On Saturday, October 17th, Jellyroll performed at the wedding reception of Judy Wang and Andrew Mayer. This beautiful wedding was held at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing. The Hyatt is a wonderful venue with a talented and professional staff working to ensure perfection at each and every wedding. Some staff members who did a truly phenomenal job in putting together a successful night were Gian Carlo and Michael.
Jonathan Rubin, of Studio Nine Photography, took beautiful photos and was able to capture many special moments between the bride and groom and their guests. And this wedding certainly had some special and memorable moments! One of the highlights of the evening for Jellyroll occurred when Tesa, one of the groups female vocalists, sang “The Moon Represents My Heart” in Mandarin Chinese at the Bride’s request. Tesa nailed it and received a standing ovation from guests from across the world. The multicultural customs continued throughout the night and included a traditional Jewish Hora followed by a Chinese Lion Dance performed by the CACC Dragon and Lion Dance Club.
The Bride and Groom shared their first dance together to “Everything” by Michael Buble, sung by Jellyroll’s male vocalist, Dondi. The parent dances were “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Song for My Son”.
Jellyroll performed at two exciting weddings this weekend for two wonderful couples. The first wedding was that of Lynn Ravert and Tom Curran, and it was held at the beautiful Crystal Tea Room. Maitre d’ Miguel, ensured the evening was a flawless success, as he always does. The rest of the Crystal Tea Room staff was fantastic as well, especially Nicole Festa.
The professionals working to make this wedding reception a great one were all very high level and some of the best in the business. Tim Sudall, of Video One Productions, was the videographer for the evening, along with his assistant, Nick. Tony Baiada was the photographer, and he had his son, Sal, helping him out. Gina Sole was the wedding planner coordinating the event. Flowers were brought in by Ring of Roses, and the room was beautifully lit by the lighting specialists at Eventions.
Special dances for the night included the bride and groom’s first dance to “Someone Like You” by Van Morrison, and the parent dances to “Forever Young” and “Find Your Wings”. “Find Your Wings”, by Mark Harris, was a new song for Jellyroll which they learned special for the groom and his mother. The groom had another special request and asked Jellyroll to perform “High Hopes” to start the dancing for the night. He had noticed on Facebook that Jellyroll had performed this song the weekend before at a gala honoring Harry Kalas. Of course, Jellyroll was happy to oblige and all the Phillies fans at the reception loved it.
Jellyroll also performed at the wedding of Erika Beasley and Thomas Allen this weekend. The reception was held at the Cescaphe Ballroom, which is a beautiful, new event location that is both a popular and unique venue. It is located in the trendy Northern Liberty section of Philadelphia. The Maitre d’ at Cescaphe, Mike, is a talented man with great attention to detail. He never fails to put together a less than phenomenal wedding reception.
Andy Todes was the photographer for the event, and he took lots of great shots of the bride and groom. Check back in a couple of weeks to view some of the pictures he took. The videographer was Scott Randolph of Arrival Video Production, and floral arrangements were done by Alicia Martino of Il Fiore Bianco.
The bride and groom shared their first dance together to a Jellyroll favorite, “Into the Mystic” by Van Morrison. They also shared meaningful dances with their parents to Jellyroll’s renditions of “You are So Beautiful”, and Rascal Flatts’ “My Wish”.
Tom and Erika are not only a beautiful couple, but giving too. In lieu of traditional wedding gifts they made donations to The Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure and The Long Island/Queens Lupus Alliance of America. These are two great causes that Jellyroll was happy to see donations go to.
What a Fall 2009 we’re all having! The Phillies! The Eagles! The cool weather! The band loves this time of year because we are busier than ever, playing weddings each week at some of the most beautiful locations in the Philadelphia area.
This past week, Midnight Hour performed on Saturday October 17th at Huntingdon Valley Country Club for the wedding reception of Josh and Eileen Albillar. We had a great time with Eileen and Josh, their friends and their families.
The band performed Frank Sinatra’s version of “As Time Goes By” for Josh and Eileen’s first dance. Eileen’s parents, John and Kathryn, had just celebrated their 37th anniversary, so we surprised them by playing their wedding song, “Color My World” by Chicago. Naturally, we had to play “Come on Eileen” for Eileen and her girl friends, and they also loved the new songs we played by The Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.
For Josh, we were thrilled to learn “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. I have to give a lot of credit to our keyboardist, Vinny Dimento, who worked overtime to sequence the trademark synthesizer opening to “Baba O’Riley”. Also, great job to Nick, our drummer, for the great Keith Moon impression. Josh and his friends loved it – they were all singing “Teenage Wasteland” together at the top of their voices.
We thank the great staff at The Huntingdon Valley Country Club, especially Carol Keene who ran things for HVCC that evening. Carol, you did a wonderful job as always, and we appreciate you asking for the stack of business cards at the end of the night. We look forward to coming back to HVCC soon!
Pictured: I took this shot from the stage at the end of the night – it’s Josh and Eileen, the bride and groom, surrounded by their friends and family on the dance floor.
If you want to talk about unusual events, than you should hear about the fundraising event Jellyroll performed at on Friday, October 2nd, to benefit the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery. It is not every day you hear about a gala for a cemetery, but Laurel Hill is a truly unique and special place. Laurel Hill is one of the only cemeteries in the country that is a National Historic Landmark, and the Friends of Laurel Hill work to preserve and promote the establishment. This was the 5th annual Gravediggers’ Ball held to benefit the landmark, and this year’s event was held in memory of Harry Kalas whose final resting place is at Laurel Hill. It was inspiring for Jellyroll to be a part of this event, honoring the beloved Philadelphia broadcaster.
The evening started with a moving tribute to Harry, followed by Jellyroll playing “High Hopes,” a known favorite of Mr. Kalas. Guests, many of whom were dressed in costume, really enjoyed this. Everyone sang along, and then stayed on the dance floor to dance the night away. Here is an excerpt from the Kalas family testimonial to the Friends of Laurel Hill: “I loved how the band asked everyone to sing along to High Hopes. Sometimes it can seem kind of cheesy when people do High Hopes in honor of Harry, but because it was such a great band, and what they said before they started singing, it really felt like a loving tribute and I have to commend the band for that because that’s not easy to do. So it was really an incredible night and we were so pleased to be a part of it.”
The following evening, on October 3rd, Jellyroll performed at the wedding of Kristen Bowers and Keith Griesbaum at the Hotel du Pont. The evening was entirely enjoyable as the bride and groom were a pleasure to work with, and Jillian, a member of the Hotel du Pont staff, ran a great show. Linda Simunov, the couple’s wedding planner, ensured that all the details came together to create a flawless and memorable evening for the bride and groom. Michael Kehr was the photographer for the evening, and he took some great shots of the happy couple with their friends and family. Below are a few of his photos from the wedding!
The special dances of the night included the bride and groom’s first dance to “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Elvis. The bride and her father danced to “The Way You Look Tonight”, and the groom and his mother danced to “Wonderful Tonight”. The rest of the night Jellyroll performed high-energy dance songs that really got the crowd moving. Jellyroll experienced one of their most exciting endings to a reception when the bride and groom joined them on stage in front of a packed crowd of guests for the last song of the night, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
Jellyroll had the honor of returning to the Manor House at Commonwealth on Friday evening to play at the wedding of Marisa Ammendola and Greg McLaughlin. As always Amy, Cristy, Jennifer, and the rest of the Manor House staff ensured success in putting together a fantastic evening.
The bride and groom’s first wedding dance together was to “Into the Mystic” by Van Morrison. Later in the evening Mr. Ammendola danced with his beautiful daughter to “My Girl” and the groom and his mother danced to “Song for My Son,” sung by Jellyroll’s Tesa Williams.
The bride and groom requested the band play “Stuck on You” by Lionel Richie. Jellyroll was happy to oblige and used the song to kick off the dancing which continued well into the night.
On Saturday, Jellyroll played at the Lewes Yacht Club in Lewes, DE. The club is a very unique wedding location where Jellyroll always enjoys performing. The bride and groom, Becky Rogers and Clayton Serman, made a lovely couple and were a pleasure to perform for. Becky is a member of the Fox 29 Philly team, and it was exciting to see Fox Philly personalities dancing to the sounds of Jellyroll.
Below is a picture taken by Humbled Eyes Photography of the bride and groom sharing their first dance to “Wonderful Tonight” sung by Jellyroll guitarist Steve Sheppard:
Other important dances of the night included the bride and her father’s dance to “Lullaby,” and the groom’s dance with his mother to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” This song was a first time performance for Jellyroll!
Here are some more pictures taken by Humbled Eyes Photography at the Rogers-Serman wedding:
Both of the weekend’s weddings were great successes. Jellyroll and everyone else at BVT wish the best of luck to both couples!
A Night to Remember: Midnight Hour at the Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia, PA
It was our pleasure to perform for the wedding reception of Todd and Megan Brandenberger in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia, PA. The room was beautifully decorated, and the dance floor was packed from the first song we played to the very last.
It was terrific to work once again with Mark Kingsdorf of Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants. Mark is a long time friend of the band, and widely regarded as one of the very best wedding planners in the Philadelphia market. As usual, Mark did a terrific job of helping us to dovetail our services with all of the other elements of the evening.
Todd and Megan made a wonderful couple. As they entered the ballroom the band played U2’s “Beautiful Day”, and the crowd erupted. Next we performed a very popular new song they had chosen for their first dance, a song called “Lucky” by Jason Mraz … it was the perfect song to compliment that special moment.
Later when things heated up on the dance floor, the crowd kept the band on its toes with one request after another, all of which we were happy to play … Bruce Springsteen, Journey, Outkast, Beyonce, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, you name it – they loved it! The time came to say goodnight but they wouldn’t let us leave without one more “BRUUUUUCCEEE” song, so we played “Born To Run” for the bride and groom. The guests took care of most of the singing, quite a sight.
So we extend our sincere thanks to Todd and Megan for choosing Midnight Hour, to Mark Kingsdorf for making things so easy for us, to the staff at The Sheraton Society Hill, and to everyone who helped to make this a night we’ll not soon forget.
Shavin, 5/20/09