Leah & Will at Montreux Golf Club with Tiers of Joy Celebration Cakes

I had an awesome time last night at Will & Leah's reception at the gorgeous Montreux Golf Club.  Absolutely great people all around: the bride & groom, their families & friends, and the super staff at Montreux.  

Leah & Will are a great match.  When you meet them, you can tell immediately that they are a couple.  They look great separate- both are tall and good-looking, but they walk into a room and a glow of warmth & confidence & ease just fills the space.  There is no doubt that they are together and are each other's soulmates.  They provided me with an inspired songlist of slow, romantic ballads during cocktails, a great selection of jazz during dinner and some fun dancing selections for later.  That they appreciate music was immediately apparent as the guests' tables were all named for love songs.  

The bridal party entered to "The Final Countdown" by Europe and the newlyweds to "All You Need is Love" by the Fab Four.  Indeed, the Beatles were quite apparent throughout the evening as their first dance was "Till There Was You" and right before that... well I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Father-Daughter Dance

After their Grand Entrance, the servers started bringing out the salads and then the main courses.  The waiters do this incredible ballet when they serve: four or five of them, each with two of three plates.  They wind their way through the tables and simultaneously serve everyone seated at a table.  When I saw their coordination, I was impressed, as the guests had three choices from the menu for their main course!  Not an easy task, but they made it look seamless and were very efficient as everyone had their meal in no time at all.  They were very kind to feed a hungry DJ as well, and I had swordfish on mushroom risotto with delicious sauteed veggies.  One of the best meals I have had the pleasure of trying this year!  Billie, Montreux's coordinator is always hovering around, making sure everything is going smoothly and that everyone is happy- bride and groom, guests, and even the help (me).  It is such a pleasure to work with her and all of the staff there- true professionals!

Will serenading Leah!

The toasts were great, but one line from Gary's toast (Leah's dad) really stuck with me.  He said that 35 years ago, on his wedding day, he looked down the aisle, saw his bride-to-be, and he had never seen anything so lovely.  Until today...  Wow.  Just a proud, happy father.  After the toasts, Will had a surprise for Leah. I helped him with a pair of microphones and with the same guitar that his dad had serenaded his mom on their wedding day years ago, he sang and played a Beatles tune just for his new bride.  What a perfect moment.  Then they danced their first dance, and the evening was off and running.  Gary & Leah then danced to "Unforgettable" by Nat & Natalie, and then all the married couples came up onto the dance floor for the Anniversary Dance, one of my all-time favorites, "At Last" by Etta James.  There were so many couples, the dance floor overflowed into the tables.  There were at least a dozen couples over 20 years, and half that over 40 years!  The longest married couple (54 years!) had also travelled the farthest (Hawaii) and I found out their wedding song, "April Love" by Pat Boone and played it for them later that night.

Cake by Tiers of Joy

The cake was from Tiers of Joy here in Reno at the Victorian House, and it was delicious- red velvet.  Tesla & Leigh Anne do such an amazing job with not only the look of their cakes, but its taste as well.  I don't usually have cake at an event, but with cake from Tiers of Joy I always make an exception.

Leah & Will and everyone at the end of the evening

Dancing was a blast with music from all genres keeping the floor hopping.  The Motown set was especially busy, and I was introduced to a couple of new (to me) songs that rocked the house: "Gangnam Style" by Psy and one that I recently heard in Spain, "Ai Se Eu Tu Pego".  They are now in my library.  Thanks to Leah's folks for making me feel so at home.  Thanks to Billie for her hard work making everything run perfectly.  And thanks to Will and Leah for allowing me to be a part of their night.  It is getting old, me saying this, but I love my job!

Jessie & Colin at Montreux Golf Club with Tiers of Joy Cakes

Montreux's Ceremony Site

Wow.  A ceremony and reception at the Montreux Golf Club is a special thing and I was privileged to be a part of Jessie & Colin's big day there this past weekend.  When you combine the beauty of the property, the professionalism of the staff, and add in an amazing couple with their incredible families and friends, you know a fun evening is ahead!

Colin & Jessie are one of those couples that you know when you meet and talk with them that their day will be a memorable and a fun one.  The miles traveled for their friends and family to attend must be right up there with any weddings I've ever done.  Practically everyone came in from somewhere else with New York & Montana claiming the most but with many other states close behind.  What a great bunch of folks on a gorgeous day!

It was my first time at Montreux and it was all I've heard it would be- a great place to celebrate your wedding day.  As I had never been there before professionally, I arranged a meeting with Billie Doyle, the events manager at the Club and she graciously zipped me around in a golf cart, showing me the ceremony site and where everything would be set up and then taking me over to the reception tent.  She is a true professional, always hovering around to make sure everything goes very smoothly before and during the event.  Her staff are some of the friendliest people in the industry, going above and beyond all evening with ever-present smiles on their faces.  It is obvious they enjoy people and what they do, and they provided happy and efficient service throughout the event.

The DJ's view

The ceremony site is unique in that it overlooks the golf course's practice hole which is immaculately groomed- birds singing in the pines; bees buzzing amongst the flowers- the whole shebang.  Wonderful setting- it reminds me of some of my favorite places in Montana.  Hard to believe you are just minutes from Reno but you truly are immersed in the natural beauty here.

For a DJ, it requires a bit more preparation as the site requires a generator, but it is so worth the extra effort.  Make sure you get a quiet generator, as the site is serene and you wouldn't want something marring the whole magical effect.  My new Honda ran perfectly and noiselessly, providing power for microphones and music for seating & the ceremony.  The bridal party walked down to "Canon in D" by Jurassic 5, a fun modern twist on the Pachbel's original, while Jessie entered to Vitamin String Quartet's cover of "Only Time".  I played "Me & You" by Kenny Chesney during their sand ceremony, and when they kissed and were pronounced husband & wife, they and their party exited to "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder.   As I was packing up to move to the reception site I heard several guests singing along with Stevie  :)

The Reception Site

The reception was held back at the Clubhouse.  The guests arrived and enjoyed drinks on the deck while down in the tent everything was being made ready for the arrival of the bride & groom.  The guests moved to the expansive and beautifully decorated tent, and to the strands of "Eye of the Tiger" the bridal party made their Grand Entrance.  Jessie & Colin headed to the dance floor and danced their first dance to Blake Shelton's "God Gave Me You" and then made their way over to the double-sided buffet line where Montreux had a delicious BBQ-themed dinner spread out for everyone complete with chicken, ribs and even prime rib.  Another thing about Billie & her crew: they are super-efficient.  Many places say dinner will be at so-and-so but it actually arrives a bit later.  Everything was anticipated and ready- you won't mess up the timeline because of this venue. Well before the toasts, they were popping bottles and pouring glasses just to be ready to pass them out when called for.  A real pleasure to work with this group!

Yummy Cake from Tiers of Joy 

After some great toasts by the best man, maid of honor and Jessie's dad, the B&G cut into an always extraordinary cake from Tiers of Joy.  Many cakes look beautiful but taste like sheet cake.  Leigh Anne & Tesla from Tiers of Joy make beautiful cakes from scratch that are also delicious.  What a concept!  Cakes that look and taste amazing- why is that so difficult for some bakers?  The Montreux staff quickly had the rest cut up and distributed while Jessie and her dad Craig danced their Father-Daughter dance.  They started with Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl", a great Father-Daughter song, but about a minute in I faded into LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" and Jessie & her dad surprised the guests with some amazing moves.  I will never think of "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" the same again!  After 30-40 seconds I faded back into "My Little Girl" and Colin and his mom Maryanne joined Jessie & her dad, and then after a few more moments invited everyone up to join the dancing.

The Bridal Party does some Shuffling...

After some dancing, a Money Dance and then an Anniversary Dance followed, with a lot of couples in the 30-40 year range.  The last couple up had been married 46 years... wow.  Dancing went on all night long, with quite a large and diverse bunch of requests making up the vast majority of songs I played.  Great crowd!  Good dancers and just nice people who were extremely happy to be sharing Colin & Jessie's special moments.  I was so pleased to be able to be a part of their day, from the beautiful ceremony all the way through the last dance.  I love my job!  Congrats to Colin & Jessie: may your all your days be filled with music and love.  :)