I know it’s not actually Wednesday, but tomorrow is a holiday and we’ll be spending it.. at Ikea. We don’t have and Ikea within 60mi so when we do go we pretty much make a day out of it. That’s what happens when Independence Day falls smack dab in the middle of the week and our families live too far to travel to. Anyway! Back to this week’s wedding post..
As you saw a couple weeks ago on my massive to-do list, we’ve scratched a lot of things off our list that we haven’t shared with you guys? And it’s about time we caught you up a little. One of the biggest stresses items we crossed off our list was the perfect wedding band. My entire life [well ever since seeing the end of Meet Joe Black] I’ve always wanted a band at my wedding, rather than a DJ. And luckily Derek, who has been a musician his whole life and obsessed with Jazz music made this his only wedding request. So it was decided. We were on the hunt for the perfect jazz band. We just find them so classy and elegant and timeless. Any generation can get up and dance to the songs of Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, while only a few people will jump up and shake their booty to LMFAO [ahem Kate and Fresh] and since we want everyone to have a good time, we felt this was perfect.
We knew our budget and we began scouring the interwebs for the perfect Jazz band. Knowing a lot of musicians in the area helped, but they were all either booked, or crazy expensive, or just not the sound we were looking for. But then we found our guys. Meet South Texas Jazz!
As you read the rest of this post you should probably have this playing in the background. It just adds to the ambiance.
They had several arrangements to choose from and we decided to go with the Quartet which included a piano, drums, stand up base, and vocals/saxophone. We felt that a four piece band would be perfect for our size of venue, yet have enough impact to really set the mood for the night. We sent emails back and forth with Brent AKA Doc Watkins, who is so wonderful to work with! We really wanted to see them perform in person before making our decision and he invited us to come out to Bohannan’s that weekend to see them play. We slipped into some plush leather chairs and had some of the best cocktails we’ve had in a while, and as soon as they started playing we never wanted to leave.
He had asked us to give him a list of requests to play for us that night, and boy did we Derek ever give him a list! I gave him a few obvious songs that I’ve always loved like ‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘What a Wonderful World’, ‘Moon River’, etc. and Derek wanted to test their skills with some Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. So when they started playing ‘Take Five’ without missing a beat Derek was in heaven. I haven’t seen him that giddy over a band in a while. I actually choked up when they started playing Moon River so we both knew they this was a done deal!
If you want to hear more of their music, be sure to watch their videos here. Or if you live in San Antonio you can catch them every Friday and Saturday night at Bohanan’s at 9:30pm. The drinks and appetizers are wonderful, and heck we’ll probably see you there!
Hooray! Sounds great. We’re having a band too but are going the ceilidh route (traditional english/irish country music played with set dances – like the UK version of a barn dance!) with my stepdad’s band playing for us. My brother’s wedding had the same and it was so much fun.
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the girl Reply:
July 3rd, 2012 at 9:00 AM
That sounds amazing! I’ve personally always loved that kind of music but I think our relatives would think we were crazy haha. That’s awesome that your stepdad’s band is playing for you, what a treat! :)
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but can they play “my milshake brings all the boys to the yard?
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crystal-FRESH Reply:
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:42 AM
i bettttt theyyyy caaaaaan! ;)
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Great choice!!!
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I’ve seen them play at bohannons! They are awesome. The singer goes to my friends church and I believe he is an architect. Which makes it perfect!
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the girl Reply:
July 4th, 2012 at 12:31 PM
That’s so funny, what a small world! I had no idea he was an architect. How perfect :)
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Haley Reply:
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:29 AM
He is an architect! I know him well and also Brent. They both go to our church. Brent played the piano at my wedding ceremony over four years ago! And STJ did my sister’s wedding in December. They are fantastic. Very good choice!
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the girl Reply:
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:39 AM
That’s so funny! What a small world :) Do you know which firm he works at? I bet your wedding was beautiful, his piano skills still blow me away each time I see him play!
Haley Reply:
August 23rd, 2012 at 9:58 PM
Yep! He has his own firm called Urbanist Design. He’s been on his own for a few years now, but before that he was at Lake Flato for several years. We overlapped for maybe a week while I worked there.
And yes, Brent has some mad skills. We should totally hit up Bohannan’s sometime. I could listen to them all night.