This Aria Wedding in Oxford CT made for a beautiful day and dance-filled night.

The groom was from New York, the bride was from Mexico. It was a beautiful blend of cultures, with various music and traditions interwoven throughout. The 6:30 PM ceremony meant we’d be partying late past midnight! A last-minute call had to be made on ceremony location as rain threatened our itinerary. We lucked out and kept to the plan of using the courtyard, though our audio setup had to be under a tent to stay dry beforehand – Gotta be prepared!!

Our Reception kicked off at 8 PM with the grand entrance where the couple walked down a huge staircase into the Reception hall and flowed right into their first dance. Aria Weddings are popular for this staircase alone! The newly married couple then brought out the kids for a family first dance! Dinner was served shortly after which was wrapped with toasts before part two of the night.

Having toasts at the end of dinner can be a good option as the wedding party is served food first, this way they can make their speech while the rest of the guests are busy eating quietly! We then cut the cake so the venue would have enough time to distribute and not interrupt dancing later on.

After two more spotlight dances, we moved straight into the dance portion of the Reception for the remainder of the evening. With a guest-list hailing from various backgrounds, we’d have to weave back and forth between genres, playing a bit of everything to keep our dance floor going. In addition to our usual fare of Pop, Disco, 80s, and mainstream music, we’d incorporate some Bachata, Reggaeton, Salsa, and Merengue for our Latin guests.

We had to be on our toes for this Aria Wedding with the weather today but we made it happen with smiles around!

Guests: 100

Age Groups: Mixed 10-76; Groom early 40s, Bride late 20s

Wedding Party: Yes

Wedding Party Introduced: Yes

Dinner: Tables assigned, food plated

Music Likes: Standard pop music on radio, Mexican music, oldies for parents: some old school rock & roll early on, 70s/80s

Agenda

6:30 PM – Ceremony

7:00 PM – Cocktail Hour

8:00 PM – Reception

8:15 PM – Grand Entrance

First Dance

Family Dance

8:30 PM – Dinner Served

Toasts

Mother/Son Dance

Grandfather/Daughter Dance

Cake Cutting

Bouquet Toss

12:30 PM – Conclusion

Song Selections

Processional:

Johann Sebastian Bach – Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major
Piano Guys – A Thousand Years

Recessional:

Natalie Cole – An Everlasting Love

Grand Entrance:

Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You)

First Dance:

Train – Marry Me
Reik – Creo en Ti

Mother/Son Dance:

Drew Holcomb – What Would I Do Without You

Grandfather/Daughter Dance:

Antonio Aguilar – Toda una vida

Cake Cutting:

Jack Johnson – Better Together

Bouquet Toss:

Beyonce – Single Ladies

Guests: 100

Age Groups: Mixed 10-76; Groom early 40s, Bride late 20s

Wedding Party: Yes

Wedding Party Introduced: Yes

Dinner: Tables assigned, food plated

Music Likes: Standard pop music on radio, Mexican music, oldies for parents: some old school rock & roll early on, 70s/80s

Vendors

Venue: Aria

Officiant: Holly Fitzsimmons

Photographer: Erick Sandoval Martinez

Guitarist: Matt Hernandez

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