Holy moly! It was a beautiful night in downtown South Bend, Indiana! Blue skies, light breeze, big white clouds ... exactly the recipe for a stunning September Saturday.
Alicia and Patrick hoped for exactly this type of wedding day and made sure they selected a wedding reception venue that would showcase beautiful weather. The Century Center in downtown South Bend fit the bill perfectly ... Island Park for cocktails and the Great Hall with huge windows for dinner and dancing. The bonus, they BOTH overlook the St. Joseph River and East Race!
Before arriving at the Century Center however, there was a fairytale wedding ceremony at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the center of the Notre Dame campus. In fact the Basilica opportunity might not have even happened had it not been for an army of family, friends, and even friends of friends calling in on “Basilica Monday” to reserve the date, but one lucky caller got through and September 7 was official. They clearly picked the right date as guests were able to enjoy a lovely outdoor cocktail hour on Island Park where they could mix, mingle and soak up the terrific late-summer weather.
Because Patrick was working in Massachusetts and Alicia was finishing up her Masters of Architecture at the University of Michigan, we did all our booking and planning activities via Facetime. When we first spoke with Patrick and Alicia we knew they were a fun couple, but we had no idea how fun they were until we connected for their final consultation to discuss their timeline and grand entrance.
If you’ve never been to the Century Center, you might not be familiar with the Great Hall’s soaring ceilings and grandiose 30-foot glass floor-to-ceiling windows, providing a magnificent view of the white water rapids of the St. Joseph River. The Great Hall also features an incredible staircase fit for royalty, which makes it an exceptional way to dramatically enter into a wedding reception.
Knowing this, and also knowing how good-humored their friends and family are, Alicia and Patrick opted for an unconventional way to announce the grand entrance. In a lighthearted, fun way they roasted their bridal party! In fact, Alicia and Patrick even roasted each other by providing secret intros for each other via email prior to the wedding day. Guests were rolling with laughter! It was the perfect way to start a fun evening.
These hilarious intros led to a welcome speech by Patrick (and a few wedding jokes by Alicia) and the night was officially off and rolling. Of course, there were bridal party toasts, a cake cutting, and special dances before all of the crazy dancing began. A highlight was when Alicia danced with her father to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” which uniquely was the last song played at her parent’s wedding reception in 1989. In fact her parents will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next month. We love when our couples have unique reasons for musical choices like this, and we can share these milestone moments with the guests!
The giant windows overlooking the St. Joseph River glowed with dance-floor lights and our Splash uplighting package in cobalt blue on the massive concrete columns as the sun began to set and DJ iceberg heated up the dance floor. With the newlyweds, Alicia and Patrick, surrounded by a circle of their family and friends for their last song of “Closing Time”, the Great Hall was filled to the brim with memories and love.
WEDDING WIRE REVIEW:
Alicia · married on 09/07/2019
5.0 Stars
Eager to Personalize Your Day
The Music Place was a wonderful choice for our wedding reception DJ! My husband and I had a great experience communicating with Blake and Jeff prior to our wedding, and they went above and beyond to plan an alternative grand entrance for us at our reception. They made our reception personalized to us and were considerate of all of our requests the whole night through. We would absolutely recommend DJ Iceberg (who we booked for our reception) and DJ Sticky Boots (who added high energy to our wedding party introductions)!
Reception song selections:
Grand Entrance: Forever – Chris Brown
First Dance: I Choose You – Sara Bareilles
Father-Daughter Dance: Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship
Mother-Son Dance: My Wish – Rascal Flatts
Anniversary Dance: Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis
Bouquet Toss: Dear Future Husband – Meghan Trainor
Vendors:
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart
The Century Center
Kaylee Creighton Photography
Marie and Grace Floral Design