Wiggins/Anderson wedding reception at The Carolina Inn on April 19th, 2014

Lakisha and Ray had both ceremony and reception at the beautiful Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill.  I provided music for both cocktail hour and reception in the old well room.  The ceremony was held inside the Inn due to weather, but it did not damper the guests spirits.  This crowd was here to have a blast!  I was excited to be working with some great vendors in planner Katie Dunn from La Fete and photographers James and Meridith from Walters and Walters.

The cocktail hour started and I had a mix of classic soul and 80’s R&B playing for the 160 guests.  The guests enjoyed cocktails, bbq sliders and chicken & waffles.  They were both awesome!  The doors of the ballroom opened and this party was ready to get under way.  The room was filled with beautiful floral arrangements by Lyn Graves from Fresh Affairs who always does a great job.  Guests found their seats and it was time to introduce the wedding party to an instrumental of T.I.’s “Swagger Like Us”.  It was awesome!  Everyone in the wedding party posed at the top of the stairs and danced in.  It was time for Ray and Lakisha to enter and I changed the song to “Bring Em Out” and the room erupted with a loud cheer.  Ray really looked like a rock star at the top of the stairs pointing out at the crowd. They made their way through the crowd and to the dance floor for their first dance of “If The World Were Mine” by Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn.  What a beautiful song.  They took their seats and Lakisha’s father welcomed everyone and blessed the food.  For dinner I switched over to standards for Ray who is a huge fan of Sinatra.  We both wore Frank cufflinks!

After dinner and a few toasts, we had the Simply Cakes cake cutting to Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” and Lakisha joined her father on the floor to dance to Prince’s “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World”.  Her father is a huge fan of Prince that makes him ok in my book.  Ray then escorted his mother to the floor to dance to “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole.  I opened the floor to everyone with “The Wobble” and Lakisha and her mother started the line dance that was shortly being done by everyone.  I then went into some 70’s and 80’s R&B including one of my fav songs ever, Maze’s “Before I Let Go”.  We stopped shortly for the bouquet toss to a mash up of “Be Faithful” and “Single Ladies” that was perfect for this crowd. 

 

Ray’s fraternity brothers from Kappa Alpha Psi brought a chair out for Lakisha and they all serenaded her as Ray gave her roses. It was so touching! I opened the floor again to some 90’s and current hip-hop and R&B for Lakisha and her friends to dance to that kept everyone dancing and taking selfies til the end.  Their last song of the reception was their “anthem”, N.E.R.D.’s “Run To The Sun”, and they danced in the middle of the floor like no one was there in that moment but them.  They exited to a rose petal send off.

Lakisha knew in 2005 that this day would eventually come and I was thrilled to be a part of it.  Thank you Ray and Lakisha for everything!