reception
Kris and Jene - Little Log House Pioneer Village 06/07/08
06/12/08 18:49 Filed in: Events
We arrived at
the Little
Log House Village Hall in Hastings @ 2 pm
yesterday. The weather was sunny and getting
pretty warm, upper 70's with humidity. It had been
raining a lot these past few days and I am sure
Jene and Kris were thrilled to have the sun as a
guest on their special day. I helped Karl unload
into the Village Hall. Easy load in. It was one
great room, all wood floors and walls, high beamed
ceiling with rustic chandeliers. We were on a
stage. The only down side was our stage was very
small and there seemed to be a big dip in the
middle. I was definitely afraid to move around up
there. If I was going to dance I would do so on
the dance floor.
While Karl went to work setting up the system for the reception I headed over to the St. Bonafice Church. It is an old, beautiful church with lots of stained glass, sculptures and original wooden pews that brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. I was going to be in charge of the ceremony music so I wanted to be sure and familiarize myself with the equipment. The wedding party and family were assembled in the church with the photographers. I saw Kris up on the alter and she gave me a big smile. I am always happy to see Kris. She is a fun loving, easy going and a very kind person. I couldn't speak to her at that time because she was having her pictures taken but I found my way upstairs to the equipment. There I met Stacy. She was going to be singing during the lighting of the unity candle. Between Stacy, Beth, the personal attendant and myself we figured out the music and the system and were ready to roll. I went back to the village hall to check on Karl. He already had everything set up and didn't really need my help. I think I put some cases away for him.
Karl looked very handsome last night. I love a white shirt, tie and black pants on him. He looks so professional and clean cut. I guess thats my type. So back to the church. I mingled with the family and friends and felt very good about how things would go. Everybody was in such good spirits and ready to have a great time! I went over the cues with the officiant and wedding party then went back upstairs. We were playing O'Neill Brothers music for the ceremony. I basically just had to start and stop and push the button on the right cd player. Still kind of nerve racking until it is all finished. The Officiant, Groom and Best Man entered, my cue to start mothers processional. The mothers were seated and that was my cue for the wedding party song. Then the white carpet was rolled out and the flower girl and ring bearer came down the aisle to the alter, my cue for the Bridal Processional. All went well. The officiant told me after the exchanging of rings there would be a short prayer and then I was to play the song for the soloist. That also went well and Stacy has a beautiful voice.
Then the recessional and back to he Village Hall for the party. The bride and groom went for a carriage ride and then some of the other wedding party and family went for a ride. When they got back a few more photos then we did a Grant Entrance, that I thought went very well. I had practiced it several times. Jene & Kris chose the "About Us Game" for the clincking of the glasses. They did not provide a basket of names so we improvised. When we saw someone clinking we would go to them and they would have to stand up and say something about the bride and groom (share a story or experience or how they knew them) before Jene & Kris would kiss. Sometimes there were more than one person, of course, clicking but we got to pick who we wanted or who was closest or pick more than one person.
The dinner was buffet style and everyone was saying how good the turkey was. There were toasts by Best Man and Maid of Honor. After dinner some of the wedding party wanted to take some cars back to the hotel. We ended up having to wait quite awhile for them so we started open dancing before the First Dance, etc.. When the people from the wedding party returned we started the formal dances. It was kind of fun breaking it up and doing it later like that. After the First Dance, Kris danced with her father to My Little Girl, by Tim McGraw. Jene's mother is in a wheel chair but got up to dance for the Mother/Son dance, In This Life by Collin Ray. I was almost in tears again. The Mother/Son dances have been affecting me lately. Someday that will be me. Jene's mother had to rest before the song was over and his new mother-law-in stepped in and finished the dance with him. Then the wedding party danced a slow song but it was immediately followed by Rascal Flatts version of Life Is A Highway and that got the party started again!
There was a lot of country music last night, old and new. The other well received genres were eighties and classic and eighties rock. Played a few current hip hop and nineties funk as well. I tried to learn a new dance from one of the young men who had some great moves but ended up making a fool of myself. He could really move. I think I got an A for effort though. At one point the Bride pulled Karl onto the dance floor and a bunch of ladies danced with him. It might have been to Love Shack. The Bride, Kris, told us later that many of her guests commented that we, the DJ's, were a lot of fun and played great music all night. I gave her a big hug. She also told us she was going to refer us anyone who needed a DJ. I felt like things were going well all night and that people were happy but when the Bride and Groom come up at the end of the night and tell you exactly that you know you did your job and you did it well. I reminded Kris that Northfield was not that far from Savage and we should get together another time and she agreed.
I had told Karl before we left for the wedding that if things went really well, he would get a back rub when we got home. Well, I fell asleep on the car ride home so needless to say he did not get a back rub. He just reminded me of that and I am going to go keep my promise right now.
Carol Morgan
www.collsound.com
While Karl went to work setting up the system for the reception I headed over to the St. Bonafice Church. It is an old, beautiful church with lots of stained glass, sculptures and original wooden pews that brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. I was going to be in charge of the ceremony music so I wanted to be sure and familiarize myself with the equipment. The wedding party and family were assembled in the church with the photographers. I saw Kris up on the alter and she gave me a big smile. I am always happy to see Kris. She is a fun loving, easy going and a very kind person. I couldn't speak to her at that time because she was having her pictures taken but I found my way upstairs to the equipment. There I met Stacy. She was going to be singing during the lighting of the unity candle. Between Stacy, Beth, the personal attendant and myself we figured out the music and the system and were ready to roll. I went back to the village hall to check on Karl. He already had everything set up and didn't really need my help. I think I put some cases away for him.
Karl looked very handsome last night. I love a white shirt, tie and black pants on him. He looks so professional and clean cut. I guess thats my type. So back to the church. I mingled with the family and friends and felt very good about how things would go. Everybody was in such good spirits and ready to have a great time! I went over the cues with the officiant and wedding party then went back upstairs. We were playing O'Neill Brothers music for the ceremony. I basically just had to start and stop and push the button on the right cd player. Still kind of nerve racking until it is all finished. The Officiant, Groom and Best Man entered, my cue to start mothers processional. The mothers were seated and that was my cue for the wedding party song. Then the white carpet was rolled out and the flower girl and ring bearer came down the aisle to the alter, my cue for the Bridal Processional. All went well. The officiant told me after the exchanging of rings there would be a short prayer and then I was to play the song for the soloist. That also went well and Stacy has a beautiful voice.
Then the recessional and back to he Village Hall for the party. The bride and groom went for a carriage ride and then some of the other wedding party and family went for a ride. When they got back a few more photos then we did a Grant Entrance, that I thought went very well. I had practiced it several times. Jene & Kris chose the "About Us Game" for the clincking of the glasses. They did not provide a basket of names so we improvised. When we saw someone clinking we would go to them and they would have to stand up and say something about the bride and groom (share a story or experience or how they knew them) before Jene & Kris would kiss. Sometimes there were more than one person, of course, clicking but we got to pick who we wanted or who was closest or pick more than one person.
The dinner was buffet style and everyone was saying how good the turkey was. There were toasts by Best Man and Maid of Honor. After dinner some of the wedding party wanted to take some cars back to the hotel. We ended up having to wait quite awhile for them so we started open dancing before the First Dance, etc.. When the people from the wedding party returned we started the formal dances. It was kind of fun breaking it up and doing it later like that. After the First Dance, Kris danced with her father to My Little Girl, by Tim McGraw. Jene's mother is in a wheel chair but got up to dance for the Mother/Son dance, In This Life by Collin Ray. I was almost in tears again. The Mother/Son dances have been affecting me lately. Someday that will be me. Jene's mother had to rest before the song was over and his new mother-law-in stepped in and finished the dance with him. Then the wedding party danced a slow song but it was immediately followed by Rascal Flatts version of Life Is A Highway and that got the party started again!
There was a lot of country music last night, old and new. The other well received genres were eighties and classic and eighties rock. Played a few current hip hop and nineties funk as well. I tried to learn a new dance from one of the young men who had some great moves but ended up making a fool of myself. He could really move. I think I got an A for effort though. At one point the Bride pulled Karl onto the dance floor and a bunch of ladies danced with him. It might have been to Love Shack. The Bride, Kris, told us later that many of her guests commented that we, the DJ's, were a lot of fun and played great music all night. I gave her a big hug. She also told us she was going to refer us anyone who needed a DJ. I felt like things were going well all night and that people were happy but when the Bride and Groom come up at the end of the night and tell you exactly that you know you did your job and you did it well. I reminded Kris that Northfield was not that far from Savage and we should get together another time and she agreed.
I had told Karl before we left for the wedding that if things went really well, he would get a back rub when we got home. Well, I fell asleep on the car ride home so needless to say he did not get a back rub. He just reminded me of that and I am going to go keep my promise right now.
Carol Morgan
www.collsound.com
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Jamie and Jake - Gale Mansion 01/25/2008
01/27/08 16:18 Filed in: Events
We had two meetings with Jamie/Bride and I left each meeting with great feelings of what was to come. She had booked us off of Bethany's wedding (Great Party!!) and Bethany was going to be the matron of honor. Bethany's husband John was going to videotape so we got to work with a former groom on a professional level. We had a lot of fun joking around with John now that we were not working for him.
Starting with the rehearsal, we were providing the music and mics for the ceremony so we went to the rehearsal like we always do. It was our 4th time at the Gale Mansion and I was looking forward to working there again. I love that place! If you have never been there you should or at least check out their website www.galemansion.com. Jamie had two of her songs picked out for the ceremony and she wanted help with the rest so we set up the computer and while they practiced walking down the aisle I played some songs we had picked out. Meanwhile Karl is chatting with John/former groom and family members. They liked the songs we chose and Jamie told me later that her mother was so relieved and happy that Jamie chose us for her wedding because she really liked our music choices and felt confident that we would do a good job. What a great compliment! That evening was the first time I met Jake and I was so impressed with him. He so obviously loves Jamie, he is a marine with a big heart, about to go to school for law enforcement. My father is a retired police officer so I have a lot of respect for people in that line of work. We ran through the ceremony a couple times and then everyone left for Rehearsal Dinner.
I spent the rest of the week working on a playlist for the reception based on the info Jamie had given us and conversations we had with others at the rehearsal. I was really looking forward to this wedding, Jamie was a pleasure to work with and I could not wait to see her in her wedding dress and getting married. Also, I love the Gale Mansion and the people who work there treat us so wonderfully. I was just full of anticipation and couldn't wait to get started.
Friday came and we loaded up and headed north to Minneapolis. Load in was fine but the setting up was made a little difficult because of the circumstances. The ceremony was in the room where dinner would later be and we were in another room where they were stashing the tables so they could set up faster after the ceremony. It made it harder to move around but everyone got their stuff done with minimal problems, mostly space related. That is just how professional everyone was. We were even joking around about it. We got all set up or I should say Karl did because I did him a favor and stayed out of his way. I think he appreciated it.
The wedding party and families were arriving at the same time as we did. They went upstairs to get dressed and some of the family members were busy with last minute touches. The cake person was there at the same time too. It was Buttercream and once again I love this bakery! I have had their wares a few times now and have never been disappointed. Their frosting is so refreshing. Not icky sweet. Jamie & Jake had cupcakes on a beautiful stand instead of the traditional tiered wedding cake. This made a beautiful display. The stand was glass or plastic and there were about five levels and bottom level widest to smallest on top. There were Raspberry cupcakes with fresh raspberries on them, there were carrot cupcakes and almond.
We set up and soon all the guests started to arrive and were quickly ushered to their seats. The wedding party was right on time, lining up for the ceremony. I could not believe it. I did not have to go and remind or hurry anyone, they were very punctual. So we began the ceremony and we played Forever Love, Instrumental by O'Neil Brothers for parents entrance, went into Enya, Only Time for the wedding party procession, Canon in D for the bridal procession, To Make You Feel My Love Instrumental version for unity candle, Wedding March, by Mendohlsson for the wedding party recession/exit. It was very beautiful and Jamie, always so quick with a kind word, commented right away that she thought it was very lovely and that we did a good job.
All the guests were then escorted out to the lobby area for a brief social time. The bar was out there so most people got a drink. In the meantime the staff of the Gale Mansion quickly turned the ceremony room into a dining room with amazing speed and accuracy. We were all impressed by this transformation and the speed which it occurred. I heard many guests commenting to the manager how wonderful the tables looked.
After opening the doors again and inviting all the guests into the dining room we lined up the wedding party for the grand entrance. Jamie chose It Had To Be You by Harry Connick Jr. for wedding party entrance and At Last by Etta James for the bride & groom entrance. It was very romantic and fit right in with the atmosphere at the mansion.
Then Dave the officiant (great guy, very funny too!) gave the blessing and salads were served. It was a buffet style dinner so the head table and reserved family tables went first. Then Karl released the other guests tables but he made them work for their supper. Jamie & Jake had given us a list of questions about themselves and Karl asked these questions to the guests. They had to get a correct answer before they could eat. Don't worry the questions were easy and only one table got it wrong. They were still going to the buffet within 5 minutes. It was an entertaining way to release tables and I would recommend it to anyone. The guests got to learn a little bit more about Jamie & Jake and had some fun with it too.
Then I was smelling all this wonderful food but we had told Jamie we did not need dinner. The manager came by after everyone had eaten and said please, there is extra food go ahead and eat. What a blessing because I was starving for some reason. Maybe she could tell. Jennine was so kind to us all evening, she was really looking after us and helping in any way possible. I intend to send a thank you card because she was incredible. Then there were toasts and cupcakes and Jamie and Jake walked around to each table, thanking their guests for coming. There had been a receiving line out in the lobby, after the ceremony but they just added this little special touch. I think guests really liked this extra time with the them.
Around 9:00 we started the first dance. They picked the classic Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis. This took place in the dance room off of the dining room. We had a speaker in both rooms so everyone could hear music and announcements. Of course the speaker in the dining room was not up as loud as in the dancing area.
We then invited Jamie's father Jim to dance with his daughter, What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Kenny G. They did some fancy footwork at the end and some spinning, very entertaining. Next we invited Jennifer to come out and dance with Jake for the mother and son dance. This was A Song For Mama by Boys 2 Men. I actually started to cry during this dance. Here is this big, strong, handsome Marine dancing with his mom and she is crying and he is hugging her and you could just tell how much he loved his mom and how special she felt to be having that dance with her son. Very emotional. I know I am going to cry when I dance with my son at his wedding. He better not elope.
Then we started off the dance. We only had about 2 and half hours for the dance and no requests so as DJ's we had to decide which songs were going to work the best for this group of people. We had input from Jamie and some from family and so we began. Not trying to brag but the dance floor was packed all night. There was crazy energy all night and I think we could have gone even longer. They liked the 90's club music, some of the artists we played were Haddaway and Daft Punk later in the evening. We started out with classic oldies like Beatles (Bride loves the Beatles) Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin etc.. and Jamie had picked out some lovely slow ones like Fade Into You by Mazzy Star and Sweet Jane by the Cowboy Junkies, Stand By Me by Ben E. King. We were told all evening and while we were tearing down that we had played amazing songs and did a fantastic job. Jamie & Jake came up at the end of the night hugged us and said it went better than even they thought it would. I cannot tell you how high I was feeling. I did not want it to end. The family members told us they would refer us to everyone and the venue said they would refer us as well. As a DJ you cannot ask for more. It was like they were handing me bags of gold. I was elated. The whole evening was charmed and people left feeling very good, including us. I had a hard time getting to sleep when I got home because I felt so happy.
Jamie & Jake had a wonderful wedding and reception to start off their marital journey and I know many wonderful things will come to them. They are good people. I also think they are strong enough to handle any hardship that might come their way.
Best wishes Jamie & Jake, thank you so much for letting us be part of your wedding day.
Carol Morgan
www.collsound.com
Lisa and James Reception - 01/12/08
01/16/08 17:48 Filed in: General
Lisa and James were
planning to get married in August of 2008. James is
in the Navy and when duty called they changed their
date to January 12th, 08. Luckily we still had that
day open and could still DJ their wedding reception.
Lisa did most of the planning and did a great
job especially since she had such a little time to
work with. They had a photo booth at the reception
and the videographer had created a lovely montage and
love story for the guests to view. The videographer,
Jeff Fuchs of Northern Lights
Video whom we have worked with
before had also interviewed guests during
the evening for a video guest book which I thought
was a wonderful idea. They also used the photos
from the photo booth to make another guests book
and guests got to keep copies too.
We arrived early, so early we couldn't get in. The bingo was still rolling. When bingo finished up we hurried in with our gear and got all set up in about an hour. We were on a stage. The guests showed up around 4:45. We were playing some nice jazz and classic pop (Sinatra, Martin, Fitzgerald, Armstrong, etc...). We welcomed guests and got acquainted with Amanda Ling and Julia of Premier Planning Services and venue staff. Everyone was very professional and did their job well. Then the wedding party arrived! We got them all lined up before they even entered the reception. It took a little time. We were going to introduce the ushers and parents as well as the rest of the wedding party. The groom is a huge fan of WWE Wrestling and so we introduced each person as if they were entering the ring of a match and they each had their own snipet of a song. The guys were entering from one side of the room and the ladies from the other. We read like wrestling announcers and the wedding party danced in like superstars. Lots of energy and fun in the air. We received lots of good comments after this entrance and lots of people asked for our business cards.
After the entrance Lisa and James went right into their first dance. The song, "At The Beginning" by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Beautiful song! Then Lisa and James took the mic and thanked everyone for coming. After that we had a blessing by a member of Lisa's family. He was kind enough to introduce himself prior to the arrival of the wedding party and I told him I would be sure and get him a mic. After the blessing salads were served. There was a vendor table for dinner and Lisa and James gave us dinner. Very kind and generous of them. We enjoyed talking to the Wedding Planners, Photographers, Videographer and Photo Booth Operator during dinner.
The food was good and during the serving of cake the Video and Love Story were played. It was very lovely and there were a lot of oohs and ahs. I loved hearing more about how James and Lisa met and fell in love. I did sample the cake which was from Queen of Cakes and it was fabulous. I make cakes so I consider myself a cake snob, but this cakes was delicious.
The whole wedding party toasted Lisa and James. This wedding party was pretty funny. They brought up many humorous events but they were never inappropriate.
Then we had the Father/Daughter Dance. This was a little different, we invited all the fathers and daughters out after a moment, to dance with Lisa and Bob. The song choice was Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. That was a nice song to lead us into open dancing with other songs from that era.
This was a large reception and the dance floor was quickly packed. We took requests and did a Dollar Dance but no Bouquet and Garter. The Brides family really liked Polkas and the Grooms father asked for a few waltzes so we fit those in nicely and they were received well by the other guests.
We also ran into an old Bride and Groom at this wedding. This Bride and Groom, Ben and Angie, had actually been the reason we were DJing Lisa and James' reception. Lisa had been in Angie's wedding. They are best friends. It is always great to see past Brides and Groom. We asked for their current address so we could be sure and send them anniversary cards in the future.
One thing I forgot to mention was instead of clinking for kisses during dinner is we set up a putting green in the horseshoe area that the head table created. People were encouraged to putt for a kiss or wave their red napkins for a kiss. Lisa is a teacher of deaf students and this is a deaf culture tradition at weddings. She called it visual noise. There was a signing interpreter there for the guests that were deaf and two people that Lisa works with are deaf and came up to sign about the napkin tradition and Lisa interpreted it. It was very cool. The people had a blast putting, even if they weren't getting the ball in the hole, and continuously waving their napkins. I think Lisa and James did more kissing than eating. It was really nice to see the guests having so much fun with the Putting for a Kiss. We have lots of great ideas for this event and it is always fun to do them. We have the Bowling For A Kiss with the WII and we have the Sing For A Kiss and much, much more.
Songs like The Chicken Dance, I Knew The Bride and Wipe Out were big hits at this reception. They definitely liked all the interactives and the Oldies.
Wedding receptions like this are a blessing to me. Everything went so well and the people were so nice and kind. The guests were definitely happy to be there together. Being that the wedding had to be moved up the Bride herself commented on how thrilled she was by the spectacular turn out of guests. Lisa and James are wonderful people and make a wonderful couple. They have big hearts, great sense of humor and obviously love each other very much.
I wish them happiness and success and I hope I will see them again in the future.
Carol Morgan
www.collsound.com
We arrived early, so early we couldn't get in. The bingo was still rolling. When bingo finished up we hurried in with our gear and got all set up in about an hour. We were on a stage. The guests showed up around 4:45. We were playing some nice jazz and classic pop (Sinatra, Martin, Fitzgerald, Armstrong, etc...). We welcomed guests and got acquainted with Amanda Ling and Julia of Premier Planning Services and venue staff. Everyone was very professional and did their job well. Then the wedding party arrived! We got them all lined up before they even entered the reception. It took a little time. We were going to introduce the ushers and parents as well as the rest of the wedding party. The groom is a huge fan of WWE Wrestling and so we introduced each person as if they were entering the ring of a match and they each had their own snipet of a song. The guys were entering from one side of the room and the ladies from the other. We read like wrestling announcers and the wedding party danced in like superstars. Lots of energy and fun in the air. We received lots of good comments after this entrance and lots of people asked for our business cards.
After the entrance Lisa and James went right into their first dance. The song, "At The Beginning" by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Beautiful song! Then Lisa and James took the mic and thanked everyone for coming. After that we had a blessing by a member of Lisa's family. He was kind enough to introduce himself prior to the arrival of the wedding party and I told him I would be sure and get him a mic. After the blessing salads were served. There was a vendor table for dinner and Lisa and James gave us dinner. Very kind and generous of them. We enjoyed talking to the Wedding Planners, Photographers, Videographer and Photo Booth Operator during dinner.
The food was good and during the serving of cake the Video and Love Story were played. It was very lovely and there were a lot of oohs and ahs. I loved hearing more about how James and Lisa met and fell in love. I did sample the cake which was from Queen of Cakes and it was fabulous. I make cakes so I consider myself a cake snob, but this cakes was delicious.
The whole wedding party toasted Lisa and James. This wedding party was pretty funny. They brought up many humorous events but they were never inappropriate.
Then we had the Father/Daughter Dance. This was a little different, we invited all the fathers and daughters out after a moment, to dance with Lisa and Bob. The song choice was Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. That was a nice song to lead us into open dancing with other songs from that era.
This was a large reception and the dance floor was quickly packed. We took requests and did a Dollar Dance but no Bouquet and Garter. The Brides family really liked Polkas and the Grooms father asked for a few waltzes so we fit those in nicely and they were received well by the other guests.
We also ran into an old Bride and Groom at this wedding. This Bride and Groom, Ben and Angie, had actually been the reason we were DJing Lisa and James' reception. Lisa had been in Angie's wedding. They are best friends. It is always great to see past Brides and Groom. We asked for their current address so we could be sure and send them anniversary cards in the future.
One thing I forgot to mention was instead of clinking for kisses during dinner is we set up a putting green in the horseshoe area that the head table created. People were encouraged to putt for a kiss or wave their red napkins for a kiss. Lisa is a teacher of deaf students and this is a deaf culture tradition at weddings. She called it visual noise. There was a signing interpreter there for the guests that were deaf and two people that Lisa works with are deaf and came up to sign about the napkin tradition and Lisa interpreted it. It was very cool. The people had a blast putting, even if they weren't getting the ball in the hole, and continuously waving their napkins. I think Lisa and James did more kissing than eating. It was really nice to see the guests having so much fun with the Putting for a Kiss. We have lots of great ideas for this event and it is always fun to do them. We have the Bowling For A Kiss with the WII and we have the Sing For A Kiss and much, much more.
Songs like The Chicken Dance, I Knew The Bride and Wipe Out were big hits at this reception. They definitely liked all the interactives and the Oldies.
Wedding receptions like this are a blessing to me. Everything went so well and the people were so nice and kind. The guests were definitely happy to be there together. Being that the wedding had to be moved up the Bride herself commented on how thrilled she was by the spectacular turn out of guests. Lisa and James are wonderful people and make a wonderful couple. They have big hearts, great sense of humor and obviously love each other very much.
I wish them happiness and success and I hope I will see them again in the future.
Carol Morgan
www.collsound.com