An ambitious idea and a lot of rehearsal went into the execution of PJ and Noah’s first dance. It was a surprise for all of their guests, and then it was a surprise when it went online, went viral and brought thousands and comments and media inquiries to their door. What happens when you do something and the world notices? PJ and Noah turned the unexpected flood of attention into a donation drive that raised over 30k for a non-profit that means a lot to them, and to many people who watched their dance video with happy t...
An ambitious idea and a lot of rehearsal went into the execution of PJ and Noah’s first dance. It was a surprise for all of their guests, and then it was a surprise when it went online, went viral and brought thousands and comments and media inquiries to their door. What happens when you do something and the world notices? PJ and Noah turned the unexpected flood of attention into a donation drive that raised over 30k for a non-profit that means a lot to them, and to many people who watched their dance video with happy tears in their eyes: It Gets Better. PJ and Noah share their experience with the dance and all of the other sweet, personal moments on their wedding day. We are so happy to have them on the podcast!
Big Takeaways
PJ and Noah knew how they wanted their wedding to feel and they worked towards that every step of the way with wedding planning. They wanted the entire day to feel relaxed, personal, and for all of their guests to just have fun together. The incorporated all of their favorites into the day - their dog, their families - giving important ‘jobs’ to all of those VIPs they wanted to honor and include, their favorite songs and talented vocalist friends, and of course, the dance now seen ‘round the world - their choreographed first dance mashup, which included their very favorite songs from all phases of their life. Songs that reminded them of good times, great movies and shared experiences. The music was a very big part of their wedding day. It was meaningful, it added to the feel of the day.
The dance took a lot of work, but putting the music together in the mash up took a lot of work too! PJ toiled away on Garage Band putting together all of the songs they wanted to use, and putting them in order, cued at the right time...it was a lot. But when something takes a lot of work, it helps if you have fun doing the work! PJ has a musical background and really enjoyed the process.
Noah and PJ didn’t have a wedding party, but they did have dear friends and families involved in the ceremony and at the reception. They had a flower girl, they had a young nephew with a job wrangling the dog and feeling important, the moms walked down the aisle before the grooms, the grooms walked in together, their dad’s were joint-officiants, and they had friends sing, toast and dance their asses off. Everyone that wanted to help was able to. It was a ‘it takes a village’ kind of wedding.
Links we referenced
The dance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhXBNaUOTvU
It Gets Better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjRD_6Gqb88
Wedding Highlight video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJwATkN9CBY
PJ’s Op-Ed: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/my-wedding-dance-was-watched-by-millions-i-wish-my-12-year-old-self-knew-how-beautiful-his-future-would-be
Good Morning America: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/grooms-surprised-guests-epic-dance-wedding-reception-58924854
The Big Wedding Planning Podcast is...
Hosted and produced by Michelle Martinez.
- Edited by Veronica Gruba
- Music by Steph Altman of Mophonics
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