This past weekend, Mike and I (Eric!) had the honor of providing the soundtrack for Mike and Nicola Malaney’s wedding day at the Historic Shady Lane in Manchester, PA!

Background
I first met with Mike and Nicola last summer. Mike and Nicola live in Delaware and they decided to have their wedding at the beautiful Historic Shady Lane (HSL) in York County.

We met at a Starbucks near the King of Prussia area and we hit it off right away. I knew their wedding would be a blast!

I love meeting with our couples, not only because it is obviously important to know how they envision their wedding, but because I like getting to know them. Mike and Nicola seemed like old friends, like the kind of couple I could totally hang out with over some pints.

Over the last year, especially in the last few months, I kept in constant contact with Mike and Nicola. They had lots of great ideas for how they wanted their wedding to look, feel, and sound and I was happy to be part of their planning process.

Not to mention, they both have excellent taste in music – which throughout our conversations and meetings, I found out was eerily similar to my personal tastes in music!

Ceremony
Mike and Nicola were married on May 30, 2015, a beautiful day for a wedding, at the Rose Garden at the Historic Shady Lane.

We provided the sound for the ceremony, but Mike and Nicola had tapped their two friends to perform on keyboard and vocals.

The ceremony began as Mike and the Pastor stood at the altar and the groomsmen ushered in the grandparents and parents. This was followed by a steady stream of groomsmen and bridesmaids – it seemed never-ending!! There were a total of 24!!

After the Matron of Honor and Best Man walked up to the altar and positioned themselves, Nicola and her father made a dramatic entrance via horse-drawn carriage! It was so moving!

The Ceremony was truly wonderful; Mike and Nicola each read their own and told their friends and family about how they met, how they fell in love, and how they plan to raise children together!

After the Ceremony, Mike and Nicola left on the horse-drawn carriage and the guests all made their way up to the Greenhouse for Cocktail Hour!

Cocktail Hour
The Greenhouse at Historic Shady Lane was the location for the Cocktail Hour. Mike and Nicola had decided that they wanted a classy musical selection that included Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Mel Torme, and Frank Sinatra.

 

Introductions
Remember how I mentioned there were 24 bridesmaids and groomsmen?!?

It was time to introduce them pair by pair!

But despite how many people there were, it was a blast. I always enjoy making the introductions and the energy that filled the tent at Historic Shady Lane was tremendous and made for some epic announcements!

I acknowledged the officiant, the pianist, and the vocalist from the ceremony first, followed by giving a shout out to Mike’s grandmother and great-aunt. Then I introduced Nicola’s parents, Mike’s parents, the ring-bearer and flower girl, and finally the HUGE bridal party!

By the time I introduced Mike and Nicola, their guests went wild!

First Dance
Mike and Nicola had specific instructions on their first dance – I had to wait for Mike’s cue, and I had to cut it off at a certain point. The reason? The Malaneys had a choreographed dance that had the whole room mesmerized!

Elbow’s “One Day Like This”

Welcome

After their fancy dance moves, the crowd calmed enough to hear Nicola’s father, Nick, give an eloquent welcome speech that included references to Nicola’s lifelong obsession with horses, and a general welcome to guests who came from all over the world: The UK, Bermuda, Texas, Delaware, Florida, and countless other states.

Fun note: Nicola’s family is from England!

Toasts

I had to contain my excitement when it came time for toasts. The Best Man had a big surprise that I was to be involved with, but first we heard from the Maid of Honor (Nicola’s Rutgers University Roommate) and the Matron of Honor (Mike’s sister) who each gave wonderful toasts.

The Best Man speech was a funny one.

He pretended to have download a lie detector cell phone app, which came with cords to ‘connect’ to the bride and groom, and began his toast. Throughout the toast, I was to either ring a positive ‘Ding!’ sound, or a negative ‘Buzz!’ sound, depending on the Best Man’s speech (was I had a copy of) – it was hilarious and one of the most memorable speeches we have ever heard (or been involved with!).

Dinner
Dinner was buffet-style and was catered by Tasteful Occasions – the Mac & Cheese and Beef Brisket were delicious - I could have gone for seconds (but alas, a DJ is usually too busy to even eat one serving)!

Glass-Tapping During Dinner

Have you been to a wedding where the guests tapped their glasses? Tradition dictates that at the moment of collective tapping, the bride & groom kiss.

The Malaneys and I wanted to take that tradition and spin it on its head a bit.

Rather than a collective tapping resulting in the immediate bride & groom kiss, we decided to announce a couple (from a list the Malaneys provided before the wedding) and have them kiss first. After that couple completed their kiss, the Malaneys had to copy their exact kiss.

As you can imagine, this quickly turned HILARIOUS!

We highly recommend this as a way to keep your guests entertained during dinner.

Cake Cutting & Parent Dances
After dinner, Mike and Nicola cut their cake and had their parent dance.

Nicola and her father danced to America’s “The Last Unicorn” and Mike and his mother danced to the Temptations’ “My Girl”.

The Malaneys had requested an In-Laws Dance after the Parent Dances, during which Nicola danced with Mike’s father and Mike danced with Nicola’s mother! It was a neat little moment to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” – it starts off slowly, but then speeds up around: 35, at which point we invited everyone out to the dance floor and it was a party!!

Open Dance Floor

The dance floor stayed pretty packed all night while we played a variety of oldies, disco, 90s pop, and new Top 40.

Serenade

Mike was a member of Pi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at the University of Delaware. There was a large group of guests who were also members of this Fraternity.

So I announced this special serenade and the guys had Nicola sit in the middle of the dancefloor while they sang “A Serenade to a Girl” to her.
It was awesome!

While they were in singing mode, Mike and Nicola had mentioned that one of their guests was celebrating their 60^th birthday that same day, so I had them, and everyone in the room, sing her “Happy Birthday” – that was also a neat moment.

Last Song
The party went strong until the very end, at which point we played the Outro to Mike and Nicola’s First Dance, Elbow’s “One Day Like This.”

Final Notes
This wedding was so much fun and I’m so happy for Mike and Nicola! I’m also super jealous of their European Honeymoon later this summer! Good luck, keep in touch, and we hope to see you someday soon!

Vendor Shout Outs!

Historic Shady Lane – Love this venue so much and we love working with Steve Kohr and Lauren Stine!

Tessa Marie Images – You were a pleasure to work with and we look forward to viewing your photos!

Tasteful Occasions – Food was incredible and thanks for the giant water dispenser!

Foster’s Flower Shop – You did a heck of a job with flowers at my wedding, and you did an awesome job with the Malaney Wedding!