My second September wedding was Melanie & Roland’s reception at Bittersweet Farm in Westport. Although the weather gods were again uncooperative, everyone was in great spirits and had an enjoyable afternoon. The day started at 11:00 with the wedding ceremony, which took place in Bittersweet’s Great Loft - it’s the same room where my wife and I had our rehearsal dinner before our wedding in 2006. Melanie’s music selections for the ceremony were uniquely hers - The Beatles’ “In My Life” for the bridesmaids’ processional, “Lost In Your Eyes” by Debbie Gibson for the bride’s processional, and “Don’t Look Back” by Boston for the recessional. All three songs were well-received, proving that wedding ceremony music doesn’t always have to be classical.
After the ceremony, Melanie & Roland’s guests made their way downstairs to the Tavern for cocktails, and then to the main dining room for dinner and dancing. The newlyweds picked out some great must-play songs, including Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” and Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself”. Both songs packed the dancefloor.
Congratulations, Melanie & Roland!
Wedding Party Introduction Music: “Start Me Up” - The Rolling Stones
Melanie & Roland’s Introduction Music: “Love Will Keep Us Together” - Captain & Tennille
Melanie & Roland’s First Dance: “Could I Have This Dance” - Anne Murray
Song played during the Cake Cutting: “Sugar Sugar” - The Archies
Last Dance: “Grow Old With You” - Adam Sandler
Farewell Dance: “I Had The Time Of My Life” - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
An aerial view of the main dining room at Bittersweet Farm.
The bride arrived in a vintage Rolls-Royce.
The wedding cake, with custom-labeled wine for the newlyweds.
The centerpieces were given to the person at each table with the birthday closest to September 13th.
Slow Dancing on a Saturday afternoon.
A picture taken during the farewell dance.
My first September 2008 wedding was for Lisa & Edgar; Lisa’s mom had hired me and I didn’t meet with them until a few weeks before the big day, but I really enjoyed that meeting and knew when I left that their reception was going to be a great time. And despite having to make a last-minute change of plans due to weather, Lisa was in GREAT spirits. The original plan was to have a beach wedding ceremony at Falmouth’s Menauhant Beach. Unfortunately, the remains of Hurricane Hanna were heading up the east coast - not a good combination. So, a late decision was made to have the ceremony in the reception room at Coonamessett Inn.
Lisa & Edgar gave me carte blanche to select their ceremony music, so I picked some traditional classical pieces for the processional. For the recessional, I chose a song off of Lisa’s request list - “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder. It turned out to be a great choice - so good that when I checked in with Lisa later in the afternoon, she immediately told me that I made her whole day with that one song. Perfect timing!
After introductions, the bride and groom took to the dance floor to Santana’s “Love Of My Life”. It did take some time for the dance floor to fill after food had been served, but that’s no fault of the DJ - the bar was a popular hangout spot that afternoon. To bring his friends back around, Edgar called his friends over to the dancefloor for a ’special announcement’ (based on the hype, you might have thought he was giving away a new car, a la “My Super Sweet 16′). The special announcement was that everyone needed to dance - and they did, from the first note of Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” to the very last song of the afternoon.
Congratulations, Lisa & Edgar!
Introduction & First Dance: “Love Of My Life” - Santana feat. Dave Matthews
Song played during the Cake Cutting: “When I’m 64″ - The Beatles
Bride/Father Dance: “My Girl” - The Temptations
Groom/Mother Dance: “In My Life” - The Beatles
Table number one
The Wedding Cake had a distinct Cape Cod design.
The breakout Conga line.
Dancing during the 'Sweet Caroline' sing-a-long.
The newlyweds - VERY happy with their DJ!
Jon & Kim’s wedding reception at Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth was my last wedding of August; I was recommended to them by Larissa McLaughlin at Blush Beauty Bar in New Bedford (Larissa’s mom used to work at Hawthorne, so she’s had a chance to see me work many times).
Jon & Kim met in high school and have been together for a number of years, so their family and friends were definitely ready to celebrate - this was absolutely a party crowd. I knew that the bride and groom were fans of country music and classic rock, and it was evident from some of the requests that I’d be playing a wide variety of music. Case in point: I received requests for songs by Phil Vassar, Peter Frampton, and the Gap Band in the same hour.
Jon’s grandfather served as the best man - he’s in his 90s and did a great job with toasting the bride and groom. Because Jon’s a firefighter, “Fire” by the Ohio Players was a big hit with the dancing crowd (at Jon’s request, I played it twice). Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures from this event, but a great time was had by all. Congratulations, Jon & Kim!
Introduction Music: “Crazy Train” - Ozzy Osbourne
Jon & Kim’s Introduction Music: “I Feel Good (I Got You)” - James Brown
Jon & Kim’s First Dance: “You’re Still The One” - Shania Twain
Song played during the Cake Cutting: “When I’m 64″ - The Beatles
Bride/Father Dance: “I Loved Her First” - Heartland
Groom/Mother Dance: “A Mother’s Day” - Jim Brickman
Last Dance: “Amazed” - Lonestar
I’m always flattered when I get asked to DJ for family members and friends, so one of my most anticipated August events was Curt & Lori’s wedding at the Fall River Country Club. I’ve known Curt since I was about 5; we grew up in the same neighborhood and his parents are friends with my parents. Coincidentally, I was the DJ at Lori’s cousin’s wedding reception last year and didn’t even realize they were part of her family until I saw them here. Small world!
Curt and Lori couldn’t have picked a nicer day - with temperatures in the high 80s and lots of sun, it was perfect. The afternoon began with appetizers and drinks on the patio - I used the wireless speaker system that I normally use for wedding ceremonies to provide background music there. Later, Curt and Lori’s guests moved indoors for dinner and dancing. From the classic oldies to some of the most current hits, I kept the dance floor filled from start to finish.
Congratulations, Curt & Lori!
Introduction Music: Clumsy - Fergie
Curt & Lori’s First Dance: When You Say Nothing At All - Alison Krauss
Song played during the cake cutting: Sugar Sugar - The Archies
Bride/Father Dance: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder
Groom/Mother Dance: Have I Told You Lately - Rod Stewart
Last Dance: Thank You - Led Zeppelin (it’s Lori’s favorite band)
Fall River Country Club's ballroom before guests arrived.
The view of the Taunton River from the ballroom.
The Wedding Cake
The dance floor at 10:00 PM.
I spent the second week of August at the 2008 International DJ Expo in Atlantic City, so when I got home I was refreshed and ready to get back to my weekend routine. First up was a trip to Duxbury for Kevin & Alex’s wedding. I provided the entertainment at Kevin’s brother Shawn’s wedding back in 2005; coincidentally, Shawn also married a girl named Alex.
The bride and groom live in the San Diego area, so we weren’t able to meet prior to the reception to go over their details. This was no problem for me - although they didn’t give me much direction in terms of their musical tastes, I was able to put together a great mix of music that garnered a number of compliments from the more than 170 guests in attendance. And despite a little bit of rain, everyone was in good spirits. Besides, the weather eventually cleared up as the afternoon turned into evening. I don’t think there was ever a moment when the dance floor wasn’t filled!
Congratulations, Kevin & Alex!
Kevin & Alex’s First Dance: Diamonds On The Inside - Ben Harper
Song Played During the Cake Cutting: How Sweet It Is - Michael Buble
Bride/Father Dance: Unforgettable - Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole
Bride/Stepfather Dance: Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits
Groom/Mother Dance: Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Last Dance: I Had The Time Of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
The ceremony setup, overlooking Duxbury Harbor.
The scene under the tent shortly after the ceremony.
A rainbow that appeared during dinner got everyone's attention.
The dance floor at 9:00 pm.
I’m backtracking a bit while I catch up with my blog postings, but I wanted to mention the Fourball Wrap-Up Party that I did on Friday, August 8th at the Country Club of New Bedford. I was really excited to be chosen for this event, as the Event Coordinator at CCNB had heard a lot of good things about my services and had inquired about hiring me for two previous events. The two previous events went to other DJs due to cost issues, so I was happy that we were able to work something out. The third time’s the charm!
I expected to be entertaining a large crowd and even brought in an assistant to handle the lighting for this event, but the weather didn’t exactly cooperate and we found ourselves under a mostly empty tent for the first three hours of the five hour party. Fortunately, some of the people who had gathered in the air-conditioned comfort of the clubhouse eventually made their way outdoors to see what we had to offer, and the dancefloor quickly filled. This was such a great crowd to spin for - they had a strong preference for late 70s and early 80s dance music, which I happen to LOVE. Back in that era, I was just a kid with big dreams of being a disc jockey - it’s always a treat when I can live the dream AND play the same music that got me hooked in the first place.
Hopefully, I’ll be a part of future CCNB events - it was a great time!
Here's the dancefloor as the crowd started coming in.