Hudson Township park overlooking the lake in mid Michigan was a BEAUTIFUL spot for the ceremony.  Lance Hill from Sound Bytes DJ’s served as my assistant for the day and helped with the coordination of the event for me.  Alaina and Scott chose a sand ceremony to add a unique aspect and momento of their ceremony to their home.  During our planning sessions Scott and Alaina wanted to add some unique and memorable moments to pay tributes to their parents for helping them throughout life.  First, unbeknownst to Alaina her Maid of Honor Jada created a photo montage to play just after her toast with photos of her and Alaina together.  Next, the Cake Cutting Ceremony after dinner consisted of cakes on each of the guests tables and one of my favorite memories from any recent wedding is seeing Alaina and Scott not only with the traditional cake knife and server but also with a wedding cake hatchet in honor of Scott serving as a local firefighter!  Very cool, personalized touch.  The longest or shortest married couple from each table performed their own cake cutting ceremony at the same time as Alaina and Scott in a very cute ceremony.

Alaina and Scott’s Love Story presentation was next and you could have heard a pin drop during moments and outbursts of laughter during others.  What a great story!  Alaina and her mother shared a moment just after this with Alaina preparing a special montage in honor of all her mother has done for her.  Scott then took the mic and asked his Mother for a dance as Mother and Son.  The dance floor opened with hits from Bob Seger, Big & Rich, Usher and Black Eyed Peas.  Scott’s parents celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary this year and we had a special dance and montage for them with Scott’s Uncle Bill performing the same song he sang for them 31 years ago on their wedding day as he played acoustic guitar to Annie’s Song.  Cecil and Lelah were honored for 62 years of marriage during our anniversary dance.  A wonderful time was indeed had by all.

The Team:

Wedding Coordinator:  Janelle Langmaack from Castle Farms

Photographer:  Beth from Enjoy The View Photography

Cake and Caterer:  Grey Gables (Castle Farms)

Guests arrived after the ceremony had to be moved indoors due to rain and enjoyed the trio from Panache group for the start of cocktail hour then making the transition to the sounds of Jason Mraz, Van Morrison, Joss Stone and John Mayer.  I must say I was very impressed by Janelle and her team at Castle Farms and their level of organization and attention to detail.  Michigan/Notre Dame football was allowed to be on during cocktail hour and guests all moved inside the venue for the introductions followed by a beautiful photo montage created by Taylored Weddings. After tears were shed in that moment, Maid Of Honor Melissa and Best Man Vince gave their speeches followed by a welcome by Kristen and blessing by Kevin’s Father.

After dinner, Kristen and Kevin had their cake cutting ceremony followed by a fun photo session outside with Beth from Enjoy the View with the huge chess set on the Castle Grounds.  Their Love Story followed leading into their first dance as seen to the left.  Kristen and her father Gene then danced followed by Kevin and his mother Bonnie. The Wedding Party dance then kicked off the dancing with sounds from Pitbull, Bob Segar, Taio Cruz and John Mellencamp.  Everyone danced the night away including surprises on the big screens (ask me about this sometime) and we wrapped up the night to a custom edit of “Piano Man” (1st picture above).  THANK YOU Kristen and Kevin for an amazing wedding celebration!

The team:

Venue:  Williamsburg Creekside

Photographer:  James Fry

All photos in post (except for the first one) are compliments of James Fry Photography.  Some couples you meet and you KNOW they were meant for each other.  THAT is Chelsea and Lance to a “T”.  I loved getting to know them and hearing their story.  Their story is one that is common for us DJs.  Boy asks out girl at dance, girl says “yes”, boy becomes smitten and follows girl to college, they fall in love and live happily ever after.  :)  Just as common as that scenario is, they share a love that is uniquely theirs.

Lance and Chelsea originally found me on a popular DJ forum http://start.mobilebeat.com.  Lance and I are both members there and he put out a post  searching for a DJ for his own reception.  Having worked at hundreds of weddings with his company Sound Bytes DJs, Lance knew exactly what he and Chelsea wanted.  We met twice in person in lower Michigan before finalizing plans on the phone before the big day.

Lance and Chelsea are also big supporters of TOMS shoes, and this was definitely a TOMS wedding, as their wedding party footwear was TOMS.  Guests arrived to the beautiful tent at Williamsburg Creekside and I assisted in having them sign the beautiful quilt (what a unique idea for a guestbook).  From there the wedding party was toasted and roasted with our introductions with a fun table invite for dinner as well.  Lance and Chelsea’s Best Man Byron and Maid of Honor Caitlin gave wonderful toasts fitting the new couple.

After dinner, we shared Lance and Chelsea’s Love Story with their guests followed by their specialty dances.  We even got Carolyn up a little later in the night with a big circle around her celebrating her birthday that day.  The garter/bouquet portion was a big hit, with a friendly ex boyfriend/girlfriend catching it so we had fun with them as well.  About 11pm, a torrential downpour started but that still couldn’t put a damper on the night’s dance floor as the rain was coming in around us uncles were putting up the sides of the tent once again to ensure everything was A OK.  Lance, Chelsea and their friends and family stayed until midnight with everyone having a blast.  Hands down, one of the most memorable receptions of the year.  Thank you Lance and Chelsea!

I sincerely want to thank each and every couple who I had the pleasure of working with in 2009 that helped me to achieve this award.  Without your support and friendship, there wouldn’t be the services represented with Taylored Weddings.  Thank you!

The morning of October 11th I departed for Apple Mountain at 5am rested and ready for the day ahead. In the weeks prior, Craig and Bridget’s parents had decided to record special messages for them which helped to create emotional and touching moments during their specialty dances. Craig and Bridget had a lot of fun surprises for their guests and bridal party and their guests celebrated all night. Their bridal party kept the party going afterhours at a bar as well into the wee hours. Thanks Craig and Bridget for allowing me to be a part of your special day.