Weddings in the Florida Keys
When a bride and groom from Denver decided to come to Key West for a destination wedding, they searched the Internet for the right music.
They found the Ted Knight Orchestra.
Family and friends gathered at the Museum of Art and History at the Custom House, a historic red brick structure now part of the waterfront Hilton complex. The full band played jazz and blues to welcome the guests. Then trumpet, sax and guitar moved upstairs to play soft jazz and Gershwin's Someone to Watch Over Me for the wedding ceremony.
Music
for dancing included The Way You
Look Tonight and Duke Ellington's
Things Ain't What They Used to Be.
Ted wrote an arrangement of Feels Like Home, a Randy Newman
song recorded by Linda Ronstadt, and sang the number for the bride and
groom's first dance. Trombonist Mike Egan was featured on The Shadow
of Your Smile, played by request.
After stormy weather forced a change from the planned garden venue, Ted adjusted to the museum's live acoustics so that people could enjoy conversation as well as the music. Using one small speaker for vocals and no microphones on the horns, he made the most of the band's natural sound. Later, the bride and groom told Ted how much they and their parents appreciated the way the band handled last-minute changes made necessary by our Florida weather.
Key West Valentine
Knight Music traveled to Key West for a Valentine's Day wedding at the Hilton Resort. Ted sang two Josh Groban songs for the ceremony with accompaniment by flute, cello, and guitar, overlooking the harbor at sunset. Afterward, the flute player switched to tenor sax, and the chamber group became a jazz trio for cocktails under the stars.
Then the reception moved to the hotel ballroom for music by Ted's nine-piece orchestra. The dinner set included Georgia, My Funny Valentine, and Misty. The band went into a traditional hora followed by a mix of Sinatra-style swing and old-time rock and roll, and everyone danced.
In Key Largo
Ted
Knight and the World's Smallest Big Band played for a tropical wedding
at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo in 2006. The affair was held at the
resort's Palm Court, an oceanfront terrace.
The bride and groom, a couple from Pittsburgh, asked Ted to play mostly jazz and blues numbers, and the Bobby Darin version of More for their first dance as husband and wife.
Evelyn
Russell sang Just the Way You Are, I Can See Clearly Now,
and Peggy Lee's Fever. Saxophonist
Randy Emerick played several
solos including Charlie Parker's Donna Lee. Matt Schuler played
trumpet, featured on Hot Hot Hot and backing Ted's vocal on the Michael
Bublé version of Feeling Good. Ted sang Fly Me to the Moon
for the bride's dance with her father, and his version of Can't Take
My Eyes Off of You packed the dance floor.
Knight played another wedding at the club, for a bride and groom from Tampa. First, the Knight Music Trio played chamber music for the ceremony on the lawn. Then Ted's six-piece combo played unplugged jazz for cocktails around the baby grand in the bar. Finally, his eight-piece orchestra played for dancing in the club's dining room, with a gorgeous view of the water.
Both wedding couples chose Knight Music after recommendations by the club's catering manager.