Each year, The Knot holds a party in Dallas for all the wedding vendors in our market. This year’s party was planned by my good friend, Dana Carroll of Social by Dana Carroll.  She and Shana Thomas of The Urban Blossom really went above and beyond with the Cirque theme.  And, of course, a cool event like this needs a cool venue – The W / Victory hotel in Dallas.  I hadn’t been to The W in a while, but it looks like I’ll be back:

Good Morning Tommy!

Thank you! Your skills last night really contributed to the success of our event and everyone was really pleased with the overall outcome.

Do you mind if I add you to our preferred social catering vendor list? Your professionalism and style is much appreciated and I would like to work with you again soon on another event!

Warm Regards,

Trish | Catering Sales Manager | The W Dallas – Victory

Unfortunately, I don’t have many photos to share.  I was quite busy once the event got going between DJ’ing and visiting with people who came up.  It was amazing!

[Show as slideshow]

I have the privilege every so often to work with some of the best agencies in Dallas.  This particular wedding reception was at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas, with The Project (band) playing for the reception.  I was hired on as the Master of Ceremonies, and then we DJ’d the After Party in the pre-function space after the reception. It was a great time working with some truly great vendors – I had a blast!

The decor was simply beautiful.  The foyer (pre-function space) was used for cocktails prior to the reception.

The ballroom featured beautiful floral design, as well as decor lighting in the way of uplights, pinspot table lighting, and dance lighting.

The bride, Dyan, loves to cook and she and her family made a wonderful assortment of baked goodies for the guests to enjoy along with the cake.

Then, during the reception, the foyer was transformed into a groovy lounge area for the after-party.

Another cool thing we did was to shoot some candid photography during the reception, and the family had arranged for a few people to shoot some pics of the ceremony.  So, we pooled all those shots and displayed them on a plasma TV during the after-party, as a montage “day of”.

More Photos

The Team

• Wedding Planner Extraordinare: (and lover of the Aggie War Hymn) Emily Youngblood,  Blessed Unions
• Venue: The Ritz Carlton, Dallas
• The Band: Dave von Blohn, Absolute Entertainment / The Project Band
• Decor Lighting: Lite Dallas
• Photographer: Scott Hagar
• Videographer: Gustavo

Totally Useless Technical Information

Other than having to setup the After-Party during the reception, this particular event wasn’t too technically challenging.  We brought in a small system that we connected to the band’s sound system for the one band break, and then set up our normal system at the dance floor.  The only challenge that we faced was finding enough electrical, in a room that wasn’t designed for alot of power.

I had the pleasure of DJin’g a client appreciation party last night at the way-too-cool and newly remodeled Stoneleigh Hotel in Dallas.  The guests?  300+ lawyers who really knew how to party.  The space was almost at capacity, and we had sound distributed down the hallway and even on the Terrace upstairs.  (Of course, by the time someone made it down to the dance floor for their favorite song, it was over!)  The music was dance music from the 80’s up to today’s currents.

Many thanks to Billie at the Stoneleigh and her fun staff (the bartenders were dancing along as well) for such a wonderful night!

[Show as slideshow]

12►

Rhiannon (named after a song by Fleetwood Mac) and Mike were truly a fun couple to work with.  For the sake simplicity, and the fact that it’s 2am, I’ll let you get to know them by reading part of their introduction script:

Rhiannon and Mike met three years and seven months ago, after Rhiannon’s mom got them talking on the phone.  A pediatric resident at Children’s in Dallas – Rhiannon secretly longs for a place amongst the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.  In her spare time – she enjoys spending time on Facebook, holding down the couch cushions and – well, Facebook.  Her obscure talents?  grabbing things with her “Monkey Toes”.

Mike is employed by the Dallas Police Department, but if he had things his way – would be Dog the bounty hunter from cables A&E channel.  He’s highly skilled at shooting his gun, cleaning his gun, and removing his gun from the holster [Mike will demo].    Mike was voted by his lovely bride as “Most likely to leave the laundry in the dryer for two weeks before folding it”.  He knows how to sew on a button.  One particularly amusing story about Mike involves telling a gay joke in front of the senior officers at his place of work.  One was a gay woman.  She was not amused.

Ah – and “what is an introduction script” you might ask?  Well, in this case, Rhiannon and Mike wanted to share some amusing things about one another, as well as a bit about how they met, with their guests.  So – through some interviewing and email barrages, we gathered enough info to write up something that would astound and amuse not only the guests, but the newlyweds as well (since they didn’t know what bits & pieces I was going to use).

Not only were they introduced with this sort of material, but each member of the wedding party as well.  One hopes to design Barbie dresses.  One has a fear of condiments.  One has his own concoction titled “John Boy’s Krunk Juice”.  You get the idea.

(The chain around the groom’s neck in the following photo was provided by the photographer, by the way.  Mike and his groomsmen had a bit of fun with that!)

The weather was absolutely beautiful, as was the Johnson Color Garden at the Dallas Arboretum where they shared their vows.  Afterwards, the guests were invite to the terrace of Rosine Hall for cocktails, then inside for dining and dancing.

Rhiannon wanted to incorporate The Newlywed Game into the dinner portion of the reception.  This is just a fun way, again, of helping the guests to get to know the bride and groom better and see them react to each other in a fun environment.

The Slideshow

The Team

Venue: Michelle Lemay-Patten with the Dallas Arboretum

Photographers: Bella Pictures

Catering: Gils’ Elegant Catering

The Ceremony Music

Seating of the Grandparents & Parents: “Angel”, Jack Johnson

Wedding Party Processional: “Lovely Tonight”, Joshua Radin

Bride’s Procession: “The Luckiest”, Ben Folds

Recessional: “Stolen”, Dashboard Confessional (Specialty Sound Edit)

The Reception Music

Bride & Groom Introductions:  “Bittersweet Symphony”, The Verve

First Dance: “Bless the Broken Road”, Rascal Flatts

Parent Dance (combined): “Landslide”, Fleetwood Mac