I always encourage my clients to find ways to make their wedding unique to their personalities and tastes.  I’m always thrilled when a couple takes the opportunity to share a bit of themselves with their friends and families.  I love to DJ at weddings that are different each week, and this past weekend I was SO excited to play at the amazingly unique wedding of Erin McPherson and Adrian Pasricha at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, PA

Erin and Adrian held their nuptials at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was a beautiful and unique ceremony blending their two families, customs, and traditions together.

The music for the entire day was spectacular!  An amazing variety of Pop, Rap, Indian, Latin.  There was also room for some 80′s and 90′s hits as well.  Erin and Adrian put great care into providing me guidance for the songs they knew their guests would love.  Their hard work paid off with a fantastic playlist that I’m sure I’ll be encouraging future couples to review for unique and special song ideas.

Erin & Adrian’s first dance was very sweet and beautiful.

Once it was time to get the party started, the dance floor was immediately packed.  Erin was beaming all evening long.

Adrian and his sister Nicole are both great dancers, no matter what the style of music.

Things got really wild during the set of Indian music – it was truly spectacular!

Erin and Adrian were on the dance floor all the way until 2AM!  I’m sure the after party was a huge smash too!

Evenings like this are the reason any body ever becomes a DJ.  I really do consider it a privilege to help so many people dance, sing and celebrate.  Erin and Adrian are now off to Italy for their honeymoon.  I can’t thank them enough for asking me to help make their day as unique and wonderful as they are.

Venue: Carnegie Museum Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA
Photography: Studio Bash
Videography: DMB Videography
Cake: Cakes By Tammy
Day Of Wedding Coordinator: Great Expectations Events

Eunie and Frank held a traditional and stunning ceremony at the museum’s Hall of Architecture before the guests made their way down the hallway to the Music Hall.

I can’t say enough about how fantastic the Carnegie Museum works as a wedding and reception venue. The surroundings are truly breathtaking. The entire staff, led by Andrea Verosko, makes sure that every detail is absolutely perfect.

During cocktail hour, Frank & Eunie held a small Korean ceremony which honored the members of both their families. While the guests watched from the Music Hall’s balcony, Eunie’s brother, Yulgene explained the details of the unique and sweet service.

Frank and Eunie planned most of the details of their wedding from their home in New York City. They had very specific ideas for the dancing portion of the evening and we were able to coordinate their ideas through phone calls and online. While the music list they submitted to me did not contain most of the ‘typical’ Pittsburgh wedding songs, I could tell that they had taken the time to create a list of songs that their guests would enjoy. The results were spectacular. The dance floor was completely full throughout the evening, during many songs that I have never had the opportunity to play for a wedding crowd before. Their playlist contained a wide variety of fun upbeat music that really made the evening feel extraordinarily customized just for this group of friends and family.

After dinner, while Eunie danced with her father, Frank joined them with Eunie’s mother.

Once the music started the guests grew more excited with every song that came on. I had the best time using the songs from Frank & Eunie’s list… they knew their guests’ tastes so well!

Eunie and Frank truly knew the songs that would make their wedding day perfect. They had people fly to Pittsburgh from all over the world to celebrate their marriage, and they knew songs that would be fun and familiar to everyone. While it’s easy as a DJ to fall back on reliable dance song ‘standards’, I always remember to listen to my clients who personally know the people who are going to be running to the dance floor for a particular song. Having such a unique dance playlist made a spectacular ending to a wonderful day.

After all the excitement of pulling off the perfect wedding & reception, the newlyweds are now headed off to Africa for a two week honeymoon safari in Tanzania!

Venue: Carnegie Museum, Music Hall Foyer
Photography: Annie O’Neill
Florist: Gidas Flowers

As many of you know from reading my blog, I’m a HUGE fan of the extra details a bride and groom include on their wedding day to make it even more unique and special. While most weddings and receptions are full of special traditions, I find that the customized elements are what people remember and talk about most. While this can add extra work to the planning and organizing of the day, the results can be spectacular. I can honestly say, I have never met anyone more up to this task then Christina Ciavarra & Tim Weir. I had the honor of being a part of a very customized and elegant reception this past Saturday at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott.

Christina & Tim took full advantage of the opportunity to create a day that their friends and family will be talking about for years to come. They had a logo created using their last initial and used it in various ways throughout the venue. Christina even made her own cake topper out of crystals, and the staff at the Marriott hung a special light to add extra sparkle.

From the first time we met, Christina & Tim knew they wanted a slideshow to play at the reception during cocktail hour. We decided it would be ideal to play both in the entry to the ballroom on a flat panel monitor AND projected on the big screen provided by the Marriott. I LOVE creating these montages for my clients. The guests always surround and watch them over and over.

I love the sign they placed at the front of the picture table… it said “Happily Ever After, all because two people fell in love”

Christina and Tim allowed me a lot of freedom to develop a playlist that would match their style and the vibe they wanted sustained throughout the reception. I was able to create a hip, stylish collection of modern, swing, and country music that worked perfectly for cocktail and dinner. Once the dance floor opened, people were dancing to music from every genre possible. There was so much energy in the room, I could have played all night long.

Dinner featured various food stations scattered across the room. My favorite had to be the Mashed Potato Martini Bar. Talk about unique!

Other custom elements Christina & Tim included was a giant photo booth, and having their logo shining down on the dance floor. LOVE THIS!

Christina’s 83 year old grandmother was a dancing machine all night long!

What’s this? Could it be the incomparable Heather of WeddingsbyHeather? Oh yes, she took a break from working her tail off to dance to “Dancing Queen”. Special thanks to her partner and hubby Craig… working with them makes my entire job ‘easy peasy’

Christina and Tim were a ton of fun to work with, and getting to know them so well really helped me to determine what they were looking for without them having to spend a lot of time trying to spell everything out for me. While Christina & Tim added a lot of flair to their reception, they were able to stay focused on the important elements of the day… friends, family and their love for each other. The rest was icing on the cake (or bacon bits on the martini glass of mashed potatoes?)

Seriously, knowing how detail oriented Christina & Tim were about their day makes me excited that they chose me to play a port of what was an exceptional, and extaordinarily fun evening.

Venue: Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
Photography: Heather Lahtinen

Robin & Jason combined many custom elements to their day that made it elegant and romantic, while also feeling very modern and fun. The cocktail hour was held in the ballroom and featured wine tasting as well as a wide variety of appetizers. The Twentieth Century Club has a very sophisticated atmosphere and the staff works diligently to tend to the needs of every guest.

I worked with Robin & Jason to make sure that the music would be varied enough to satisfy the needs of their friends and family. Cocktail & dinner music consisted largely of Rat Pack style standards, with a few contemporary artists added in for some variety. Once the dancing started, I was sure to include some modern songs to really get the party going.

After cocktail hour, the guests moved upstairs to the dining room, located on the 3rd Floor of the club. I loved that the bridal table was a large ‘family style’ table where the Bridal party could all sit and have face to face conversations with one another.

While the guests were having their dinner, the ballroom was prepared for the remainder of the evening. The most amazing cookie table I’ve ever seen was set up for the guests to enjoy. There were custom boxes available for the guests to take cookies home with them and they were certainly a HUGE hit with everyone.

Once dinner was completed the guests returned to the ballroom for the cake cutting and dancing. I have to take a moment to mention how terrific it was to work with the talented Tony Urban. It’s so important to hire a photographer who understands how their attitude and commitment will effect the day, and Tony’s work certainly speaks for itself. Check out his fantastic images of Robin & Jason here.

When I first met with Robin & Jason they told me how much they loved to go dancing and how excited they were to enjoy themselves on the dance floor. They had lots of other things to do during the reception, but I was pleased to see that they always made time to come back to get some dancing in.

So, what made this event so extraordinary? Was it simply because it was classy and contemporary, elegant and exciting, both serious and yet seriously fun? Well yes, all of those things certainly helped, but mostly it was because of the simple fact they are a reflection of Robin & Jason. Two extraordinary people shared pieces of themselves and put time and effort into creating the day of the their dreams, and it was truly extraordinary.

Venue: Twentieth Century Club, Pittsburgh, PA
Photography: Tony Urban
Florist: Mocha Rose Floral Designs