Big Daddy Ray

First Night Whitman: Ringing in 2015 with a Toll House Cookie

Whitman, Mass: the only small town First Night in the area! The small South Shore town of Whitman, Mass has done it again: hundreds gathered in the town center to ring in the new year with a giant Toll House Cookie drop at midnight, followed by fireworks.

The streets downtown were closed down at 7:00pm and the six foot cookie was hoisted into place with a giant crane, high above Duval's Pharmacy.

Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a six foot cookie!

Big Daddy Ray was your emcee for the night, on hand to keep everyone moving around and warm before the midnight countdown.

"Can I get an AMEN from the house?"  (Big Daddy Ray)

This year's band, Divas With a Twist, also helped to keep the crowd hopping to warmth until the cookie came down.

Divas With a Twist spread lots of holiday day cheer in Whitman center on New Years Eve!

Billed as a night of family friendly fun, we were happy to see the kids representing. They were dancing (and sitting) in the street.

There'll be laughin' and singin' and music swingin' and dancin' in the streets.

Not just family friendly, but four-legged friend friendly, as well!!  Can we get a "woof woof"?

This guy could have been the First Night Whitman mascot!

People also brought their own fun! Here we see some people who created their own "cookie drop", scaled down, of course.

Not every cookie drop involved a 6 foot cookie!

The night started out slow but well by midnight hundreds were gathered to see Divas With a Twists' final set, which led us to Big Daddy Ray going from "Jump Around" to "Let's Go Crazy".

Dancing, smiling, and waiting... 2015 is right around the corner.

Yours truly, your blog author, sporting the 2015 First Night Whitman button, with all proceeds going to the Whitman Food Pantry.

All proceeds for the Whitman First Night buttons help support our town's food pantry.

And the clock strikes midnight! Should times long past be forgot (days of auld lang syne). This is what it's all about: a ten second countdown, cookie drops and fireworks commence!

The roof of Duval's Pharmacy sets the stage for the pyrotechnics when the clock strikes midnight.

Special thanks to the First Night Whitman committee for all their hard work in bringing this together, as well as bringing so many citizens of a great little town together. More thanks and kudos to the Whitman Police Dept and the Whitman Fire Dept as always, for keeping our town safe.

Debbie & Joe {May 26, 2012} From Plymouth to Norton...

When we first met with Debbie and Joe, it was to discuss the videography for their wedding. They were dream clients who knew exactly what they wanted. They weren't sure about who they would hire for photography, and the DJ was still up in the air at this point, but they had their videographer.  :) We gave them a DJ referral to Big Daddy Ray at Rob Peters Entertainment, and that meeting went so well that they had their DJ by the end of that meeting. They were still undecided on a photographer, and had told Big Daddy Ray that they probably only wanted formal photos done. Big Daddy Ray gave them an idea... ask us to do the formal photos in addition to the wedding video. That idea was just crazy enough to work! And what we now present to you is the first wedding with photography and videography both done by Photo & Video by Joe Goldsberry.

We did more than just formals in the end, simply because we could. The ceremony was held at the Christ Church in Plymouth. This is a beautiful church rich in history. Reverend Fredrickson and the church wedding coordinator, Donna, could not have possibly been any more accommodating. The church is beautiful, inside and out, as you can see the inside...

DebJoe01
DebJoe01

A wonderful, heartfelt and tear evoking ceremony that ended with "you may kiss your bride" with family and friends to bear witness went just as perfectly as planned.

DebJoe02
DebJoe02

Did I mention the outside of the church is as beautiful as the inside?

DebJoe04
DebJoe04

One of the formal photos outside the church...

DebJoe03
DebJoe03

After the ceremony, it was off to the reception at The Chateau in Norton. Nicole and all the staff were ready, willing and able to help the newlyweds celebrate in style.

Coming down the stairs from the bridal loft, the light coming in from the window helped to capture a stunning image of the bride.

DebJoe05
DebJoe05

Of course there was cake! It was made by White's Fine Cakes and Pastries, and yes, it was as delicious as it was beautiful.

DebJoe06
DebJoe06

Before Big Daddy Ray provided plenty of traditional Irish and traditional Greek music to get all the wedding guests on the floor, the bride and groom had their first dance together. The bride's dad started the ongoing theme for the night by showering them with money as they danced.

DebJoe07
DebJoe07

We were able to steal the couple away from the crowd for a few minutes to do some outdoor sunset photos.

DebJoe08
DebJoe08

The best way for you, the reader, to get a true glimpse of the day to watch Debbie & Joe's trailer video. Our hope is that they have internet access on their honeymoon, so they can watch this before they get home. Our heartfelt congratulations to a truly wonderful couple!

Photography & Videography: Photo & Video by Joe Goldsberry Ceremony: Christ Church Parish (Plymouth) Reception Venue: The Chateau (Norton) DJ/Photobooth: Rob Peters Entertainment (Big Daddy Ray) Invitations: The Happy Frog Cake: White's Bakery