A Cotton Room Wedding for Kristin and Brian….and Two Chickens

I had never met Kristin and Brian until their wedding day at The Cotton Room on October 20th, but liked them as soon as I talked to them.  They are so nice!

Their ceremony was held on one side of the room and partitioned by white linens.  It is just beautiful with floor to ceiling windows along one brick wall. They had reverend Barbara Lodge (one of my favs!) and I ran a mic for her, one for Brian and one for Kristin’s Aunts who were readers. As the 120 guests arrived I had a mix of contemporary love songs playing.  After everyone was seated I started the ceremony music.  The Parents entered to a classical cover of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”.  The Bridesmaids to “All Of Me” and Kristin to “A River Flows In You” by Daniel Jang. Her hair and makeup was perfect and done by Makeup by Ashley Mooney. After a short service that also included a remembrance that I played “Thinking Out Loud” during, they recessed to “How Sweet It Is” by James Taylor.

They were invited to the cocktail hour in the front of the room by Barbara and I started a mix of rock, classic soul and standards. The staff flipped the room for dinner with help from two of my fav planners, Betsy and Carrington (Yay!  Carrington!!) from McLean Events.  The room looked beautiful with floral arrangements by Blossoms By Design!  After pics were taken by Joanna Sue Photography, the white linens opened and I invited guests to their seats.  I left music playing and went to line the wedding party up with Betsy and Carrington.

I introduced the wedding party and Kristin and Brian to “Crazy In Love” by Beyonce.  They came in to loud applause and had their first dance to and edit I made of the Candlelight Mix of “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada.  We had the combined parents dances next to “You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor. About ½ way through Brian’s Brothers showed up in chicken suits and joined in for the dance with Brian.  It really caught everyone off guard and gave me another wedding moment I will never forget! LOL.  They all took their seats and the Fathers welcomed everyone and blessed the meal.  The food stations opened shortly and I went back to the same style music playlist as cocktails.

After dinner we had the Ashley’s Cakes cutting (so good! I had the almond cake), toasts and then a shoe game MC’d by Brian’s Brothers.  I invited all the married couples to the floor to join them for an anniversary dance that ended in a tie at 38 ½ years.  I opened the floor to everyone with some Motown and Top 40 that filled it for the next 2.5 hours.  I played lots of 90’s, 80’s, current top 40 and some oldies.  I even played Paramore for Kristin and her Sister.

We ended the night with “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker and finally “Closing Time” by Semisonic that had everyone in a huge circle with their arms around each other singing it. I invited everyone down stairs for a sparkler exit.

What a fun night and amazing group to play for!  Thank you Kristin, Brian, Betsy and Carrington.