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Love this couple! My wife Linda and I met Andrew and Cindy at Six Mile Creek Vineyard earlier in the summer. We needed to have a wedding reception planning meeting and Six Mile Creek was a good central location for us to meet. Well, a couple hours and a few glasses of wine later, we reluctantly ended the meeting and made our way back to Syracuse. We had such a good time getting to know Andrew and Cindy, shared some common experiences and really felt like we had made some great friends in these two. Oh, and by the way, we were actually able to get some work done!

The wedding took place at Cornell University’s Sage Chapel. I’ve written about Sage Chapel previously… it is such a beautiful location to have a wedding. Following the ceremony, it was a short walk to the Statler Hotel where the reception took place. The Statler Hotel Ballroom is magnificent and is located right on the Cornell Campus. I enjoy working at the Statler Hotel because the staff is always so accommodating and absolutely professional in every aspect of the service they provide. The Statler Ballroom is quite grand and the anteroom is where Hors d’ouevres are served.

At the conclusion of the cocktail hour, guests are invited into the Ballroom and it is during this time that I get the parents and wedding party in place for the formal introductions. This introduction was a bit special however because Andrew is Scottish and the surprise was that there was a piper who preceded the entrance of Andrew and Cindy into the Ballroom. The sound of bagpipes is extraordinary and with the large contingency of Scottish guests, it was warmly received.

Andrew and Cindy had their first dance to “Annie’s Song” by John Denver. Between the courses of the meal we had the Father/Daughter dance (”Lean on Me” by Bill Withers) and the Mother/Groom dance (”The Spinning Wheel” by Moira Stern)

Cindy’s “girls” kept the dancefloor buzzing all evening. All in all it was a wonderful event to be a part of.

Here are some more images that capture the evening. Thanks Andrew and Cindy for having me help in your celebration of marriage.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
- traditional gaelic blessing

Dave Olson, my old high school buddy and long-time friend, and I trekked to Algonquin Park for an incredible late-summer vacation. Algonquin Provincial Park is located in Ontario, Canada and the southern edge of the park is about 4 hours north of Toronto.
Dave and I have traveled to Algonquin many times over the years. This was trip number 12 or 13 as best I can recall at my advanced age. On August 15, 2007, we loaded our gear and supplies, put the Canoe on top of Dave’s Ford Explorer and decided we’d take a rest then leave around midnight. Well, after an “alarm malfunction” which was actually operator error on my part, we awoke at 1:30am which put us a bit behind schedule. Grabbing a couple cups of coffee, we headed off to the North country at 2:00AM.

Usually we drive through Buffalo, across the Peace Bridge and then around through Toronto up to the park. This year we drove through the Thousand Islands of New York and found the trip much more pleasant. There was far less traffic on the Thousand Islands route and the trip through Customs and across the bridge to Canada was far less congested as well. We left at 2:00AM to further minimize the traffic hassle and also to enable us to get on the water at a reasonably early time. About three hours into our trip after crossing the border, we were greeted with a magnificent sunrise. Ahhh, what a great way to start a vacation!

We had decided to enter the park on the North side at the Brent entrance. We got to the Park office around 8:30AM, obtained our park pass and continued on to Brent. It’s about a 40km drive down a rough logging road to reach Cedar Lake and although the road has improved greatly over the years, it’s still a dirt road with lots of washboard which makes for a bumpy ride.

Once arriving at “downtown Brent” we walked around a bit just to ease back into the memories. Not much has changed over the years… the train station and tracks were removed 6 or 7 years ago, but beyond that, it was Brent, just as we had remembered it. The small, rustic store was still there and it was basically unchanged. We put the canoe in the water and loaded it with our gear as quickly as possible. We were eager to get underway and make camp. We’ve been on this lake numerous times and were familiar with many of the campsites on it. Our favorite campsite, that we were hoping to stay on, is located on an island at the far end of the lake. It is near the inflowing Petawawa river and we were making a beeline to it. It was a 2 hour paddle and as we approached the island, all the great memories of past trips came flooding back to us. Ah, it was great to be “back home.”

Once we arrived at our island destination, we had a couple hours to make camp and relax. However, it soon became apparent by the thickening clouds, that rain was heading our way. We scrambled and got the tent up just in the knick of time before a fairly strong, but brief, storm passed by. Dave’s tent has seen better days and as the rivulets of water started forming on the tent floor, all we could hope for was that the rain would stop soon. Fortnuately it did and the day ended with an incredible double rainbow appearing simultaneously with an equally incredible sunset.

Our days were filled with day trips to various portages on Cedar lake. One of the best was the trip to the Petawawa river. It’s just beautiful to hike the portage. Soon you hear a roar that is the rapids of the Petawawa river. A short jaunt down a side trail drops you off at the edge of the rapids where you’re greeted by a 35 foot waterfall.

Now let’s talk about food. Dave and I decided long ago that this trip was not going to be a traveling trip. In other words, we could bring a lot of “stuff” with us since we weren’t going to be doing any portages with our “stuff”. So when I say we brought stuff, I mean we brought comfy folding nylon chairs, nylon hammocks, coolers filled with food and generally more food. We had marinated grilled chicken, porterhouse steak, chili, spaghetti with meat sauce, corn on the cob, polish sausage and last but not least, SPAM®. There is nothing like Spam on a stick cooked over an open fire. Ummm Ummm good. And we washed it all down with some wine. Hey, we weren’t messing around, this was serious business.

The weather cooperated with us quite nicely. Rain the first day, then nothing but beautiful weather for the rest of our time there. The lake water temperature was just fine for swimming and swim we did. Night skies were filled with stars and the moon rose late, so it really helped with the star gazing. We paddled to land nearby our island and stockpiled plenty of wood for our morning and evening fires and spent some excellent time reminiscing by the fires at night.

During the days, we either took day trips or spent quality time in our most excellent hammocks. These things are the best camping equipment money can buy, in my opinion. Nothing like spending a few hours in the ‘ol hammock on a nice summer day in paradise.

Ahhh, so relaxing and such a good time. Here are a few more photos of the trip…

Click on any thumbnail for a larger version

Wow, what an event! This was the second year in a row that my wife and I were able to attend the Festival of Balloons in Dansville, NY. Last year we did not go onto the grounds but parked in a side lot and viewed the balloon launch from quite a distance away. Although that was nice, this year we went right into the festival and were literally a few feet away from the balloons as they were launching. It was spectacular.

The night we were there was the last launch of the weekend and I believe that there were over 40 balloons in the air at one point. Once the balloon launching started, one, two or three balloons were going up almost at the same time and this continued for quite a while. At first, the balloons are laying on the ground and the crew starts blowing air into them with large fans to partially fill them. Once that has been done, they begin to carefully turn on the propane flame and they begin filling the balloon with hot air which then begins to make the balloon buoyant enough to start rising until it has been fully inflated.

At that point, the crew is holding onto ropes, keeping the balloon tethered until it is time to release it… or until they begin to be lifted off the ground, whichever comes first apparently.

There was a gentle breeze to the North East so as soon as the balloons were air-born, they began drifting towards the ridge just opposite the Dansville Airport. It was kind of scary to watch because as some of the balloons approached the ridge, they appeared to be caught in a downdraft and it looked from our vantage point that they were in danger of scraping the treetops. I’m really not sure whether it was an optical illusion or whether they actually were that close to the trees.

I was strongly considering taking a balloon ride this year but when I checked out the price ($200 per person) I decided against it. Not that I think that is too much money…it just wasn’t in the wallet that’s all. When you think about it, $200 for an hour or so ride is probably a good deal. Seeing as it costs me $15 just to fill up my dinky propane tank for my grill, I’m sure the cost of propane alone for a flight is pretty significant. Maybe next year!

The weather this year could not have been better. There was not a cloud in the sky. It was just a perfect blue and with a gentle breeze. What a great event. I highly recommend you try and attend the Balloon Festival one of these years. It’s always held on Labor Day Weekend and this year marked the 26th Anniversary of the event.

Here are a few more photos of the balloons…

Let me preface this by saying that I have watched The Simpsons show on Fox for years. I love it. It never ceases to amaze me how inventive the humor is week after week after week. Not only that but the show is always full of surprises, guest appearances by well-know celebrities and just fresh goofiness. So on to the greatly anticipated Simpson Movie…

Honestly, this is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. From the very first moment the film begins to roll to the absolute last frame, it is filled with so many laughs you could never count them all. I’ll probably have to see it at least once or twice more to catch all the gags I probably missed the first time around.

The first 15 minutes of the movie was so full of laughs that I had tears in my eyes. I guess I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t find The Simpsons funny, but some people just don’t. Oh well. In my small mind, I’d like to think that even a “non-simpson” type might find this movie funny, but then again, probably not because it is 100% The Simpsons. If you don’t like the TV show, you probably won’t like the movie either because the movie is basically a long TV show but in true cinematic fashion.

I’ve seen two great movies this summer; The Bourne Ultimatum and The Simpson Movie. I wish my movie choices were always so enjoyable but inevitably they aren’t. It has inspired me to see a few more this summer… heh heh heh, I wonder when I’ll ever find the time….

I love going to the theater and watching movies. The main problem these days is that I don’t have much time for that any more. But during the summer when some of the “big” movies come out, I can’t resist so the last couple weeks I managed to get to see two of the recent offerings. This review has to do with The Bourne Identity.

The Bourne Ultimatum starring Matt Damon was for me one of the most action packed, edge of your set movies I’ve seen in a long, long time. The chase sequences are absolutely incredible. You have to wonder how the director was even able to film such sequences. It is so “real” that it is hard to believe that the people in the streets were extras and that the camera could follow the action so closely. I don’t believe I’ve even seen a movie that was filmed so claustrophobically.

This movie moves so fast that you can just forget about a bathroom or run to the snack bar break. You’ll miss too much. In fact, even blinking runs the risk of missing something… seriously. This is a fast-paced, total action movie and Matt Damon is dead-on perfect in this role. The entire cast is perfect actually. This movie takes you places too… all over the world, Moscow, Paris, London, Madrid, Tangier, and New York.

If this is your kind of movie genre, don’t miss this one. Make sure you see it in the theater and not at home. It’s much too big to see on a small screen.

The amazing summer of 2007 continues. Clayton and Meghan were married this beautiful day in Sage Chapel at Cornell University. The wedding reception took place in the Statler Hotel’s Terrace Room.

I love working in the Statler Hotel. The staff is so professional and Nicole Boosembark, the Events Planning Manager at the Statler is so pleasant to work with. The Terrace room is also one of my favorite rooms to perform in.

The Bride and Groom had their First Dance to the song “Time to say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Meghan and Clayton were a pleasure to work with leading up to the wedding. Choosing the songs for the Formal dances was a process that took several weeks. Ultimately though, the songs chosen were the “right” ones for many reasons. Clayton and his Mother danced to a version of “What a Wonderful World” sung by Eva Cassidy. The story of Eva Cassidy is a tragic one and I won’t spell it out here but please visit the website and investigate her music if you are not familiar with her. She has a voice like no other. She is arguably one of the most talented “unknown” artists of our time. The song “What a Wonderful World” will bring a tear to your eye.

Meghan and her Father danced to “”Take My Breath Away” by Berlin.

The wedding cake was created by the incredible Marion Ferrar of Sincredible Pastries. Marion consistently creates some of the most beautiful and delicious cakes you’re likely to see. Usually I’m lucky enough to get a piece of cake at receptions but sadly (sadly for me that is) I was too busy to be able to enjoy a slice of this one. Sometimes the cake at receptions is so… well… how to put this… terrible. But Marion’s cakes are just delicious and so gorgeous.

Shai Eynav was the photographer. I’ve known Shai for about 4 years and have worked at numerous weddings with him. One of Shai’s specialties is panoramic photography. Visit his website and prepare to be dazzled by the beauty of his images. Here is a photo of Shai during the Best Man’s Toast, getting reaction shots of the Bride and Groom during the toast.

It was a beautiful reception and I was honored to be part of the celebration. Clayton and Meghan are honeymooning in Hawaii and I send them both my best wishes! Thank You!

Enjoy a few more photos that I took of your wedding reception.

Luke Walker, a great photographer and friend, invited a group of fellow photographers and other wedding professionals to his cottage at the southern tip of Skaneateles Lake this past Tuesday. It was a great time and the weather was fantastic. It has been a beautiful summer from my point of view, and we’ve escaped the really HOT weather… at least until today. But Tuesday was just perfect, not too hot, not too cold.

Marybeth Longo provided some heat on the grill, as is becoming a tradition. She grilled some awesome chicken and her now famous “Corn on the Cob Flambe.” What is the secret recipe to corn flambe? Well as best I can gather, you first soak the corn without removing the husks, in water for a while. Then you turn the grill on until it reaches super-nova stage. Once the proper temperature has been reached you put the corn on the grill and close the cover. Then you walk away and talk to your friends for a really long time. Once you realize the corn is in flames, it’s done! I love it!

Luke and his sweetheart, Alisha Clark, another awesome photographer, struck a pose for the camera. By the way, I was the only person with a camera at the party. I’m a DJ, not a professional photographer. Let’s see, we had Brady Dillsworth (a professional photographer), Sarah and Matt Antonino (both professional photographers) and Marybeth Longo (who is a videographer, but that’s close enough to a photographer for me)… and I’m the only person with a camera??? What’s wrong with this picture? (no pun intended)

Thanks Luke for a great day. Wish I could have stayed a bit longer. Enjoy the rest of your week there.

The Benn Conger Inn, Groton, NY, was the site of the wedding reception for Matt and Kristen. The Inn is a beautifully restored mansion which provided the perfect setting for this wonderful couple to have their wedding reception.

The day was one of the first Saturday’s this wedding season that looked like rain might make an appearance. This caused me a bit of concern since we wanted to have the cocktail hour and Bridal Party Introductions outside. At the last minute, I decided the weather was going to cooperate and setup my equipment under the tent off the conservatory at the back of the Inn.

The Bridal Party arrived at the Inn on board one of the coolest “limos” I’ve ever seen. It was called a “Trolley Bus” but the interior was clad in leather and brass and looked much more like a limo than a bus. It was very cool! After the Bridal Party was introduced, Matt and Kristen had their first dance to the song, “You and I” by Michael Buble.

One thing that I thought was quite amazing was that the Bride has 9 Uncles. NINE UNCLES! That’s amazing. But what was even more amazing was that all 9 of them were at the reception. A great group photo of the 9 Uncles was taken by the photographer and I managed to grab a shot of the Uncles when they were posing…see photo below. It’s really interesting to see the strong facial similarities between them.

Almost on cue, the rain did start towards the end of the dinner. That meant I had to move my equipment into the Inn. It only took a few minutes to transition inside and it actually worked out quite well. The conservatory room is beautiful and provided a great area for dancing the night away. Once I got the guests dancing, they took over and had the most wonderful time. Frank DiMeo was the photographer. Frank is always a blast to work with. The amount of energy that he puts into his work is something to see and the images he captures are priceless.

Thanks to Matt, Kristen and Kristen’s mother Maureen, I was made to feel like “one of the family”. Enjoy a few images from the wedding reception.

Today was that day that everyone has been talking about for a couple years. July, 7, 2007… you know… 07-07-07. If seven is your lucky number, then today was your lucky day. Today was supposed to be one of the busiest wedding days ever because of the “importance” of the numbers.

Well, I don’t know about all that numerology stuff, but today was certainly special in many other ways. First of all, it was another beautiful summer day in Ithaca. The wedding between Ames and Ashley took place on the Cornell University Campus in Sage Chapel. Sage is one of the more beautiful chapels I have seen… anywhere in the world. What it may lack in size, it makes up in beauty. It is just breathtaking to walk inside and take in all the details…the stained glass, the dark wood, the pipes of the organ, the tile. It is spectacular.

After the ceremony, the Bride, Groom and guests made their way down to Willard Straight Hall and into the Memorial Room. This is another beautiful room with a beamed, vaulted ceiling that must be at least 50 feet tall; at least. It is such a grand room. The size of this wedding was around 100 which in the Memorial Room enables you to really appreciate how great the room is. Just off the room is a large outdoor patio with a view of Ithaca and the surrounding valley that is awesome.

Such a beautiful setting was perfect for this wedding of two wonderful people, Ames and Ashley.

Alisha Clark was the photographer and she brought along another shooter by the name of Brady Dillsworth. I met Alisha earlier this year and she is just a great person all around. Brady I met last year and he’s another wonderful photographer… put them both together and you’re bound to end up with photos that capture the day about as well as you could ever dream.

There is so much I could say about this wedding but I’ll just let a few photos do most of the talking. One of the highlights of the evening was the slideshow that occurred right at the end of the night. It was put together wonderfully and projected on a giant screen in the Memorial Room. What a treat it was to see all the photos of the bride and groom growing up and then photos of them together as a couple. Just so much fun.

Ames and Ashley, it was a great pleasure to meet you and to be able to share in your wedding day. Enjoy these photos…

This morning was my second appearance on the program “Bridge Street with Rick and Julie” which is broadcast on 9-WSYR, Syracuse.

My first appearance was back in February 2007, when I talked about unique places to get married in Central New York. This morning I had the pleasure to talk about some “out of the ordinary” places to go for family fun. It was so much fun being able to speak on television about a few of the wonderful opportunities there are in Central New York for entertaining activities.

Here is the list of the unique activities that I discussed on the show…
1. Malabar X, a beautiful schooner that sails on Seneca Lake from Seneca Day Sails in Watkins Glen.
2. Esperanza Rose, is a 65′ wooden cruising vessel that offers sightseeing tours on Keuka Lake.
3. Adirondack Scenic Railway, offers nostalgic train excursions into the Adirondack Park.
4. Harris Hill Soaring Center, offers glider rides and has a Soaring Museum in Elmira, NY.
5. Hoopes Park, has a Tuesday evening, Music and Movie night on the lawn in Auburn, NY

Here is a link to the actual video of the live broadcast.

I’ll be on Bridge Street with Rick and Julie again on July 25, 2007. See you then!