Hilton Garden Inn Wedding

Hilton Garden Inn Wedding - Photo by Mike Allebach

The wedding ceremony and reception took place in the Garden Room of the Hilton Garden Inn overlooking historic Philadelphia, PA. The bride and groom collaborated on an absolutely stellar soundtrack with gentle guidance and encouragement from their wedding DJ. Highlights of the wedding included a 3-part Daddy/Daughter dance, a special song that didn’t seem to exist, custom artwork for centerpieces and a broken promise about the wedding cake.

The Reception

The Music

Daddy Daughter Dance – In 3 Parts!

Specially mixed three-part Daddy/Daughter Dance. The first part is from an actual jitterbug – Glenn Miller – In the Mood. Then it morphs into George Michael saying jitterbug at the beginning of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. The third part is Turn Down for What!
And that’s how we opened the dance floor!

Finding a Special Song That Doesn’t Exist

The couple had a history of seeing a band called Augstines, sometimes called We Are Augustines. They really wanted a song called Ballad of a Patient Man. There were multiple live versions of the song floating around YouTube, but they requested a studio version. There was no studio version available on iTunes or Amazon. Couldn’t even buy it on a disc.

The night before the wedding I managed to find it! In October of 2011, Augustines recorded a live session engineered at The Magic Shop. Paste magazine had the session posted on their website, and I was able to download it and surprise the bride and groom.

Here’s what the groom had to say about that

I am very particular about music and Adam put every song my wife and I requested in the playlist (and kept the songs we absolutely did not want OUT of the playlist).

He even went so far as to find a studio version of a VERY meaningful song to us that I thought only existed as a live version. It was incredible and meant almost as much as getting married to my wife!

Read the full review on Yelp!

Read T P.‘s review of Philly Custom DJ on Yelp

Stream The Hilton Garden Inn Wedding Reception on Spotify

Hilton Garden Inn Wedding Playlist
  1. Electric Light Orchestra – Mr Blue Sky
  2. Frank Sinatra – The Way You Look Tonight
  3. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – Anything Goes
  4. Dean Martin – You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
  5. Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me
  6. Dean Martin – Sway
  7. Jimmy Buffett – Fruitcakes
  8. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Learning To Fly
  9. Queen – You’re My Best Friend (Remastered)
  10. Elvis Costello – Pump It Up
  11. Neal Hefti – Batman Theme
  12. The Lumineers – This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)
  13. The Beatles – I Will
  14. The 1975 – Chocolate
  15. Pharrell Williams – Happy (From “Despicable Me 2”)
  16. Neil Diamond – Cherry, Cherry
  17. Harry Belafonte – Jump in the Line
  18. Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You)
  19. Michael Jackson – Rock With You
  20. Imagine Dragons – On Top of the World
  21. Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle
  22. Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice
  23. The Beatles – Got to Get You Into My Life
  24. INXS – Mystify
  25. Kishi Bashi – This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [by Talking Heads]
  26. Lisztomania – Mozart in the Jungle
  27. Kings of Leon – Wait For Me
  28. Camper Van Beethoven – Sweethearts
  29. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – No Reason to Cry
  30. Soul Coughing – True Dreams of Wichita
  31. Kodaline – All Comes Down
  32. The Postal Service – Such Great Heights
  33. Paul Westerberg – First Glimmer
  34. Ra Ra Riot – Can You Tell
  35. Pixies – Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
  36. Alabama Shakes – Rise to the Sun
  37. Reindeer Section – You Are My Joy
  38. Toad the Wet Sprocket – Nightingale Song
  39. Box Car Racer – There Is
  40. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Waiting In Vain
  41. Wilco – Heavy Metal Drummer
  42. Lily Allen – Somewhere Only We Know
  43. The Cars – You Are the Girl
  44. The Counting Crows – Accidentally In Love
  45. The Big Bopper – Chantilly Lace (Digitally Remastered)
  46. The Monkees – I’m A Believer
  47. Blue Swede – Hooked On a Feeling
  48. Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams – Get Lucky
  49. James Brown – Get Up Offa That Thing
  50. Earth, Wind & Fire – September
  51. Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
  52. Philly Custom DJ – Daddy Daughter Dance
  53. Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
  54. Chubby Checker – The Twist
  55. Los Lobos – La Bamba
  56. Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire
  57. a-ha – Take On Me
  58. The Human League – Don’t You Want Me (Remastered)
  59. Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
  60. Cee Lo Green – Forget You
  61. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B.
  62. The Hooters – And We Danced
  63. The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star
  64. Kodaline – The One
  65. The Jackson 5 – ABC
  66. Young MC – Bust A Move
  67. LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
  68. PSY – GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일)
  69. Usher featuring Pitbull – DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love
  70. Elvis Presley/The Jordanaires – Can’t Help Falling in Love
  71. Frank Sinatra – Somethin’ Stupid (with Nancy Sinatra)
  72. Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You Into the Dark
  73. Lou Bega – Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)
  74. Ricky Martin – Livin’ La Vida Loca
  75. Lloyd Williams – Shout
  76. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
  77. Outkast – Hey Ya
  78. Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
  79. Chris Deburgh – The Lady In Red
  80. George Thorogood & The Destroyers – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
  81. The Killers – Mr. Brightside
  82. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – Time of Our Lives
  83. The Weeknd – Can’t Feel My Face
  84. WALK THE MOON – Shut Up and Dance
  85. DNCE – Cake by the Ocean
  86. Far East Movement & Stereotypes – Girls On the Dance Floor (feat. Stereotypes)
  87. Daft Punk – One More Time
  88. Eric Prydz – Call On Me (Radio Edit)
  89. Cascada – Evacuate the Dancefloor (Radio Edit)
  90. Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over
  91. We Are Augustines – Ballad of a Patient Man

See the original playlist at Serato.com

Stream the Hilton Garden Inn Cocktail Hour Mix

Photos by Mike Allebach

Mike Allebach

All of the great photos used in this post were graciously provided by Allebach Photography. He’s one of the best in the business. Book him early because his calendar is full!

Cake Cutting

The couple made a deal that they would not shove the cake into each other’s faces. That was the deal, at least. The groom had no idea that the bride would renege on the agreement. I had a feeling so I took a slow-motion video.

The Artwork

The couple commissioned an artist, DEDDRAWS, to make custom artwork that were used as centerpieces on the tables. Subjects included superheroes, and characters from science fiction. He even made custom coloring pages which were put on the tables along with crayons. Check out his site to purchase his artwork or commission custom pieces for your own collection.

Hilton Garden Inn Wedding - Photo by Mike Allebach

Your wedding should be this spectacular!

We can make it happen for your wedding.

Adam Oded · Award Winning DJ · The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame · I'll listen to you and play the music you love · adam@phillycustomdj.com · 917-951-2400
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