Cecily & Nick’s wedding at The Carolina Inn

I was back again to one of my favorite venues, The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, for Cecily & Nick’s wedding on April 25^th in the Old Well Room.  I was thrilled to be working with Kristen from The Inn, Priscilla & Brooke from Orangerie Events and photographer Heba Salama! 

After the ceremony at The Chapel Of The Cross, guests made their way to The Carolina Inn for cocktails and the reception.  The cocktail hour was held in the hall in front of the Old Well Room and the 100 guests enjoyed drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres. The doors to the ballroom opened and guests found their tables.  I introduced the wedding party to “Sun Daze” by Florida Georgia Line and each set of Bridesmaids & Groomsmen danced into the room. It was time for Cecily & Nick’s intro and they came in to “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley (that later in the night Nick sang to Cecily..ha ha).   They made their way to the dance floor and had their now second dance as husband & wife to “Who I Am With You” by country artist Chris Young.  The guests and wedding party took their seats and Cecily’s father welcomed everyone and blessed the 3 course meal that started with crabcakes.  During dinner I had a mix of country, soft rock and classic soul.  After the first course we had a couple toasts and the second course of gazpacho came out.

 

After dinner we had the Cinda’s cake cutting to “Lovely Day” by fav Bill Withers and Nick said a heart felt thank you to everyone especially Cecily.  Nicely done Nick!  Cecily made her way to the dance floor and had her dance with her father to “Fly Me To The Moon” and Nick then danced with his mother to Van Morrison’s “Days Like This”. I opened the floor to everyone with “September” and filled the floor for the next 2 ½ hours to oldies, country, rock, current dance music and some 80’s.  The night ended with “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and “Carolina” by Eric Church, but they weren’t ready to go yet so I played “New York, New York” to close out the night. What a fun night and adorable little flower girl Sophia!  Thank you Cecily and Nick, I had a blast!

Andrea & Aaron’s Wedding at The Umstead with a surprise visitor!

For my second wedding on Saturday with La Fete I was at The Umstead Hotel with Katie from La Fete, Carrie from The Umstead and photographer James Walters for Andrea and Aaron’s big day.  The room was absolutely beautiful!!

There was a surprise guest for the cocktail hour. Ramses, the UNC mascot joined for pics with everyone (including me) and totally surprised Aaron who is a huge fan.  After the cocktail hour, the 100 guests made their way into the ballroom for dinner and dancing.  The wedding party and parents entered to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” and Andrea and Aaron danced into the room to loud applause.  The stopped on the dance floor for their now second dance to “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray and it was so precious to see them singing it to each other like they were the only ones in the room.  They took their seats after that and Andrea’s father welcomed everyone.

 

The 3 course meal came our including soup, salad and entrée’s.  During dinner I played a mix of soft rock, classic rock and some classic soul with a few Sinatra songs for me J.  As dinner wound down, guests started dancing to beach music and classic soul. We had the cake cutting to “How Sweet It Is” after a couple toasts.  Andrea then danced with her father to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Brother IZ and Aaron joined his mother on the floor for their dance to “In My Life” by The Beatles.

I opened the floor, again, with some more Motown and beach music that brought everyone back onto the floor for the next 2 hours along with some 80’s 90’s and current dance music.  We paused briefly for the bouquet toss to “Single Ladies” and garter toss to “Foxey Lady” then back to dancing til the end of the night and a rose petal exit.  What a fun night and a great group to play for.  Thank you Andrea and Aaron.  I’m going to Disney World (which I did Sunday) !

Marley & Michael’s afternoon wedding at The Carolina inn

My two La Fete wedding day started bright and early for Marley and Michael’s wedding at The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill on Saturday, April 18^th with Heidi Werner from the Inn and planner Carly from La Fete.   Their ceremony was held in the Bryan courtyard at The Inn at 11am and it was beautiful outside!  After the ceremony, guests made their way inside for cocktails, dinner and dancing. 

The social ½ hour for the 120 guests was held in the hallway in front of the Hill Ballroom.  I had a mix of country, rock, reggae and soul playing during the short cocktail ½ hour.  The doors to the ballroom opened and guests made their way to their tables. I only announced Marley & Michael and they entered to the Alabama fight song since Michael LOVES Alabama!  They stopped on the dance floor and had their first dance to the acoustic version of “Wedding Song” by the indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Marley’s father joined her for their dance to “I Just Called To Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder and then Michael escorted his mother to the floor to dance to “What A Wonderful World”.  After their dance, they took their seats and Marley’s father welcomed everyone.  The plated salad’s came out and the food stations opened.  During dinner I continued the same playlist as cocktails.

After dinner we had a few toasts and the cake cutting to “Simple Song” by The Shins.  While the staff served the cake, I invited all the married couples onto the floor for a “longest married couple dance” to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” with the winner married 43 years!

I opened the floor with some Motown and current dance hits that kept people dancing for the next 2 hours.  I even saw Marley’s Wake Forest Cross Country Girls on the floor dancing to “Shake It Off” with Marley and her adorable flower girl!  I ended the reception with “Sweet Caroline” and finally “Ho Hey” and Marley and Michael made their rose petal exit from the horseshoe entrance to The Inn.  I can’t wait to see photographer Ryan Midgett’s pics.  Thank you Marley and Michael and congratulations!

Music lovers Amelia & Evan’s Reception at Bay 7

I was thrilled to play for Amelia and Evan because they are true music lovers, like me on April 11^th, 2015.  They had their reception at Durham’s Bay 7 with planner Tia from Erin McLean Events, Sarah from Angus Barn, videographer Dennis and photographer Julia Wade.  As guests arrived for the cocktail hour on the top floor, they found their seating assignments on individual CD’s made to look like records. Each table was named after a band that Mia and Evan have seen together.  Love it!!!  For the cocktail hour I had a playlist of the band they love like The Grateful Dead, Alison Krauss, Springsteen, CSNY, Van Morrison…

As the cocktail hour wound down, I invited guests to the main floor for dinner and dancing.  Their tables had table name stands that one side was an album cover by the band the table was named after, the other side had pics of Mia and Evan at the show and the ticket stub. Such an awesome idea!  The wedding party was introduced to “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys and Amelia and Evan came in and right to the dance floor for their first dance to “Something’ by The Beatles.  They took their seats at the sweetheart table and Amelia’s father welcomed everyone with a heartfelt speech that included a story of her when she was a High School freshman.  Their officiant Dr. Wilson blessed the meal and the Angus Barn staff escorted guests to the food stations.  During dinner I continued the same music mix as cocktails.  Towards the end of dinner, I welcomed the guests from 20 states by having them stand when I called their state out.  The toasts followed, and then Amelia joined her father on the floor for their dance to “Comes A Time” by Neil Young and Evan escorted his mother to the floor to dance to “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” by Stevie Wonder.  I opened the floor for a little while to Motown and some current dance music while the desert and coffee station opened.

We paused briefly for the cake cutting to UB40’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and then back to dancing to some oldies, current dance music and 80’s until the end of the night.  It was awesome to see Evan dancing and singing to “Rosalita” by Springsteen and doing the “duck walk” to “You Shook Me All Night Long”!  Towards the end of the night Mia changed into “dancing sneakers” that were pink with “Mrs. Thorn” painted on the tops.  So great!  She put them on right in time for “Footloose” that her and Evan pulled off perfectly!

The night ended with “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money (that they have seen together) and a glow stick exit up the stairs.  What a fun night and a terrific couple to play for !

Maria & Erik’s Wedding at The Merrimon-Wynne House

Maria and Erik could not have picked a more perfect afternoon for their outdoor ceremony on the lawn of downtown Raleigh’s historic Merrimon-Wynne House on April 4th!  I always love DJing here.  I had the pleasure of working with Kaila from The Merrimon-Wynne House again, planner Kristin from Viva L’Event, photographer Cara from F8 Photo Studio and videographer Jonathan from F8 In Motion who also had his photo booth there.

After a short ceremony, the guests made their way to the house for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and conversations on the front and side porches.  When pics were finished, guests made their way to the tent for dinner and dancing. 

The wedding party was introduced to Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love”.  Maria & Erik entered to the Led Zeppelin song “Thank You” covered by Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.  What a great cover!!  They made their way to the dance floor and danced to the song for another couple minutes.  Maria took her seat and Erik welcomed everyone followed by a blessing by Maria’s father.  Their amazing caterer Beau from Beau’s Catering described the food stations to everyone and the plated salad’s came out.  For dinner I had a mix of jazz standards playing.

Towards the end of dinner we had toasts by Maria’s parents, the maid of honor and best man.  Maria joined her father on the floor for their dance to Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” (one of my favorite songs ever!) and Erik danced with his mother to Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”.  It was then time to open the floor.

Since half of the guests were from Mexico, I opened with “Conga” and man, I couldn’t have picked a better song to open with!  The floor filled with young and old until we paused for the cake cutting in the house.  After that, guests came back and danced until the end of the night to oldies, top 40, latin and a few line dances.  For the last dance, I had everyone join them to dance to “One More Time” by Daft Punk then they made their way to the front of the house for a sparkler exit before leaving in a classic convertible.  What a fun night and wonderful group to play to!