MB Chicago, Facebook and July Weddings

Wow! July just seemed to fly right by didn’t it? As I write this it is the evening of July 28th, 2008 and I am already meeting with September brides to plan their wedding receptions. Where did the summer go? We had a great 4th of July party with roughly 50 people in attendance. The following weekend was the Maki Michaud wedding in Marquette at the Holiday Inn and a great time was had by all. Lee Haynes of Legend Entertainment performed a wedding in Escanaba the same night and then he stayed over at my house as we were leaving at 6am the next morning to go to Chicago for the Mobile Beat Summer Convention. We had decided a few months earlier to catch a ballgame at Wrigley Field since I had never been before while we were down there. We got there just in time to catch the “L” train to go to Wrigley and met up with George and Ben from Elite Entertainment in Detroit at the hotel before we went to Wrigley. Afterwards, we came back, ate at Outback Steakhouse and had a great time. I decided to truly make this a business trip and met with three current clients that live in the Chicagoland area while I was there and basically kill two birds with one stone. The next day Rod, Joe, Aaron and Fletcher from Music Box Productions showed up and we, along with Lee, George and Ben proceeded to have a great time at the convention learning, hanging out and catching up on old times. My clients the following weekend were Kara Leonard and Andie Bartoszek. What a great couple! We had so much fun at their wedding and as always it was great to be back at the Terrace Bay Inn again. July 25th I performed for Stephanie Ross and Chad Miron at their reception at the Little Bear West Ice Arena in Manistique. Chad and Stephanie had a very intimate reception and a lot of love was shared. We even surprised Chad with a birthday cake just before the cake cutting ceremony as he had chosen to get married on his birthday as well. I just recently joined Facebook and it’s amazing the friends you connect with after so many years of not keeping in touch. Feel free to visit me there as well if you wish by searching my name Mitch Taylor. This weekend I am off to Marquette to entertain for the Heitmeier and Krah families. Vallery and Brian have an amazing reception planned and it looks to be a lot of fun! Stay tuned!

4th of July

What an amazing last few weeks it has been. Just after my last post, I had a wedding reception at Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain for Amanda and Dan Krznarich. The Sielaff and Krznarich families are TRULY beautiful people, and it was a pleasure working with and for their children. Amanda and Dan had a very personalized and memorable wedding day and we even went overtime and created a very intimate ending for the last song of the night for them.

June 20^th found me in Marquette for the Superior Bike Race. What a fun time when a community comes together and supports a sport such as cycling. People came from all over in and outside of the state of Michigan to participate in this event and we had a great time. Thanks to all of the hardworking folks at Frei Chevrolet for their assistance that night.

June 21^st was Jessica and David Gartland’s wedding. These two are meant for each other and their beautiful daughter Shannin is just a doll. We had a great time and we even had a special introduction for one of their groomsman who strongly resembled Larry The Cable Guy!

June 28^th brought the wedding of Angela and Craig Harris at the Island Resort & Casino. Angela and I have been working together on her wedding for quite some time and had several different moments that were personalized just for the two of them. Their first dance twist definitely surprised the crowd and created a moment that they and their guests will never forget. The evening ended on a high note with everyone celebrating with the two of them.

This weekend marks the 4^th of July. I have two amazing weddings this weekend and am truly blessed to work for the best clients in the world. First, Jessica and David are getting married in Gladstone with a reception to follow at the Terrace Bay Inn. David proposed to Jessica in Paris exactly one year ago on the 4^th of July after a friend’s wedding there. These two met with me a couple of months ago and currently live in the Baltimore Maryland area. Jessica and David’s tastes in music are eclectic and I am looking forward to entertaining their guests from all over the world who want to celebrate with Jessica and David in style. One of my best friends Eric Wagner aka “Crash” is making his usual trip up from Detroit to the U.P. and since he performs as a wedding entertainer in that market, he will be joining me to assist with their wedding on Friday night. My next reception is on Saturday night in Manistique at a private residence for Janice and Matthew Chittle. This will be a very intimate gathering of family and friends to join these two as they start their new life together.

Sunday marks the 5^th annual Taylor 4^th of July party and we should have approximately 50-80 people here at our home to celebrate summer in the U.P. and America’s independence. I would like to encourage all of you to thank your veterans of our Armed Forces this weekend. Freedom IS NOT free and we truly owe a debt of gratitude to these brave men and women. Thank you and have a happy and safe 4^th of July.

New York New York and the Warm Keitzman Wedding

Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. We had some amazing experiences over the last few weeks. My wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Friday May 30th by traveling to Green Bay and staying overnight before our flight out to NYC the next morning. It was my wife’s first time there for pleasure and my first time back to New York since 1994. We arrived in New York City on Saturday May 31st and immediately caught a cab to our hotel in the heart of Times Square, the Millenium Broadway. As soon as we got checked in, it started to downpour. Did I mention that we were only there for 24 hours? ;-) My wife had to be back to work on Monday so we literally were in NY for only 24 hours, and had to make the most of our time there. We grabbed umbrellas and headed out to go to the Carnegie Deli, where David Letterman does some of his live look ins on the Late Show. We were seated at a VERY crowded table and got served the biggest slide of New York cheesecake I have ever seen. It was quite delectable. We went from there to the heart of Times Square and did a few tourist things before heading back to the hotel to change for our meal and night at the Majestic Theater where we saw Phantom of the Opera. We ate at Bistecca Fiorentina, a little steakhouse not too far from Times Square that had great ratings. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with our meal and in hindsight, probably would have chosen to go to Don Shula’s Steakhouse instead. However, we wanted the authentic NY experience, and not a chain restaurant. From there, we went to Planet Hollywood and got our picture taken with one of our favorite rock stars before we had dessert there…lol. Now, we were off to the Majestic Theater for the Phantom of the Opera. My wife had seen Phantom before in Toronto but this was my first Phantom experience. I got us third row seats for the performance and I must say the actors were PHENOMENAL. The actors were ALWAYS in character and brought such passion and emotion to their role. It reminded me of the workshops my friends Mark and Rebecca Ferrell of Discjockeyamerica.com and always being in the moment when performing at a wedding reception. We flew back home the next morning after visiting Battery Park and getting a few long distance shots of the Statue of Liberty and seeing Ground Zero. This was a whirlwind of a trip, but well worth it. Next up was the Warm Keitzman reception which I had the pleasure of performing for this past weekend. Both families were wonderful and guests came from lower Michigan, California, Colorado and all over the US. There was a slight lull in the middle of the night until I worked some magic and then the dance floor was packed for the rest of the night. Songs that I don’t normally play at a wedding these guests thoroughly enjoyed such as “Now That We Found Love” by Heavy D & The Boyz, “Like A Prayer” by Madonna, and “Rumpshaker” by Wreckx N Effects. Every wedding is different and it’s good to be able to get away from the same old same old wedding music every once in a while. These pictures were taken at the very end of the night with all of the guests on the dance floor toasting to the new Mr. and Mrs. Keitzman. We also had a surprise play of “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy”, thanks to permission from the groom Dan’s mother, Mrs. Mary Jo Keitzman. Here I am with the new Mr. and Mrs. Dan and Carol Keitzman. Stay tuned…as the Sielaff Kryznarich wedding is this weekend and I expect it to be phenomenal.

Father’s Day weekend is upon us, and I would like to wish a Happy Father’s Day to you and yours. I would especially like to thank my father, Harry Taylor for all he has helped me with over the years. It is because of you and Mom that I am who I am today. Here's a pic of my dad and my son Hunter last year on my Uncle's ranch in Montana.

Happy Mother's Day - A Passion Renewed

Exhausted. Fulfilled. A passion renewed. These words are what describes my feelings today as I write this on Sunday May 11th, 2008. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers of the world. Here's a picture of my Mom and Dad with my kids Hunter and Kendall in Montana last June. This day is for you.

Saturday, May 10th, 2008 was the date for Alison and Brad Prey to be married. Their reception was held at the Danforth Place in Escanaba, Michigan and Ron Romps along with his staff once again proved great to work with. I put approximately 20-30 hours of prep time into their reception alone, and all of the hard work proved to be worth it to see the smiles on the faces of Alison, Brad as well as their parents throughout the night.

The night started with the personalized introductions of the bridal party, complete with including a karaoke version of the Usher Troy Sovey singing "Call Me" by Blondie and incorporating that into his introduction. Following that was our cake cutting ceremony and then a personalized toast that I helped to add to on the fly by the Best Man Steve Braun. After our sit down meal, we had two special tributes planned for Alison and Brad. Here are pics of one of the occasions. The emotion on their faces is the payoff for all of my hard work before their event. There were several other aspects of their reception that was personalized just for Brad and Alison and I was proud to play a part in creating those memories for them. Below is a customized gobo that I created to be shown on the dance floor to help create a "WOW" moment for Alison and Brad as they took the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.

Later in the evening, one of their guests busted out into his Michael Jackson impression and we wrapped up the night with Alison, Brad and all of their family and friends on the dance floor to send them off together. It was a great way to end a night filled with love.

On that note, I'd like to encourage you to stop for a moment and tell someone that you love exactly how you feel about them. We all can make this world a better place simply by influencing others around us with positive energy.

Vegas in da U.P. and a wonderful family...

The Gladstone High School Prom theme for 2008 was titled A Night on the Strip, with a tribute to Las Vegas. WOW! is all I could say when I walked into the beautifully decorated gymnasium that was transformed into a scene from the strip complete with the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. Thanks to Danielle Carlson for assisting me with the students request all night. It helps that she knows the current music inside and out and knows what is appropriate to play and what is not. I’m not getting any younger J. The students and faculty of GHS did an outstanding job and had a blast until the late hours of Saturday night.

What an amazing facility and amazing people! I can’t recommend enough the services of Gary Cahee and the staff of Pine Grove CC. They are absolutely top-notch with the delivery of their services for potential clients, brides and grooms especially! I say this as I just got back from this weekend’s wedding at the Pine Grove Country Club in Iron Mountain. I was greeted by Gary and we went over the evening’s itinerary so both of us were together on the execution of the evening’s events. He was always there working hand in hand with me to make sure that everything was in its place before we proceeded to the next event such as cake knife, server, plate and napkins for the cake cutting to the pouring of the champagne before the toasts. Outstanding job Gary and staff!

People like the Trepanier and Rasmussen families make my job so enjoyable. They truly appreciate the extra time and effort that I put into their event and were wonderful people to work for. You can see how much fun the Father of the Bride Gene Trepanier and another guest had playing "air guitar" with the banquet facilities tray stands to the right. :) I’d like to give a public “Thank You” to everyone in the Trepanier and Rasmussen families for all of their help and support in making Tiffany and Mark’s reception a success. Their introductions went very smoothly, emotions were drawn out during the telling of their Love Story and when the Father of the Bride Gene took his daughter’s hand for the Father/Daughter dance, the expression on those two beautiful faces was priceless. It was a poignant moment just for the two of them and I was happy to have a hand in creating it. Thank you to Tiffany and Mark especially, who I am pictured with below.

I am off this weekend to entertain roughly 600 people in Niagara Wisconsin for a very fun reception with a really cool bride and groom, and then the following weekend it’s back to the Danforth Place in Escanaba for a VERY fun and entertaining program still being crafted by Alison, Brad and myself. Stay tuned.

Kickoff to the U.P.'s 2008 Wedding Season!

Yesterday morning, April 12th, 2008 I awoke to the sound of my children playing in the living room. I made my way into the living room and was slightly surprised with the view as I looked out the window. Mother Nature decided to dump 3 to 5 inches of snow on us on the overnight and I was faced with the task of snowblowing my driveway just so I could get out to perform at last night’s wedding reception. Bryan and Lindsey LaMarch had already been married 3 weeks earlier aboard the cruise ship the Norwegian Pearl, and were now having their celebration back home with family and friends. Of course being a former cruise ship entertainer I was immediately enchanted with this couple having learned of their plans of marriage during our initial interview. The setting for their reception was the Island Resort & Casino and as always, Sherry Skradski, the convention supervisor did a fabulous job in decorating the Paradise Room to reflect Lindsey and Bryan’s tropical themed wedding. She had amazing attention to detail with sea horses and starfish in the trees surrounding the room and a lavishly decorated buffet of heavy hors d’ouevres for guests to enjoy. The reception was designed to be more laid back and really just a party with very little of the traditional wedding formalities. A fellow Dream Day Event Center vendor, Tara was there in attendance and it was also great to see people that I hadn’t seen in awhile such as Paul Jacobs (my dentist)and his lovely wife, Jim Dufresne (the father of the bride) and Andrew and Karin Doutree (Matron of Honor). A great time was had by all with the personalized introductions seemingly being one of the highlights of the evening. As I look ahead, Gladstone High School’s prom will be this weekend. My wife, her sister and brother all graduated from Gladstone and we as a family are glad that my son and daughter will also be attending the same school system that my wife was educated through. I’ll be making my preparations during this week to rock 250 high school students and create Prom memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Reading and Rocking

Reading and Rocking! Wow! As I write this, it is the evening of April 1st, April Fools Day, when pranks are played on everyone it seems. I just got back from metro Detroit seeing some old friends again and hanging out with the company I used to work for in that market, Music Box Productions. Rod, Kim, Crash, Joey, Andrea, Sherman and Aaron all greeted me with open arms again. It was the second year in a row that Music Box Productions was invited to spin for Opening Day at Comerica Park as the Tigers start their baseball season. I was lucky in that last year I got a chance to get my picture taken with Ernie Harwell. Opening Day this year was a great success again thanks to the energy created by the personalities at Music Box. Back on March 17th, I got a chance to visit my son’s school and read to his classmates. I was amazed at the structure that these schools have and how they keep 5 year olds on such a rigid schedule. If only my wife and I were that successful! I walked in and the kids immediately stopped what they were doing. They all joined me in the storytime area and it was beautiful to see their faces being so attentive as I read them M is for Mitten (a book about the first letters of a word and how it corresponds to our state of Michigan). Here’s a picture of Hunter and I at his school just after the reading. Oh, how time flies! March 17th, 2007 was also the one year anniversary of one of the coolest weddings that I got to be a part of last year. Erin McCarthy and Scott Hoffman were married and had their reception at the now defunct Premier Center of Iron Mountain. There was a reason for this date as Erin is quite Irish and they both loved the traditions. They had a wonderful reception and truly are a beautiful couple. In fact, you can see them featured on my new website at http://www.tayloredweddings.com/. The picture of their famous introduction is on the Creation page. Thanks to Keith and Michelle Freeman of Freeman’s Photography for their incredible hard work at Erin and Scott’s wedding and also to Sarah Chouinard from RK Com Web Design for the design work of my new site. This is where you can find out more information about the wedding services I offer for my clientele. Thanks Sarah! You did a great job. Sarah’s site can be found here. We are just one week away from starting wedding season full steam ahead here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I’m quite excited for the year ahead and thrilled that I get to work with and for such wonderful people on the most amazing day of their lives…their wedding day.

Cabo, WEDG and the Lamarch Skerbeck Wedding

Wow! What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been. My wife and I recently celebrated our upcoming 10 year anniversary with a trip to Cabo San Lucas in January. We traveled around the tip of the Baja Peninsula of California; saw the sea lions on the rocks out at Los Arcos.

We also went ziplining across the canyons of southwestern Mexico. What an amazing, exhilarating thrill ride! If you’ve never experienced this and are a thrill seeker at heart, this is an activity you definitely should try. On the last night of our trip, we even saw flying fish in front of our resort as we walked the beach the night before we came home. On the business side of things, I am extremely excited to announce that as of February 8th, 2008, I achieved the title of Wedding Entertainment Director and have been approved and accepted as the latest member of the Wedding Entertainment Directors Guild. The Wedding Entertainment Directors Guild, or WEDG, utilizes a rigorous application process to verify that each and every member is a proven professional in the entertainment field with a minimum of 5 years experience in wedding entertainment and/or a minimum of 200 wedding reception performances. Every Wedding Entertainment Director utilizes seven key services to ensure a uniquely personalized entertainment experience that will not soon be forgotten. Those seven components are Comprehensive Personalization, Creative Involvement, Event Direction, Talented Spokesperson, Music Programming, Appropriate Presentation and Quality Amplification. I am also the first Wedding Entertainment Director, or WED from the state of Michigan. For more information on Wedding Entertainment Directors and the WED Guild, please visit http://www.wedguild.com/ or http://www.thebestweddingreceptionever.com/. I have to sincerely thank the LaMarche and Skerbeck families for the beautiful reception that they held on January 26th, 2008 for their children Cindy and Dustin. The setting for Cindy and Dustin’s reception was the Terrace Bay Inn ballroom, which was beautifully decorated by Tiffany Albaugh from Final Touches Designs. Mike, Laurie and the staff prepared an exquisite meal and I’m sure everyone thoroughly enjoyed their reception. Here are a few of the comments Cindy and Dustin had to say: "Mitch, Thank You so much! You were awesome! We loved not having to worry about anything at our event! Our favorite memories had to be the Love Story, the fact that you played great music and the dance floor was packed all night! We loved getting a detailed schedule ahead of time and our guests had a great time! Thanks!" I will wrap up my blog by thanking all of my past and present clients for their belief in me and my ability to deliver exactly what they want on their wedding day and to my family for supporting my dream of being a full time wedding entertainer. I’m sure several of you have heard the phrase “Time is money”. I recently heard a much better take on this phrase. Next time you think of that phrase, change it to “Time is Life”. Something to think about. Mitch Taylor

Holiday First Blog

Well, the holidays are upon us. It’s hard to believe that 2007 has almost come and gone. It has been a busy year for me and the Taylor family. From two different trips one to Montana and one to Maine, to leaving my full time day job and pursuing my dream of being a wedding entertainer full time…it’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions. My wife’s grandmother passed away just a couple of weeks ago. She will be dearly missed. This time of year causes reflections. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the people who have assisted me throughout the year. Vendors such as (in no particular order), Keith and Michelle Freeman, Maggie Depuydt, Tiffany Albaugh, David Hakamaki, Bill Thum, Mickey Connor, Mike and Laurie from the Terrace, Ron, Kristy, Kim, and Mitch from the Danforth Place, Gary from Pine Grove CC, the ladies from Norway Mountain, Barb from Four Seasons Resort, Sherri from the Island Casino, Jack Ouelette, Ray Maki, Rhonda from Flinn’s, Joanna Amis from HobNob, Dan from Celebrations Charters, Vicki Micheau and everyone from the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, all of the vendors of the Dream Day Event Center…there are several others I am sure and you all played a role in my success this year….I thank you. To my business associates in Lee Haynes, Ann Marie Jasso and Danielle Carlson, my web designer Sarah Chouinard, my tech guru Michael Malone, and everyone with my DJA family I say thank you for all of your help and assistance throughout this past year. Your drive and determination has been an inspiration to me. Last but CERTAINLY not least, I say THANK YOU to my valued clients. Thank you for your belief in me and for allowing me to be a part of your special days. I’m so privileged to work with and for such wonderful people week in and week out. Finally, I would like to say thank you to my family. Michelle, Hunter, Kendall, my Mom and Dad Harry and Peggy Taylor, my brother Kirk and his family, Michelle’s family, Mike, Judy, Kristy and Tim and all of their extended family members. You all have had my back and supported me 100% in the passion I have for my business. You are the best family infrastructure anyone could ask for. To all reading this, take a moment this holiday season and slow down. Life moves pretty fast. We all too often get caught up in our day to day activities and forget to stop and cherish the moment that we are living in, feel our surroundings and take that breath of fresh air and experience it. Do that today. Do it now. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. Thanks for reading. Mitch Taylor