Anne and Ben – September 20, 2008

Posted on September 23, 2008 by cnymike

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. That’s all I can say.

Oh all right, I’ll say some more.

It was the perfect day… warm temperatures, no clouds and a beautiful location. This was my first wedding in Clayton, NY and if you aren’t familiar with Clayton, let me tell you how cool this little town is. It’s situated right on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region. It is gorgeous.

The wedding reception was in the recently renovated, Clayton Opera House. Wow! Talk about a beautiful building… this was just amazing. The interior has a large stage and a beautiful balcony that overlooks the large main floor. Since it had just undergone a multi-million dollar renovation, it was incredibly beautiful. My equipment was set up on the stage and there was a really nice, lighted backdrop behind me that added a “cool” factor that was, well, cool. The floors were gleaming hardwood and the lighting was perfect. So the stage was set, so to speak, for a great wedding reception for Anne and Ben.

The bride and groom arrived in style and had photos taken riverside by their photographer. Once inside the Opera House, the formal introductions took place, after which Anne and Ben had their first dance to a Rascal Flatts song, “Bless the Brokenhearted.” After the buffet meal, Anne danced with her Father to the song “How Sweet It Is” by James Taylor and then Ben had a dance with his Mother to “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)” by the Dixie Chicks.

After the formal dances, the dance floor basically exploded into a fantastic frenzy of dancing that didn’t let up till the absolute last song. Everyone was having such a blast that the dance time was extended an extra hour to accommodate them. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to DJ when the guests are just totally enjoying themselves. I got a good amount of requests, all of which I was able to play, and I have to say it was one of the most fun groups of people I’ve had this season.

It was truly a wedding reception to remember and a big thanks to Anne and Ben for making me feel so welcome.

Here are a few more photos…

2009 bookings are picking up quickly

Posted on September 17, 2008 by cnymike

2008 continues to be a great year. The weddings I’ve had the pleasure of working at this year have been fantastic. The variety of venues has kept things interesting because I am always performing at a wide variety of wonderful locations. Great people, beautiful venues, lasting memories.

2009 is already shaping up to be another fantastic year too. Just in the past two weeks, I’ve booked 3 weddings and have had two serious inquiries in the last two days. It’s exciting.

If you are considering having me be the MC/DJ for your wedding reception, do not delay to contact me as the dates are filling up more quickly than usual for this time of year. Nothing is more frustrating to me than to hear a potential client tell me how disappointed they were that I wasn’t available to DJ their wedding reception because I was already booked.

Plan early, book early and relax in your good judgment.

Have a great autumn.

PS: Thanks to Alisha Clark for the head shot photograph.

Athan and Rachel – September 14, 2008

Posted on September 17, 2008 by cnymike

Having just barely recovered from the wedding reception the previous day, it was off to one of my favorite venues for weddings, Sheldrake Point Vineyard for the wedding of Athan and Rachel. You really can’t ask for much more than this… beautiful views, vineyard setting, great food and service…oh, and great wine!

Here we are in late September and the weather was mid-August like. No, actually it was worse than mid-August, it was just plain hot and humid. How hot was it? Well the cupcakes had a confection initialed heart on them that was supposed to be sticking straight up in the air. But as you can see, the heat caused them to droop. No worries though, they still tasted good! It must have been near 90 degrees and the humidity during the heat of the day was quite opressive. Nevertheless, the ceremony took place outside, under the glaring sun where umbrellas were the rule of thumb (took the edge off the heat). A slightly damp group of guests and wedding party, made their way back to the building for cocktails, dinner and dancing.

After formal introductions, the Athan and Rachel had their first dance to “Memories of Us” by Keith Urban. The Father-Daughter dance was “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride and the Mother-Groom dance was “It’s a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. After the meal dancing started in earnest and the dancefloor was crowded all night.

Well it may have been hot and humid but this group of people knew how to celebrate even under those conditions. I’m talking major party here! The groom is of Greek heritage and if there is one thing I enjoy it’s watching the Greek dances that are so enjoyed at Greek weddings.

The garter removal was really fun and I was able to capture this cool sequence of photos.

This was a small group as most weddings go…not more than 75 guests I believe. Sometimes the smaller groups are difficult to get dancing, but not this group. It was a non-stop dancefest on the dancefloor. I had so much fun with this group and I want to thank Athan and Rachel for giving me all the music choices that they did. It’s so much easier to craft the perfect playlist when the bride and groom provide good input into the music they like. Best wishes to Athan and Rachel and here are some more photos for you to enjoy.

: Sheldrake Point Vineyard

: Greek Dance

Peter and Melissa – September 13, 2008

Posted on September 17, 2008 by cnymike

I’ve had the pleasure of working at the Ithaca College Emerson Suites many times over the years. Everything from formal dances, to celebration parties and reunion weekends. But working a wedding reception at the Emerson Suites is a total experience. First of all, the space is enormous and the staff is unbelievable, not only in how many staff there are, but in the quality of service they provide. And for me, being a complete perfectionist, the way the lighting crew (yes, they have a lighting crew for the room) sets the lights on the dancefloor and for the entire room, is just beautiful.

So this, then, was the magnificent setting for the wedding reception of Peter and Melissa.

Ithaca College sits high atop a hill and during the cocktail hour, the guests are mostly outside of the main room of the Emerson Suites, in a glass-walled hallway that has an amazing view of Cayuga Lake.

At the conclusion of cocktail hour, all guests entered the main room and I presented the parents and Wedding Party in the formal introductions. Right after that, the Bride and Groom had their first dance to the song “At Last” by Etta James.

After the First Dance, the meal was served and it was delicious. Once the dancing started, the dance floor was non-stop action all night. The guests were having great fun, dancing up a storm and making really fun music requests.

This was a wedding I”ll not soon forget. Thank you Peter and Melissa for choosing me as the MC and DJ for your spectacular wedding reception. Enjoy these additional images of your big day…

Jeff and Beth – September 6, 2008

Posted on September 10, 2008 by cnymike

Here I was at the Fontainebleau Inn again for another wonderful wedding reception, this one for Jeff and Beth. It wasn’t the sunniest of days, but it wasn’t raining either, so it worked out pretty well and the nice diffuse light was perfect for photographs outdoors.

The Fontainebleau Inn is beautiful at any time of the year, and in any weather. This day was overcast with occasional fog banks moving over the lake. It was quite amazing to see.

Here are a few shots of Beth and the Bridal party just a few minutes before the wedding ceremony was to begin.

Beth and Jeff had their first dance to a song we all know, but a version that I hadn’t heard before. The song was “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and it was sung by Andrea Bocelli. That was followed by the Father/Daughter dance to “What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong.

It was a busy night on the dancefloor and everyone choose to stay right to the end instead of taking the two earlier shuttle buses back to the hotel. That always makes me happy!
Jeff and Beth, you guys are awesome and I thank you so much for letting me be a part of your big day.