Wedding and Reception at the Historic New River Inn

Dante and Kelsey Nardini celebrated their wedding ceremony and reception on 11/13/2011 at The New River Inn in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The New River Inn is a Historical Site located right next to the New River close to Las Olas Blvd. The entire event took place outdoors. The ceremony was in the gazebo next to the river.  Dante and the groomsmen were decked out in black suites with red bow ties and fedoras. The prelude music was 1940's theme and Kelsey walked down the isle with her Uncle Steve and her godfather Jerry to Cosmic Love by Florence and The Machine.  After the ceremony the bridal party posed for pictures while the guests enjoyed appetizers and drinks at the cocktail hour.  As I lined up the bridal party for the grand entrance the guests found their tables and looked very excited to see Dante and Kelsey.  The bridal party entered to I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas and Dante and Kelsey entered to My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean.  At this point there was a big crowd gathering around the dance floor to see Dante and Kelsey perform their first dance.  They selected Better Together by Jack Johnson and requested that the bridal party join them half way through the song. Kelsey then danced with her godfather Jerry to Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers and with Uncle Steve to Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder.  Then it was Dante's turn, he danced with his mother to Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Izzy K.  As a surprise he asked his grandma (Nana) to dance with him to a special song.  He requested that I start off with Crank That Soulja Boy then go into Shadow of Your Smile by Tony Bennett.  The look on Nana's face was priceless and she almost pulled off the Soulja Boy dance!!!  Everyone sat down for a buffet style dinner.  The music requested by the bride and groom was a mix of 40's, oldies and alternative pop.  By the time dinner was over, the sun was down and everyone was ready to dance.  Kelsey and Dante provided me with a list of their favorite songs and told me to add my personal touch to get everyone dancing.  Great choice!! Most of the 100 guests enjoyed the mix of top 40, country,hip-hop and 80's music I played.  After the anniversary dance, cake cutting and garter/bouquet toss they all danced to the end of the party.  The last songs were Party Rock Anthem by The Black Eyed Peas, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton and Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds.  Thank God the weather cooperated and the wedding was a huge success.  Special thanks to the staff at the New River Inn for helping to make Dante and Kelsey's day a memorable one.

DJ Ray