The folks over at Inkspot Crow Films sent over the highlight reel for a spring wedding that I performed at Fearrington Barn.  It’s definitely fun and whimsical just like the couple and their families.  I had so much fun, as I know Philip and Mackenzie did filming all of us.  Check out the film below:

Nancy of Nancy Ray Photography just sent over some photos.  Enjoy!

Ceremony + Reception Venue: Fearrington Village
Dress Designer: Lea Ann Belter
Bridesmaids Dresses: Ivy Aster
Jewelry: Expressions by Gwyn
Videographer: Inkspot Crow Films
Coordinater: Gilda at Fearrington
Florist: Mary Stevens at Fearrington
Cake: Jill Leckey at Fearrington
DJ: Steve Stowe for Joe Bunn DJ
Strings: Arioso Strings
Photographer: Nancy Ray Photography

Jon and Kirsten’s wedding reception was very simple and elegant.  Situated inside the Vista Restaurant at the luxurious Washington Duke Inn.  The couple was married at Duke Chapel earlier in the day, so there was plenty of time for pictures by McCoy Made‘s Mark and Noelle around the Chapel and the golf course.  Amanda of A Swanky Affair was the wedding planner and could not have performed a better duty!  Everything was perfect from the sweets on the tables, the candles.  Just everything.

The guests began arriving and were greeted by the parents and sounds of Sinatra and Buble’.  As the bridal party was introduced to Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything”, they weaved between the tables to reach the dance floor where the couple began their first dance to Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You”.  The Father of the Bride gave a welcome and a quick speech I’ve entitled “I Loved Her First”.  After the blessing by Rev. Todd Lesher, the food stations were opened.  (I was situated between the cake and the shrimp station which smelled divine!)  After dinner the Matron of Honor, Best Man, and Father of the Groom gave cheerful, and tearful toasts to the couple that was obviously loved by everyone!  Then it was time to cut the cake by Sugarland.  (They make my most favorite red velvet cupcakes!!!)

During dinner, Kirsten’s father requested a slight change in the Bride/Father dance.  The original song chosen was “I Loved Her First” by Heartland.  But then he wanted the Groom to ‘cut in’ to Anne Murray’s “Could I Have This Dance” and then a third change to “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga!  I don’t really think that the couple or the guests knew quite what to do, but that sure did get them dancing!  After Jon danced with his Mother to Rascal Flatt’s “My Wish” it was time to move this party along.  In other words, my turn!

This couple chose some great music, while still leaving the driving up to me.  Starting out with some beach and older classics, we moved quickly into some great 70s and 80s dance music!  This crowd never left the dance floor!  And this was a daytime wedding, which are usually very difficult to get folks to dance.  We moved through the genre’s and decades very quickly and before we knew it we were jamming to the latest Top 40 hits.  The couple was scheduled to make their exit about 30 minutes prior to the end of the reception, but they were having such a great time dancing decided to hang around.

We rounded the evening out to “Unforgettable” by Nat “King” and Natalie Cole and the couple drove away on a decorated Washington Duke golf cart!  This was a great reception, and such a great couple.  I will post pictures once they are received!  Congrats Kirsten and Jon!

Just this past week, I was invited as a guest panelist to discuss the importance  and role of music at a wedding reception.  James Walters of Walters and Walters was our moderator.  Representing the cross between bands and DJs was yours truly, along with fellow panelists and DJs Ryan Pflumm of SPIN, Billy Ezzell of Complete Music Video, Joel Lawrence with Applause Music, and live band panelist Barry Herndon of East Coast Entertainment.

Linked below is a few sample images from our bud Neil Boyd.

http://trianglenace.com/blog.php

This post is a result of the watching the recent ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.  (Or #ACCTRNY).  I show the hashtag, because the guys I was watching it with made the comment that everything in existence now has a #hashtag.  If you don’t know what a hashtag is, you’re probably living under a rock…or simply not using Twitter.  According to the Twitter Help Center, a hashtag is “The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.”

Organically, not as in living, but as in living.  You can tag something…for example, #LincolnAgencyNC, my twitter name, and if enough folks tag it also then it will “trend” and gain more exposure.  This is essentially an ingenious way for bands and acts to gain more following, if of course their current fanbase buys into this phenomenon.

So get out there bands, tweet, hash, and be merry!

Perfect and impossible

Here is a guest post by Louise Thaxton via ChrisLoCurto.com, one of my favorite blogs. Louise is one of the top commenters on ChrisLoCurto.com.

This Friday, 11-11-11, is Veterans Day. It’s also called “Remembrance Day” or “Armistice Day.” It is the federal holiday where we honor our military veterans and is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

World War I was brutal. One of the human angels who walked among the fallen, bruised and broken soldiers was Eleanor Roosevelt. She flew on an un-insulated military aircraft before there was such a thing as “first class.”  She flew through combat airspace to Guam, the Philippines and other islands. It was NOT to vacation but to work for the American Red Cross to serve the American troops. She walked hundreds of miles in hospital halls, worked in emergency rooms and sat down and ate with the troops. She saw the wounds of war. And she wanted to REMEMBER. She began to carry a prayer that would stay with her for the rest of her life:

Dear Lord, lest I continue in my complacent ways, help me to remember that someone died for me today. And if there be war, help me to remember to ask and to answer, “Am I worth dying for?”

As we go about our daily activities on this day of remembrance, may we remember that we ARE a nation at war. May we remember that today there are men and women of the United States military who are fighting somewhere on foreign soil for our freedom. May we remember that freedom is never free. May we remember to ask ourselves the question as Eleanor Roosevelt did … “Am I worth dying for?”

My question to you today is this……will you REMEMBER this Friday?

Recently, I DJ’d the ceremony of a fabulous couple at the amazing Grand Marquise Ballroom in Garner.  Joe was the primary DJ, and took over for the reception.  But I wanted to share with you the blog post that Joe wrote complete with an amazing Father/Daughter dance mix custom created by our pal and fellow DJ, Randy Bennett!  Check it out here!

If you asked me to summarize my experiences this weekend in a word, it would be emotional. Rachelle and Chris are a young couple overcoming incredible odds to finally tie the knot. It began about a year ago. When innocent horseplay led to a tragic accident and the bride to be was instantly paralyzed. Next came the long uphill journey to get back to that day, and my role to provide the soundtrack of an amazing couple’s special day. A good friend Erin McLean of Erin McLean Events asked me to help locate the perfect band for the wedding, and asked if I would personally DJ the event.

Of course I agreed, and set off on a mission to find a band through my agency, The Lincoln Agency. Rachelle actually suggested one of their favorite bands, The Common Clay Band. In the coming weeks we prepped, and then plans kept changing, as that happens when you are talking live TV. The NBC Today Show had become interested in their story shortly after the accident. So we were attempting to work around their schedule. I just told the band to be ready for anything.

We began the reception with the Couple’s grand entrance into one of my favorite locations to DJ, Fearrington Barn. The couple are both graduates from ECU, so their introduction song choice was The ECU intro song, “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix complete with siren and purple lighting and smoke! Their first dance was to Rascal Flatts “I Won’t Let Go”, which ensured that there was no dry eye in the entire barn and wonderfully sums up the story!!

The band began to jam through country and rock as the guests proceeded through the dinner stations, and some guests getting up to dance to their favorite song. Rachelle then danced with her Father to “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof, one of his favorites. Next came the toasts from the Best Man, Maid of Honor, and Father of the Groom. Again, there was not a single dry eye. The cake cutting followed to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me”.

Then it was my turn to shine. With a mixture of Oldies, Motown, Country, and Top 40 hits, the dance floor quickly packed with guests! The entire afternoon was filled with so many events, it seemed as if there was only a few minutes before it was time to toss the bouquet and garter! Rachelle chose “Hot Legs” by Rod Stewart for the garter toss, and “Single Ladies” for the Bouquet toss.

At the exit, the couple was presented with a custom van equipped with a lift and custom passenger seat. Rachelle and Chris were then swept off to Fiji for the honeymoon. I was honored to be involved in this once in a lifetime event. And I loved working with everyone involved. Martha Manning of Martha Manning Photography recorded the event and sent us these early shots below.

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Rachelle and Chris Chapman! I’m sure we will be hearing more about this great couple in the future!

The NBC Today Show aired the final update video on Rachelle and Chris after the Honeymoon.  Here is that video:

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More to come later!

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