Live Ceremony Music, a Patio First Dance, and a Country Roads Finale
Some wedding days have a musical thread that reveals itself as the day unfolds. Maggee and Jake’s wedding at Willowbrook Weddings in Volant, Pennsylvania was one of those days.
Their celebration moved from an outdoor ceremony, to a live cocktail hour on the patio, to a first dance outside before dinner, and then upstairs into the barn for a full reception. My role with Mike Medved Weddings and Events shifted with each part of the day: live ceremony music, live cocktail hour, a live first dance, DJ and MC services, and one final live song to close the night.
That is what made this one feel so connected. The music was not just assigned to individual moments. It carried the day from start to finish.
The folk thread started before the ceremony
The ceremony music at Willowbrook Weddings set the tone before Maggee ever walked down the aisle. Guests arrived to an outdoor ceremony space that already felt warm, sincere, and folk-inspired.
For family and wedding party seating, I played “Strawberry Queen” by Charles Wesley Godwin on guitar. It was the kind of song choice that immediately tells you something about a couple’s taste. It felt grounded, personal, and a little different in the best way.
Maggee then walked down the aisle with her father to “Goodness of God” by CeCe Winans, performed with guitar and vocals. That processional had genuine weight to it. The live arrangement gave the moment room to breathe, and it matched the emotional tone of the ceremony beautifully.
After the ceremony, the recessional shifted the energy with “Hey Honey” by Sumbuck, starting at the couple’s requested timestamp. That transition helped move the day from ceremony emotion into celebration.
Cocktail hour with room to breathe
After the ceremony, guests moved to the outdoor patio for cocktail hour. Maggee and Jake wanted a sound inspired by John Mayer, Chris Stapleton, and Caamp, which gave the hour a relaxed, folk-leaning acoustic feel.
This kind of cocktail hour is one of my favorite ways to shape a wedding day. The music does not need to take over the room, but it also should not feel like filler. A live set gives the space a heartbeat while guests grab drinks, find family, and settle into the evening.
At Willowbrook Weddings, the patio was the right place for that. The music had room to breathe, and the whole hour felt like a natural continuation of the ceremony rather than a hard pivot into the next part of the timeline.
The first dance happened before the room changed
One of the most special choices Maggee and Jake made was where they placed their first dance. Instead of waiting until later in the reception, they chose to dance outside on the patio at the end of cocktail hour, before guests moved upstairs into the barn for dinner.
I played “Willing and Able” by Charles Wesley Godwin live for that moment. Maggee and Jake are CWG super fans and traveled to his Red Rocks show just a week after their wedding. His music had already appeared earlier in the ceremony, so the song felt like part of the same story.
This is also where I accidentally caught video of my longtime vendor friend, Alyssa Vanston Photography, thoughtfully capturing each moment of the live first dance. When Alyssa’s gallery came out, I realized how aligned it was with her snaps in the video and wanted to make a fun feature video of how it all went down. Check out the video, and some of Alyssa’s gallery below. For more of her work, visit her website at the link in the vendors section below!
Upstairs in the barn, the celebration opened up
After cocktail hour and the first dance, guests moved upstairs into the main barn for the reception. The evening included introductions, toasts, dinner, parent dances, and an open dance floor.
The father-daughter dance was “Have a Little Faith in Me” by John Hiatt, and the mother-son dance was “Her Little Man” by Jami Grooms. Those dances kept the family-centered feeling of the day intact before the energy shifted again.
Then the dance floor opened with “We Found Love” by Rihanna and Calvin Harris, giving guests a clear signal that the party had officially started. For this portion of the night, Mike Medved Weddings and Events provided DJ and MC services, keeping the evening moving while matching the energy of the room.
One last live song brought the day full circle
Maggee and Jake’s second-to-last song was “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, a classic singalong choice that works especially well at a western Pennsylvania barn wedding.
Then the night closed with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in the Charles Wesley Godwin arrangement, performed live. That ending tied the entire day together: folk influence, Pennsylvania setting, family energy, and a couple whose music choices felt personal from start to finish.
Vendor credits
- Venue: Willowbrook Weddings, @willowbrookwedding
- Planning and coordination: Yinz Getting Married, @yinzgettingmarried
- Photography and cover image: Alyssa Vanston Photography, @alyssavanstonphotography
- Videography: Just Hitched Films, @justhitchedfilms
- Sound and lighting: Gitano PGH and Epicast Network, @gitanopgh + @epicastnetwork
- Blog and Social Videos: Isaiah Vinay, @isaiahvinay
- Cookie table: Here for the Cookie Table, @hereforthecookietable
- Flowers: Blossoms by Jilliann, @blossomsbyjilliann
- Live ceremony music, live cocktail hour, live first dance, DJ/MC, and live last song: Mike Medved Weddings and Events
