Taylored Weddings Blog

Christine and Lance

tayloredweddings — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:45:22 +0000

Christine and Lance

What an amazing couple! I met with Lance and his mother Lisa back in August and they were referred to me by Becky and Travis Cross. Lance met his beautiful wife Christine in China at Christine’s friends birthday party. Lisa, Lance and I met to discuss the intricacies of planning their wedding from China and Lance’s mother Lisa seemed so glad to have assistance in planning this wedding. They held their reception on a snowy Saturday in December at the Elks Lodge of Manistique.

During our planning meetings Lisa, Lance and I came up with several fun ideas to use for the wedding day. Christine and Lance named their tables after places they have traveled in their lives with a unique twist to the idea as well.

Table names with decor lighting accents behind

Christine’s parents came from China to celebrate and Lance’s parents were also instrumental in the success of the event and recognized before Christine and Lance were introduced in to the room to “LOVE” by Nat King Cole. I LOVE this cute pic of Christine and Lance where Christine is using the traditional American fork with Lance using traditional Chinese chopsticks!

Fork vs. Chopstick

After dinner, guests were treated to video messages from Christine and Lance’s friends and family in China and turned in their Words of Wisdom cards…suggestions for Lance and Christine to have a long and happy marriage. Here’s Becky and Travis’ card.

Words of Wisdom from Becky and Travis

Dancing was kicked off by Lance and Christine’s Love Story (spoken in English ) and then a very special version of their first dance….the very song that Lance sang to Christine just before he proposed to her. But not Adam Sandler’s version from the movie….no…we went one better. Lance came into my office and we recorded him singing the song and then played that combined with an instrumental of the song as their first dance. AWWWW!!!!! An emotional moment for all. Next it was Christine’s turn to dance with Mark, Lance’s Dad and then Lance and his Mom shared a very emotional, tear filled dance as well to The Perfect Fan by the Backstreet Boys. Later in the evening, Lance’s parents Lisa and Mark sang a beautiful version of the recently popular again “All The Way” by Frank Sinatra and Celine Dion, and they performed it very very well. The end of the night made a very memorable moment for all as we sent Christine and Lance off to married life together with a night of fun and elegance. Thanks Christine and Lance!

Elegant Ending with Custom Monogram

Courtney and Jeff

tayloredweddings — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:20:06 +0000

Courtney and Jeff had an amazing wedding at the Terrace Bay Inn shortly after Thanksgiving of this year. Courtney and Jeff had an amazing wedding at the Terrace Bay Inn shortly after Thanksgiving of this year. The wedding was beautifully decorated by Amanda from Ever After Decorating. It’s really nice to see brides and grooms pay tribute to the history of their family tree and I was glad to see Courtney and Jeff do this near the guestbook. .

Courtney and Jeff opted to go with beautiful uplighting behind the head table and chose a red to accent the white and black elegant color choices. The bridal party introductions went very smoothly with Courtney and Jeff being introduced into the room to the song “Smile” by Uncle Kracker. Afterwards we moved to the Cake Cutting Ceremony with a gorgeous cake created by Cake Sera Sera. . Guests were invited to dinner in a very fun and creative way and after dinner guests also enjoyed a candy buffet as well.

Our full grand march happened after dinner with the bridal party entering to “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and Courtney and Jeff introduced to “Love Is A Beautiful Thing” by Phil Vassar. From there we segued to their first dance to “History In The Making” by Darius Rucker, followed by Courtney and her father Dave’s dance to “I Loved Her First” by Heartland. Jeff and his Mom shared a dance to “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts and then the wedding party helped kick off the dancing.

The dance floor was hoppin’ all night, only stopping for a fun Garter and Bouquet segment featuring Jeff’s favorite NFL team…the CHICAGO BEARS! The reception ended on a wonderful note with a special twist to their last song “I Love This Bar” by Toby Keith…pleasantly surprising Courtney, Jeff and their guests. Congratulations Courtney and Jeff! Best wishes on married life together!

Courtney, Jeff and Mitch

Bobbie and Gary

tayloredweddings — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:53:45 +0000

Bobbie, Gary and I met at a bridal show in January of 2008 and shortly after they booked my services for their day. Bobbie and Gary’s wedding ceremony took place at Homestead Meadows, a beautiful spot for a ceremony and/or reception. Steve from Homestead Meadows did a fine job of catering to Bobbie and Gary’s needs. I had the pleasure once again of working with Keith Freeman of Freeman’s Photography for Bobbie and Gary’s wedding as well. Keith always does an outstanding job and definitely goes the extra mile in customer service for his clients. All of the photos seen in this post are Keith’s work.

Bobbie and Gary’s reception was held at the beautiful Swan Club in DePere, Wisconsin. The room was beautiful and being Halloween was decorated nicely. Guests showed up dressed in costume from the start with more changing in to costumes for our costume contest later in the night. Keith had prepared a photo montage to show on the two big screens inside of the Swan Club which we helped to ensure ran during cocktail and dinner hour for guests enjoyment. Bobbie and Gary made their way into the room to “I Gotta Feelin’” by Black Eyed Peas and yes, it was a good good night! The Swan Club staff to work with was excellent to work with and very efficient.
After toasts and blessing, guests encouraged Bobbie and Gary to kiss by participating in a fun game with Bobbie and Gary, which definitely helped contribute to a lively atmosphere. Just as the dance floor was cleared Bobbie and Gary’s friends presented them with a Wisconsin original…a SHOTSKI! This was hilarious to view in person and made for a really unique personalized gift for them.
With the dance floor cleared, Bobbie and Gary along with their bridal party were introduced to Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” followed by our bridal party dance. Bobbie and Gary’s Love Story was then shared with their guests followed by their first dance as husband and wife to Cat Powers The Sea Of Love. Bobbie then danced with her dad to “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker and Gary with his mom to “Have I Told You Lately?” by Van Morrison. The dance floor was then opened and the party started. Just before our costume contest for the night Bobbie and Gary chose to dedicate a slow song to their parents for our parents dance.
The costume contest was OUT OF THIS WORLD! We had Ace Ventura, a couple dressed as “Peace and Quiet” (the husband in hippie tie-dye attire and the wife dressed as a mime!), a crazy old lady, a young Michael Jackson and even a boy who had a suit jacket on and said he was going as ME for Halloween! Priceless! The winners were voted on by the crowd and each received cinema gift certificates.
Dance floor was rockin’ all night and ended with a Friends In Low Places sing-a-long. Thanks Bobbie and Gary for a Halloween wedding to remember!

Patty and Ralph October 24th, 2009

tayloredweddings — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:35:12 +0000

I met Patty through a mutual friend, Bridget, whom I thank greatly for the referral. Upon meeting Patty I was touched by her and Ralph’s story and what they were looking to create for their wedding day. The setting was the Oak Crest Golf Club in Norway. Guests arrived to the sounds of Sinatra, Michael W Smith, Nat King Cole and Michael Buble. Introductions were fun and the bridal party was creative with their entrances. Patty and Ralph then gave a very sincere welcome to their guests followed up by a gift presentation of a big bell for Ralph to put on his dream boat and also use that night to ring in kisses for the newlyweds. Patty and Ralph then shared their cake cutting ceremony with their guests to the song “Let It Be Me” by Everly Brothers. Toasts followed by a wonderful blessing by their good friend Pastor Jim.

Guests were invited to the buffet line by answering fun questions about Patty and Ralph while enjoying a beautiful slide show created by Patty’s friend Shelley. What followed after that was a very touching moment created for our military personnel in attendance. The attention was focused on them with a thunderous round of applause in appreciation for those past and present protecting our freedoms while “God Bless The USA” started playing in the background.

Patty and Ralph’s Love Story was then shared before they had their first dance as husband and wife to “Born Again” by Third Day. Patty and Ralph then presented bouquets to their mothers at the end of their dance. Patty’s three sons then shared a Mother Son dance with her that was very special to them with messages from each one to Patty during their dance with her. The song they chose was “I Will Be Here” by Stephen Curtis Chapman. From there the dancing was kicked off and the decor lighting we provided really made the room “pop” that night as well with Patty’s fall colors palette of orange and reds. Thank you Patty and Ralph for a wonderful night filled with memories to cherish.

Weekly Wedding Tip – Fun way to choose wedding colors!

tayloredweddings — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:14:09 +0000

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

tayloredweddings — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:59:35 +0000

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

tayloredweddings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:52:22 +0000

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

tayloredweddings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:26:48 +0000

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

tayloredweddings — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:53:14 +0000

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

tayloredweddings — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:02:59 +0000

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