Whitney Vidden & Cody Christie

When: Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Where: Ramada Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "Then" by Brad Paisley

"Thank you so much for agreeing to DJ for our wedding reception. We really appreciate you taking the time to meet with us to make sure our evening goes smoothly!" - Whitney & Cody Christie.

Custom coloring books and crayons were at the guest book table. For kids, in theory, though I noticed quite a few older folks grabbing them.

I can't recall a room getting so quiet and attentive when I've started my introductions. Ever. It was so.... polite.

As a surprise, Whitney and Cody had two extra cakes, one each for their own parents. Both sets are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversaries this month. We brought everyone up for a cutting before the speeches.

And, wow, what speeches. Our best man had three typed single space pages. Usually a big no-no, but it was very good. Most of the wedding party stood up, too.

I had occasion to use my pre-edited songs again. Both of their first two dances, the Brad Paisley followed by "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts, I've made two minute versions. It really helps move things along at the beginning without being abrupt.

The dance was pretty easy. Cody and Whitney provided a sizeable request list of their songs, with a couple marked as 'must' plays. Mixed with guest requests, I always had songs I knew they wanted. It really helps tailor the evening to their tastes.

Kylie Leddige & Todd Tanke

When: Friday, August 20th, 2010

Where: Ramada Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "Tupelo Honey" by Van Morrison

Another family affair. I worked Todd's brother's wedding in November 2008 (Jessica and Tanner) and one of his groomsman's Tanner Altendorf before that.

One obstacle tonight is that Todd gets cluster headaches. His body temperature will spike and bring on a migraine. During dinner he snuck away and took a quick cold shower. If it gets bad enough, he can take a shot, but, apparently, too early, and it doesn't work.

No cake, just cupcakes. Two different best men, maids of honor, and speakers from the crowd, along with his dad's speech. Somewhere, somehow, during the 1st dance, Kylie's dad managed to sneak out of the room and I didn't notice. So we bumped Todd's dance with his mom while I found Larry.

Todd, his brother Tanner, the other Tanner (Junior), and Chris have a bit of a tradition. Play the song "Wipeout," Chris is the surfboard, and the guys take turns. Hilarity ensued when Tanner took a spill, then Junior decided to ride the board on his tummy. Just stop and picture that visual.

After the dance wrapped up, the best man (and my past client) Tanner got attacked by cupcakes. In the ear.

On a more personal note, I'm exhausted. I barely recovered at all for my wedding the next day. If you're wondering: 7am to Noon, taking care of my 18 month old daughter and some household chores. During her nap, I was tearing up a floor on top of a floor on top of a floor on top of a floor as part of a bathroom remodel (yes, remove four floors in order to install one new one). At 3pm I loaded up the truck with my gear, cleaned up, drove to Grand Forks, setup, and worked the reception til 1am. No, I don't take breaks. During the reception I drank half a gallon of water and a V8 (great for replacing salt). Twice that the next day along with a couple of milks and an hour sitting in front of an air conditioner.

Megan Neppl & Austin Hauck

When: Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Where: Holiday Inn, Detroit Lakes, MN
1st Dance Song: "Fishin' in the Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

In between the ceremony and reception the entire wedding party hopped on pontoons for pictures on the lake. They reached shore just in time to avoid a downpour.

The photographer, Brian Walker, setup a photobooth. It printed a copy for the guest and one for Megan and Austin. Brian also did pictures starting before the ceremony and was at the reception until about 11pm. Quite a long day for him.

Along with my usual duties, I was hired to make a video slideshow and film the ceremony. The former I've done quite a bit, the latter, not so much. The slide show came out great with a little surprise. Each Megan and Austin recorded a message of love and thanks for their parents that I dropped in. It starts at the 3:15 mark of the video. The quality isn't the best since we improvised. Between the ceremony and reception I had them read these messages to my voicemail, which I then downloaded as mp3s. If you get a chance to try the cupcakes from Central Market Grocery in Detroit Lakes, take it. They provided the dessert for the reception and I snuck one after the end of the evening. Fantastic frosting and pumpkin spice in the cupcake. See more at Detroit Lakes Wedding DJ.

Michelle Sande & Josh Schake

When: Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Where: Clarion Inn, Grand Forks, ND
1st Dance Song: "When I Look At You" by Miley Cyrus

"Hi Robert! Just thought I'd drop you a line and thank you for the great work at our wedding reception. We had a fantastic time with you. I appreciated the fact that you listened to our music preferences and catered our dance to us! The little game during dinner was hilarious, too! We will reccommend you to our friends!" -Michelle Schake

Khaki suits instead of black tuxedos seem very fortuituous on a day like today. Hot and sticky. The photographer, Brian (of Brian's Photographry), had them rotating back inside between pictures to keep from sweating too bad. Also awesome was, instead of cake, a sundae bar! A soft serve machine with toppings at the ready.

Once again I digitally edited their first dance song to shorten it up a bit, from about four minutes down to two and a half. It's something I can't recommend enough when you'll be having multiple special dances at the beginning, thus excluding guests. The reality of it is, these songs are mostly for the two people dancing, not for the guests.

I pretty noticeable mistake on my part tonight. I missed a change. Josh was supposed to dance with his mom to a certain Brad Paisley song (Oh, Love). I had it, and it was taken care of quickly, but there was still my gaffe. I had already begun bringing out wedding party to start the rest of the dance. It's the kind of mistake I pride myself on NOT making and one that will stick with me for a while even though the net result was Josh's dance with his mom started about eight seconds late.

See more at Grand Forks Wedding DJ.

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.