Jericha & George

Jericha's sister Mikayla booked me for this one after finding me on Google and Reddit. Jericha and George live in Tennessee and Mikayla lives in Colorado, so we planned everything from three states away: a green and gold wedding on a Monday at Tannenbaum Event Center on the Mount Rose Highway. Their music list was early to mid 2000s, and their do not play list had two songs on it, Fireflies and All of Me.

The ceremony was unplugged, out on the lawn under the big pines with the mountains behind. Their friend Daniela officiated, and she told their story "in true Appalachian tradition": how they met over board games, how George won and then tried to let Jericha win one, and how their first date was more board games in Midtown Reno. Before the ceremony I played the playlist from when they first started dating.

The wedding party walked in to Storybook Love by Vitamin String Quartet, from The Princess Bride, and Jericha came down the aisle to Dawn by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, from Pride & Prejudice.

They brought both of their families' traditions to the altar. William and Andrew laid out the rushnyk, the embroidered Ukrainian cloth, and Jericha and George stepped onto it together. Then Jericha's sisters, Mikayla and Shirah, laid the Filipino yugal cord over them in a figure eight. Daniela asked them to promise each other an infinite amount of sunrises and doughnuts, and they walked back up the aisle together to You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne.

Cocktail hour had Just the Two of Us by Bill Withers and Fool for Love by Lord Huron. Then the wedding party came in to Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen, I introduced George and Jericha Burton Denny to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson, and then came the photo rush to Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton.

Dinner was Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko by Joseph Vincent, The Sweetest Taboo by Sade, My Girl by The Temptations, Stand By Me by Ben E. King and The Moon Song by Karen O and Ezra Koenig.

Then came the toasts, and there were a lot of them: both dads, John and Mark, best man William, Mikayla and Shirah, friends of the couple, George's cousin from the mountains of East Tennessee, and finally Jericha and George themselves. Along the way George's mom, Helene, taught the whole room the Ukrainian toast to good health.

Their first dance was Witch Love by Nico Yaryan. Jericha danced with her dad to Father and Daughter by Johnny Cash and Rosey Nix, and George danced with his mom to The Perfect Fan by Backstreet Boys.

Next was a surprise even Jericha and George didn't know about. Jericha's mom, Mimi, and her titas took the floor for the Star Ladies Dance to Isem and Mamang Sorbetero, a mix of Filipino wedding songs. Isem is an Ilocano folk song, and the word means smile.

They cut the cake to How Sweet It Is by James Taylor. The anniversary dance was Here You Come Again by Dolly Parton, and it ended with the longest married couple sharing their words of wisdom and taking home a prize. The money dance was Silly Love Songs by Wings, and Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard opened the dance floor.

I brought my new lights and haze for this one, and they lit up the whole Tannenbaum. The floor went through Always by Bon Jovi, Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes and Freaks by Timmy Trumpet. Jericha tossed the bouquet to Go, Lovely Rose by Scythian, and we went right into Blitzkrieg Bop by Ramones.

The last hour was What's My Age Again and All the Small Things by blink 182, The Caterpillar by The Cure, You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates and Buddy Holly by Weezer. Their last dance was Happy Together by The Turtles. Thank you, Jericha, George and Mikayla, for trusting me with your music.