The Tony Schwartz Weddings Blog

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Ah, December, one of the most fesitive months of the year.  And if you are going to have a winter wedding – December is just the month to have one!  And for Adam and Michelle Goddard, they had an amazing crowd that was ready to party!

Due to time constraints with Kensington Gardens, I worked with Michelle and Adam to plan a wedding reception that would maximize the amount of open dancing possible – we only had four hours to do a ceremony, room flip, and reception with a sit-down dinner.  Thus, we had to prioritze what was most important in their wedding reception entertainment and then build an itinerary that not only encompassed those priorities – but felt natural as well.  The simplified itinerary below doesn’t do justice – the formal dances were done during dinner, and my narration of the Love Story was performed as the final tables were being served their dinners and was a perfect segue into the toast.

I must give compliements to the guests of the Goddard wedding reception – they were awesome!  After a very cheerful reception of the Wedding Party’s Grand Entrance – I immediately transitioned into “That’s Amore” – and they sang along!  I knew I had a great crowd on hand – and they only proved it after I narrated Adam & Michelle’s “Love Story”.  For the first time ever, my clients got a standing ovation for their love story – and they completely deserved it!

And of course, when we opened the dance floor with “Blame It on the Boogie” – they didn’t stop dancing and singing until the final song of the night.  It was a great mix of funk, pop, and 80s dance – and I wish we had more time to dance the cold night away!

Simplified Itinerary

Ceremony
Cocktail Hour Outside
Grand Entrance
Dinner
First Dance
Father/Bride Dance
Mother/Son Dance
Love Story
Toasts
Cake Cutting
Bouquet & Garter Tosses
Open Dancing
Last Song of the Night
Farewell Tunnel Into the Limo

Sorry, no pictures.

Giglogs gig harbor dj, Gig Harbor Wedding, Gig Harbor Wedding DJ, kensington gardens, love story, Tacoma Wedding DJ, uplighting

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First off, yes, I am sorry this is up so late – but I just settled down into my new condo in Puyallup.  I might post pictures soon!

Kensington Gardens in Gig Harbor, WA was the site for Erin & Jason Knuth’s wedding ceremony and reception on May23, 2009.  It was a beautiful sunny day – couldn’t ask for a better day!  The ceremony was outdoors, and you wouldn’t even know I was the one playing the music as I was hidden behind the trees.  But in one of the pictures below – you will see the top of a Bose L1 tower!  And I will admit, due to Erin, I am a new fan of the Vitamin String Quartet!

Inside, I narrated the Love Story for Erin & Jason, which also starred our best man, Buck Rogers.  Tables were released by song lyrics, and I was asked to produce and present a slideshow of the lives of Erin & Jason.  Erin & Jason also paid respect to Jason’s side of the family with the Chinese cultural tradition of the Red String.  And to highlight the night – Jason & Erin performed a choregraphed dance to Rihanna’s “Umbrella” that had everyone up and cheering!

Simplified Itinerary

Ceremony
Cocktail Hour
Opening Announcements
Love Story
Grand Entrance
Dessert Buffet
Slideshow
Toasts
Brownie Cutting with Red String Ceremony
Father/Bride Dance
First Dance
Open Dancing
Last Dance

Pictures!

This was my first night with my new Coolpix camera by Nikon – so I hope these turned out ok!   As always, I only take photos before the event as I find it tacky and rude to take pictures while performing.

Kensington Garden's Ceremony Area. Again, one of my favorite wedding venues!

My Setup for the Ceremony - can you see the small black stick poking out? That is my Bose L1 speaker!

My Setup in the Reception - from the left: a simple lightshow; my Bose L1 with two subs; my booth; my projection screen.

This is the pad on each table in which guests could write best wishes, advice, etc. Very cool!

 

Uncategorized gig harbor dj, Gig Harbor Wedding, Gig Harbor Wedding DJ, wedding giglog

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On October 11, 2008, I made the trip across the Narrows Bridge to DJ for Kjiel & Rachel Carlson’s wedding at the Gig Harbor Yacht Club!  It was a smaller venue filled with family, friends, and co-workers – so space was limited – but did we ever have a great time!

Kjiel & Rachel were referred to me by another couple I previously did a wedding for this summer, Skyler & Angie Zoppi.  Angie was the Maid of Honor for Rachel’s wedding, and as always, it was great to see past clients!  I was also able to incoporate Skyler as the unofficial judge for the “Shoe”lywed Game!

And when the dance floor finally opened up for two hours – they danced to everything: ranging from “Brown Eyed Girl” to “Summer Loving” to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to “Just Died in Your Arms” to “The Thizzle Dance” to “Crank That” to “Sandstorm” to “You Shook Me All Night Long” to “Electric Avenue” to “Cotton Eyed Joe”.  80s, Hip-Hop, Classic Rock, Techno, I think I mixed about 75 songs in two hours – all either beatmatched or slammed in at approriate times!

Simplified Itinerary

Cocktail Period
Grand Entrance
Thank You & Welcome to Guests
Tables Release by Random Draw to Buffett
Centerpiece Giveaway
“Shoe”lywed Game
Toasts
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Parents Dance
Longest Married Couple Dance
Mom’s Suprise for Rachel & Kjiel
Open Dancefloor
Last Song of the Night – “Closing Time”

Pics!

Gig Harbor Yacht Club

Setup

22 Tables Packed Into The Room!

Centerpiece - Gave Away by Playing the Dollar Pass

 

Note:  All photos are taken before guest arrival and are used as promotion for Tony Schwartz Weddings only.  Any photos showed during the reception are courtesy of the wedding party and it’s guests.  Tony Schwartz will never take photos during any wedding reception he is performing at, as his focus is on the client.

Uncategorized Carlson, Gig Harbor Wedding, Gig Harbor Wedding DJ, Hansen, Kjiel, Rachel