Talk about a great way to start off the 2019 wedding season! Katherine and Matt had their wedding reception at the beautiful Calamigos Equestrian Center in Burbank, which immediately followed their ceremony at USC. Their Alma Mater plays a big role in their relationship, because it was on a USC school trip to Disneyland that Katherine and Matt struck up their first conversation after Kat heard Matt humming the song “Say You Like Me” by We The Kings. Keep these two things in mind as the evening progresses.
The bridal party entered the room with great enthusiasm for the Grand Entrance and formed a “Hi-Five” tunnel for Katherine and Matt to run through on their way to the dance floor. After a quick thank you speech, they danced for the first time as husband and wife. The salads were served and the toasts began. Timing was super important here because unbeknownst to the newlyweds, Katherine’s mom had arranged a very special surprise. Pulling this surprise off through took a Herculean combined effort. My assistant, Johanna, was outside coordinating it…the absolutely amazing catering staff at Calamigos moved like ninjas to quietly get the food service started on time…and their photographer John was in the perfect position to capture the look on Katherine and Matt’s faces. At the conclusion of last speech, I opened up the curtain to reveal the USC Marching Band who entered the room with their usual flourish and serenated Katherine and Matt with the USC Fight Song. They turned around and played a concert for the astounded and excited guests. The energy in the room soared as they concluded their set, but because of this unexpected surprise, we had our work cut out for us to get things back on schedule. Since the servers at Calamigos did such an amazing job to serve the food on time, the guests were through eating by the time the band finished playing. Their photographer, John, got them through their table visits in record time and we were able to not only start the dancing with no loss of energy in the room, we absolutely packed the floor with guests!
Now, remember that song Matt was humming at Disneyland? This was the song they chose to cut their cake to. (I had to tell everyone the story.) Right after that, the bouquet toss (with Kat’s drink in hand I might add) got all of the single ladies on the floor. Next up was the garter toss, which brought out all of the gentlemen and the rest of the ladies. Once the garter was thrown, it was on to the after party. Once again, the dance floor was packed as the music evolved into some of Katherine and Matt’s favorite genres…Alternative, Hip-Hop, Rock, and Country. As far apart as those music genres are to each other, it didn’t stop the crowd from rolling from one song to the next with great enthusiasm. I couldn’t believe when the five hours was up and it was time to say good night. Instead of a sappy slow song, Katherine and Matt ended the night in their circle of love by getting everyone to join them in singing “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. Like I said…it was a great way to kick off 2019!
Dave’s recommended vendors for this wedding are:
- Calamigos Equestrian Center – www.calamigosequestrian.com
- Dlugolecki Photography – www.dlugophoto.zenfolio.com