When wedding discussions began, it became clear that our number one goal was to provide an extra-special experience for our guests in Whitefish. We recalled favorite elements of past parties and weddings, and sprinkled in some new ideas along the way.

Admittedly, at one time, our list of wedding activities was beginning to resemble a carnival. But through the months, we tweaked and fine-tuned the list to better fit our needs, with the goal remaining throughout: To provide a memorable experience for wedding guests, and leave them with a special feeling that they have been part of a loving and joyful celebration, and that their presence was appreciated.

Here are some of the ideas we implemented in hopes of achieving this.

Upon arrival, as I’ve already shared, guests were presented with a welcome bag of goodies to kick off the weekend. We had so much fun putting these together! As far as food, we thought the granola was a good fit for Montana, plus the personalized cookies for something sweet and pretzels for a salty snack. The pennants were custom and we spent a fair amount of time planning and designing these for a special take-home gift. We felt the canvas bags with the custom Happy Menocal oval emblem would be a fun remembrance and would surely be used - that weekend, and at home. We added a postcard, a map, and a couple GNP waters for good measure, and of course, the welcome book! Happy’s artwork highlighted a welcome message, the weekend activities, plus lots of information and suggestions on what to do in Whitefish. .. Another fun keepsake.

Family and friends began to arrive on Thursday and several groups met for dinner. Friday, as I shared in a previous post, there was a special luncheon for the bridal party, and we were thrilled to see our family and friends taking advantage of the activities we included on the website and listed in the welcome book. We enjoyed seeing photos of friends hiking, biking, exploring, golfing, kayaking, shopping, boating, swimming, fishing, and even axe throwing at Hank’s Hatchets! Our loved ones were making a mini vacation of their visit, and taking advantage of this special Whitefish wedding location.

Friday night, the welcome party was a great meeting place to greet our guests. The custom hats, the owl visitors, and the local band created a festive atmosphere, and the margaritas and menu kept everyone happy.

Saturday, there was plenty of time for more fun before the shuttles departed for the wedding.

We did our best to make people feel welcome and to enhance their stay, but of course, the wedding is where we really wanted to leave an impression and share a very special evening with our guests.

The views at Green Valley Ranch were breathtaking, the weather cooperated, and everyone seemed pretty happy taking it all in. Guests were greeted with champagne as they arrived in shuttles and took their seats.

The quartet songs were chosen with care and we hoped the guests would enjoy.

Family Processional: Make you Feel my Love | Adele

Bridal Party Processional: Paradise | Coldplay

Bride’s Processional: At Last | Etta James

Recessional: Somebody to Love | Queen

The ceremony was short and sweet.

After the ceremony, guests stopped to take photos of the stunning backdrop on their way to cocktail hour.

Signature drinks were served, several passed appetizers made their way around, and a few guests played the corn hole game.

The huckleberry margaritas were popular!

Chris Clouse played during cocktail hour. He is an incredible musician and song writer, a DJ and live performer from LA. He is so talented and we were honored to have him be a part of the wedding at the beginning and the end of the night. More about him when he returns later.

We recently attended a wedding in New Orleans, and loved their use of a beautiful coffee table book for the wedding guest book. The NOLA couple used a beautiful botanical print book and I thought it was brilliant.

Hillary’s David Yarrow book on her coffee table seemed like a perfect fit for this activity. David Yarrow was the talk of the town recently when he organized a Montana photo shoot with Cindy Crawford as part of a fundraiser for animal conservation. The super model was photographed with a live wolf! Cindy visits frequently as her brother-in-law’s family has a home in Whitefish.

Towards the end of cocktail hour, the band began playing in the tent to lure people in.

People were naturally drawn toward the music, stopping at the escort table to pick up their table number.

Entering the tent. . .

The cake was at the entrance, the band was playing, and the atmosphere was lively and happy.

The chandeliers, the flowers, the linens, the chairs and the carpet of green grass. . .

There were several seating areas for guests to relax and mingle.

The stage backdrop provided some interest and color, and the tiered chandelier over the dance floor added a little drama.

I can’t stress enough how vital the band was to the vibe of the evening. I am a huge fan of The Sultans, and I hope you’ll bear with me when I share an entire essay on their talent and story further along in this post.

Speeches.. Chip and I had our speeches typed up, and we read them with love in our hearts. Public speaking was not a gift we were blessed with, but we managed to welcome everyone, and give a little love to the newlyweds. I have to think people could see that we love them so much. Many of my friends know that I could have done a 30 minute dramatic speech with tears, but I spared Hillary and the audience as dinner was about to be served, and there were other speeches to be given.

Towards the end of dinner, Monica, Hillary’s MOH, gave a darling speech perfectly highlighting their many years of friendship and congratulating the happy couple. Then, Keenan got up, a surprise. Keenan acts like he is not a natural public speaker, but he is full of it, because it was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. It was 10 minutes, and thank goodness it was recorded. I thought I might listen to it everyday for the rest of my life, but I have decided to save it for special times.

Next up was Liam, Keenan’s oldest brother, who successfully delivered a heartfelt and meaningful message.

Nolan, another brother, was up next and had prepared what seemed to be a deeply moving speech, but he couldn’t quite get it delivered in the way, we have to assume, he had intended. Eventually, Keenan saved the day and the band was back in business, mini cakes were delivered, the wedding cake was cut, and dancing resumed.

I feel like I’ve already explained the mini-cakes sufficiently in past posts, but these little flower-topped surprises were definitely intended to be part of the special experience theme.

After dinner, dancing continued as well as the photo booth opportunity!

Hillary wanted the Mirmir Photo Booth experience, another example of something expected at weddings thanks to you-know-who. I haven’t been to a wedding recently that didn’t have a photo booth present. I was really interested in letting this idea pass, but since Hillary had so few things she had an opinion about, I felt we had to make it happen.

Luckily, photo booth companies have multiplied and improved, and seem to be keeping up with the Kardashians which worked out well for us. We were able to find a photo booth option in Montana, a blessing. They totally did the trick, added the HK custom monogram, and looked just like Mirmir..

Hillary was right. Guests had fun with the photos! They were able to take their printed copies home and sign copies to leave with the Bride and Groom.

BACK TO THE BAND!

The concept of having a band at the wedding evolved pretty dramatically over the year of wedding planning. When Hillary was first engaged, they expressed their desire for a non-traditional wedding: no bridesmaids/groomsmen, no band, more of a party atmosphere with background music, but no dancing - they did not want it to feel like prom.

As planning progressed, and after Hillary attended a wedding in DC featuring an incredible band, she realized that dancing does not always feel like the prom. We already had a band in mind, and had danced with them at a couple weddings, so that part was easy. We will never forget the Nantucket wedding that introduced us to The Sultans. Chip and I are not dancers, and we danced the night away! When that band started playing, it was like magic - an instant feeling that we were a part of something special.

Jerry Bennett runs an incredible entertainment business, and I am absolutely fascinated by his story and the impressive talent he has collected and continues to attract.

Here’s an entertaining article from GQ explaining Jerry Bennett’s complex understanding of the perfect wedding, and how he has managed to secure the title of America’s Best Wedding Band.

Jerry Bennett studied drums at the New England Conservatory and ended up in New York playing for different bands. He was starting to consider a different line of work when he traveled with a musician buddy to Martha’s Vineyard. He immediately took note of the potential clientele. He recognized that these folks were willing and able to hire an awesome band, and they had the desire and appreciation for talent. He and his buddy became that awesome band. Bill Clinton hired them to play a party, and the rest is history. Word of mouth landed him jobs for the Clintons and the Obamas on Martha’s Vineyard, the Bushes in Kennebunkport, and the Bidens in Delaware and D.C. They were Trumps go-to band for years at Mar-a-Lago.

Interesting reading so many names in politics. Which way does he lean? How does that work? This excerpt from the GQ article explains:

“Jerry has a politics of his own, but it is irrelevant to the business. It's how one Saturday in the summer is Democrats in Maryland and the next is Republicans in Maine. It's how stories about the Obamas and the Bushes bring him joy in equal measure. It's how one of the things he laments most about the Trump Age is that Trump became too toxic for a number of the charities in Palm Beach to continue booking Mar-a-Lago for fundraisers. The Sultans were Trump's go-to band for years. And Mar-a-Lago was the best venue in the area, Jerry told me. The best people worked behind the scenes there. It was the best room to play in. Many Americans have their reasons for regretting that Donald Trump became president four years ago. As much as any of those reasons, though, Jerry misses the excellent sound engineer at Mar-a-Lago.”

The quality of the musicians is what the success of The Sultans has depended on. Quality is how word travels. Quality is how they continue to get booked. Many of these musicians have been on America’s Got Talent, and finalists on American Idol.

Jerry Bennett has a catalog of musicians and songs, and certain musicians can be requested, but they are all outstanding. They consider your list of songs, among other things, and pull from their artists to put together the best group for your event. We requested JG and Ashley since we had seen them, and our third musician was equally amazing, in fact several people at the wedding said he was their favorite!

When JG is up on that stage with Ashley, belting out a Motown song, it is amazing. It feels like an important and memorable night. It’s the best!

wedding-bands-gq-august-2020-07.jpg copy.jpg

I was not ready for The Sultan’s to stop playing. I really hope we have an opportunity in the future to celebrate something wonderful and experience the magic of The Sultans again. I just can’t say enough about them.

We had sunset photos on the schedule at 9:37pm, but time passed too quickly, and that was a missed opportunity. (It might have been cloudy! I have no recollection!) Hillary had her dress change, and the night flew by.

After dancing, at about 11pm, food trucks were set up outside the tent, as well as a cigar lounge. We narrowed down the original line up of truck ideas to mini donuts, which are offered at some of the local events in downtown Whitefish, and also a BBQ truck offering pulled pork and brisket sandwiches along with BBQ tater tot nachos.

The smell of hot mini donuts is intoxicating!

Here’s Whitey with a stolen bear at the BBQ truck!

The cigars were enjoyed immensely, but not in the intended area.

This lounge set up was for the cigar smokers but served as more of a general seating area outside the tent. It was comfy and cute and served a purpose!

And the matches were a hit!

Late night snacks also included passed chocolate covered strawberries, and the cutest mini milkshakes in these monogrammed flutes with little straws. Honestly, by the time these came out, less than half of the total guests remained. In hindsight, we probably planned too many snacks for our friends. But the few that stayed until the end really enjoyed themselves. Our intention wasn’t that every guest would partake in every option, but more of a something for everyone concept.

While the food trucks and cigar lounge area were open, The Sultans packed up, and Chris Clouse began playing for the after-party crowd.

Chris Clouse, who played during cocktail hour, is a wonderfully talented artist from LA. He is a song writer and plays many instruments, but we were most interested in his DJ work. He and a couple musicians play instruments while the songs are playing! Sort of an elevated hybrid DJ experience! Chris Clouse really goes to town on the fiddle, and the saxophone player was amazing!

This turned out to be a pretty extravagant line-up of entertainment for the remaining guests, and they were thoroughly impressed with the practically private concert!

As one last gesture of thanks, small bags of the hot mini donuts were provided with water bottles for the shuttle rides home. It is our greatest hope that our friends and family left feeling happy and satisfied, and that the experience provided plenty of joyful memories of this wedding celebration.

WEDDING PLANNERS: Greenwood Events

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: Steve Steinhardt