Welcome!

Mitch Taylor, WED

Hi!  Thank you for visiting Taylored Weddings blog.  My name is Mitch Taylor, Wedding Entertainment Director for Taylored Weddings.  Here in my blog you can read all about the creative, fun weddings that I have had the privilege to be a part of over the years.  You can visit my website at www.tayloredweddings.com, send me an email at mitch@tayloredweddings.com or call me toll free at 888.933.8735.

Thanks for visiting!

Mitch Taylor

Weekly Wedding Tip – Fun way to choose wedding colors!

Color Samples

When choosing colors for your wedding day, don’t simply rely on just the ads and choices you see in your bridal magazines. Check out your local hardware store’s paint section. Bring home paint swatches and look at colors together with your fiance, coming up with a unique color palette for your wedding together. It’s a great way to start your planning and who knows, you may come up with some ideas for painting rooms in your new home too!

Angie and Kevin October 17th

Angie and Kevin celebrating with family and friends

This picture only tells half of the story from Angie and Kevin’s wedding reception. I’ll give you a better glimpse of their event at the end of this blog post. Angie and Kevin celebrated in style with a classic black and white theme with red roses to accent which looked absolutely timeless. The Terrace Bay Inn was their venue of choice and as always, Mike, Laurie, Kristin and the staff and I work exceptionally well together. We recognized the outstanding achievement by Angie’s grandparents Paul and Ora of being married for 70 years and I know Angie was proud of that fact and glad to share with her guests. The introductions into the room went flawlessly as Angie and Kevin surprised their guests by entering from the stage side of the room instead of the front. Angie and Kevin’s cake cutting ceremony followed their welcome and thank you to their guests from coming and their guests were invited to the buffet line in a fun way as well.

Angie and Kevin's First Dance

After dinner, guests gathered around for Angie and Kevin’s Love Story where at one point Angie said that Kevin was hilarious. Just as they started their first dance as husband and wife to the sounds of Lionel Richie’s “My Love”, one of the children from the bridal party was heard saying “That was hilarious!” Kids can be SO cute!

Angie and her father Bob share their Father Daughter dance

After their first dance Angie and her father Bob shared a moment with their Father Daughter dance to “I Loved Her First” followed by the opening of the dance floor with the bridal party to “You’ve Got A Friend”. The dancing kicked off with music from Bachman Turner Overdrive to Big N Rich, Kid Rock to KC & The Sunshine Band and Big N Rich to the Black Eyed Peas…with a special memory created during that song. Look for the video to be posted later.

Best Man Scott shaking his thang

The party was still going strong at 11:30pm so Angie and Kevin along with their families decided to extend it until 1am and the high energy celebration continued with 80’s mixes into hip hop, country into rock and even a little retro with Come On Eileen and Blister In The Sun thrown in for good measure. We ended the night with “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band and an encore of “I Gotta Feelin” To quote Kevin “It was a good night….a great NIGHT…an AWESOME NIGHT!!!

Havin' fun on the dance floor

Thank you Angie, Kevin and families for being wonderful clients to work for and best wishes!!!

AWESOME night with family and friends

Rhiannon and Landon October 3rd

Rhiannon and Landon's First Dance

The wedding of Rhiannon and Landon took place on October 3rd and Rhiannon and Landon were a little nervous in the days leading up to their wedding due to having an outside ceremony and threatening weather forecasted for that Saturday. I’m happy to report that the rain held off and the only thing that threatened their outdoor ceremony was a little bee that seemed to want to make an appearance during the vows.

What a unique couple! Yes, Rhiannon was named after the famed Fleetwood Mac song and had mutual friends for the Best Man and Matron of Honor who joined them that night at their sweetheart table…a new trend in weddings now making it’s way here to the Upper Peninsula.Rhiannon and Landon prepared fun introductions for their bridal party members with me and everyone walked into the instrumental version of “Hip Hop Hooray” by Naughty by Nature because that’s how Rhiannon and Landon roll! It was fun to do a more hip hop entrance that way and the bridal party was bouncing and dancing on the way in to the beats.

Rhiannon and Landon had a fall theme with beautiful colors and one of Rhiannon’s unique idea to incorporate her theme was not to have a cake cutting ceremony but instead to just have a beautiful spread of pies, brownies and the like laid out for a dessert table. It looked SCRUMPTIOUS and really added to the fall wedding with a unique perspective.

Scrumptious Dessert Table

After the dessert table was enjoyed by family and friends we showed a unique montage created by yours truly for them that incorporated 157 photos into only a little over 8 minutes and 30 seconds. A little more fast paced but the montage flowed beautifully with the song choice of “Ain’t It The Life” by the Foo Fighters, and “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds. Rhiannon and Landon then shared their first dance to “Green Eyes” by Coldplay, followed by their Father Daughter and Mother Son dances respectively. it was a beautiful moment to watch Rhiannon and her Father Daryl dance to “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac as they have experienced Fleetwood Mac in concert several times together and see them sing the lyrics of the song to each other in that moment.

Rhiannon and her father Daryl

The dance floor at Pine Mountain resort is small but was the right size for Rhiannon, Landon and their 140 guests. Everyone danced throughout the night and the bar inside of the same room was a great touch that helped keep people there celebrating with them throughout the night. Dancing included the alternative sounds of Violent Femmes, RUN DMC, the current “I Gotta Feelin’” and “Say Hey”, rockin’ out to “Nothin’ But A Good Time” and “Paradise City”, and classics such as “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and “Crazy” The evening ended to the sounds of “Summer of ‘69″…one of Rhiannon’s faves! Thank you Rhiannon and Landon for a wonderful wedding celebration! Moments like these at the end of the night are what make me truly love my career!

Everlasting moment for Rhiannon and Landon

Kim and Tim September 19th, 2009

Photo by Freeman's Photography

Kim and Tim were married on September 19th, 2009 and I was privileged to serve as their Wedding Entertainment Director on this day. Kim and Tim were originally referred to me by Alison and Brad, good friends of theirs and a couple who are truly beautiful as well. Kim and Tim booked with me shortly after their engagement and set upon planning. Their venue of choice was the Island Resort & Casino. Sherri and the staff there always do an outstanding job and we work exceptionally well together. Sherri will take care of your every need.

Photo courtesy of Freeman's Photography

Guests arrived to the sounds of “Anyone Else But You” by Moldy Peaches, “Sea Of Love” by Cat Power, and Adam Sandler’s “Grow Old With You”…along with a mix of country artists. The room was beautifully decorated by Amanda from Ever After Decorating Kim, Tim and their bridal party arrived a short time after and entered to fun personalized introductions followed by their cake cutting ceremony. Toasts followed, blessing and dinner with tables being invited a fun way as well. Keith from Freeman’s Photography always does an outstanding job and really goes above and beyond to ensure that everything is just right for his clients at every wedding. The images that you have seen so far in this post have been all his and I believe he can truly capture the essence of your wedding day beautifully.

Photo by Freeman's Photography

Kim and Tim also hired me to produce a photo montage for them to show at the reception. It came out beautifully and everyone enjoyed the walk down memory lane of Kim and Tim’s lives and their new life together.

Kim and Tim opted for me to share their Love Story with their guests which then led to their first dance as husband and wife to “Johnny and June” by Heidi Newfield, a song which I feel describes this couple to a “T”. Ron and Kim then shared an emotional moment for the Father Daughter dance to “I Loved Her First” by Heartland, with a few special edits as well. Tim and Patti then shared their Mother Son dance to “It’s Your Song” by Garth Brooks. The bridal party kicked off the dancing with “Footloose” next complete with a soul train line and the party was on!

Garter Bouquet Ceremony happened and we had an interesting twist. Kim and Tim employed a Nerf football and wrapped the garter around it along with some drink coins from some of Escanaba and Gladstone’s finest bars glued to the garter for the toss/hike! It made for a fun moment and ended up that the garter with the drink coins was separated from the football so two people went home happy that night from that moment!

Football Garter Toss (photo by Mitch Taylor)

The night ended on an upbeat note and everyone had a blast! What a beautiful wedding day! Thank you Kim and Tim! I’ll leave you with other images from a beautiful night.

Reactions from intros captured beautifully by Freeman's

Kim and Ron's Father Daughter Dance (photo by Freeman's Photography)

Amanda and Martin September 5th, 2009

Song title table names

Amanda and Martin were married on September 5th, 2009 and had their reception at the Masonic Temple. Having never played there before, I arrived quite early and was impressed with the hospitality of the staff. Martin and Amanda were originally referred to me by Carrie and Chad McNair, whom I had the pleasure of performing for on their wedding day in October of 2006.

Carrie and Chad

Amanda, Martin and their bridal party arrived at quarter to 6 and we introduced everyone into the room to “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” by the Darkness. Amanda and Martin then thanked their guests for joining them and then their siblings gave their toasts. I sometimes have to handle the champagne at weddings and due to the venue had to that night as well. No problem. My philosophy is whatever it takes to help create a successful event. Tables were then invited to the buffet line via the songs that were their table names. After dinner, a couple of tables had to be broken down to create our dance floor so the groomsman assisted with that while guests were informed of the upcoming events. We shared Amanda and Martin’s Love Story followed by their first dance as husband and wife.

Amanda and Martin First Dance

Amanda and Martin then shared their Father Daughter and Mother Son dances with their parents and the dance floor was opened.

Daytime

Nighttime dance floor

Piano Man ending

It’s AMAZING the difference that decor lighting can make on a room. After utilizing decor lighting for Amanda and Martin’s reception, I think a room looks almost naked without it anymore. You can change the mood and feel of the room to create just the right ambience for your first dance, dancing or even a specific song (Like Red On A Rose for example). The beauty of using my system over others is that we can change colors and moods whenever you want AND it’s wireless…no messy long extension cords or data cables that people can trip on or looking ugly against a wall on the floor. Why only have one color when you can have them all?

The event ended with a fun sing a long to Piano Man with Amanda and Martin surrounded by their closest friends and family. Thanks Amanda and Martin for a great wedding! Congratulations and I wish the best that life has to offer to you both.

Love the pink lighting

Amy and Robert August 29th, 2009

Beautifully Decorated American Legion Munising

I was referred to Amy and Robert by a previous groom, Derek, whose wedding I did 5 years ago! It’s amazing the impact that we as wedding entertainers can have on people’s lives sometimes. I’m flattered that he remembered me after all of these years. Amy and Robert’s reception was held at the American Legion in Munising, the same venue for Derek’s and his brother Travis’s wedding. Amy’s friend Mara did the decorating for the event and I must say it came off beautifully.

Candy Buffet

They had a delectable candy buffet laid out just as you entered the room and one of the coolest things that I liked about their reception was the picture frames they had on each table with different phrases about love from their guests. Here’s an example.

Love Quotes Picture Frames

Amy, Robert and their bridal party were introduced very simply to “Me & My Gang” with Amy and Robert being introduced to a special edit of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Frankie Valli. Dinner was then enjoyed and guests wrote out suggestions for a long happy marriage for Amy and Robert which we shared just after dinner. Now…the reception started at 4pm and due to the fact that the windows would pour natural light in from the outside, we did not use dance floor lighting for their wedding. Who says you need dance floor lighting to party? Amy and Robert’s crowd didn’t as the party went well past 10pm when we did our first wrap-up to the specially selected karaoke favorite of Amy’s “Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi.

Dance floor hoppin'

Guys rockin' it out!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Thank you Amy and Robert! Great party!

Amy and Robert's First Dance

Megan and Dave August 22nd, 2009

Terrace welcomes Megan & Dave

Megan and Dave had a beautiful wedding day on August 22nd, 2009. The room was very nicely decorated courtesy of Tiffany at Final Touches Designs and guests arrived and enjoyed cocktail hour.

Tables beautifully decorated

Megan and Dave with their bridal party arrived shortly after, and were having a great time on the bus during their bar crawl before the reception. Let’s just say it was a little difficult to round everyone up for the Grand March . For the introductions Megan and Dave entered first to the sounds of Thunderstruck by AC/DC, and then we brought the bridal party in from a different way than normal into the room, each to their own song. Dave and Megan then welcomed their guests followed by the toasts and blessing. To get Megan and Dave to kiss that day, guests had to walk up to the putting green and sink a putt, which was a fun addition to the dinner hour.

After dinner we had a wonderful cake cutting ceremony with the bridal party bringing out cheesecakes for every other table in the room and one special couple per table with cheesecake performed the “cake” cutting ceremony with Megan and Dave. Beautiful moment!

Megan and Dave's Cake Table

Megan and Dave’s first dance to “We Are Man & Wife” by Michelle Featherstone followed their Love Story, then Megan and Dennis shared their Father Daughter dance with words to each other during the dance to Cinderella by Stephen Curtis Chapman. Dave and his mom Jean then had their Mother Son Dance to “Simple Man” by Shinedown. The wedding party dance then broke out to “Forever” by Chris Brown for a change of pace to a traditional wedding party dance.

Megan and Dave's First Dance

Megan and Dennis enjoy the moment

Jean and Dave's Mother Son Dance

Amanda and Jesse

Remember Amanda and Jesse? They were there too…Jesse was a groomsman and had a blast the entire night. Dance floor was going all night to the sounds of “I Gotta Feelin’”, “Summer of ‘69″, and even one of Dave’s favorites, Nickelback’s “Something In Your Mouth” Dave’s father even sang a beautiful song to Megan and Dave during our first slow set of the night.

Slow dancin'

The night ended with a fun group sing-a-long to “Jack & Diane”by John Mellencamp. Thanks Megan and Dave for the memories! You are a wonderful couple to work with!

Jacquelyn and Kyle

Jacquelyn and Kyle

Jacquelyn and Kyle and I met originally at a bridal show and shortly after we met again along with their parents over dinner at Applebee’s in Marinette. I could tell right away that this couple was a very special couple and one I would be privileged to work for. Their reception took place at the SC Grand in De Pere, Wisconsin and I must say that Angela, Kristen and the staff there are very much detail oriented as I am.

SC Grand

Upon entering the room I noticed how spacious it was and the beautiful cake table with the backdrop of a quilt with childhood photos of Jacqie and Kyle together with one of them dating in the center.

Beautiful Cake Table with childhood photo quilt

Jacqie and Kyle also had a beautiful candy buffet table unveiled for guests at 7pm to enjoy and invited them to take a bag of candy home with them instead of favors for their guests.

Delectable Candy Buffet

[caption id="attachment_326" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Spacious SC Grand ballroom"][/caption]

Placecard table

Jacqie, Kyle and bridal party entered the room via personalized introductions and then Jacqie and Kyle shared their cake cutting ceremony with their guests. Best Man Jake and Maid of Honor Amy then gave their toasts and dinner was served. Jacqie and Kyle didn’t kiss via traditional glasses clinking, instead they encourage guests to come up and hula hoop in front of them to get them to kiss! It was a great way to liven up the dinner hour.

Jacqie and Kyle's first dance sealed with a kiss

After dinner, we shared Jacqie and Kyle’s Love Story followed by their first dance as husband and wife to Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams version of Heaven. The Father Daughter and Mother Son dances were very meaningful to Jacqie and Kyle and we spent an evening together a while back with their families working on creating just the right moment.

Jacqie and her father Wayne share a heartfelt moment

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Joy filled moments with Jacqie and Wayne"][/caption] Kyle and Carol’s Mother Son dance was next, filled with joy and funny moments too “Oh, Kyle…you were an excellent driver!” was a comment that everyone thought was humorous.

Kyle and his Mother Carol share a special moment

Next came a parents tribute dance to Wayne and Nancy, Leonard and Carol followed by the bridal party dance with a unique spin of All My Life by K-Ci and Jo Jo into Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice! From there the dance floor was open and we also had a Dollar Dance, Anniversary Dance (winning couple was 3 of them tied at 42 years of marriage!), and a Garter Bouquet Ceremony too. The end of the night was a beautiful moment for Jacqie and Kyle, very romantic surrounded by their friends and family and candlelight.

Jacqie and Kyle surrounded by candlelight

The best part about it….I feel as though Jacqie and Kyle aren’t just clients…but friends. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Thank you again for an amazing reception Jacqie and Kyle. It was my privilege to perform for you, your families and friends on your wedding day.

Jenny and Kyle

Welcome Friends and Family

Jenny and Kyle’s reception took place at the NMU Great Lakes room in Marquette. Guests arrived and enjoyed an eclectic mix of alternative pop love songs for the cocktail and dinner hour. After Jenny and Kyle arrived with their bridal party, we organized their introductions with everyone walking into a special vocal reduced mix of Get Freeky by Pitbull that I made for them (with the assistance of a business colleague of mine…thanks Ed!)

Family tradition: Kyle's Mother Laura made the beautiful cake

Head table decoration

After our cake cutting ceremony, guests were engaged with the Toasts given by the Best Man, Maid of Honor, then Father of the Bride. A moment of silence then followed for Jenny and Kyle’s grandparents who were there that night in spirit and then a wonderful sit down meal was enjoyed. Next, Jenny and her dad Steve shared their Father Daughter dance to a very meaningful song for both of them, it was the song playing on the radio when Jenny was born. “If You Leave” by OMD

Jenny and her father Steve

Kyle and his mother Laura then danced to “Heart To Heart” by Toby Keith and we set the tone with a special announcement just before that.

Kyle and his Mother Laura

From there the party was on and a wide variety of songs were played from traditional favorites such as Shout, Beer Barrel Polka and Unchained Melody to not so traditional wedding songs such as Like A Prayer, Let’s Get Married (Remix), and Headsprung by LL Cool J. Current music also was big for Jenny and Kyle as they like the club scene so we played hits such as Hotel Room Service by Pitbull, Umbrella by Rihanna (great mix out of Pour Some Sugar On Me into that…I LOVE that one!) and Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship. Here are some sample dance photos. (I’m NOT a professional photographer…lol.)

Dance floor hoppin'

[caption id="attachment_320" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Kyle and Jenny partying with their friends"][/caption] We went overtime til 12am with a last song of Forever by Chris Brown…which ended up not being the last song as the crowd begged for two more encores including Jump Around by House Of Pain! It was a phenomenal celebration for two beautiful people in love. Thank you Jenny, Kyle and families for a wonderful wedding!

Stephanie and Matt

Stephanie and Matt

WOW! What a wedding! Stephanie, Matt, Stephanie’s parents Laurie and Scott and I have been planning for this day since May 2008.

Pine Grove Welcomes

Matt and Stephanie originally met through Stephanie’s brother…and Matt is very thankful for him introducing them. They had a champagne fountain set up in the foyer area for guests to enjoy champagne and prepare a glass for toasting later.

Champagne Fountain with Ice Sculpture

The bridal party arrived ready to party and Gary and the staff at Pine Grove CC always do a great job in food prep and planning with their clients as well. Upon arrival the bridal party entered to “Power Of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News and Stephanie and Matt entered to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” by Frankie Valli with a special twist courtesy of yours truly. Stephanie and Matt’s cake was gorgeous

Wedding cake accenting her bridal colors

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After our cake cutting ceremony, best man and maid of honor toasts, Stephanie’s father Scott gave a very heartfelt toast complete with performing a song on the piano in honor of his daughter. I had tear-filled eyes as I witnessed this beautiful moment between father and daughter. LOVE. Gary and the staff at Pine Grove again did an outstanding job and Pine Grove CC is DEFINITELY the premier venue in Dickinson County for a wedding reception, in my humble opinion.

Bridesmaids with Stephanie

After dinner, everyone gathered round for Stephanie and Matt’s Love Story followed by their first dance as husband and wife to “When You Say Nothing At All” by Ronan Keating from Notting Hill Soundtrack.

Laurie and Bridal Party engaged with Stephanie & Matt's First Dance

. Stephanie and Scott then shared a heartfelt moment for the Father Daughter dance

Stephanie and Scott

and Matt danced with his Mother Grace to “I Have A Dream” by Abba, a song with special meaning for them as they saw “Mamma Mia” together in London when Matt was studying abroad.

Matt and Grace

The bridal party helped kick off the dancing next to, wait for it……………………………………………………………..

You won’t believe this…………………………………………

“Jump For My Love” by the Pointer Sisters and the dance floor was non stop from then on. Keith Freeman of Freeman’s Photography once again did a phenomenal job of capturing the day, even providing a photo montage to show in the bar area for guests. The end of the night didn’t happen until midnight when a “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys sing a long broke out. The Backstreet Boys music had a hand in bringing these two together and it was a perfect ending for a fun party. Thanks Stephanie and Matt and families for a fun reception!

Stephanie and Matt's First Dance