Mackenzee & Adam: Classic Charleston Wedding At The Boone Hall Cotton Dock

We're in the midst of another busy spring wedding season here in Charleston, and as always I've fallen a little behind in my blog entries. Mackenzee & Adam are a couple I won't soon forget. They were one of the funnest clients I've had recently, and I would call them a "textbook" client. You are probably asking yourself, "Why is Mike talking about textbooks, he's a wedding DJ, not a teacher?" :) Well, I'll explain that in a few. Mackenzee & Adam originally booked me back in the spring of 2018 while living in the northern Virginia area.  By the end of the summer, they would relocate to the Charleston area for work purposes. I ended up meeting Mackenzee & Adam back in October and I could tell within a few minutes that they were really into their music. They wanted a completely different vibe and feel with the music for their Charleston wedding. The customization of a couple's wedding playlist is one of my biggest mantras and one of the big draws for couple's in securing me to be their wedding DJ.  In becoming one of the best Charleston Wedding DJs, it's been a recurring theme that  a lot of couples do not want their wedding to sound like the wedding they went to last weekend or last year.

The Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation offers "all the feels" of a classic Charleston plantation-style wedding. If I had to rate it's popularity when it comes to Charleston wedding venues, I'd have to easily put it into the Top 5.  Natalie Knox is the wedding and event coordinator out at Boone Hall and is always one of the biggest joys to work with. She is who you will speak with if you are interested in booking your wedding at Boone Hall. She's very thorough and professional when it comes to coordinating all the details of a couple's wedding day. As is always the case with outdoor weddings, I always begin to watch the weather at least 7-10 days in advance. The first three months of 2019 have been relatively dry here in Charleston, but for whatever reason when the calendar turned over to April, the rain chances were increasing, and in the days leading up to the wedding, I'd be watching the weather very closely.   The wedding ceremony for Mackenzee & Adam would be held outside under the majestic oaks of Boone Hall. On the morning of April 5, I woke up and it was pouring with rain at my house in North Charleston. It certainly was a bit of a nial biter of a morning, but the weather radar would eventually clear out and the rain chances would drop to 30% at the time of their wedding ceremony. While 30% is a relatively low rain chance, it only takes one isolated shower to dampen the spirits of the bride and groom and guests, but the old saying is it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day. It's not good luck for that rain to dampen my DJ equipment though. :)

Mackenzee & Adam's Wedding Ceremony Music Selections
PRELUDE MUSIC SELECTIONS
"Stubborn Love" | Vitamin String Quartet
"Stay With Me" | Vitamin String Quartet
"Take Me To Church" | Vitamin String Quartet
"Can't Help Falling In Love" | Daniel Jang
"Say You Won't Let Go" | Daniel Jang
"The Scientist" | Daniel Jang
"Perfect" (Ed Sheeran Cover) | Daniel Jang
"Thinking Out Loud" (Ed Sheeran Cover) | Daniel Jang
"Chasing Car" (Snow Patrol Cover) | Simply Three

CEREMONY MUSIC SELECTIONS



Bridal Party Introduction Song: "Waking Up" | Explosions In The Sky



Bride Processional Song: "With You" | Dirty South Feat. Fmlybnd



Recessional Song: "Resolution" | Matt Corby



Cocktail Hour & Dinner Music Selections
Now is my opportunity to explain why Mackenzee & Adam were a textbook couple of mine. Being into their music like they were, they put together one of the most eclectic mixes of music, just perfect for socializing out by the Cotton Dock after their wedding ceremony.  As the cocktail hour ended and we proceeded into the dinner portion of the evening (provided by one of the top Charleston caterers, Salthouse Catering ), we were still enjoying this amazing mix of music. These selections ranged from classic rock to modern Indie,  as well as Folk and soft rock. I love it when a bride or groom come up to me after their wedding and say I loved that Jack Johnson song you played, or that obscure Lord Huron song. It's NOT about my likes, it's about a couple's likes. Enjoy this playlist down below.
"Sound & Color" | Alabama Shakes
"Listen To The Music" | Doobie Brothers
"Dreams" | Fleetwood Mac
"Only Wanna Be With You" | Hootie & The Blowfish
"Work Song" | Hozier
"Drunk On Your Love" | Brett Eldredge
"Pyro" | Kings Of Leon
"Back Down South" | Kings Of Leon
"You Are The Best Thing" | Ray Lamontagne
"Tennessee Whiskey" | Chris Stapleton
"Night Moves" | Bob Seger
"Wasting Time" | Jack Johnson
"Barcelona" | George Ezra
"Lost In The Light" | Bahamas
"Weight Of Sound" | Stick Figure
"Cosmic Love" | Florence & The Machine
"8 (Circle)" | Bon Iver
"Sunset Lover" | Petit Biscuit
"Fade Away" | Rebelution
"I Don't Remember Me (Before You) | Brothers Osborne
"21 Summer" | Brothers Osborne
"Pushing Up Daisies (Love Alive) | Brothers Osborne
"Oceans Away" | Arizona
"Millionaire" | Chris Stapleton
"Ole" | John Newman
"Spring Wind" | Jack Johnson
"Carolina" | Corey Smith
"Ends Of The Earth" | Lord Huron
"The Night We Met" | Lord Huron
"Thotful" | Cody Simpson
"I Go Blind" | Hootie & The Blowfish

 INTRODUCTION MUSIC AND SPECIAL DANCE SONGS
Bridal Party Introduction Song:
"Summer"  | Marshmello

Bride And Groom Introduction Song:
"You & Me" |Disclosure (Flume remix)

Mackenzee & Adam's First Dance Song
"Holocene" | Bon Iver




Father / Daughter Dance Song
"Daddy's Little Girl" | The Shires

Mother / Son Dance Song
"A Song For Mama" | Boys II Men

In Memoriam

You know the longer and longer I am a professional wedding DJ, the more situations I am likely to see.  In the weeks leading up to Mackenzee & Adam's wedding, I found out about the death of Mackenzee's mother back in January.  I found this out as I was putting the finishing touches on their music. When I first found out, I was very saddened, because I remembered back in October when we met, Mackenzee mentioned adding in her parents first dance song to their playlist. This appeared to be a very important song selection and moment for their upcoming day, so when I found out her mother had passed, I knew this was going to be a huge disappointment not being able to see her mom and dad dance to "their" first dance song.  But what would happen instead would be one of the most special moments I had seen at any wedding reception. Mackenzee and her father would instead dance to that first dance song.  That song was the lovely duet between Don Henley & Stevie Nicks called "Leather & Lace". 

Dance Music Selections
"I Got U" | Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones
"Let Me Clear My Throat" | DJ Kool
"Lean On" | Major Lazer
"Forever" | Chris Brown
"Sussudio| | Phil Collins
"I Like It" | Cardi B
"Bodak Yellow" | Cardi B
"OMG" | Usher
"Dancing In The Dark" | Bruce Springsteen
"September" | Earth, Wind & Fire
"Your Love" | The Outfield
"Summer of '69" | Bryan Adams
"What Is Love" | Haddaway
"You Shook Me All Night Long" | AC/DC







This is just a sampling of some of their dance music selections.  We would end the night with "One More Time" by Daft Punk and Mackenzee & Adam would be sent off with a brilliant sparkler send-off.  Special thanks to Anchor & Veil,  an incredible photography company out of the Charlotte, NC area, who gave me permission to showcase some of their amazing images of the evening. They might be based out of Charlotte, but they are finding themselves more and more down here in the Holy City.  Also, during the day, I had Stephen Massar come out to shoot some footage for an upcoming promotional video for my company.   Stephen has extensive experience with video having worked at the Lowcountry's News Leader, Live 5 News, as well as other TV markets. He's come back to Charleston to do what he loves to do.  Check out the phenomenal job that he did on my new promotional video. I told him I wanted "classy" and "elegant", and that is exactly he delivered. 

Wanna Hire Mike To Be Your Charleston Wedding DJ?
Thank you for making it all the way to the end of this blog. I hope you enjoyed this look back at Mackenzee & Adam's very special day out at the Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation.  Perhaps you were given some music ideas? Maybe you'd like to check out Boone Hall Plantation as you search for Charleston wedding venues?  If you are on the fence as to who you'd like your DJ to be, be sure to bookmark this blog post. This post illustrates a couple who are deeply into their music and made it about their likes and dislikes.  The music you hear on your wedding day should be a perfectly curated playlist like what Mackenzee & Adam laid out. You are only expecting to get married once in your life, so you might as well do it right and hire a true professional wedding DJ who will help you curate a playlist about YOU. Click HERE to tell me a little more about your big day. I am very friendly to destination wedding couples traveling to Charleston from all over the country.