On Saturday we were back at our favorite banquet hall in Butler Pennsylvania, The Crystal Room. The event was a wedding reception for Joshua and Allyson Graef. Allyson and Josh were married at 4:00 pm at St. Fedelis Church in Meridian PA. Guests began arriving at The Crystal Room shortly before 6:00 pm where they enjoyed cocktails and appetizers as the bridal party posed for photographs.
At 7:00 pm we formally introduced the bridal party into the ballroom and then Allyson and Josh cut their wedding cake prior to dinner. Dinner was prepared by the culinary staff at The Crystal Room and was served sit-down style. After dinner, the newlyweds shared in their first together as husband and wife to the song You Had Me From Hello by Kenny Chesney. After sharing in a dance with the bridal party, Allyson danced with her father Mr. Tom Wilson and then Josh danced with his mother Mrs. Joni Vogel before opening up the dance floor.
One of the memorable moments of the evening occurred during our group photo/video as the mother of the bride, Mrs. Kelly Wilson ended up “Crowd Surfing“. I have to admit that in over 1200 weddings this was a first for me. I have had brides & grooms crowd surfing on many occasions. However, I have never had one of the parents volunteer to get up on top of the crowd. I encourage everyone to watch the entire video below, but if you would like to jump to Kelly’s crowd surfing experience, it is located at 15 minutes 20 seconds in to the video.
Throughout the remainder of the evening, guests danced to the sounds of DJ Pifemaster until the wedding reception ended at 11:00 pm.
Here is the music that Joshua and Allyson chose for each of the formal events:
- Bridal Party Introduction – Dynamite, Taio Cruz
- Bride & Groom Introduction – Forever, Chris Brown
- Cutting of the Cake – Every Breath You Take, Sting
- Bride & Groom First Dance – You Had Me From Hello, Kenny Chesney
- Bridal Party Dance – Faithfully, Journey
- Bride & Father Dance – Butterfly Kisses, Bob Carlisle
- Groom & Mother Dance – Simple Man, Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Memorial Dance – When I Get Where I’m Going, Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton
- Bouquet Toss – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), Beyonce
- Garter Removal – Cherry Pie, Warrant
- Garter Toss – Another One Bites The Dust, Queen
- Garter Dressing – Let’s Get It On, Marvin Gaye
- Last Dance – I’ve Had The Time Of My Life, Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
