Amy Samuelson & Chris Shields

When: Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Where: Vista Inn, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "Only You Can Love Me This Way" by Keith Urban

I usually stay positive on this blog but feel an exception today. Not for the bride and groom, or their guests, but for the Vista. The thermostat was set for the air conditioning to kick in at 80 (a 2nd thermostat was at 85). This made the beginning of the evening very unpleasant since the humidity was almost unbearable. And even though we complained, no staff did anything. It also brought other touches, like servers in blue jeans, staff items laying around the room, and not waiting for the bride and groom before serving dinner (they were there, but not at the head table), to the forefront.

The guests and the couple, however, were fun. Pom poms were passed out for Amy and Chris' entrance to the room (her mom is a big Sioux hockey fan, apparently).

April Kaiser & Tyler Grinde

When: Saturday, June 19th, 2010

Where: Touch of Magic, East Grand Forks, MN
1st Dance Song: "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
Photos Courtesy Shawna Noel Photography

This couple was referred to me by Tony and Brandi Melicher, married May 2008. Since it's at the Touch of Magic, certain rules apply and I didn't start work til dinner was ending. I picked up for the speeches and moved right into their first dance.


The dance started slow (at 7:30pm, with the sun still shining bright), but picked up after 8:30, when the dollar dance got folks up and socializing. It really let loose later when Tyler got to, for lack of a better phrase, dance up on April (to OMG by Usher) which moved us into the garter (a raffle and contest) and bouquet toss.

They added an extra hour, again tonight. I got a request for The Stroke by Billy Squier (really?).

Deanna Beiswanger & Jonathon Betting

When: Friday, June 18th, 2010

Where: Clarion Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison

Every wedding is different. Sometimes in small ways. Sometimes a bit bigger. Much of the reception for Deanna and JB is an understated elegant (courtesy wedding decorator Daryce Van Hoff). They also chose no wedding party. Their head table was themselves and their seven month old, Matea. No dollar dance and no garter tonight, either. Who cares. It took a bit for the socializing to die down and the dance to warm up, but we got there.

I was in their room prior to the reception, helping bussel her dress. Always bring the diagram, folks. It will help a lot.

Linsey Hegvik & Ben Davis

When: Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Where: Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

The setup at the Museum has us starting on the 1st floor for the social, moving up to the 3rd for dinner, then back to the 1st for the dance. I setup two complete sound systems on each, ran cable so the speakers upstairs were on the same setup as the downstairs, and also patched into their house system. Confused? It was actually not too hard. Though it made small volume adjustments and the video a bit more complicated (during dinner, speeches, and the video, the sound controls were two floors away... thanks Katie Lewis for the help!).

Along with a traditional guest book, a canvas was setup with paints nearby. Everyone made a brush stroke, or a smiley face or whatever. It turned out much better than I would have thought, pretty cool actually, though you can see the color turning mostly green on top (from no one cleaning the brushes, I suppose).

We did an anniversary dance, inviting all married couples to dance to "Could I Have this Dance" by Anne Murray. It was the first dance song for Ben's parents. One couple on the floor will have their 50th anniversary in October, another just did their 55th in March.


Moving 200 people up and down floors takes time, and we didn't start til after 9pm, which was complicated by museum's rule that we have to stop at midnight. I shoe horned in as many songs as I could, including beatmixing a string of six songs in about eight minutes (stayin Alive; Walk this Way; Another One Bites the Dust; SexyBack; Billie Jean; Kiss) then moved into new music.

Laura Bury & Marc Knutson

When: Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Where: Munincipal Golf Course Clubhouse, Bismarck, ND
1st Dance Song: "Happy Ever After in Your Eyes" by Ben Harper

The afternoon began outside. Dessert appetizers and a Jamaican band entertained guests in the beautiful sun until dinner was ready. Both dads gave a speech just after the salads. While Mr. Knutson's was good, he was one-uped by Mr. Bury when he showed the letter from UND that came today, accepting Laura into medical school.

Marc's speech was awesome. Just really awesome. He remembered to thank the important folks, which is awesome, and made sure to talk about Laura, also awesome. In fact, his awesome was totally awesome. See the awesome video of his awesome speech to see why I'm being awesome.

No dollar dance. No garter toss. Bouquet toss only, during which I introduced Laura's brother, Nick, who happens to be single, to all the ladies. You're welcome, Nick. The only line or group dance allowed was the Cupid Shuffle. The dance's start was delayed while we waited for the staff to clear tables off the dance floor. We still started about 7:45.

The highlight? A coordinated, five man worm across the dance floor. Awesome.