Justin & Kim

January 20, 2013
Justin & Kim

When I first met Justin and Kim, I knew I HAD to work with them for their wedding reception at Sodo Park in Seattle. Maybe it was something about their infectious personalities, or maybe it was the fact they wanted a unique, yet really fun reception that had guests walking saying it was the best reception they had ever been to. Likely, it was both.

One thing that I love about wedding entertainment is that it isn’t a cookie-cutter process – every reception begins with a blank sheet of paper. Because half of their guests would be coming from the Midwest and East Coast and were used to a different style and flow of wedding receptions, we designed a hybrid reception itinerary that accommodated both.  What the song list below doesn’t tell you is that shortly after Justin & Kim’s Grand Entrance and First Dance, every single guest was on the dance floor celebrating with them to “I Gotta Feelin'” “September” and “Get This Party Started” amongst other selections.  This would continue throughout the night – with the energy of the guests dictating my programming – slow, mid, or fast tempo. It’s the textbook definition of “reading the crowd”.

Even the end of the night was unique. To accommodate the elder guests who would be departing well before the midnight end time, we converted the final 90 minutes into the “after-party”. The beauty of this is the elder guests felt they were part of the ENTIRE reception, even partaking in the “Last Dance”, and Justin & Kim’s friends got an energetic mix for the final 90 minutes with many songs that normally wouldn’t be played at a wedding reception. Win-win, indeed.

Tony Schwartz

Justin & Kim’s Five-Star Review

Our choice to use Tony Schwartz was probably the most crucial and best decision we made in the entire wedding planning process. The role of the entertainment at a wedding is SO CRUCIAL to how the guests perceive the party, and Tony was such a great find for us– he exceeded every expectation that we had. He had so many good ideas and suggestions for making our wedding totally unique and exactly what we wanted.

I was the type of bride who had very specific ideas about the tone of the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. Tony executed all of these things flawlessly, blending everything together into a totally cohesive and beautiful musical soundtrack to our day. Tony’s unique mash-up style had us all on the floor the entire night. The best part was exchanging some knowing glances with Tony throughout the reception because he totally made our wedding so incredible and unforgettable, and I think he knew how much I loved it! Our guests are still talking about how it was the most fun they’ve ever had at a wedding– and the credit for that all belongs to Tony. I would absolutely never even consider hiring another MC/DJ if I had to do it all over again. Tony was the backbone of the party and did such an amazing job. He was so responsive and so wonderful to work with!!

Musical Selections

Prelude: Soft Indie

Ceremony Selections

  • Wedding Party: Don Ross – “Berkeley Springs”
  • Bridal Procession: Waylon Jennings – “Bird Song”
  • Recessional: The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”

Cocktail Hour: Soft Indie & Contemporary

Dinner: Indie & Contemporary

Formal Selections

Dancing: Motown, Oldies, Crooners, Classic Rock, 80s, 90s, Top 40, Hip-Hop

Photo Courtesy: Rennard Photography