Danielle Grandbois & Daniel Danielson

When: Friday, May 20th, 2011

Where: Doublewood Inn, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "Heaven" by Yanou & DJ Sammy

Just go ahead and try and say their married name outloud.  It's all about the emphasis and second syllable in Danielle to make sure you don't sound like Daniel is marrying Daniel.

 Danielle is a big karaoke fan, so we included that throughout the night.  Something like 12 songs scattered over a four hour dance.  Only one singer was bad... she yelled more than sang her song.

Danielle did make a video slide show of pictures, but had me play it on a loop during the entire social and dinner.  Guests could watch if they wanted, when they wanted.  This is key if your video exceeds ten minutes or so.

Megan Sellie & Aaron Elgin

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When: Saturday, April 9th, 2011

Where: Radisson Hotel, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain

I'd been looking forward to this wedding for a while.  Megan and Aaron picked several touches I thought were just a little out of the ordinary.  This winter, her father built a hot rod for them to ride from the church to the reception.  Aaron made the knife for the cake cutting.  Guests had to answer trivia about the two of them to get them to kiss.  There were little cards for guests to fill out, with "In 25 years, Megan and Aaron will be..." and "Love is...".    They took dance lessons to get ready for their first dance.  Each added just a little to the evening, but, most importantly I think, added something personal.
The video to the left is of my new light towers so you can judge for yourself if you like them.  Most DJ lights you just get dots on the floor or wall because you can't use a fog machine at almost any banquet hall.  I'm hoping these are both nice looking and cool.  They stand eight feet tall, are wrapped in fabric, and are synced to the dance floor lights.

Once again I edited their first dance song to change the song from just over four minutes, down to under three.  I sent a copy to them in advance so they could practice during their lessons.

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. 

Get Hitched: A Wedding Show for the Modern Bride

When: 6-9pm Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Where: Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND

A big thank you to all who attended (more than 100). It was our first year and went as well as we could have hoped. In all the years and all the shows I've worked, I've never enjoyed it so much. I had a chance to talk with five or six couples at length, but apologies to those who couldn't wait for me to be free.

A special thanks to the organizers, largely photographer Katie Lewis, but also the greatest human beings on the planet, photographer Shawna Noel and Kory Wallen (they may have recommended me to a few of their clients).

See more at Fargo Wedding DJ.

Kiley English & Jason Cossette

When: Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Where: Avalon Events Center, Fargo, ND
1st Dance Song: "I Don't Know Much" by Aaron Neville & Linda Ronstadt

I got to put their slide show together and its was my favorite in years (see video below). As soon as I saw the pictures Kiley sent me I knew exactly what to do. The final result is to the right and, at only 3 minutes, it clips along nicely and even includes Kiley singing when she was, at most, two years old.

Kiley's dad put together a fun little quiz for the guests in lieu of a speech (How many times has Kiley seen New Kids on the Block Live? Three.). Both our Best Man Jon and Maid of Honor Hillary did very nice speeches, but Jason's was excellent. His was a great example to other grooms.

Apparently "for the night" means something different to the photographer, when asked how late he'd be here. If you're gonna pack up after the first dance, just say so. Otherwise I'm be looking all over trying to find you so you can get pics of the bride's brother performing his guitar live. At least I got the video and recorded the audio straight off the mixer (to download his song, right click this link and 'save link as' or 'save target as'). I also got CD recordings of her brother and dad in a band covering "One" by U2.