A Thanksgiving Feast On Penn's Landing

Lisa & Gene
November 24, 2007
Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penns Landing
Philadelphia, PA
Web Site

The Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing is nestled among Federal, Colonial, and Georgian homes along the Delaware River in the historic Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. The floor to ceiling windows and panoramic view of the Delaware River greet guests as they enter this lavish hotel's palatial Grand Ballroom.

Immediately after their cocktail hour ended, the guests entered the ballroom and waited for the bride and groom to enter the room and share their first dance as husband and wife.

After finishing their first dance, the bridal party stepped onto the floor, followed by the entire guest list. I have noticed that an increasingly popular trend for the bridal party is to avoid the awkwardness of dancing with a semi-stranger in an "eighth grade slow song dance" fashion by inviting the entire room to fill the floor for a short slow dance. I think it helps to bring the focus of the guests from the cocktail hour back to the bride and groom.

Gene's family apparently has a family tradition that is observed at every wedding reception. It was something I have never seen before.

After the formalities of the cake cutting and parents' dances were observed, Gene's aunt and uncle stepped out to the dance floor carrying two large bags filled with almost 200 silly hats!

As you can see in some of the photos and the video below, no one hesitated to put a giant zebra hat or Guinness pilsner hat on their head as they danced the night away.

Congratulations, Laurie and Chris!

Click here to see some photos from their event!

Agenda

6:00 PM-6:55 PM Cocktail Hour

7:00 PM Grand Entrance
Bridal Party: "Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez
Bride & Groom: "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti

7:05 PM First Dance
"Songbird" by Eva Cassidy

7:10 PM Bridal Party Dance
"Friends" by Elton John

7:15 PM Blessing & Toast

7:20 PM-8:45 PM Dinner

8:50 PM Bride & Father Dance
"Daddy's Little Girl" by Al Martino

8:55 PM Groom & Mother Dance
"I Am Your Child" by Barry Manilow

9:00 PM-11:00 PM Open Dancing

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Lisa & Gene's comments about their wedding entertainment: "Steve did an absolutely fantastic job. He had the dance floor packed at all times and his selection of music was perfect! He has such a shining personality and though he was not feeling too well that night you would have never known. He was professional, as well as personable, and I would hire him again for my next event. All our friends and family stated that was the BEST wedding they have ever been to and I thank Steve for that. Thank you Steve for making my wedding the best day ever!"