Site of the wedding reception

This was a beautiful day for an outside reception. It was also a chilly day for an outside reception. And windy… did I mention windy? But that did not deter any of the guests from sharing in the celebration of marriage between Jacob and Tanya.

The reception was held at the Bride’s parent’s house near Treman Park in Ithaca. What a gorgeous setting. The property was just a beautiful park-like setting. Lot’s of trees, flower beds, and even a bright red caboose!

As the guests began arriving around 5:00pm, I began playing a variety of jazz and classical music for the cocktail hour. Ithaca Bakery was the caterer, providing both the wonderful meal and the wedding cake. They also provided the hot coffee that kept me going in spite of the chilly outside air.

At the conclusion of the cocktail hour, the bride and groom were introduced after which the toasts were given. The first toast, by the Brother of the Groom, was without a doubt, one of the most humorous toasts I’ve heard. The guests and bride and groom were in stitches throughout the entire toast. Robin, sister of the bride gave the second toast and then a blessing over the bread was given by Miriam, the groom’s sister.

Brother of the groom

Sister of the Bride

The meal was followed the formal dances. Jacob and Tanya danced to a great song by Lifehouse – You and me. Tanya’s dance with her father was to the song “What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong and Jacob dance with his mother to a the fun song “Rainbow Connection”. After these dances I went right into a lively Hora medley, not only to get the guests up and dancing, but also to warm them up. That led into the cake cutting. After the cake cutting it was non-stop dancing right up to the end time. What a great, fun-loving group of people. It just makes my day when I see everyone having such a good time and enjoying themselves. And to prove this was a fun crowd, they actually requested the Macarena, a song that I haven’t played in a few years, and absolutely packed the dancefloor when the song was played. Now that’s saying something!

Jacob and Tanya, you’re a wonderful couple and I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you choosing me to provide my services for your wedding. I hope you enjoy the rest of the photos I took of your special day.