Jackson & Brooke's Winter Wedding at The White Room. Recap by a St. Augustine Wedding DJ.

A February afternoon in St. Augustine, full of violin covers, a dog with a job, and a first dance that started stripped and ended at full club volume.

Some weddings feel like a soft glow, some weddings feel like a full on party, and every so often you get a couple who wants both. Jackson and Brooke's wedding on February 20, 2026 at The White Room in downtown St. Augustine was exactly that. A romantic, string quartet flavored ceremony in Villa Blanca, and a reception that ended with sparklers, Galantis, and one of the most cinematic first dances I've had the pleasure of programming.

As their St. Augustine wedding DJ, I want to walk you through this one, because Jackson and Brooke made choices along the way that I think a lot of couples would learn from. Also because Zoey stole the show and she deserves her own paragraph. More on Zoey in a minute.

Michael and Savannah about to say "I do" inside the Villa Blanco at the White Room.

Setting the scene at Villa Blanca for their ceremony

If you've been inside The White Room, you already know the layout speaks for itself. Villa Blanca is that beautiful, light filled ceremony space that turns just about any dress into a magazine photograph, and it's one of the reasons couples travel from all over Florida to get married here. Rebecca and the team at The White Room have this venue running like a machine, in the best possible sense. Every detail is where it should be, every timeline gets respected, and the space always looks like it did in the tour photos.

Elizabeth Flye was our day of coordinator, and if you have not worked with Elizabeth yet, put her name in your phone right now. She is calm when things are moving fast, and she has that rare planner skill of making the couple feel like the day is unfolding for them, not around them. Nikki Golden was on photo. Excellent photographer, and an equally great dancer. I have the footage to prove it!

Pre ceremony music that actually sets a mood

Guests started arriving before 4:00. Brooke had told me she wanted the pre ceremony playlist to feel like a mix of John Legend, John Mayer, and Coldplay, which is one of the best pre ceremony briefs I've gotten. That kind of music does something specific. It slows people down. It tells guests that yes, they are in the right place, and yes, they should exhale and settle in.

I curated 45 minutes of music that lived in that lane. Piano forward, warm, romantic, a little cinematic. By the time we hit ceremony start, the room was already sitting in the exact emotional register Jackson and Brooke wanted.

The ceremony at Villa Blanca

Mikey officiated. It was his first time behind a wedding mic, and he absolutely nailed it. I want to say something to every couple considering a first time officiant. It is a great idea. A friend or family member who knows you can bring more personality to your ceremony than any professional officiant can, if that person is willing to prepare. Mikey was prepared. We ran through his cues, we mic checked, and we had a plan for every transition. That kind of prep is what makes a first timer sound seasoned.

Now, the music. This is where Jackson and Brooke went all in on a theme, and it worked beautifully.

The family processional walked in to Ana Done's wedding violin cover of "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. If you have never heard Ana's violin arrangements, save her name. Her covers have become a bit of a signature at Villa Blanca ceremonies, and for good reason. They feel like they belong in this room.

Jackson walked in next to Michael Bublé's "Feeling Good," starting at the :33 mark right where the horns come in. That is such a Jackson choice. Confident, a little swaggery, a little cinematic. It set the tone for a groom who was thrilled to be there and not hiding it.

The wedding party and Mikey processional was Ana Done's violin cover of "How Long Will I Love You." Sweet, gentle, and completely in the pocket of the ceremony vibe.

And then the moment I had been looking forward to all week. The ring bearer walked in. And by ring bearer, I mean Zoey. Their dog. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing a dog walk down the aisle at Villa Blanca, put it on your bucket list. Zoey did her job with the kind of quiet dignity that makes an entire room of adults reach for their phones. Every wedding needs a Zoey.

Brooke walked in with her father Rich to Ana Done's violin cover of "You Are the Reason." I timed the song so it played through Brooke's entrance, the flower handoff, the dress adjustment, and Jackson's handshake with Rich. Small detail, but the handshake between the groom and the father of the bride carries a lot of meaning without needing any words.

Mikey opened with a warm welcome. Vows were private, which is a choice I love more and more these days. Private vows let couples say the real stuff without performing it for two hundred people, and the ceremony itself gets to be more about the presentation and the celebration.

For the recessional, we hit "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas, starting at 1:30 right where the "tonight's gonna be a good night" hook kicks in. As soon as Mikey said "For the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Hofensburger," the room went from ceremony reverent to party ready in about four seconds. That's what the right recessional song does.

Cocktail hour in the Ballroom

Guests moved into the Ballroom for cocktails while we did family photos. The cocktail playlist Jackson and Brooke put together leaned modern and sophisticated. Think polished, mid tempo, the kind of music that lets guests actually hear each other talking while still feeling like there is real energy in the room.

I nudged the tempo up slowly across the hour, which is a small DJ habit I use at almost every wedding. You don't want to hit dance floor energy at cocktail hour, but you also don't want the room to feel like a waiting room. Slow build wins every time.

Introductions and the reintroduction moment

After guests were seated for dinner, we did intros. The wedding party walked in to "Levels" by Avicii, which is one of my favorite wedding party entrance songs of the last decade. That intro synth hits and every wedding party immediately knows they need to bring it. This crew brought it.

Then, the reintroduction. I want to explain this one because Jackson and Brooke did it in a way I really love. Instead of a standard "introducing for the first time" line, we went with "I would like to reintroduce the new, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson and Brooke Hofensburger." A reintroduction. Because at this point in the night, everyone has already met them. Everyone has already hugged them and cried at them. The reintroduction line acknowledges that shift. They are now the married version of the people you already know.

They walked in to "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé and Jay Z. If you're picking a couple's entrance song and you want a guaranteed reaction, this one has not lost a step in over twenty years. The room was up on its feet.

Jackson took the mic at the head table for a welcome, which is another move I always love. A short couple's welcome before dinner sets a warm, hosting energy for the whole reception. It's small, but it lands.

A plated dinner and a modern soundtrack

Dinner was plated, no blessing, and the playlist I ran during service leaned into that modern sophisticated brief. I mixed in Jackson and Brooke's Spotify picks from the cocktail and dinner playlist they had sent me, which meant guests were hearing the couple's actual taste all night. That matters more than most people realize. When couples give me a playlist, I get to know them. I get to make picks during dinner that feel like their picks, not mine.

Four toasts, no fluff

Jackson and Brooke went with planned toasts, which I always applaud. Open mic toasts are a gorgeous idea in theory and a room reader's nightmare in practice.

Four toasts total. Riley, Maid of Honor A. Sarah Gabriel, Maid of Honor B. Jake McCulloch, the best man. And a joint moment from the two dads, Tom on Jackson's side and Richard on Brooke's side. The two dads speaking back to back was one of my favorite stretches of the night. There is something about a father of the groom and a father of the bride sharing a mic that turns a whole room quiet in the best way.

Cake cutting was private, which is a great call at a wedding this size. Not every tradition needs an audience.

Special dances, including a surprise for Pappa A

The special dances at this reception were the emotional core of the night, and Brooke had a surprise planned that I had been sitting on for weeks. She wanted a dance with her grandfather, Pappa A, to "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" by The Judds. He did not know it was happening. When I announced it, the look on his face was one of those wedding moments you don't forget. He got the whole song with his granddaughter. If you're reading this and you have a grandparent still with you, consider this your permission slip to plan a surprise dance. Do it.

Jackson danced with his Aunt Susan to "In My Life" by The Beatles. A perfect, understated choice. That song is such a beautiful pick for anyone who raised you or shaped you in a way that isn't quite parent but is deeper than aunt.

Brooke and Rich, her father, danced to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. Not a dry eye at that head table. Rich handled it beautifully.

And then the first dance. Jackson and Brooke chose Illenium's "In Your Arms," which is technically two songs in one for a wedding DJ. There is a stripped, acoustic version, and there is the full club version. Brooke asked me to play the stripped version for their first two minutes alone on the dance floor, and then transition into the regular version and invite guests up.

I want to talk about this for a second because it is one of my favorite first dance formats. You get the intimate, cinematic moment where it is just the two of you, everyone watching, phones down. And then the drop hits, the guests flood the floor, and the first dance becomes the first song of the party. It is a seamless move from ceremony energy into reception energy, and it works every single time. Jackson and Brooke executed it perfectly.

Open dance floor and a must play list I loved

Here is what I love about Jackson and Brooke's must play list. It reads like a real party.

"Everlong" by Foo Fighters for the groom. That song still holds a room the way it did in 1997. Jackson lost it when it came on. Just the first verse and chorus was needed to accomplish the goal.

I mixed out out of a Sean Paul's "Temperature" to a song from Grease for Brooke's side of the family, which was a sweet nod to a family tradition I could tell meant a lot. That one did exactly what a Grease song does at a wedding, which is bring three generations onto the floor at once.

"Up Down" by Morgan Wallen, because we are in Florida and country belongs on every Florida wedding dance floor. "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles, which pairs perfectly with the older crowd getting one more turn on the floor. And "Without Me" by Eminem, which is one of those songs where every guest under 45 mouths every word.

The do not play list mattered just as much. No instructional dance songs. No Cotton Eye Joe. No Gangnam Style. No "Happy" by Pharrell. That is a couple who knows what they want their party to feel like, and it is a couple who trusts a DJ to do actual mixing instead of hitting play on a novelty track and coasting for four minutes.

The mirror ball and uplighting were doing their job in the Ballroom the whole night. If you have not seen The White Room's Ballroom with a mirror ball spinning by a full dance floor, it is worth booking a wedding just to see it.

Last dances and a sparkular send off

We closed the night in three parts. First, a group last dance to "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, because everyone deserves one last singalong. Then the actual last dance to "Runaway" by Galantis, which lifted the room off the floor one more time. And then, once the guests had cleared the Ballroom, a private last dance for Jackson and Brooke to "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5. Just the two of them, one final quiet moment before the sparkular send off.

If you have never seen a sparkular exit at The White Room, book a wedding here just for that shot. Nikki was outside with her camera ready. I promise those photos are going to be unbelievable.

Being their St. Augustine wedding DJ

Every wedding I DJ is different, and every couple has their own version of what a great night looks like. Jackson and Brooke's version was cinematic, warm, funny, a little emotional, and end to end them. That's what I try to do for every couple I work with as a St. Augustine wedding DJ. Not a wedding that looks like other weddings. A wedding that sounds like you.

If you're planning your own White Room wedding, or any St. Augustine wedding, and you want a DJ who plans the details, reads the room, and actually cares about your song choices, I would love to talk. The couple's playlist matters. The do not play list matters. The stripped version of your first dance transitioning into the club version at exactly the right moment matters. All of it matters. That's the job.

Congratulations again to Jackson and Brooke Hofensburger. And a special shout out to Zoey. Good dog.

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