Amy Lewis & Ryan Knudson

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When: Saturday, February 26th, 2011

Where: Avalon Events Center, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "Look At You" by Chris LeDoux

"Robert, thank you so much for all the hard work you did at our wedding.  We were so pleased with the way the reception & dance went, and you really helped us to have a great night.  You did a great job of keeping the night moving & keeping us informed.  Everyone had a blast on the dance floor and we will recommend you to all of our friends!  Thanks again,"  -Amy & Ryan

Amy is sister to the wonderful Fargo photographer Katie Lewis, whose pictures you see here.

It was my first real opportunity to show off my new decorative up lighting (back ground below).  I kept it simple, with their wedding color blue behind the head table and by the cake, gifts, and front door.

The Avalon is a beautiful space, but the acoustics on the second floor are murder for a DJ.  Normally I would run additional speakers out away from the dance floor to keep a good, clean sound for speeches, but here there were so many guests and doorways that I couldn't.

Amy and Ryan were married three weeks prior in a ceremony on the beach.  Today's reception had me setting up a screen to show pictures from the ceremony (difficult in the limited space but I got it), then a six minute video after dinner.

One group of guests kept requesting 80's music, like Lionel Ritchie's "Dancing on the Ceiling," and "I Wear My Sunglasses at Night," by Cory Hart. 

Brianna Martinson & Garrett Grasser

When: Saturday, February 12th, 2011

Where: VFW, East Grand Forks, MN
1st Dance Song: "When You Say Nothing At All" by Allison Kraus

I was hired for this reception because of another I did not too long ago, where Garrett and Brianna met, the wedding of Jordan and Erin Grasser (Hi, Erin!).

No ceremony today, they got married in Mexico on January 8th. I edited their ceremony video and some pictures into a six minute reel to show their reception guests who, mostly, couldn't make the trip. If you think a wedding on the beach is for you, realize you are likely to be very close to other, non-guest beach-goers, the video will pick up a lot of wind noise, and that sometimes your mom just can't help but film herself digging her toes into the sand in the middle of your ceremony.

Our first hurdle tonight, the VFW has bingo until 5pm, and you don't mess with bingo. When I tried to setup about 2:30, they had already started, but I was able to be ready for the guests by 6pm. Our second issue, which was actually pretty simple, no priest for the prayer, so I got to do it.

We skipped the bouquet because, there wasn't one. Customs wouldn't let Brianna bring hers back into the U.S. without a huge hassle because those flowers could kill you and everyone you ever cared about! Or something. We stuck with a garter auction. For the removal, we stuck Garrett in a Green Bay Packers jersey (he's a fan) and brought him out to their touchdown song ("Bang on the Drum").

I did get to bust out my emergency kit's toothbrush for a certain someone in need.

Attention to detail is important: especially when you notice the groom is busy, so you stall before playing the last slow song of the night so he can enjoy one more dance with his wife.

After everyone had left, and everything was getting packed up, there was a little trouble with the cake. It was falling, and ended on being set down in the parking lot. I didn't stick around to find out what happened, but hopefully it worked out.

See more at www.RobertBenda.com

Diana Driscoll & Zach Bopp

When: Saturday, February 5th, 2011

Where: Ramada Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "To Make You Feel My Love" by Adele

No pictures, no video from this wedding. I'll leave that to the people who are good at those things. Every vendor was from FreshWed. Photographers Shawna Noel and Kory Wallen; Videographer Corey of Sub-Zero Productions (glad to finally meet him); flowers and decorations by Just Add Water, Brooke Roche. Oh, and me. You just can't go wrong by hiring all of us. In fact, maybe we should make some sort of package deal. Hmm....

I must say, it was nice to see the videographer at the reception. A lot of couples don't hire one, or only have them at the ceremony. I usually use my camera to make sure key moments like the toasts and their first dance are captured. Tonight, I didn't worry.

During dinner we learned that Zach, when he was less than one year old, managed to lift himself out of his crib, and broke his arm in the process. And I was scared of what my two year old could do...

A few random things I took care of: I had Diana's slippers for the reception; I'm the one who washed out and got the box for their brand new, beautiful crystal champagne glasses; and I'm the one who knew where the circuit breaker for their decorative lights was.

Zach and Diana's wedding was at 3pm, at Sacred Heart (yes, Catholic). Dinner wasn't until 6:30, which meant a lot of time for guests to kill. We did our best to have something happen every so often: the bridal party's arrival; shoe game; video; speeches. If the guests were bored from the large gap from ceremony to dinner, they didn't show it. When the dance started, they were right there, ready to go, too.

To give away the garter, we did a raffle. The drawing got us seven or eight contestants to compete. I asked for things, they went and fetched them. Each time they came back, we elimated some. Very simple. Very funny. One groomsmen didn't quite make the chair. Twice. The Best Man thought we had solved the last item, yelled it out, but forgot to actually go and get it. Someone else won. Poor Beau.

We also did a broom dance. No, they aren't common. Everyone in a circle, someone in the middle with a broom dances for a bit, then passes it, and the new holder dances. It's exactly how it sounds, but if everyone is into it, it can be a blast. Especially when a grandma gets wheeled out in her chair to dance.

See more at Grand Forks Wedding DJ.