Brian, Brian’s sister Geri, and Genesa
Genesa & Brian’s wedding last Saturday was one of those parties where the timeline and script goes out the window…for a good reason. When I first met them, they told me they wanted a very fun and elegant celebration. Based on this, I helped them create a very personalized and engaging party that was reflective of their personal and musical tastes, as well as would get the audience involved in a very elegant and fun manner.
So the wedding day comes, and as guests arrive and mingle during cocktail hour, they enjoy a wonderful jazz and classical playlist put together by Brian & Genesa. This wasn’t your usual “Kenny-G-jazz” that gets overplayed during cocktail hour; guests were treated to contemporary jazz works by Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock (Brian’s type of music) as well as classical string quartet music by Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart (Genesa’s).
After warming up the crowd, I introduced the wedding party with the Grand Entrance, and the festivities were underway. With the introduction of Mr. & Mrs. Brian & Genesa Que, the applause was loud and enthusiastic; the audience really showed their love for the couple.
During dinner, instead of the banquet captain releasing each table, I had the honor of sending the tables to the buffet, with a unique twist. Each table was named after a place of importance to Brian & Genesa, and as I released each table, I told stories about why these locations are significant to the newlyweds. For some, it was revealing to learn something about the couple that they may have not known about.
The party really took off during the cake-cutting. For their cake-cutting music, Genesa had chosen Faith Hill’s The Way You Love Me, and the upbeat song was enough to get the guests up to dance! Although we still had the toasts, bouquet & garter, and activities to do, it seemed the guests were ready to let loose! So with Genesa’s permission, we opened the dancefloor and the rest, as they say, is history!
We eventually did the toasts and other traditional elements of a reception throughout the night. It was totally impromptu and spontaneous, but it worked out perfectly. The guests made many great requests (including many requests for the music of Michael Jackson), danced to almost every song, and enjoyed themselves.
Although I was still playing some great jams, the audience finally “hit the wall” around 10pm. By then, everyone was tired, so I put on the last dance of the night and invited everyone to join Genesa & Brian on the dancefloor for a last dance. The final surprise was the impromptu Tarantella which evolved out of the last dance–totally spontaneous, totally fun, totally in keeping with Genesa’s Italian-American heritage!
In the end, a very tired Genesa & Brian were happy with the results as their guests raved about the wonderful party that the newlyweds had thrown.
Here was the planned timeline for Saturday’s event. Of course, with the fluid and spontaneous nature of the party, the times and order of events went out the door…
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Sequence
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Time
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Event
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0
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12:30pm
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Wedding Ceremony at Sacred Heart Church
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1
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4:30pm
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Doors to the Mid-Pacific Country Club open to guests; Cocktail Hour; Receiving Line
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2
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5:15pm
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Welcoming of Guests, Grand Entrance
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3
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First Dance
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4
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Greetings, Welcome, & Acknowledgements by the Newlyweds
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5
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Announcements (e.g., restrooms, disposable cameras, grandparents table, etc.); Invocation/Prayer Before The Meal by Brian’s father RODOLFO
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6
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5:45pm
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Meal
· Favorite Places Trivia Table Release to release tables to buffet
· Song Serenade or Toasts to get the guests to kiss
· Around 6:30pm, GENESA & BRIAN to take sunset photos at Lanikai Beach
· When Genesa & Brian return from pictures, Genesa’s friend’s daughter NICOLE to perform some hula *
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7
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7:30pm
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Recognition of Family & Special Guests
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8
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Cake Cutting (special cupcake cake)
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9
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Toasts & Speeches by Best Man TROY & Maid of Honor VALERIE
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10
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Father/Daughter Dance
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11
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Mother/Son Dance
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12
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Money Dance (2-3 songs)
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13
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Open Dancing (start off with Tarantella)
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14
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Traditional bouquet toss, garter removal, garter toss
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15
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Open Dancing (start off with Pennsylvania Polka)
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16
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Grand Finale
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* Note: depending on the timing of when NICOLE arrives from a hula competition earlier that day, this item may be moved to later in the presentation.
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And here’s the soundtrack of Brian & Genesa’s celebration.
- Bobby Morganstein – The Way You Look Tonight (Instrumental) (Wedding Party Grand Entrance)
- Jason Mraz – I’m Yours (Original version) (Bride & Groom Entrance, First Dance)
- Celtic Thunder – A Bird Without Wings (First Song for Dinner)
- Faith Hill – The Way You Love Me (Cake Cutting)
- Joe Esposito – You’re The Best (from Karate Kid soundtrack) (Best Man Toast intro edit)
- Josh Groban – You Raise Me Up (Maid of Honor toast intro edit)
- Heartland – I Loved Her First (FD Dance edit) (Father Daughter Dance)
- Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World (Mother/Son Dance)
- Rascal Flatts – Bless The Broken Road (Money Dance song)
- Pati – All I Have To Do Is Dream (Money Dance song)
- The Beatles – I Will (Money Dance song/special request by the groom)
- Los Lonely Boys – Heaven (Money Dance song)
- Bobby Morganstein – Tarantella (traditional dance to honor Genesa’s Italian heritage)
- Beyonce – Single Ladies (Bouquet Toss Setup)
- Beyonce – Single Ladies (instrumental) (Bouquet Toss: ladies to floor)
- Beyonce – Single Ladies (bouquet CATCH edit)
- Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow (Garter action edit) (men to floor)
- Herb Alpert – Love Potion #9 (Garter Removal & Toss)
- Bobby Morganstein – Pennsylvania Polka (traditional dance to honor Genesa’s Polish heritage)
- Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Last Dance/Grand Finale)
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Note that in addition to the great songs for their soundtrack, Genesa & Brian had specific playlists for their cocktail hour and dinner music, songs which have much meaning and significance to them.
Thanks to Brian’s brother-in-law Chris Audette for taking the great images you see in this post.
Special thanks to the following vendors and people who helped make this day very special:
- Laura Gregory with Mid-Pacific Country Club, for providing the great food and beautiful location for their celebration;
- Keith, Jeth, and David with Graphics by Keith, who captured the amazing moments of the night with their cameras;
- Joyce & Cecilia with The Bridal Boutique for helping Genesa look stunning in her wedding gown;
- Genesa’s friend Helene for creating such gorgeous decor for the room;
- Genesa’s mom Anna for helping to make sure that Genesa did not go crazy before and during the celebration;
- And last but certainly not least, the guests, who helped to make this party very fun, lively, and elegant as Genesa & Brian wanted it to be.
To everyone who traveled near and far to celebrate with Brian & Genesa,
Thank You.
Your presence and participation made this event that much more memorable for Brian & Genesa.
written by Marino_NinjaEntertainment
\\ tags: DJ, elegant, Emcee, Fun, music, wedding
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