Wedding Song Dreams Come True
Ortiz Ullery
Yesterday was the first time that I was involved in the background preparations of a wedding event and I definitely have a newfound appreciation of weddings. I witnessed lots of love, not just love between the couple but also love from family and friends from the way they contribute tirelessly to the wedding. And that is why the wedding is perfect. Everything just falls in place nicely. It is a dream come true for the couple. I must disclaim that my contributions are much lesser compared to the rest cause I was learning how to do things.
On a side note, for Singapore weddings, there is this wedding gatecrash part where the groom, with the assistance of his groomsmen (aka brothers) would have to go through a series of games prepared by the bridesmaid (aka sisters) before the groom can fetch the bride.
Variety is the spice of life. I like a little variety when it comes to DJing weddings here in lovely Charleston. My aim as a professional wedding DJ has always been to help couples create their own personal soundtrack for their wedding day. This day (which is the biggest of their lives) should include music solely about them. I met Kate with her mom back in June and they introduced me to a new and quiet place to meet clients over in the Mt Pleasant area. Vintage Coffee Cafe During our initial meeting Kate briefly mentioned that her and Jon would want to hear a tropical house playlist during their cocktail hour after their ceremony at Coleman Hall & Chapel in Mt Pleasant. At the time, I took notes, but it wasn't until I met Jon with Kate in early September at one of our consultations that I learned a little more about tropical house. I've always been a big fan of house music, as Charleston used to have a pretty nice house music scene with some great DJs spinning all sorts of house at various areas around downtown Charleston. I knew there were many different sub-genres of house, I am just glad that Kate & Jon allowed me to get more acquainted with the tropical house genre. These are some of the tracks that got played during their Sunday, October 15, 2017 wedding and some I will be adding into my future cocktail hour playlists and receptions.
You might recognize the titles of some of these songs, but the way that they were remixed made all the difference in the presentation of this style of house music during their cocktail hour. During the cocktail hour, numerous guests were doing Shazam on their phones and trying to identify. Some folks even approached me and I let them know that this particular playlist was all by request from Kate and Jon. A true professional wedding DJ makes a couple's dreams come true and satisifies any and all requests.
"Chasing Palm Trees" Ehrling
DJ / Producer from Sweden. Check out more of his stuff on Soundcloud.
"Sexual Healing" (Marvin Gaye) Kygo Mix
This tropical house version of this classic really is very sexy! Take a liste by clicking the link in the song title.
"PYT" John Gibbons Remix
Irish record producer & DJ remixed this classic by Michael Jackson in 2017 and it reached all the way to #12 on dance charts in England.
Wanna Speak With Mike Bills About Being Your Charleston Wedding DJ?
It was a truly beautiful day over at Coleman Hall & Chapel in Mt Pleasant. There's only thing that would have made it better and that is slightly cooler temperatures, but as I write this post a few nights later, fall has finally arrived in Charleston. When you make the playlist about the bride and groom and their likes and dislikes, amazing things happen! I wish Kate and Jon a lifetime of love and happiness. I am looking forward to the next weddings that are coming my way in this fall season. I am also looking forward to another advertisement in Charleston Weddings Magazine. This copy of the magazine should hit stores on or about October 30 and will be available through the second annual Charleston Wedding Week coming up in January and going through Valentines Day. Engagement season is almost here, my new video has been posted to my You Tube Channel, as well as my home page to the website. It's definitely an exciting time. I really love to talk to couples about their musical tastes. I wanted to thank you for finding this blog as you search for one of the most important aspects of your wedding day here in Charleston: The DJ entertainment. Click the link up above to be taken over to my main website so that you can fill out a contact form to tell me a little more about your wedding day. Are you interested in a custom cocktail hour playlist? Check out this post on How To Plan The Best Cocktail Hour Music.
DJ Mike delivered well organized and orchestrated results that made for a great wedding and reception! Couldn't have picked a better DJ to cover our event and truly appreciated his availability to pick up the job and execute in such a short time period. I highly recommend his services, overall great quality.
My family made plans to take a weekend trip to our mountain house in Highlands, North Carolina, the first weekend in June 2021. While there, Nat suggested we go on a hike around sunset. He was walking briskly up the trail, leaving me in the dust. When we finally reached the lookout, I was enjoying the view and catching my breath when Nat tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and he was down on one knee with a ring! We practically skipped down the mountain in excitement. We went back to our house where his family was waiting with mine as a surprise. It was the most perfect and unforgettable day.
I was lucky enough to have the best wedding planner in the business, my sister, Anna Wynn. She knew that what I cared most about was my color scheme. Since our wedding was in May, I wanted to take advantage of the bright and colorful flowers that would be in season. Our florist made all my dreams come true with the most beautiful arrangements and bouquets.
What are some adjectives that best describe the look of your wedding? Authentic, Romantic, Dramatic, Polished, Elegant, and of course Vintage! Our color scheme came from spring and the vintage palette: using lilac, purple, cream and silver. I undertook many DIY projects for the wedding, mostly involved in collecting and re-designing vintage objects for our reception or clothing for our bridal party.
Our first dance song was performed by another good friend of my husband and I who is a brilliant musician, Brian, and at the conclusion of our dance our dance teacher, Cynthia Glinka invited the guests to join us in dancing as she and her partner A.C. Griffing gave the guests on the spot lessons and made them feel comfortable dancing to period music.
The whole experience was truly a labor of love for me. Everyone involved made our wedding what it was: a true celebration of history, love, marriage, family, and friends coming together and sharing the incredible love that my husband and I share.
My husband is a musician so choosing ceremony songs and a reception playlist was one of our top favorite parts of wedding planning. I definitely understand that's not the case for everyone. It can be hard to choose wedding ceremony songs that are meaningful and sound right.
I convinced my husband to help me with this project of finding sweet indie songs that would be perfect for wedding processionals. As a planner, I'm looking for songs that have a good cry-factor. Usually that means songs that have a little instrumental bit before any lyrics come in. Depending on the processional order and how the couple wants to walk down the aisle, this gives whoever is last in the processional a moment to let it all hit them before they walk down.
A side note on processional order: do what you want! No one will freak out if you don't do things "traditionally". If you want rules, google processional order and you can find traditions for different religions and family makeups.
Back to notes on song choice! I would take note of how long the aisle is that you will be walking down and how many folks will be in the processional. You can choose multiple songs for different groups like parents, wedding party, etc.
One community I truly love being a part of is the amazing community at my church. I feel so supported by everyone I get to meet there, and Mali and Dale were no exception. I was honored when they asked me to photograph their rustic chapel wedding this last year.
They wanted to have a sweet, country wedding that reflected all the amazing parts of their faith. Plus, they picked an incredible venue that was perfect for an outdoor wedding, with plenty of space for friends and family. From the soft greenery and floral arrangements to the wood tones and spring colors, it was truly a dreamy wedding.
Mali and Dale started dating in 2021, and they found a true bond in their mutual love in their faith and in Jesus. Mali said meeting Dale was a dream come true. He proposed to her in the rain on July 5th, 2022.
Everyone looked positively radiant in their rustic chapel wedding attire. Mali wore a sweet, billowy wedding dress, and her bridesmaids wore soft pink dresses. Dale wore a deeper pink suit, and his groomsmen wore all white.
Both Mali and Dale were excited about involving their faith as much as possible on their wedding day. They sang First Touch together as a worship song during the ceremony, which was really special. And everyone sang praise to our Lord for helping these two find one another.
After the ceremony, the entire wedding party gathered inside to celebrate the happy couple with a lovely plated dinner. Soon after, there was dancing and toasts to the bride and groom, cheering them on in this new and exciting chapter.
Even though I know Mali and Dale pretty well, getting to be a part of this experience with them was such an honor. I felt like one of the family by the end of the day, and I had so much fun capturing their wedding.
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