Ali and Will’s Wedding at The Fearrington

I never met Ali & Will until the day of their wedding.  They both live in London and had a destination wedding here.  I was thrilled to play their wedding and spin some Latin for Ali’s side of the family.

The plans for an outdoors wedding were foiled by rain, but the great thing about The Fearrington is that there’s always a back-up plan.  The ceremony was moved into the Garden Terrace where the reception was supposed to be and the reception moved to the beautiful Fearrington Barn.

After a short ceremony with music provide by Florian Music, the 110 guests made their way to the barn for the reception.  The cocktail hour was held inside the barn with music again by Florian Music.  After pics were taken the wedding party was ready to be introduced.  I went to line them up and introduced them to “Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric.  Great song!!  Ali & Will came in and right to the floor for their first dance to a minute of “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith. Alison’s Father welcomed everyone and the food stations opened.  During dinner I had a mix of Indie rock playing. 

After dinner we had the toasts and I opened the dance floor.  Within minutes the floor was packed to beach music, Motown and top 40.  It stayed that way for the next 3 hours!  We paused for the cake cutting to “Love You Madly” by Cake (get it???) and then back to dancing to top 40 and reggaeton.

We ended the night with “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen and finally “Love On Top” by Beyonce.  As guests left I played the Gipsy Kings “Hotel California” before the sparkler exit.  What a fun night and awesome group to DJ for! 

Kelsey And Connor’s Wedding At Durham’s Cotton Room | DJ Randy B

I always love to DJ weddings at The Cotton Room in Durham, and Kelsey and Connor’s was no exception.  They are such a nice couple and I was thrilled to play for them on July 22nd!

The wedding ceremony was held on the far side of The Cotton Room.  I ran mics for Reverend Bonnie and a wireless mic for readers.  Their music was provided by a quartet from Arioso Strings that once again did an amazing job.  After the ceremony, the 130 guests were invited to the lobby area for cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres while the staff flipped the room.  Arioso was there still for music.

After some outdoor pics were taken by Photographer Autumn Harrison, the wedding party was ready to be introduced and I was ready to get this party going.  The white linens opened to show the dining area and guests found their seats.  I introduced them to “Shut Up And Dance” and Kelsey and Connor came to the floor for their first dance. 

For their first dance, they danced to “Nothing Can Change This Love” by Sam Cooke (one of my favorite ballads).  Kelsey’s Father joined her for their dance to “My Wish” and Connor and his Mother to “The Wonder Of You” (One of my favorite Elvis songs).  They took their seats and the salads and entrees came out.  During dinner I had a mix of rock, soul and standards playing.

After dinner we had toasts and the cake cutting to “How Sweet It Is”.  I opened the floor with “My Girl” and some Motown and top 40 that soon filled it.  We paused after 30 minutes for an anniversary dance to “The Way You Look Tonight” with the winners being married 55 years!  Everyone went back to dancing until the end of the night.  We ended with “Sweet Caroline”, “New York, New York” (For Connor’s Mother) and finally “Wagon Wheel”. 

What a fun night and wonderful group to DJ for.  Thank you Kelsey and Connor and congratulations!

Photo courtesy of Autumn Harrison Photography

A Beautiful Wedding At Highgrove Estate | DJ Randy B

I have seen a lot of things in my 20 years as a wedding DJ, but this was the first dancing dinosaur!  I never thought I would see that at Amy and Patrick’s beautiful wedding at Highgrove Estate in Fuquay-Varina on July 15^th.

Amy and Pat had their wedding ceremony in the back lawn overlooking a lake and wooded hill.  For their music, the 140 guests were treated to a trio of 2 guitarists and bongo player.  After a short service they made their way to the back patio for cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres. During the cocktail hour I had a mix of standards, soft rock and classic soul playing.  Photographer Ginny Corbett and videographers from Sugar Shack Films took the wedding party around the grounds for shots.

After the cocktail hour I invited guests into the ballroom for the reception.  I had music playing and went into the house to line the wedding party up with help from Highgrove’s Amanda.  I introduced the wedding party to “You Make My Dreams Come True” and Amy & Pat to “Love On Top”.  They came in for their first dance to Dave Barnes “Darlin’”.  The welcome and blessing followed and then the salads and family style entrees came out.  During dinner I played the same music as cocktails.

I even played “Georgia” by Ray Charles for Amy’s Grandmother Georgia.

After dinner we had toasts and cake cutting to “How Sweet It Is” and then the parents dances. Amy & her Father danced to “I Loved Her First” ad Patrick & his Mother to “Loves Me Like A Rock”.  I invited the married couples to the floor for an anniversary dance to “The Way You Look Tonight” and then opened the floor to everyone with Motown & top 40.  After about 5 songs I played “Blurred Lines” and a dancing dinosaur appeared!  It was so great and caught everyone off guard, especially the kids.  I’m sure they will talk about that forever!  The Krispy Kreme flambé station opened and the guests went back to dancing.  One of the best songs of the night (other than the dinosaur) was a huge group dance to “Rock Lobster” lead by Patrick’s family.  I can’t wait to see Ginny’s pictures of that!

We paused for the bouquet toss to “Single Ladies” and garter toss to “Another One Bites The Dust”, then back to dancing until the end of the night.  We ended the party with “New York, New York”, “Sweet Caroline” and finally “Wagon Wheel”.  I invited the guests to the front for a sparkler exit and said goodnight to everyone.  What a fantastic wedding!  I had an absolute blast playing to this great group!

DJ Randy Bennett  www.bunndjcompany.com/RandyB

Photo courtesy of Ginny Corbett Photography

A Wedding At The Rickhouse In Durham | DJ Randy B

Lizzie and Jordan had me as their wedding DJ at the amazing Durham’s Rickhouse that backs up to the Two Doors Distilling.  They have great taste inn music and I was excited to play for them and their 150 guests!

After a beautiful the ceremony at Duke Chapel the guests had a little break before heading over to The Rickhouse for the reception.  It gave photographer Hooman from Vesic Photography and Phil & Jess from Twenty-One Films some time to get some great shots!  When the guests arrived for the cocktail hour I had a mix of rock, classic soul, standards and alt-country playing.  The room looked amazing with hung market lights and uplighting by Get Lit.

When the wedding party arrived I invited the guest to find their seats and went out to line the wedding party up with help from planner Dana from C and D Events.  The wedding party came in to “Magic” by B.O.B and each couple had their own personal dance moves on the dance floor.  Lizzie & Jordan came in to “On Top Of The World” by Imagine Dragons and came in to loud applause.  They had their first dance to “Swept Away (Sentimental Version)” by The Avett Brothers and then welcomed everyone.  The buffet opened and I continued the same music mix.

After dinner we had the toasts and parents dances.  Lizzie and her Stepfather danced to “What A Wonderful World” and Jordan and his mother to “Find Your Wings” by Mark Harris.  I invited the married couples to the floor for an anniversary dance to “Can’t Help Falling In Love” before opening the floor to everyone.  Motown and top 40 followed with 75% of guests hitting the floor during the first 2 songs.  They danced hard for 2 hours to top 40, classic party songs, lots of 80’s and some sing-a-longs.  We paused for the cake cutting and bouquet & garter toss, then back to dancing till the last dance.  We ended the night with “You Make My Dreams Come True” and a sparkler exit.  A couple of my favorite moments were looking out and seeing a Grandmother having a blast to “Shout” and an impromptu conga line to “Brown Eyed Girl”.

What a fun night and awesome couple.  Thank you Lizzie, Jordan and Dana!!

DJ Randy Bennett  www.bunndjcompany.com/RandyB

Photo courtesy of Vesic Photography