11-1-08 Stephanie & John

The Smokin’ Section travelled “down the shore” to play at Stephanie and John’s wedding reception at the Rumson Country Club. The bride and groom could not have asked for a more perfect late fall afternoon: beautiful, clear and crisp. Upon arriving at the club after the ceremony at church, some of the wedding guests enjoyed the cocktail hour on the patio out back overlooking the links, while many of the people checked out the hors d’oeuvres and had drinks by the bar inside while our pianist Ted tickled the ivories.

Stephanie and John selected James Taylor’s “Your Smiling Face” as their first dance. Our guitarist Mike handled the lead vocals on it, while the Smokin’ Section’s rhythm section backed him up smoothly. Midway through the tune, many of the guests joined the happy couple on the dance floor. It was a large party with tables spread through several rooms in the country club, and the maitre’d Cindy ran the proceedings ably and efficiently throughout the evening.

After the entree was finished, the rockers in the crowd loved our Van Morrison medley of “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Wild Nights” and “Domino” with our version of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” thrown in for good measure. The band’s take on Tom Petty’s “American Girl” got the crowd whipped up just before cake and “What I Like About You” (The Romantics) worked them up even further. Stephanie then danced with her father to the Gershwin classic “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”. After that, it was John’s time to dance with his mother and they did a turn on the floor to “Jersey Girl”.

After the cake was cut, the band and the dancers got down to “Crazy In Love” and JB’s “Sex Machine”. Things kicked up even a notch further with the band’s take on Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” right before the bride threw the bouquet. The crowd was in a pretty wild frame of mind and the evening’s finale was “You Shook Me”.

Location: Rumson Country Club Rumson, NJ (732) 842-3333

Photography: Michael Dempsey Photography 1-888-827-8133