It WAS A Nice Day for a White Wedding!

For STRANGERS, every wedding reception is a special event but on Saturday, December 19, 2009 Mother Nature took things to a whole new level. 

Stephanie Sudzina, originally from the Philadelphia area but now living in Sidney, Australia and her fiance Anthony Campanale also from Sidney, Australia had been planning a Christmas Wedding in Philadelphia for almost two years. 

They had planned on a 1:00 pm ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul with a 3:00 pm reception to follow at the historic Glen Foerd Mansion on the Delaware in Northeast Philadelphia with STRANGERS as their entertainment for the evening. What they didn’t plan on was the second worst snow storm ever to hit Philadelphia on the same day. 

Around 10:00 that morning it had become apparent to Anthony that, despite their carefully preparations, things were NOT going to go as planned. That was about that time that he found out that the transportation that was supposed to take their family and guests, who were staying at the Ritz-Carlton of Philadelphia on the Avenue of the Arts, to the ceramony and then to the reception had cancelled. Anthony, determined to make this wedding happen, got together with the folks at the Ritz-Carlton to see if they could accommodate his guests in the hotel dinning room. The Ritz-Carlton instead offered to set them up in the Grand Ballroom!

Anthony called me around 10:35 that morning to tell me he was planning to change the venue. I then worked out the details with the folks at the Ritz and we were on our way. I had already been in contact with every band member the night before and again early that morning with updates and to check on their travel plans. When I called everyone back to tell them of the change of venue, some were already on the road.

 

To make a long story just a little shorter (you can read all the details in the accompanying stories), the staff at the Ritz-Carlton pulled off what would normally have been considered impossible. In only a couple of hours they put together an incredible reception. Fortunately the amazing Marie Labbancz of Marie Labbancz Photography managed to brave the elements to document the entire day. The multi-talented Marie also offered to help out if we a needed singer but we managed OK without her and she spent the time instead taking beautiful photographs of the newlyweds. Donna O’Brien from Beautiful Blooms also battled the storm to get the beautiful flower arrangements there, as did makeup and hair stylist Claudia Seyler, and of course STRANGERS were there too. 

What an absolutely amazingly beautiful evening!!! And it’s clear I’m not the only one who thought so. 

Anthony and Stephanie’s wedding story was the cover story of the December 23rd issue of The Philadelphia Daily News with a Follow Up Story by writer Ronnie Polaneczky on Christmas Day.

Anthony and Stephanie were also guests on the local Fox Channel Good Morning Philadelphia on the 23rd and on the national Fox News Network on December 24th.

Stephanie told me she had assured Anthony that the weather would not be an issue for their wedding because “it never snows in Philadelphia in December”. Maybe Anthony should have been a little more suspicious of the Philly weather. He told me he had been to Philadelphia only once before, that was in January 1996, during the worst snow storm ever to hit Philadelphia!

Photos courtesy of Marie Labbancz Photography 

Midnight Hour: Rooster’s Toy Drive

Usually our blog entries focus on the work we do as a band, the weddings and private parties we play, and the work we do with various venues in the greater Philadelphia region.  However, I wanted to take an opportunity to herald the great work our guitar player, Jerry “Rooster” Corrado and his wife Joan did this year around the holidays.

Every year, Jerry puts up a huge display of Christmas lights on his lawn in East Bradford (near West Chester).  He really gets into it, and his lawn show is second to none.  The local television news stations frequently come to get shots of his lawn, as do the local papers.  Jerry spends untold hours setting up the lights, the inflatable figures, etc., and then he’s out there maintaining them just about every day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.  He even had extra electrical power installed in his house just to support the Christmas lights he puts up each year. 

The lights attract people from all over … they come and park out in front of Jerry’s house with their kids and just stare at the incredible lights.  Every night, you’ll see as many as 10 or 20 cars lined up at different times of the night to look at the lights.

This year, Jerry and his wife Joan had the idea to ask those people to bring along a toy to donate to the pediatric unit of Chester County Hospital.  It was a wonderful idea, and a huge success; they collected almost 200 toys for the kids, and delivered them throughout December to the hospital.

The Daily Local News of Chester County ran a story about Jerry and his wife Joan in December that tells a little more about their great contributions … here’s a link to that story:

Article about Rooster’s Toy Drive

So, the next time you see our guitar player, give Rooster a much deserved pat on the back for doing something special this year to bring cheer to some sick children during the holidays.  Way to go, Rooster and Joan!

November 13th and 14th Weddings - Jellyroll

It may have been Friday the 13th, but there was nothing unlucky about the wedding of Reney Coburn and Dave Lamont on November 13, 2009.  Reney is the sister of a long time friend of Kurt, and Jellyroll was thrilled to perform at her wedding reception, which took place at the Doubletree Hotel Mt. Laurel, NJ. 

Since the event took place in New Jersey, and the Bride was a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, Jellyroll decided to bring back an old favorite, paying tribute to The Boss by playing Springsteen’s “10th Avenue Freeze Out“. This song was a great hit, encouraging guests to fill the dance floor, which was jam packed with guests dancing and having a ball for the entire remainder of the night.  Jellyroll, also, performed “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli as a special first dance for the Bride and Groom.

On Saturday, November 14th, Jellyroll performed at the wedding of Zara Rosenberg and Zachary Shapiro at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia.  Maitre d’, Aric, did a wonderful job of pulling together all the detials of the evening and making sure everything was perfect for the bride and groom. Lauren Lerner was the planning contact for Jellyroll at the Ritz-Carlton. She worked with the band to make sure the evening was well coordinated.

Kosher catering was provided by Berel Fischler at Prestige. Prestige Caterers are known for their creativity, and in admiring the delicious spread of food offered at the Rosenberg-Shapiro wedding, it is obvious why. 

Shea Roggio, of Wonderful Machine, was the photographer for the evening, and Jeff Ashe, of Ashe Productions, provided the videography.

The bride and groom’s first dance song was a Jellyroll favorite, “Feels Like Home to Me” by Chantal Kreviazuk. The couple decided on a joint parent dance to Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance“.

This traditional Jewish wedding included an exciting 20-minute Hora.

Here are some pictures from the Rosenberg-Shapiro wedding taking by members of Jellyroll:

The Bride and Groom joining the band on stage.

Jellyroll’s horn section

Joe Blues on the Sax

Guests dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”

November 21, 2009 Jellyroll Wedding

Jellyroll performed on Saturday, November 21, 2009, for Erica Sorensen and Fran Wurster Jr.’s family and friends during the couple’s wedding reception.  Fran and Erica worked very closely with Jellyroll during the wedding planning process, growing to know each other well, which made performing at the wedding a true pleasure for Jellyroll.  The reception was hosted at the Ballroom at the Ben, where Ott did a wonderful job of executing the event, as he always does.

Catering was provided by Kathleen Kelly of Finley Catering, and the spread of food looked absolutely delicious.  Foschi Photography provided both photography and videography for the evening, and floral arrangements were assembled by Ten Pennies.

The reception was extremely high energy.  Guests were on their feet and dancing the whole night through.  Everyone was so smitten with the evening of great music and company, that Jellyroll performed an extra forty minutes–plus an encore!

Special dances for the evening included “Thank You for Loving Me”by Bon Jovi for the bride and groom’s first dance, and “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “Simple Man” as the parent dances.

Here are some photos from the reception!

Midnight Hour: Happy Holidays 2009!

Midnight Hour’s holiday season is officially underway!  We kicked off December with two fantastic holiday parties.

On Friday December 4^th, we played a holiday party for our new friends at Devon EuroMotorcars.  We had a great time meeting their staff and friends.  Phil Miller, the General Manager of Devon EuroMotorcars, was especially gracious to the band – he even sang a little bit with us.  Great job, Phil!  But, you have to admit, that guy that came up and sang the Barry White song stole the show. 

It was also terrific for us to return to the Radnor Hotel.  We’ve performed at the Radnor Hotel many times, and we always love working with the great staff there.   

On Saturday night, we were thrilled to perform for our friends at ColorCon.  This was our second time playing for the ColorCon Holiday Party, and they really throw a wonderful party.  This year, they had a “Dancing With The Stars” dance contest, for which the band played two selections; the classic big band “In The Mood”, and also “The Twist” by Chubby Checker.  The party got going and we played everything from Sinatra to the Black Eyed Peas, and we had a marvelous time.  The party was held at the beautiful Presidential Caterers in East Norristown, PA., and it was decorated beautifully for the holidays.  Special thanks to Joanne and Dot at ColorCon for helping the band so much this year – your planning makes us look great, so thank you!

These were just two of the many holiday parties for which we’re performing this year.  The band loves this time of year … we’re fortunate to have a long list of repeat clients who choose Midnight Hour to help them celebrate the holidays, and for us it’s a chance to attend one great party after another!  (But don’t worry, we never forget we’re working).

Pictured:  Midnight Hour Bandleader Shavin Duffy with ColorCon’s Joanne Angelillis

Sid Miller Dance Band heads to the Poconos

Sid Miller–November 28th and 29th Weddings