Kaela Erickson & Derek Laudal

When: Friday, August 6th, 2010

Where: Marriot, Moorhead, MN
1st Dance Song: "Whatever It Is" by Zac Brown Band

"Thank you so much for all of your time, help, patience, organization, and fun that you provided us for our wedding. We continously get compliments regarding the music DJ. We highly recommend you to others. Thank you for the perfect time at our wedding." Kaela and Derek

There are little things you notice when trying to get guests interested and excited. I should have noticed I wasn't quite engaging them. Not that I did bad. People still had fun. However, I left with that nagging feeling that I really could have done much better.

Milestone photographry was here tonight. Dave Arnson is his name. One of the four or so photographers I recommend.

Once again, the couple had very few specifc requests (that's been pretty common this summer). She likes Zac Brown Band and Brown Eyed Girl. They didn't want the YMCA, Mickey, Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey, and C'Mon Ride It. That's about it. Naturally, Kaela changed it so her nephews could have the Chicken Dance and Hokey Pokey. Then, later, she requested C'mon Ride It (the Choo Choo Train), which I used to make Derek lead a conga line. I teased her that she only didn't like five songs and had me play three of them. That's how it works, though. We make compromises for family.

See more at Fargo Wedding DJ.

Lindsey Altpeter & Ryan Martens

When: Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Where: Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "Look at Me" by Carrie Underwood

Ryan is Canadian, which brings with it a few different wedding traditions. The biggest change for me is they provide an MC to do the introductions. I haven't talked so little since my first year DJ'ing. Fortunately I still had people wrangling and setting up their video to keep me busy.

For their video, I supplied (no charge, as usual) the LCD projector and my custom portable screen (5'x6'). The benefit is I can set it all up and test the video before guests arrive. Then it all disappears until a few minutes before show time.

The best man is Brad Miller. He and Ryan used to play UND hockey together and were responsible for those sweet Brad Miller Time videos.

We did a fun elimination game to give away the garter. Scott, one of our ushers, won. Cool for me was getting to eliminate former UND Sioux standout and current St. Louis Blue TJ Oshie (not for anything in particular, just how many NHL'ers will I ever get to boss around in my life? At least one, I suppose.).

See more at Grand Forks Wedding DJ.

Ashley Skavlem & Jon Champagne

When: Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Where: Bestwestern Townhouse, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "All About Loving You" by Bon Jovi

"We were really impressed with the quality and performance from Robert Benda. We got married almost three weeks ago and we are still receiving compliments on how good of a job that Robert did. I would recommend him to anyone!! He knows how to keep things going and how to have a good time!! Thank you very much Robert for making our reception unforgettable!!!" - Ashley Champagne

I got to mix things up a little and we did their first dance song when they arrived, and cut the cake as a lead into the dollar dance.

I delivered a 2 Liter of Dr. Pepper for Jon. It's his favorite. And nothing says classy and romantic at a wedding like placing a giant 2 liter at the head table. He enjoyed it, though.

Unfortunately, Jon is a big Boston Red Sox fan. While we all can't be perfect, Ashely indulged him by having a few Red Sox items put into her bustle. That was sweet.

Tass Malsam & Joe Wood

When: Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Where: Hilton Garden Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw

They stopped by the Eagles Crest for pictures at the golf course. Tass' heels sank right into the green. The limo broke down (that seems to happen a lot). Neither the broken one, or the replacement had air conditioning. It's 80 degrees today and very humid. They were very drained when they arrived at the Hilton. I got Tass a damp wash cloth for her neck, got them into the cool ballroom, and things got much better.

Tass and Joe are using the same cake knife Tass' parents used. Already engraved with the parents' wedding day, they'll add their own engraving and start a family tradition

A larger, single tiered cake for pictures. Slips of paper out gave guests a chance to offer congratulations or advice.

No bouquet toss (no single friends) or garter tonight. Just a few requests and the dollar dance. Even the first dance was a bit different. I cut out almost two minutes (the first verse and chorus), and we also invited guests halfway through to start things quickly.

Kate Priebe & Seth Sorenson

When: Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Where: Under a tent, Outside Thompson, ND
1st Dance Song: "Come Rain, Come Shine" by Ray Charles

Only my third Sunday wedding in 12 years, and my only under a tent this year. The day couldn't be better, partly cloudy and temps in the upper 70's. Their guest book was (were?) fabric swatches for each guest to sign. Kate and Seth took a picture on the tree swing and kicked off our evening with a big introduction set to 'Crazy in Love' by Beyonce.

Seth's mom put together a nice slide show on Power Point. Multiple pictures up at the same time and the entire thing was only about five minutes. Very nice. I took care of the projector and screen, though it was tough with the sun peeking through the sides of the tent.

You can NOT do enough about mosquitos at these evenings. Once sundown comes, and they're everywhere, I don't care how much you sprayed your yard this week. If it wasn't an hour ago it won't matter. Oh, and bug zappers attract bugs. I ended up bug spraying (that's a verb, right?) guests, using my own stash.

The highlight was a two year old's request, a song called "Buzz's Jig."

The night capped off with Seth and Kate lighting two 'Wish Lanterns.' These are paper lanterns with a special candle at the bottom. The effect is the same of a hot air balloon. They each lighted the candles and sent them floating into the night sky. A proper send off and good night.

Brandie Cink & Eric Burckhard

When: Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Where: Hilton Garden Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison

Today started earlier than usual. I was hired to videotape the ceremony. Brandie wanted video, but not to spend a fortune, and was OK with what I called "uncle" quality. My gal and I brought in a pair of cameras, recorded audio off the Hopper Danley sound system for a good quality (I hope, I haven't heard it yet).

Hey, look at that, the photographers are West Fargo's Milestone Photography, another fine vendor from Freshwed.com. My, what professionals! (Too much? Well, they were great to work with...)

Poured champagne was served by the Hilton for the speeches, except that everyone kind of forgot to do a toast with their speech. That left me. Don't worry, not my first time. I will say, it was the first time I saw a (clean) diaper used as a speech prop. Kudos to Jenica for that one.

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.