Drinks and food were flowing as I played my “cocktail” mix and waited for the bridal party to arrive. Once they did, I went out and lined everyone up. They were ready to get into the room and start the party! I cranked up AC/DC’s “Rock N Roll Train” and did all of the intros and got a huge roar when I finally introduced Emily & Joe Giguere! They went right into their first dance “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes (a great song). Emily and her dad danced next to “When My Little Girl is Smiling” by The Drifters, and finally, Joe and his mom danced to “When You Say Nothing at All” by Allison Krauss. Before the late lunch/dinner, Jay Bowers came up and gave a lovely blessing and then the incredible buffets opened. The food looked fantastic, and the guests seemed to enjoy it. As the plates started clearing, the parents of the bride (actually great folks from my hometown of Wilson, NC) came up next and gave a quick toast and then Emily and Joe turned to the cake cutting. Finally, it was my turn to get these guests up and dancing, and from song number one, it was ON! Now, let me tell you, sometimes daytime weddings are a struggle, but not this one! These folks came to have a good time, and for almost two hours straight they danced hard! At the very end, we played “Gone Gone Gone” by Phillip Phillips and then made two lines inside to send off Joe and Emily the right way! What a great wedding! Congrats! I hope to get some photos soon from Rebecca at Red Fern Photography to add here.

Ashely and Aaron’s reception took place at the beautiful Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) here in Raleigh. The venue is really unique, and a great place for a party. The guests arrived at 6:00pm for cocktails on the upper level of the museum. I ran a speaker up to the top for this part of the event. Shortly past 7:00, the bridal party was ready to be introduced. Each couple came in to a different song, which was hilarious! The best was “Drink” by Lil Jon where that bridesmaid and groomsman took shots when they were intro’d! Hilarious! Finally, Ashley and Aaron made their way up from the bottom floor to the sounds of “I Gotta Feeling” and the place erupted with applause! They went right into their first dance “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison. After that, they both welcomed the crowd and thanked them for coming. As they ended, the food stations by Posh Nosh Catering opened up.

Later, the bride’s sister and the best man gave great toasts. As the toasts ended, it was time for Aaron to dance with his mom to “What a Wonderful World” and then Ashley danced with four very important men in her life to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra. We danced a while after that, but then stopped again for the cake cutting. We got more dancing in and then took one last break for the bouquet and garter toss. After that, it was all dance party until around 10:45. We sent the newlyweds off with a huge sparkler exit. What a great reception!

Once they made a few rounds, we went right into their first dance…a first for me “You’re the One” by The Black Keys. What a great choice. Next, Allison danced with her dad to a custom Beatles medley created by our own DJ Randy Bennett. It was perfect! Finally, Mark and his mom danced to “In My Life” also by the Beatles. I played a little more background music while the guests enjoyed the food stations from Ladyfingers Catering, and then it was time to dance. I opened up with some Beach and Oldies and then started to slide into more Top 40 and dance stuff. The party was off the hook! The only pause was to cut the cake, and then right back to the party! The night ended with “I Gotta Feeling”, “Shout”, and finally the new Daft Punk jam “Get Lucky”. What a great party. I’m so happy for Alli and Mark!

Elana and her father then danced to “Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon and finally it was party time. As I do with most of my Jewish weddings, I started with the Hora. If you have never been to a Jewish wedding, you’re missing out. It basically starts with the guests joining hands and moving in a circle before finally putting the bride and groom in (sturdy) chairs and lifting them high into the air over and over again. At a certain point, the couple usually takes a napkin and they link together with it. It’s a great way to start a dance party, and it definitely did last night! I went right into “Twist and Shout” after that and for two straight hours, these folks partied! The music varied from 80′s rockers to current Top 40, and the night concluded with Eddie Money’s “Take My Home Tonight” and then a song by a fictional boy band from a show on MTV years ago called 2Gether (anyone remember that). Elana and her friends knew every word and loved it! What a great ending, and I’m so happy for the new Dr. and Mrs. Edwards! I’m looking forward to seeing the photos from Robert Ross and the trailer from Crown Alley Films.

Before dinner started, the parents of the bride came up to welcome everyone and give a blessing, and then the food started coming out of the kitchen! My table was set up in front of those doors, and everything looked amazing! The room also looked spectacular with flowers from Brides & Bouquets. As dinner ended, the best man and maid of honor gave great toasts, and then I sent Sarah and Nick up to the staircase landing for their cake cutting. The cake was by Sweet Memories, who always do a great job, plus one of Sarah’s bridesmaids is Danielle Harvey that works there (side note: I did Danielle’s wedding too)! As they cut the cake, I played “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. As the came back down, I introduced the dance for Sarah and her dad, “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw, and then Nick’s dance with his mom “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart.

After those two dances, it was time to open the dance floor and it was literally packed 30 seconds into song 1! Heba Salama, the photographer, looked at me and goes “Does this always happen when you’re the DJ?” I said “Pretty much!” LOL. Speaking of Heba, I’m sure that she and her husband and team got some amazing photos, I can’t wait to see them! Anyway, the dancing continued and we took a short break for the bouquet toss (“Single Ladies”) and garter toss (“You Shook Me All Night Long”). At the end of the night, around 11:30, the party ended and everyone went nuts when I asked them to make some noise for the new Mr. and Mrs. Roos! They had a departure outside, but had me until 12:00 and several guests came back in for a mini “after-party”. It was a great reception, and I was glad to have been a part of it.

Guests arrived around 6:00 and were able to grab a drink and enjoy traditional music (flute/guitar duo) by The Magills. Around 7:00, I did the introductions to JT’s “Suit and Tie” and when Anne and Nathan finally entered, everyone went nuts! The father of the bride, Dr. Scharf, gave a nice welcome (even saying “back by popular demand is DJ Joe Bunn!”…I did Anne’s sister’s wedding last year in Charlotte at Myers Park). I thought that was really cool of him. Anyway, after the welcome, it was time for the food stations to open up. Everything looked amazing, and once everyone got their fill of great food, it was time for the cake cutting. As soon as the cake was cut, I asked Anne and Nathan to take the floor for their first dance as husband and wife. They chose “Sweet Thing” by Van Morrison. Great song! Next, Anne danced with her dad to “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty, and finally Nathan and his mom danced to Ella Fitzgerald’s “Cheek to Cheek”. After that, no more stop, just a pure dance party! The couple had picked some excellent songs and I did my best to play as many as I could while still sprinkling in some stuff I knew would be big hits. It was rocking all the way up to the departure at 10:00. Shout out to Maura with Honey Darling Events for planning the event and keeping everyone on schedule! I hope to hit the mountains again soon! Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Rogers!

The dinner looked amazing and we had two great toasts after the first course, and then a couple more at the end of dinner. All were excellent! After that, I asked everyone to head back outside to the large chess board/dance floor for the couple’s first dance to L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole. It was perfect! Next, they did dances with parents to “Unforgettable” and then a few more family dances to “The Way You Look Tonight”. Guests were then treated to a massive dessert bar as I started the dance party back in the ballroom. From the first song to the last, these folks partied! Mikael and Suzanne did a great job of putting together a playlist that would appeal to everyone and for three straight hours I rocked it! What a great time, and I’m so glad I made the 6 hour trip! I have to give a shout out to Shay Brown who actually recommended they call me to DJ!

I was all set up and waiting inside when the main doors opened at around 7:00pm. After lining up the bridal party in the hallway, we were ready for the intros to U2′s “Beautiful Day”. KJ and Rachel Rose entered to thunderous applause and went right into their first dance “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. I’ve played that song hundreds of times, but not as the first dance, but you know what? It worked! Everyone was clapping right along! Next, Rachel Rose and her father danced to “I Loved Her First” and then KJ danced with mother to “Blessed” by Elton John. After a little while with his mom, he invited in his two aunts to dance with him as well. It was very sweet!

Dinner started after a brief welcome from the father of the bride. They had several amazing courses, so it took a little while, but was well worth it. After dinner, we had the cake cutting (Cinda’s Cakes-the cinnamon one was amazing) and toasts from three people (all whom were excellent). Once we were done with the formalities, it was time to PARTY! As is tradition at most Jewish weddings, we started with the Hora, a traditional dance forming a ring of guests around the newlyweds and than raising them up in chairs! It was havoc and a great way to open up the dance floor. And from that first song on, it was three straight hours of folks on the dance floor! That place was jumping, especially the last half hour going into the club music. Rachel Rose was screaming “one more hour!” when I stopped at midnight! The night finally ended with “Devil with a Blue Dress” since they both went to Duke, and then guests made their way outside for their big exit! Gina and Whitney from A Southern Soiree did a killer job of keeping this event right on schedule, I mean almost to the minute! Amazing. I am looking forward to the photos from Cristobal Perez with Azul Photography. He is one of my favorites and his work is always outstanding! I’ll post some here!