A wedding that opened with Sinatra and closed with Creed – and meant every word of both.
Date: May 16, 2026 | Venue: North Jersey Country Club, Wayne, NJ
There is a particular kind of couple who books The Barnstorm after seeing them perform live multiple times, then spends months thinking carefully about exactly how they want the night to feel – right down to requesting the final song of the evening by name. Sam and Perry are that couple. On May 16th, at the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne, New Jersey, they got the night they had been envisioning.
Event at a Glance
- Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026
- Venue: North Jersey Country Club, Wayne, NJ
- Planner: Ciao Bella Events NJ
The Setting: North Jersey Country Club
Only 20 miles west of New York City, the North Jersey Country Club of Wayne, New Jersey sits on 300 acres of beautiful greenery and towering forests. This award-winning club features a stunning golf course and a Tudor-style clubhouse. The ballroom has real character: sturdy wood beams, eye-catching chandeliers, and a beautiful fireplace create a warm and intimate ambiance with a timeless quality that very few wedding rooms can match.
Sam and Perry had attended a wedding at the club before booking it themselves – which meant they came in knowing the room, knowing the flow, and knowing exactly how they wanted it to feel. The result was a stage placement that gave the evening both the elevated energy of a live-music event and enough open floor to hold a full crowd through hours of dancing.
The Ceremony: Acoustic Duo on the Golf Course
The afternoon opened with a ceremony on the golf course, performed by The Barnstorm’s acoustic duo. With 300 acres of New Jersey greenery stretching out behind the couple and the late-afternoon light coming in low across the fairways, it was a setting that did not need much help to feel special.
The Reception: First Dance, Parent Dances, Full Band
Sam and Perry structured their reception with all formal dances upfront – a format The Barnstorm often recommends for couples who want maximum uninterrupted dancing time later in the night. With the emotional milestones handled early, the floor was theirs for the long second half of the evening.
Their first dance was “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra – a choice that felt both effortlessly classic and deliberately playful coming from a couple who had already told the band they wanted to close the night with Creed. Perry’s father danced with her to “What a Wonderful World” – a song most people only hear through Louis Armstrong’s unmistakable recording, but one that The Barnstorm made entirely their own. Perry’s mother joined for a parent dance to “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, trimmed to an emotional arrangement that brought the crowd to its feet before the verse was even finished.
And then, at the very end of the night, came the moment Sam had been planning for months. “Higher” by Creed – a song she described as guaranteed to get people “absolutely nuts” – closed out the evening. The room obliged.
The Special Songs
- First Dance: “Fly Me to the Moon” – Frank Sinatra
- Father/Daughter: “What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong
- Mother/Son: “Sweet Child of Mine” – Guns N’ Roses
- Closing Song: “Higher” – Creed
What Made This Night Work
Sam and Perry came to this wedding as true fans of live music who had watched The Barnstorm perform multiple times before booking them. That familiarity translated into an unusually specific musical vision – they knew which songs they wanted, knew how they wanted the night to move, and trusted the band to deliver it all. A Frank Sinatra opener and a Creed finale is not a combination that looks obvious on paper. At North Jersey Country Club on May 16th, it was the only combination that made sense.
VENDOR TEAM:
📍: @northjerseycc
📋: @ciaobellaeventsnj
🎸: @thebarnstorm
📸: @jennyrodriguez.photo
🎥: @freshnewangle
💐: @annarosefloral
Photos below courtesy of @jaharoni:
