Brendan’s Blog - The DJ’s Notes, Real Weddings, and more!

How do you pick a favorite wedding when you get to work for so many great couples? It’s pretty much impossible. However, if I had to come up with a few nominees, I’m confident that Jen & Trevor would make the list. Their wedding reception was perfect.

The reception, at Hawthorne Country Club, was attended by 200 guests. The bride and groom hoped to have lots of time for dancing, and I’m happy to report that the Hawthorne staff timed the cocktail hour and dinner service just right. Some of my selections during dinner included Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore”, Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life”, and Ben Harper’s “Steal My Kisses”.

Once the dancing began, there was no stopping. In fact, we had over three hours of dancing, which gave me plenty of time to please the entire crowd. What made this reception especially fun for me was Jen’s request list - it was four pages long and covered just about every musical genre, and it also included a number of songs that I haven’t played in a number of years. Remember “I Wish” by Skee-Lo? It still keeps the dance floor moving, as does Madonna’s “Lucky Star” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Congratulations, Jen & Trevor!

Wedding Party Introduction Music: “It’s Not Unusual” - Tom Jones
Jen & Trevor’s Introduction Music: “Another One Bites The Dust” - Queen
Jen & Trevor’s First Dance: “Every Time I Close My Eyes” - Babyface
(this really was the first dance - the first song they ever danced to, 13 years ago)

Song played during the Cake Cutting: “Everything” - Michael Buble
Bride/Father Dance: “I Loved Her First” - Heartland
Groom/Mother Dance: “My Special Angel” - Bobby Helms
Last Dance: “Grow Old With You” - Adam Sandler
Farewell Dance: “Save The Last Dance For Me” - Michael Buble

I left the photography to the professionals this time… these shots were provided by Adriano Batti. Check him out at www.photographyboston.com.

A view of the room before guests arrive.

A mailbox served as the holding place for cards, and looked great on the gift table.

The bride and groom during their first dance...

Everyone was ready to party!

This is my favorite picture - it truly captures the moment!

This October has been my busiest month ever, and all of the events I’ve worked have been absolutely spectacular. Now that the month is winding down, I’ll have more time to post about those events and talk about some other exciting things happening over the next few months.

The event I did last night was phenomenal - Jen & Trevor’s wedding reception at Hawthorne Country Club. I’ll have a full recap of it soon, but I wanted to share the email I received from the bride just after noontime today:

Brendan-

Thanks-Jen

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