Emily and Ben's Hotel Morgan Wedding: Live Music, a Power Outage, and an Unforgettable Celebration
Emily and Ben's wedding at Hotel Morgan in Morgantown, West Virginia had all the ingredients of a memorable celebration: a beautiful historic ballroom, a full day of live music with a DJ’d reception, a packed timeline of meaningful songs, and a room full of people ready to celebrate them. It also had one completely unexpected twist.
Partway through their ceremony, the power went out. A transformer issue left the venue without power for more than an hour, right in the middle of one of the most important moments of the day. But instead of letting the moment stall, the ceremony kept going. When it was time for Emily and Ben's recessional, I played and sang their song, "Golden" by Harry Styles, completely acoustically, with no microphone and no amplification.
It became one of those wedding moments no one could have planned, but everyone will remember.
Without ceremony power…
An acoustic guitar saves the day.
Live music for the ceremony
Emily and Ben built their ceremony music around a warm, romantic acoustic feel. Guests were seated to a special selection of guitar music, which set the tone for the ceremony before the unexpected power outage changed the plan. Emily processed down the aisle to a special guest piano performance by her soon-to-be brother-in-law, David. Mid-ceremony, a balloon arrangement from a nearby street food festival broke away from its tether and caused a power transformer to explode. Having lost all power, the room shifted, but the officiant didn’t miss a word. He spoke a little louder and continued to proclaim love, truth and peace over Emily and Ben’s new union as husband and wife.
When the ceremony reached its final line, and it was time for Emily and Ben to walk back down the aisle as newlyweds, the room had no working sound system. Although Emily and Ben followed my recommendation to recess to a recorded version of a song very special to them, a lack of power prevented the recording from playing through our sound system. That is where live music made all the difference. I stepped fully into the moment and performed "Adore You" by Harry Styles acoustically. The beautiful
For me, this is one of the reasons live wedding music matters. It is not just about sounding good when everything goes perfectly. It is about being able to adapt when a real wedding day throws something unexpected at you.
Cocktail Hour and Reception at Hotel Morgan
After the ceremony, the celebration continued with live guitar and vocals for cocktail hour. The music included a mix of romantic, laid-back, and familiar songs, including "Your Song," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Adore You," "Lady May," "Home," "Fly Me to the Moon," and "This Must Be the Place."
Hotel Morgan's ballroom gave the entire reception a timeless feel. The woodwork, chandeliers, tall windows, and classic architecture created a beautiful setting for Emily and Ben's first moments together as a married couple.
Even with the power outage earlier in the day, the timeline stayed remarkably close. The outage lasted over an hour, but the wedding only ended up running about fifteen minutes behind schedule. That kind of recovery takes a great vendor team, calm planning, and a couple who can stay present in the middle of the unexpected.
A live first dance to "Simply The Best"
One of the highlights of the reception was Emily and Ben's first dance. I performed "Simply The Best" live as they shared their first dance in the center of the ballroom, surrounded by their family and friends.
This part of the day is one of my favorite offerings because it blends the intimacy of a live performance with the structure of a reception moment. The couple still gets the polished flow of a DJ-led reception, but the first dance becomes something more personal and memorable.
For Emily and Ben, that live first dance felt especially fitting after everything that had already happened earlier in the day. Their wedding had already proven that live music could carry a moment. Their first dance gave everyone a chance to simply settle in and celebrate.
Music that carried the celebration
The reception continued with introductions, cake cutting, parent dances, dance-floor moments, and a final song that brought everyone together. Emily and Ben were introduced to "Music for a Sushi Restaurant," cut their cake to "Sweet Creature," and opened the dance floor with "We Found Love."
Later in the evening, the celebration closed with "Piano Man" by Billy Joel, performed live with Ben's brother David. It was a fitting ending to a wedding day shaped by live music from beginning to end.
From the ceremony to cocktail hour, from the first dance to the final song, Emily and Ben's day showed how music can hold the emotional thread of a wedding together. Sometimes that means creating a beautiful atmosphere. Sometimes it means adapting in real time. And sometimes it means singing without a microphone when the power goes out and the moment still needs to happen.
Emily and Ben's Hotel Morgan wedding was all of that: elegant, joyful, personal, and unforgettable.
Vendor Credits
Venue: Hotel Morgan
Planning / coordination: Kelly Lynn Weddings
Day-of lead planner: Ashley Reola-Bortz
Photography: Dana Lynn Photos
Sound and Lighting: Gitano Productions
Music, DJ, MC: Mike Medved Weddings
