Several months ago, I met Emily and Steven for the first time at their venue: Holy Name of Mary Parish Hall in San Dimas. They shared with me their two very important parts of their vision for their December wedding. First was to have the space transformed into a rustic, barn-style atmosphere like an outdoor wedding but indoors because of the time of year. Second was to make the party a celebration of their families with everyone dancing and the guests staying until the end. With Emily’s mom, Debbie leading the charge, their dream of turning the simple parish hall came true with wooden backdrops, wine barrels, string lights, desserts, popcorn, you name it…they had it! With a little help from me adding some up-lighting, the classy indoor-barn was complete. As for the second part of their vision…well, just wait and see.
The night was just full of surprises and good times. Emily’s dad, Tim had a double surprise for their Father/Daughter dance. Tim picked out the song “I Loved Her First” by Heartland as their song, but the real jaw-dropper was when Tim’s best friend Darren came out to sing the song live. After that, we could hardly keep this family from the dance floor, and it was packed beyond capacity after a quick icebreaker. We had to eventually slow things down with the Married Couples Dance, where we learned that not one but two couples in attendance have been married over 50 years! After the small cake was cut and the dessert table was raided, Emily and Steven did a “Shoelywed Game” to show everyone how much they knew about each other. (They got most of the questions right!) But the dancing was the real draw, and an overwhelming number of partygoers of all ages flocked back to the floor. (Including Emily’s dad and his friends who did the infamous “Crocodile Dance” seen only once before by this MC/DJ team!)
Speaking of this team…we were joined by some fantastic wedding professionals who really helped make Emily and Steven’s wedding perfect. Spaggi’s Restaurant put out a spectacular buffet spread and staffed the event with some of the nicest people. Heidi Payne stayed all night, not only capturing photos but also doing whatever was necessary to help make the night perfect for Emily and Steven. (Including pouring Champaign for the whole bridal party so they could toast.)
The biggest surprise, at least to me, was how the party ended. Emily and Steven were exhausted after a very long day and wanted to wrap up the night on time so they could get up early and catch their flight to their honeymoon destination. Their family, however, was ALL still there and having none of this “ending the party on time” nonsense. After we did the last dance, the family asked if I could stay an extra hour and keep the party going. In all my years of DJing weddings, I have NEVER seen a party go on for an hour without a bride and groom there to keep the guests around. Well, this family defied the odds and kept on dancing all the way up till the last minute of that extra hour. You can tell by the look on my face during the final song, I have never seen anything like this! Mission Accomplished!
Dave’s recommended vendors from this wedding included:
- Spaggi’s Restaurant, Catering, & Cooking School – www.spaggis.com
- Heidi M. Payne (Photography) – www.heidimpayne.com