When I think of a venue that exudes a classy atmosphere, I oftentimes think of the Statler Hotel Ballroom on the Cornell Campus. It’s a very nice room with an elegance all it’s own. With the special touches that Michael and Stephanie added, it made the room look even more spectacular. One notable addition was the dancefloor that had been expanded in size to accommodate a very dance oriented group of guests. I think this was one of the largest dancefloors I have seen at a wedding and certainly at the Statler.

Michael and Stephanie were a wonderful couple to work with. I met them during our introduction meeting last year at the Six Mile Creek Vineyard (the site of my wedding in 2003). Here’s a photo I snapped of the happily engaged couple.

We had numerous emails back and forth over the months leading up to the wedding and we both felt comfortable with the itinerary which included some special details. One such detail was the timing of the beginning of the Bride and Groom’s first dance. The song they danced to is Ben E King’s, “Stand By Me” and Mike and Stephanie had a specially choreographed dance to go along with the song. What a wonderful job they did on the dancefloor!

The Statler did a wonderful job as usual and it is always a pleasure to work with Nicole and her staff.

It was a great evening which everyone enjoyed and I just have to share the email that I received from Mike and Stephanie a couple days ago in which they expressed their gratitude…

Hi Michael,

Thank you so much for helping to make our reception so wonderful!  We got tons of compliments on how great our DJ was (played good music at a good volume, etc.), and we totally agree!  We also really liked your announcing… you have a great voice!  So thank you for all your work and for helping to make our evening so great.  It was a pleasure working with you.

Thanks again and take care,

Stephanie and Mike

Wow! Thank you two for allowing me to play a part on your wedding day. Hope your honeymoon in Brazil is fantastic.

Ginny Lee Cafe at the Wagner Vineyards was the site for this amazing wedding of Daniel and Cindy. The weather was just perfect for the outside ceremony that took place right in front of the vineyards under sunny skies. It was quite warm but a nice breeze off Seneca Lake kept things from getting unbearably hot. An amazing musical trio (guitar, keyboard and violin/vocalist) provided music for the seating of the guests and the processional/recessional.

The meal and dancing took place in the Ginny Lee Cafe, next to the winery. This was a energetic group of wedding guests which made my job very enjoyable. It didn’t take long before the dance floor was packed with dancers.

Ginny Lee Cafe is such a beautiful site for a wedding and one of the reasons is it’s location on the East side of the Lake. It is the perfect setting for dramatic sunsets and Cindy and Daniel were able to take full advantage of that for some of their formal photographs.

Enjoy browsing the rest of the photos that I’ve posted and a big thanks to both families for inviting me to be part of this festive occasion.

This was the last wedding scheduled in June 2008 for me and it will be remembered as a beautiful wedding. The location for Brian and Emily’s wedding was the Cornell Plantations. This place is like stepping into the Garden of Eden… it is spectacular in it’s splendor.
Brian and Emily had there ceremony overlooking one of the ponds within the Plantations. It was a gorgeous setting.

After the ceremony, the Bridal Party and Guests made their way, a short distance, to an enormous tent for the Reception. The Bride and Groom had their first dance to the song “Into the Mystic” by Van Morrison. The Toast was given by Groom’s brother, Adam.

It was a bit steamy but that didn’t stop anyone from having a fabulous time. Enjoy a few more images of the wedding and I’d like to thank Emily and David for making me a part of their incredible wedding day!