume Events.  They had musicians from Save The Date Music provide music for the ceremony.  I arrived towards the end of the ceremony to set up while the room was being flipped for dinner.

After pics were done by Jordan Maunder Photography and video by Jon Warlick Media, the cocktail hour ended and the 90 guests were invited back to the carriage house for dinner and dancing. I left music playing and went into the house to line the wedding party up with planners Amanda & Heather from Amanda Blair By Design.  I introduced the wedding party into the carriage house to “Beautiful” by Akon and Brittney & Tony to “Hooked On A Feeling”.  The wedding party joined them on the floor to dance for a minute, then made some room for Brittney and Tony’s first dance to “Crush” by Dave Matthews.  They took their seats and the Rocky Top catered buffet opened.  During dinner I had a mix of upbeat standards, Motown and rock playing.

After dinner we had a private Sugar Euphoria cake cutting followed by the toasts.  The Parents dances were next with Tony and his Mother first to a shortened edit I made them of “A Mother’s Song”. Brittney and her Father were next to an edit I made them of “Cassidy” by The Grateful Dead. I invited everyone to join them after a minute, then followed that up with “Dancing In The Moonlight”.  It was such a great way to open the floor and worked great!! Some Motown and Top 40 mixed with some 80’s, song a longs and even “Walking In Memphis” kept them dancing until the end of the night.

We ended the night with a last dance to “Sweet Caroline” before a sparkler exit.

Thank you Brittney, Tony, Abby, Heather and Amanda!!  That was such a fun wedding!!

Erin and Jimmy’s Wedding at Market Hall

Filling in for another DJ is always makes me a nerve wreck.  You don’t know the DJs style and what made the Bride & Groom love them, but I was up for the challenge.

Erin and Jimmy had their wedding ceremony and reception both at downtown Raleigh’s Market Hall on February 15th.  I was there to provide mics for the ceremony and DJ the cocktail hour and reception.  The ceremony was held in the Market View side.  Erin’s Uncle was their officiant and they had a live keyboard player and violinist provide music.  After a short service that included a reading, the 150 guests were invited to Park View side of the building for the cocktail hour.  I had a mix of standards, soft rock and classic soul playing while photographer Arika from Arika Jordan Photography got some shots of the wedding party. 

After the staff flipped the room for dinner, I invited guests back to Market View with help from planner Chelsy from The Gathering Co. The room looked beautiful with white linen covering the walls and floral arrangements by Mood Fleuriste. I left music playing and lined the wedding party up for introductions.  I introduced them to “Bring Em Out” and Erin and Jimmy to “If I Can’t Have You” by Shawn Mendes.  They came in to loud applause and had their first dance to “You Are The Best Thing”. Her Father welcomed everyone and blessed the meal.  The food stations opened and I continued a music mix heavy on standards during dinner.

After dinner we had the cake cutting to “Cake” by Flo Rida and then the toasts.  The Parents dances followed with Erin and her Father first. They had their dance to “I’ll Be Your Man” by Zac Brown.  LOVE that song!  Jimmy and his Mother had their dance to “Blessed” by Elton John.  The Two Roosters Ice Cream station opened and opened the floor to everyone with “Build Me Up Buttercup” followed by some Motown and Top 40.  For the next 2 hours guests danced to oldies, Top 40, some hip- hop and ended with an EDM dance party with glow sticks. I even played Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” and mixed into “Black and Yellow” to represent her NC and his Pittsburg roots.

We ended the night with a last dance to “Say Hey” by Michael Franti & Spearhead before a glow stick exit outside.  Thank you so much for trusting me with your day Erin and Jimmy and thanks for all your help Jessica & Chelsy!!

Photo courtesy of Arika Jordan Photography

Kendall and Ben’s Wedding at Bay 7 in Durham NC

Being that Kendall and Ben live in New York City and he is a comedian, I knew this wasn’t going to be the typical wedding at Bay 7, and it wasn’t…and so fun!!

Their ceremony was held earlier in the day at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh. After the ceremony, the 200 guests had a little break before heading over to the reception.  As the guests arrived they had a live pianist playing for the cocktail hour. The room looked beautiful with floral arrangements by Mel from Dogwood Tree Floral Design! I can’t wait to see the photos by Morgan Caddell Photography. The guests enjoyed refreshments, passed hors d’oeuvres and a cheese and veggie display.  After the cocktail hour, planners Kathy and Emma from Sally Oakley Weddings & Events invited everyone downstairs for dinner. I left music playing and went upstairs to line the wedding party up with them.

I introduced the wedding party to “Starships” and Kendall and Ben to “Gangsta’s Paradise”.. LOL!! Love it!! They came to the dance floor and had their first dance to “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding.  They took their seats and her Father welcomed everyone followed by a wonderful blessing by Ben’s Grandfather. The salads and enterees came out and I had a mix of standards, classic soul and soft rock playing.

After dinner we had a few toasts, ending with Ben’s thank you that may be one of my favorite Grooms speeches!  We sang (a contest to sing as off key as possible) happy birthday to a couple special guests and had the Ashley’s Cake cutting to “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” by Cake (get it??). The chocolate/salted caramel cake was AMAZING!!!  While the staff served the cake, we had the Parents dances.  Kendall danced with her Father to “What A Wonderful World”.  Ben escorted his Mother to the floor for their dance to “Days Like This” by Van Morrison.  Even though guests started dancing before the toasts, I officially opened the floor to everyone with “Build Me Up Buttercup” followed by some Motown and Top 40 that kept them dancing for the next 1.5 hours.

We paused for a bouquet toss to “Like A Girl” by Lizzo, garter removal to “Blame It On The Girls” by Mika and toss to “Wild Thing” by The Troggs.  The unique thing they did for these was that it wasn’t just for the single people, but for everyone, married and single.  The catchers each received a scratch off ticket!!  What a great idea!!  After the tosses, I finished the night with a great set of sing-a-long songs and finally “Sweet Caroline” in memory of Kendall’s Mother who loved to dance to this song and a last dance to “New York, New York”.  Everyone made a huge circle for both songs!!  

They had a streamer exit before heading over to The Counting House for an after-party.  Thank you so much Kendall, Ben, Angel, Emma and Kathy!! That was such a fun night!!

Photo courtesy of Morgan Caddell Photography