Abby Emter & Chris Gergen

When: Saturday, June 13, 2009
Where: Jamestown Gladestone Inn
1st Dance Song: "Then" by Brad Paisley

Some totals for the weekend: 480 miles (round trip), 9 hours in the car (two asleep), 3 V8s, 3 liters of water, and a breakfast pizza from Fargo Stamart (normally, no, but great on the road at 8am).



To bad Chris and Abby weren't there yet to see it, but apparently, somebody (*chough* Abby *cough*) forgot to pull their homemade punch out of the freezer this morning. The result was the behemoth to the left (as flower girl Katie looks on).

Always follow up! Abby's uncle Bob prepared the video, brought the player, all he needed was a screen. Except, that's not all he needed. He had some trouble with his laptop, so we switched to my player (always have it with, along with my projector, just in case). The video was wonderful and funny. Not too long and plenty of great photos.

We gave away their garter a bit differently. We drew four winning raffle tickets. Once I had those four guys we did a nice elimination game. Last one to bring me what I ask for is out. A woman's shoe; some flowers, and a piece of turtle cheesecake.

Rather than a traditional wedding cake, mini cheesecakes adorned the tables for dessert. Abby did sneak in a groom's cake (to the right) for Chris.

I almost forgot to mention the polkas and waltzes. At most weddings I play a few, but not here. Abby's family has their own music theater and polka CDs. They passes two of the CDs along to me in advance. I played four different sets of two waltzes and two polkas. Or was it five? Its hard to remember these things.

For the second night in the row the couple added overtime, right up until the hotel allowed 12:30, before bidding their guests goodnight.

Lindsey Lommen & Jesse Kadrmas

When: Friday, June 12, 2009
Where: Moorhead Marriot
1st Dance Song: "Then" by Brad Paisley

Whoops! Always double check everything before you leave! I got about 20 minutes behind schedule when I realized 2 miles out of Grand Forks that I didn't have my tux (construction meant I had to go 7 more miles before turning around). This meant I was setup and ready to go right on time (always leave early, kids!).

We had some fun with the wedding party introductions when they arrived. The sound of 180 people clapping and stomping their feet can be quite something. Lindsey also had me bring some karaoke. We let some of the guests (wedding party, mostly) sing about four or five songs throughout the night. Some.... noticeably better than others.

To the left are Cierra & Matt. I DJ'ed their reception last August 15th (I almost didn't recognize her as a blonde!).

A little side note, the roses Lindsey and Jesse were to give to their moms at the church were found at the reception. They suggested it was another item in a list and they weren't terribly satisfied with their wedding coordinator. I'd think not.

I'm short on pictures since my dear photographer friends Shawna and Kory were stuck working with me, again and I simply plan on poaching some of their photos since, you know, they'll look good.

Sarah Lappegard & Matt Abentroth

When: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Where: Grand Forks Clarion (formerly Holiday Inn)
1st Dance Song: "My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw

Tonight went well most of the time. It can be difficult to be heard with 325 people in an odd shaped room... well, two rooms actually. Sarah & Matt had some nice touches, both in the room with the favors (boxes with Chippers), colorful cupcakes on the tables and a putting green by the head table. If you wanted to get Sarah & Matt to kiss, you had to sink a putt. Miss, and you kissed someone yourself. Video at the bottom, left hand side.

The best news (for me) was the photographers, Shawna Noel and Kory. You can see their photos below (you can tell which, because they're actually good).

A little birdie let me know that the Pastor had referenced "Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds in his sermon at the ceremony so I played it immediately after the blessing.

Since Sarah & Matt were a bit shy about being the center of attention we altered their first dance song a little. Sarah provided the photos of them and I got a screen and projector. The net result was a backdrop of photos that looked great, but also drew a little attention away from the nervous couple. Video is below, on the right. The wonderful photo to the right is courtesy photographer ShawnaNoel.com

The remainder of the evening was pretty typical except for an impromptu dance contest between two of the guys. It went on for almost five minutes and was amazing. That led us up to a very tired couple making their except at 12:30 before I had to stop per Clarion Inn rules.

These photos courtesy Shawna Noel

Andrea Dreschel & John Sherlock

When: Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Where: Grand Forks Townhouse
1st Dance Song: "Keeper of the Stars" by Tracy Byrd

Too....tired....to.....type. Egads, the original contract had signed me up for a three hour dance. Reality set in about 10:15pm when the groomsmen let me know they were adding two hours of time. Great for them, but have you ever stood in dress shoes for... (does the math)... seven hours? I don't take breaks at these things, you know. Enough whining, on to the details.

Guests started rolling in just before 6pm so I caught the host couples up to speed, found a high chair for a guest, and helped fill vases at the head table for the bouquets. At 6:40 we got Andrea's dad, Paul, up for the welcoming toast, then I started dismissing tables for the buffet. Oh, and it turns out one of the bridesmaids was one of the nurses when our baby was born. Hi, Haley!

Helped the photographer get all her shots since she was only there about two hours: cake, toasts, family, and trivia. Wait, I forgot to explain that last one. To get Andrea and John to kiss you had to ask a question. So if you knew John was the little drummer boy in the kindergardner Christmas program, you asked Andrea what part he played. She gets it right, you kiss your neighbor. She gets it wrong, she kisses John.

Speeches, then straight to the dance. Nothing too unusual (except that it was FIVE HOURS!) but we did a dance off to give the garter away. I had to sweep the dance floor after a glass was broken. Oh, and the Townhouse staff didn't know how late I was allowed to play until (it took five people to figure that one out). And... I can't believe I almost forgot... Andrea's dad's favorite song was: Tootsie Roll! Sweet! I got footage of that one.

Paige Nielsen & Bryan Sims

When: Friday, May 22nd, 2009
Where: Grand Forks Holiday Inn
1st Dance Song: "Love of My Life" by Sammy Kershaw

Wow. My first wedding of the new season (11th year!) and I was actually a bit nervous. Fortunately, there was no cause. Things went very smoothly... or at least the things I could help with. There was the matter of the leaning cake (the photo doesn't do it justice). We took care of the photos quickly and started disassembling the cake before dinner, so no harm done.

This reception was a great reminder for me. Spend a little time chatting up guests, like Uncle Al, and you'll learn all kinds of things. Who can sing (or can't sing, rather), the bride's first hunting trip, and who is newly single so maybe you can get a hold of your photographer friend and try and introduce him to her (didn't work out). Important things that help make the evening a bit more individualized. That's how I got four different guests asking me how I knew the couple. They all assume we were friends, that I knew them personally. Good. That's what I'm going for.


Bryan and Paige did their first dance right when they arrived. I think they liked the idea of changing things up a bit.

The sign in the pic (to the right) is for the Twins game on Sunday. Paige bought them tickets for part of their honeymoon. We played a game of Hot & Cold for Bryan to find it (he needed help. Apparently its a game you need to practice).

By 12:30 am there were only about five or ten guests NOT on the dance floor. Everyone else was still eager to keep going, but sadly the Holiday Inn sets the rules and we had to call it a night.

Amanda Johnson & Tanner Altendorf

When: Saturday, March 28, 2009
Where: Grand Forks Ramada Inn
1st Dance Song: "Your Everything" by Keith Urban
Father/Daughter Dance: "I Loved Her First" by Heartland

Well, tonight was a welcome night since I haven't had a wedding dance in five weeks. Obviously plans changed because of all the flooding in the region and these two were from the Warren-Alvarado area.


The ceremony was in Alvarado at 4pm. Dinner was served at 6:30pm. At 6:10 there was only 40 people in the room (so I was a bit worried), but within 15 minutes about 250 more had arrived (what, did they bus in together?) and we were off.

Cupcakes for dessert and to the left is the evidence of what happened there. I'll say it to all the grooms: its NEVER a good idea to go for the smash. Trust me. Maybe a dab of frosting on the nose. That can be cute. Smash and we're talking about fixing makeup and its still early with lots of pictures to come. So let it go.



A quick buffet (the Ramada always does it right) and some speeches (the best man's was written in crayon during dinner). The first dance had a photo slide show behind them rather than done separately and I think it worked well for them. They were both introverted and liked the idea of pulling attention away from themselves.




The beginning of the dance was a bit slow, but they warmed up after a bit and ended up adding time to the end until we had to stop because of hotel rules. In attendance were Tanner & Jess Tanke whose wedding I DJ'ed last November. They were (tonight and in November) rather... energetic (photo to the left is during a slow song). They're a lot of fun and not afraid to show it.

Add in a quick fix of the bride's broken bodice (its fun to say!) with a safety pin before sending them on their merry way and a good night to all.

Tiffany Harbott & Kyle Page

When: Saturday, January 17, 2009
Where: Grand Forks Ralph Englestad Arena
1st Dance Song: "At Last" by Etta James
Father/Daughter Dance: "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks

This evening was noticeably different because both the ceremony and reception were in the Ralph lobby. In fact, I was more nervous for the ceremony than the bride and groom (I get worked up because I know there is no margin for error). As usual there were no issues and everything went smoothly.



The bride requested that I trim the first two songs to about two minutes each. This allowed us to move things along and get the guests involved relatively quickly.

There was one major request. The best man was married just last September. During that reception he made his best man, this evening's groom, Kyle, dress in a giant chicken costume. Revenge was nigh. That's the best man Tyler in the suit (that actually belongs to his wife).

Tera Field & Josh Langlei

When: Saturday, January 10, 2009
Where: Fargo Radisson
1st Dance Song: "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts
Father/Daughter Dance: "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle
Mother/Son Dance: "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts
Wedding Party song: "Amazed" by Lonestar

I'm posting this a bit later than usual, in part because I slept for what feels like 15 minutes after getting back from this wedding, but also today we moved a whole mess of furniture in our home. That before heading out for family pictures with photographer Shawna Noel (oh, boy was I ever tired by that time).
I hadn't met or even talked with Josh prior to the day because they live in Georgia. It doesn't take long to learn a lot about someone at a wedding. Tera's dad started us off with a welcoming toast before dinner ("I've taken Josh hunting twice and he's still here so you know I think he's a keeper."). During the meal we learn of Josh and best man Casey's passion for green beans (left) and his favorite color is camouflage and favorite holiday is deer hunting opener (is that a holiday now?)

Tera sent me enough pictures for a video clocking in under 5 minutes. No music preferences from her so I picked 3 ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"; "Days Like This"; "Eight Days Week"). Unfortunately there was an issue so I couldn't use the DVD quality version of the video and had to use the (lower quality) backup though no one seemed to notice.

Rather than have all four of the songs listed above string out the beginning of our dance, I shortened both Butterfly Kisses and My Wish so that guests were joining after a total of 8 minutes - had the songs been left in their original length it would have been about 17 minutes.

Erin Austin & Jordan Grasser

When: Saturday, August 9, 2008 Where: Grand Forks Alerus Center father/bride dance: "I Loved Her First" by Heartland couples 1st dance: "Faraway" by Nickelback "I told you I was going to write you a Thank You when we were at Brianna & Garrett's dance. I apologize for writing it 2.5 years later but things got hectic shortly after we were married. As you may remember, my Dad was battling Lung Cancer and four months after we were married, he passed away. One of my most treasured memories with my Daddy EVER is our dance together at my wedding--and you were part of it so seeing you at another dance made me emotional!  Anyways, you did an AMAZING job at our wedding. Jordan and I did not have one worry. Meeting with you before the wedding reassured us that we picked the right person. The selections you choose are great for a wedding-you really kept our dance going. There was never a dull moment. You kindly suggested shortening the song I danced with my Dad because he got winded out so quickly and yet, it was still perfect. You were prepared when I stepped on a glass and had a band-aid which I so desperately needed :) You are much more than a DJ--you were our go-to person for the evening. You took great pictures which are some of my favorites...especially the cake-cutting pictures.No one else seemed to bother to take a picture! The recording of the speeches was another thing that was not expected, but greatly appreciated. You are a professional and I believe, the best at what you do. Again, better late than never--thank you, thank you, thank you!"  ~Erin Grasser First up, the couple was married at St. Michael's church which meant a 2:30 service in an unairconditioned church (poor kids).  Erin was the smart one and had a handheld battery operated fan with water in the base to help keep cool and I'm very jealous I didn't have it back when I was in a wedding party at the same church.   The favors were small candles made by Jordan's mom.  Guests enjoyed appetizers while the wedding party took pictures in University park.  We drew RSVPs and asked for example kisses each time we heard the klinking of the glasses, which is how we got the photo of Erin's mom and dad to the left. Erin and her dad started the dance because his cancer has left him exhausted.  They danced to a shortened version of "I Loved Her First" before she was joined by Jordan for their first song.  The wedding party stepped up halfway through that and away we went. Unfortunately two different people broke a glass on the dance floor.  We swept but there were still casualties.  I'm pretty sure it still felt better than wearing heals the entire night (but that's just a guess) and I had band-aids in my first aid kit anyway. We took the banner down from behind the head table and had guests sign it with markers provided. To end the evening, I played the first song Erin & Jordan ever danced to ("Crash Into Me" by Dave Matthews), then "We Are Family" while guests danced down the middle of the floor (a stroll); their second time through the gauntlet Erin & Jordan just kept going and headed for the door while I announced their goodbyes before playing one last song for the remaining guests. Below Left: Jordan's sister & dad dancing; Below Right: Erin & her dad after she presented him with the garter.

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New posts can be seen on Robert's website at http://www.robertbenda.com/blog.html, and will be updated every Sunday.