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December 2021

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More “Will they?” than “Won’t they?”

More “Will they?” than “Won’t they?” 1000 1498 adam Michaels

Kate and Brian first met in the fall of 2014 during their senior year at Boston College. Kate’s roommate, Maggie, asked Kate to join a coed intramural soccer team. Kate joined in the hopes of winning an elusive intramural championship. At the first game, Kate noticed a cute boy and asked Maggie if she knew his name. Maggie told her his name was Jerry. Kate stopped playing because she had to train for a marathon, but she still went to the games in the hopes of meeting this “Jerry.”

 

“Jerry” turned out to be Brian and he lived with many of Kate’s guy friends. Brian heard about Kate through his friends and invited himself to Kate’s 21st birthday party. They didn’t have a chance to talk, but Brian caught Kate’s eye with his fabulous dance moves.

 

When Kate turned 21, she went out with friends to a local BC bar. Brian was there and he and Kate got to talking…well Kate did all the talking. Kate asked Brian many questions about school, his life, and more but Brian didn’t reciprocate. Kate left the night thinking Brian “just wasn’t that into her.” Meanwhile, Brian returned to his dorm and told his friends he had a great conversation with Kate and was excited about where things were going.

 

One of Brian’s roommates told Kate that Brian was interested in her, so she invited Brian to the legendary “Classy Christmas” party at her BC mod. Brian was excited to get the invite and made sure to talk to Kate at the party. After winter break, Brian mustered up the courage to ask Kate on a date for Valentine’s Day. Kate accepted! Their relationship grew while spending time with their friends and enjoying their final months at BC.

 

In the spring of 2020, Brian was ready to propose to Kate. After speaking to her family, Brian had devised a plan to pop the question at Boston College. He had Kate’s youngest brother Keenan, then a sophomore at BC, ask Kate to attend the next BC hockey game because his a cappella group was selected to sing the national anthem. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the game was canceled. Undaunted, Brian came up with another plan. That Friday, March 13, 2020, Kate was at her apartment with Brian when Keenan texted Kate to ask her if she could pick him up to go to dinner together. Kate and Brian hopped in the car and drove over to BC. When they got close to BC, Brian suggested that they park and walk around campus to see all the chaos from campus closing early. That’s when Kate sensed something might be up! They parked on Linden Lane and walked to Bapst library, where Keenan was “studying.” Upon getting to the front of the library, Brian got down on one knee and popped the question. Kate said yes and they celebrated with family and friends all weekend!

 

The happy couple welcomed their guests with drinks at Felina Restaurant to get the weekend off to a great start! After Kate and Brian said their “I Do’s” at the beautiful St. Gabriel the Archangel Church, they kicked off the party in style at The Ridgewood Country Club! Their guests were welcomed into the Lounge during cocktail hour by the Around Town Entertainment jazz trio featuring a guitarist, pianist, and bass player! Then came the big celebration!

 

Kate and Brian entered into the Ridgewood Country Club’s Grand Ballroom to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” getting the party started! Then the A-List Band played the classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” by Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons for Kate and Brian’s first dance! As the lead singer of the A-List Bad let the last note ring, Brain romantically dipped Kate finishing their beautiful first dance together as husband and wife. The two danced with their parents as the A-List Band played “My Girl” for Kate and her father’s dance, and played “My Wish” for Brian and his mother’s dance. All the guests enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Country Club’s Overlook room featuring a beautiful view of the golf course. Dessert was one of the best parts, of course! As Kate and Brian cut their wedding cake together, the A-List Band played “This Will Be An Everlasting Love” by Natalie Cole, which surely was the perfect song for the newlyweds. The happy couple and their family and friends all danced the night away celebrating the love of two lucky BC alumni!

 

Thank you, Kate and Brian, for celebrating your beautiful wedding with the A-List Band!

It all started with a handshake!

It all started with a handshake! 150 150 adam Michaels

It all started with a handshake!Emily and Joe first met in the East Ridge Middle School Cafeteria during lunch one day, when Emily’s friend couldn’t stop gushing to her about how “cute, charming and Italian” her new classmate was. Said classmate was none other than Joe. Emily’s friend kept insisting and insisting that she introduce her to Joe, so Emily had high expectations. She ever so bravely mustered up the courage to venture over to the “boys table” all the way on the other side of the cafeteria. As she went to approach 12-year-old Joe, who was surrounded by friends and busy laughing at something most likely super inappropriate, she was hesitant to interrupt the group of rambunctious boys. Nevertheless, she extended a polite hand out for a handshake while her friend gave her a formal introduction. This all sounds fine and dandy…but in Joe’s words, he had no idea what was going on. Since it was lunchtime, Joey was munching on some ever so nutritious cookies and had a mouthful the moment Emily was introduced to him. Mouth full of cookies, he barely offered a response to Emily’s greeting, and as quickly as the two girls came, they left. Clearly, the cookies left an impression on Emily, and Emily’s handshake left quite the impression on Joe. They became close friends in the years that followed, and Emily eventually gave Joe a shot during our senior year of high school. Though distance separated them in college and the years that followed, they eventually picked up where we left off when Joe joined Emily in Boston in 2016.

As a gift for completing her Master’s degree in August, Joe took Emily on a surprise trip to Nashville, Tennessee. She didn’t know where we were going until they got to our gate at Logan! The whole first day was spent exploring downtown, eating and drinking on rooftop decks, listening to live country music, and enjoying the hot weather. Little did she know, Joe was carrying a diamond ring in his pocket the entire time. That first night they took an Uber to another surprise- Joe had bought them tickets to a live show at The Grand Ole Opry, right outside the city. When they arrived, they explored the resort next door, which featured an indoor waterfall, river, bridges, and other plants in the central courtyard area. 

They were walking around admiring how cool it all was when Joe spotted a couple posing for a selfie in front of the waterfall. They went over to look at it, and Joe offered to take a picture of them. Afterwards, Joe asked if they could take one of him and Emily. We posed in front of the waterfall, and after the first picture was taken, he asked the woman if she could take one more. All of the sudden, Joe was on his knee next to me, asking Emily to be his wife! Luckily, the couple was able to capture the entire sequence on Joe’s phone. Shortly after, they were seated rows away from Carrie Underwood, Old Crow Medicine Show, and other country artists performing live at the Opry. It definitely felt like a dream. They decided to keep it all a secret for a full day before telling our families and friends, but they were bursting at the seams to share the great news the next day!

Fast forward to the big day, when Emily and Joe got married in a romantic empty field. The moment was appropriately underscored by the Around Town Entertainment’s guitarist who played some classics including “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles, and “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love” by Natalie Cole to send the couple on their way to a rocking reception! 

The couple harnessed their love of Nashville and country by having their cocktail hour and reception at the Gedney Farm in New Marlborough, Massachusetts! Though the venue rang with country charm, the wedding reception music had everyone dancing to all genres of music! Before Joey and Emily entered the party, their bridal party led the way by getting the party started with the Around Town Band’s rendition of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Joe and Emily were first introduced by the Around Town Band has husband and wife, and dancing in to “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon! Back to their country charm, the newlyweds had their first dance to the well-wishing “Love You For a Long Time” by Maggie Rogers! The two danced the night away celebrating the beginning of a new chapter of their love and life together, while their guests enjoyed the music from the Around Town Band!

Thanks, Emily and Joe for letting us ring in the new chapter in your life together with some great tunes!

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All Thanks to Panera and a Bad Double Date

All Thanks to Panera and a Bad Double Date 1500 1000 adam Michaels

Sara and Brendan in high school met when Sara was a senior and Brendan was a junior, but their “high school sweetheart” love story has an unconventional twist! Their first date was at Panera Bread…but it wasn’t with each other. In fact, they were on a double date, both with different people! They graduated and went their separate ways off to college, but still kept in touch, seeing each other when they visited home for holiday breaks. That spark from that Panera bread date grew and grew from Yankee Games to Jones Beach trips. They started to get closer and closer until Brendan finally told Sara how he really felt at the famous NYPD Hockey Game, and that’s just the beginning of their love story!

When Sara and Brendan were traveling back to New York City for Thanksgiving, Brendan suddenly had an urge to walk through the iconic and scenic Central Park. Unsuspectingly, Sara went along with Brendan’s urge, excited to enjoy the autumnal scenery, even though it was one of the coldest days in the city! Freezing their toes off, they eventually hailed a pedi-cab to reach their impromptu destination: the Bethesda fountain. When they got there, they realized the fountain was out of commission for the season and had no water in it! Still, they made the best of the trip and the freezing weather, enjoying the view of the lake until Brendan surprised Sara by getting down on one knee with the most beautiful ring to ask her to marry him!

To call back to some of their favorite moments together, the couple went to the Yankee Game with some members of their bridal party as part of the many pre-wedding festivities! They even kicked off the wedding weekend by inviting their guests to Sara’s house for some welcome drinks! 

Brendan and Sara clearly have great taste because they had their wedding at the beautiful! To beautifully underscore the momentous occasion, a pianist and cellist from Around Town Entertainment played the all too appropriate “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri, as Sara prepared to walk down the aisle. After tying the knot and making their dreams come true, the two danced down the aisle to the pianist and cellist’s rendition of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “I Only Wanna Be With You!” Off to the reception they went, to dance the night away and celebrate their “thousand year” commitment to one another!

They kicked off the evening with a grand entrance dancing into the reception ballroom to Kygo and Whitney Houston’s “Higher Love,” celebrating their first appearance as husband and wife! The Around Town live wedding Band played a favorite song of Sara and Brendan’s that they specifically selected for their first dance: “From the Ground Up” by Dan and Shay. Next, they shared a special moment with each of their parents with Sara and her father dancing to the sentimental and tear-jerking “Remember You Young” by Thomas Rhett and Brendan charming the guests dancing with his mother to “A Long Line of Love” by Michael Martin Murphey. To celebrate and welcome a loving life together, Sara and Brendan sliced their gorgeous wedding cake together to One Republic’s well-wishing “Good Life.” Their guests had a BLAST at the Birch Hill Estate, especially loving to take goofy photos in the photo booth, and taking photos in front of the beautiful rose wall that had a neon sign celebrating the couple’s last name!

Though the venue, the ring, the dress, the music, the flower arrangements, and the cake were all incredibly beautiful, nothing was more beautiful than the couple of the evening. Thank you Brendan and Sara for trusting us to underscore your wedding and congratulations!