A Beautiful Wedding at Bay 7 in Durham NC

I never met Kathryn or Ryan until the day of their wedding.  I was so honored to DJ their ceremony and reception at Durham’s Bay 7 in the historic American Tobacco Campus.

The ceremony was held on the main floor at the bottom of the stairs with a stainless background.  It was so beautiful with floral arrangements by Tre Bella and lighting by Get Lit!  Their minister Reverend Shaver gave an a heartfelt service that included a reading by what may have been the cutest 6 year old reader I have seen.  She did an awesome job!  After the ceremony the Reverend invited guests to the second floor balcony for drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres.  During the social hour they had a live pianist provide music.

After pics were taken by Hooman from Vesic Photography and video by Red Letters Media, the 180 guests made their way back downstairs for the reception.  I lined the wedding party up with help from Angel from Bay 7.  I introduced them to “Say Hey” by Michael Franti and they came down the stairs and lined up along the back of the dance floor. Kathryn & Ryan came down for their first dance to “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith.  Kathryn’s Father welcomed everyone and the Reverend blessed the meal.  During the served meal I played a mix of rock & classic soul.

After dinner we had the toasts and cake cutting to “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” and then came one of the most touching and special Father-Daughter dances I have seen.  Kathryn’s Father Terry had made a video of him reading the book “Forever Young” along with the Dylan song it came from while pictures of her as a child played in a slide show.  Not a dry eye in the room!  They danced for the first half, then he handed her over to Ryan.  After their dance, Ryan danced with his Mother to “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and I opened the floor to everyone.

For the next 1.5 hours I played a mix of classic soul, oldies, top 40, some 2000’s and even Blink-182 for Ryan and his friends!!  So great!  We paused for the bouquet toss to “Shoop Shoop Song” and then back to dancing until the end of the night.  Their last dance was “Don’t Stop Believin’” before a sparkler exit.

What an absolute perfect reception and great group to play for.  Thank you Kathryn, Ryan, Terry & Cathy and congratulations!

DJ Randy Bennett  www.bunndjcompany.com/RandyB

Photo courtesy of Vesic Photography

Heidi & Russell’s Amazing Wedding at the Umstead

Heidi and Russell chose Cary NC’s five star Umstead Hotel for their beautiful wedding ceremony and reception on March 31^st, 2017.

Their ceremony was held in the back lawn of the Hotel and officiated over by Reverend David James that always does a great job.  He gives a very heartfelt service and adds a little humor. They had live strings provide the music.

As the ceremony ended, the guests made their way around the back of the building to the outdoor terrace as well as the indoor prefuction area for cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres.  Their live musician played this part as well.

After pics were taken by Robin & Stacy from Robin Lin Photography & video by Denim Buffalo Films the doors to the ballroom opened.  I had music playing and went out to line the wedding party up with help from Alyssa from A Southern Soiree and Amanda from The Umstead. Heidi looked like the perfect southern belle!  I introduced the wedding party to “How Sweet It is” by James Taylor.  They came in to thunderous applause and welcomed everyone followed by a blessing by Heidi.  The food stations opened and I had a mix of rock, country & soul playing.

After dinner we had the toasts that included Heidi’s sisters written rap to “Fresh Prince” theme.  After that was the cake cutting to “In My Life” by The Beatles.  They made their way to the dance floor for their first dance to “More Than Words” that Russell explained he loved the song and knew he would meet Heidi someday.  She had her dance with her father to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” that her mother sang live.  She did a great job and it was a very special moment!  Russell danced with his mother to “Unforgettable” and we had a reverse anniversary dance to “Stand By Me”.  I opened the floor to everyone with some Motown and top 40 that filled it shortly.  We paused for the bouquet and garter tosses to  “Pretty Woman” and “Another One Bites The Dust”.  A full dance floor again followed until the end of the evening.

For their last dance I played “Carolina In My Mind” and they had a bubble exit from the terrace.  What a fun group and very sweet couple.  Thank you Heidi, Russell, Amanda & Alyssa!

Photo courtesy of Robin Lin Photography

An Epic Wedding at Bay 7 in Durham NC

Shannon and Thomas had what I would call an epic wedding reception at Bay 7 on March 25^th.  The 200 guests went hard for 3 hours on the dance floor!

Their ceremony was held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with the reception at Bay 7 both in Durham.  The guests started arriving a little early and I had music going and was ready to rock.  During the cocktail hour on the 2^nd floor I had a mix of rock, country and classic soul playing. Of course, some Sinatra and Dean Martin too.  Shannon and Thomas soon joined them for the remainder while photographer Lindsay & Cara from F8 Photo Studios took some shots downstairs.  The table settings looked beautiful with floral arrangements by The English Garden.

I invited the guests downstairs for dinner and dancing and went upstairs to line up the wedding party.  They were introduced to “Wow” by Beck and finally our Bride & Groom to “We Ready” by Archie Eversole.  So great!!  They came downstairs and right to the floor for their first dance to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” by Frankie Valli.  Shannon’s Father introduced her Grandfather who gave a very sweet, funny and heartfelt speech and Thomas’ Father blessed the meal and the salads and entrees came out.  During dinner I played the same mix as cocktails.

After dinner we had the toasts and Cinda’s cake cutting.  The Mother Son dance followed to “Circle Of Life” from Lion King.  So funny.  Shannon then joined her Father on the floor for their dance that started with “Tupelo Honey” then caught everyone off guard when it went into “Cotton Eyed Joe”!  That’s all it took.  The guests soon rushed the dance floor for that and “Rock Lobster” right after.  The floor stayed filled for the next 3 hours.

We paused briefly for the bouquet toss to “Run The World” by Beyonce and garter toss to “Who Let The Dogs Out”, then back to dancing to top 40 and hip-hop. We ended the night with some sing-a-longs and finally “All My Life” that had everyone making a big circle around them and singing.  As the guests left for the streamer popper exit they took a custom mason jar as a favor.  This wedding was so fun and the dance floor was awesome every minute!  Thank you Shannon & Thomas and congratulations.

James & Lindsay’s Wedding at The Cotton Room

I was thrilled to DJ for Lindsay and James at The Cotton Room in Durham on March 19th!  They are so nice and have great taste in music.

The ceremony was held along the far brick wall of The Cotton Room with floor to ceiling windows.  As the 90 guests arrived I had a mix of classical versions of pop songs playing.  The Grandparents, Parents & Groomsmen entered to “Wonderful Tonight” by Vitamin String Quartet.  The Bridesmaids entered to Feist’s “1234” covered by Vitamin String Quartet and Lindsay & her Father to Led Zeppelin’s “Going To California”.  After a short ceremony that included a beautiful cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by a couple friends (one being a Groomsman), they recessed to “Everyone” by Van Morrison.  Their minister invited guests to the back of the room for the cocktail hour while the staff flipped the room for dinner and dancing.  During the cocktail hour I had a mix of classic rock & soul, standards and soft rock playing.

Pics were done by Ariana from Silver Feather Studios and the white linens opened revealing the room and guests found their seats.  I introduced the wedding party to “Home” by Edward Sharpe and our new Bride & Groom to “Heroes” by David Bowie (my favorite Bowie song).  They came to the floor and had their first dance to “These Arms Of Mine” by Otis Redding (my favorite Otis song also).  Lindsay’s father welcomed everyone and the buffet opened.  During dinner I had a mix of classic soul playing after I played “September Song” by Sinatra for James’ Grandparents.

After dinner we had the toasts before the parents dances.  Lindsay danced with her Father to “What A Wonderful World” and James & his Mother to “Sweet Baby James”.  We had an anniversary dance to “Young At Heart” with James’ Grandparents winning at 61 years married!!  I opened the floor to everyone with some Motown and top 40 and it filled by the end of the first song.  One of the best parts of the night was James’ Grandfather laying in the middle of the dance floor and dragged around by his feet is a circle.  So great!  His Grandparents danced a lot that night.  I wish I could take them to every wedding I do! 

We paused briefly for the donut cutting to “Sweet Pea” and then back to dancing till the end of the night.  We ended with everyone in the room in a big circle to “Piano Man” and “Sweet Carolina” before the last song “Cicadas & Gulls” by Feist.  A sparkler exit followed and they lived happily ever after…

DJ Randy Bennett  www.bunndjcompany.com/RandyB

Photo courtesy of Silver Feather Studios