Michael & Savannah's July 4th Wedding at The White Room. Recap by a St. Augustine Wedding DJ.
- Matthew Connelly
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
A Lord of the Rings processional, a Lana Del Rey first dance, and a Soulja Boy moment nobody saw coming.
Some weddings feel like a checklist. Some weddings feel like the best house party you've ever been to, just with better outfits. Michael and Savannah's July 4th celebration at The White Room in downtown St. Augustine was very much the second kind. Eighty five people, the hottest holiday of the summer, and a dance floor that did not slow down until the lights came up at 11.
As a wedding DJ working across St. Augustine and Jacksonville, I get a front row seat to a lot of "best days ever." This one had a specific kind of energy I want to break down, because it's the exact vibe every couple asks for and not every couple actually pulls off. Michael and Savannah pulled it off.
Here's how the night went.
Setting the scene at The White Room
If you have never been inside The White Room, picture a historic building on King Street opening up into rooms that look like they were built for a magazine shoot. Villa Blanco is the ceremony space. Soft light, clean lines, one long aisle that made Savannah's entrance feel about a mile long in the best possible way. The side cocktail room has that iconic checkered floor that shows up in every White Room portfolio for a reason. It just works.
Big shout out to Destiny and Amy on the venue team. The White Room staff know exactly what they are doing, and once the sun starts setting on King Street outside, the whole space turns into one of the most photogenic reception venues in Florida. For a DJ, that means the room is already doing half the atmosphere work. My job is to make sure the music holds up its end.
Pre ceremony and guests rolling in
Guests started arriving around 4. I pulled 45 minutes of music straight from Michael and Savannah's shared 8 hour Spotify playlist, because there is nothing that sets a mood faster than the actual music the couple listens to together. Small move, huge payoff. The second guests walk in and hear a song that feels like the couple, they exhale. They know they are in the right place.
Doors closed at 4:30 sharp and we were rolling.
The ceremony at Villa Blanco, with a few beautifully unexpected choices
Jonas officiated. It was his first time behind a wedding mic, and if you had been in the room you would never have guessed it. Full mic check before doors opened, walked through his notes with him twice, and he crushed it. That is the kind of prep that turns a first time officiant into a seasoned pro.
Now, the music. Savannah and Michael's ceremony soundtrack told you a lot about them before either of them said a word.
The wedding party processional was "Concerning Hobbits" by Howard Shore. Yes, from The Lord of the Rings. It's playful, it's pretty, and it made everyone in the room grin, especially anyone who caught the reference right away.
Then the flower guys/beer dudes came out. If you have never seen a wedding where the flower kids are grown men carrying buckets of Coors Light, you are missing one of the great modern wedding moves. I let a mellow standard carry them down the aisle, then the second they hit the back row I dropped "Pretty Boy Swag" by Soulja Boy. The room lost it. That is the kind of moment I live for as a DJ. It also got the room in exactly the right headspace for what was coming next, which was the actual emotional part.
Savannah walked in to a violin instrumental of "Somewhere Only We Know," escorted by both of her parents. Not a dry eye in the place. Leon and Stacey walking their daughter down that aisle at Villa Blanco was the kind of moment that reminds you why this job matters.
The recessional was "All Your'n" by Tyler Childers, cued right at the presentation. If you know Michael and Savannah at all, that song is them. It also worked as a green light to the guests. Time to get up, get outside, and get ready to party. Tyler is one of my personal favorites too, so I was pumped.
Cocktail hour on the checkered floor
Cocktail hour in the side room is one of my favorite parts of any White Room wedding. Guests move from Villa Blanco into that black and white checkered space, drinks show up, volume climbs. I stayed inside the couple's Spotify playlist so the vibe felt personal, but I nudged the tempo up little by little as dinner got closer. That is a small trick I use at almost every wedding. You do not want to hit dance floor energy too early, but you also do not want cocktail hour to feel like a waiting room. On the tech side, I set up two speakers so the room was full of sound without ever being too loud.
Dinner and introductions
At 6:30 we brought everyone into the main space for dinner. Once guests were seated, we ran intros.
Bridesmaids came in to "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Unhinged in the best way and exactly the tone Savannah wanted. Groomsmen followed with "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys. If you have ever wondered whether that song can turn a wedding into a stadium, I can confirm. Absolute banger.
Then, Mr. and Mrs. Pescatore. Michael and Savannah walked in and the whole room stood up.
Their first dance came right after. They picked "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey and we faded out around the one and a half minute mark. That is a call I recommend to a lot of couples. A shorter first dance keeps the moment intimate and keeps the energy moving. Nobody has ever told me they wished their first dance had gone on longer.
Michael welcomed everyone after the first dance and then handed things over to Leon, Savannah's father, for the blessing. Leon spoke from the heart. Great way to move into the meal.
Toasts that actually landed
Michael and Savannah went with planned toasts only, which I always applaud. Open mic toasts are a beautiful idea in theory and a room reader's nightmare in practice.
Four toasts total. Leon and Stacey Fowler for Savannah's side. Tom and Kathleen Pescatore for Michael's side. Savannah's sisters Avery and Jordan did a joint toast that had the room laughing hard and then quietly crying about thirty seconds later. And Michael's brother Tommy, the best man, closed with a speech that will be quoted in the family for years.
Four toasts, zero fluff, zero dead air. Perfect.
Family dances, and the shift into party mode
Leon and Savannah danced to "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw. Tim McGraw is undefeated at father daughter dances for a reason. Michael and his mom Kathleen danced to "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, one of my all time favorite mother son picks. That song hits different in a room full of Florida wedding guests. It felt like home.
Then we opened the floor.
Open dancing, aka the whole point
Here is what Michael and Savannah told me when we first talked about music. They wanted a party. Every generation on the floor at some point. Friends feeling like they were at a house party. Aunts and uncles getting their moment too.
That is the exact brief I want as a wedding DJ, because it means I actually get to do my job. It also means I get to lean into a must play list that reads like a night out with your favorite people.
We opened with "The Night We Met" by Lord Huron as one last slow jam before the gas pedal.
Then we went.
"Mr. Brightside" landed the way "Mr. Brightside" always lands. "Livin' on a Prayer" turned into a full room karaoke moment. "Wellerman" by Nathan Evans had a whole group of Michael's friends stomping on the checkered floor. "The Galway Girl" by Steve Earle rolled straight into "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" again, because you can absolutely play a Dropkick Murphys track twice at a wedding with this crowd and nobody is going to complain.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" happened. All six minutes. Nobody left the floor. Not one person.
"Dancing Queen" by ABBA got the ladies out. "Rockstar" by Nickelback dropped without a hint of irony and the crowd loved every second of it. "Fight for Your Right" by the Beastie Boys closed one of the biggest peaks of the night.
Quick note on something I loved. Michael and Savannah handed me one of the best do not play lists I have ever gotten. No Wobble, no Cha Cha Slide, no Macarena, no line dance filler. That is a couple that knows what they want their party to feel like. It also frees a DJ up to actually mix music instead of pressing play on a novelty track and coasting for four minutes. I appreciate that every single time.
We blended across the night but kept it natural. Not over produced, not showy. Just enough to keep the energy flowing between tracks. That was the note Michael and Savannah gave me from day one and it was exactly the right one.
The little details that made it
A few things about this wedding I want to shout out for any couples reading this and planning their own White Room wedding.
Michael and Savannah used a music request link ahead of time so guests could submit song ideas. Some made the night. Some did not, because part of being a wedding DJ is being the polite filter between "song someone remembered on the drive over" and "song that will actually move the room." Both are valid. But that request link gave guests a way to feel involved in the music without turning the DJ booth into a line all night.
Their Spotify playlist was another huge move. When couples give me a playlist, I get to know them. I learn the tempo they live at. I can make picks during dinner and cocktail hour that feel like their picks, not mine. That matters more than most people realize.
And the fact that they made real decisions ahead of time mattered too. No garter throw. No anniversary dance. That is a couple that actually thought about their own wedding instead of copy pasting a template. Not every wedding needs every tradition. This one did not, and it was better for it.
Wrapping up at 11
Curfew at The White Room is 11 PM sharp. That is one of the very few real constraints on a White Room wedding, and it means you get about four solid hours of dancing if you want them. Michael and Savannah wanted them. We used every minute.
The last stretch was pure open dance floor. At 10:45 we ran a last dance with everyone, and then I sent the guests outside to line up for the formal exit while Michael and Savannah had their own private last dance to "Cigarette Daydreams" by Cage the Elephant. Perfect close.
Being their wedding DJ in St. Augustine
Every wedding I DJ is different. Every couple has their own version of what a great night looks like. Michael and Savannah's version was loud, funny, sincere, and completely them. That is what I try to bring to every couple I work with across St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Not a wedding that looks like every other wedding. A wedding that sounds like you.
Almost forgot. The view of the fireworks from The White Room? Yeah. Epic. Probably the best view in St. Augustine.
If you are planning your own White Room wedding, or any wedding in St. Augustine or Jacksonville, and you want a DJ who reads the room, plans the details, and actually cares about your song choices, I would love to talk. Your playlist matters. Your do not play list matters. The switch into "Pretty Boy Swag" at exactly the right second matters. All of it matters. That is the job.
Congratulations again to Michael and Savannah Pescatore. Thanks for the July 4th of a lifetime.
High Fives + Modern Vibes, Matt
Did You Actually Read to the End? Maybe I Should Be Your DJ.
If this post resonated with you, let’s talk. You can text me at (904) 257-3383 or send me an email: Matt@FutureStereo.com