Kyle & Courtney at Northstar Overlook Pavilion with Reverend Kris Dahir & Tiers of Joy Cakes

Had a blast at Courtney & Kyle's wedding reception up at the gorgeous Overlook Pavilion at Northstar.  Northstar is a special venue which I have had the pleasure of working several times now.  The Overlook Pavilion is a big deck above the skating rink complete with a large open tent, an enclosed bar building, a firepit for later in the evening, and plenty of space for guest tables and comfortable alcoves to sit in.  The meadow next to the party area is a beautiful spot for a wedding ceremony and that is where Kris Dahir presided over a thoughtful & fun exchanging of vows.  I had the pleasure of working with Kris again the following evening and I like how he tailors the ceremony to the individual couples.

Their ceremony

I spent a couple of hours a few weeks back with Courtney planning the music and events.  She is super fun and her music choices set a uniquely upbeat and joyous vibe throughout the ceremony and into the reception.  One of her favorite artists is Jimmy Buffet and we were able to find a Vitamin String Quartet album of Buffet songs for seating.  Imagine 'Margaritaville' done in strings- classy but fun!  Her bridal party members entered the ceremony to a guitar rendition of Canon in D, and then she came in to an instrumental snippet from 'Weather With You', another Buffet song.  She and Kyle then left to the entire song, and began posing for pix as the guests enjoyed hors deurves and drinks.

Toasts

The staff at Northstar are exceptional.  Joey the wait captain was very involved and efficient all evening and Nancy the coordinator made sure everything ran very smoothly and is a true professional.  Tiers of Joy made Kyle & Courtney's cake, and like I have said in the past, their cakes are as good tasting as they are looking, which is a rarity amongst bakers these days.  I usually like to have a piece whereas I don't any other bakers, but it was cut & passed out efficiently by Joey & staff and the extra pieces were eaten up quickly thereafter.  A couple of things that were really neat: Courtney & Kyle had a Time Capsule and also had s'more favors.  The Time Capsule was a wooden box that they will open on their first anniversary and everyone wrote little notes and left surprises in the box for them.   What a great idea!  The s'mores were a plastic box with all the ingredients that you could take home or break open and use at Northstar's firepit that was lit after dark.

Tiers of Joy Cake

Courtney & Kyle had different songs played for each of their bridal party pairs, from Social Distortion to the Specials to the Beach Boys and Baha Men.  When the newlyweds were announced, they came in to Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars.  Very cool.  Dinner was family style, which is a nice change from the countless buffets I see.  After some great toasts they cut the cake and then danced their first dance to "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?" by Thompson Square.

First Dance

Lots of dancing followed, with everything from Clapton to Katy Perry, from MJ to Buffet, and lots in between.  Just a super couple, with a lot of great friends and family who celebrated the night away under the tent and stars up at Northstar.  Congrats to the newlyweds!

Courts & Kyle

Winding around the Pavilion