Neither earthquakes or hurricanes could deter the wedding of Jessica and Jason. Upstate New York had experienced some of the shudders accompanying the earthquake in Virginia recently and with the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene, I wasn’t sure what to expect… would the winds be howling? Would it be raining? In fact, it was a beautiful day and because of the amount of thin, milky clouds, an amazing sunset appeared which cast such a beautiful pinkish light over the scene.

The wedding ceremony and reception both took place at Miles Wine Cellars on the West side of Seneca Lake, a magnificent location right on the water. How I have not been aware of this beautiful place until now I can’t understand but now that I’ve met the owners, Suzy and Doug, and visited this amazing place, I’ll be back for certain. The owners are in the midst of adding a B&B and café and this will only make a great place to visit even better.

Once the ceremony was completed, guests enjoyed a leisurely cocktail/hors d’oeuvres hour. Catering was provided by Pure Catering and Events; simply outstanding service & quality of food presentation.  Formal Introductions took place which were followed by the Bride and Groom first dance, “My One & Only Love” by Ella Fitzgerald. Between meal courses, Jessica and her Father danced to “Daughter” by Loudon Wainwright III and Jason dance with his Mother to “The Man You Have Become” by Molly Pasutti.

It was a very relaxed evening with gentle breezes, pleasant temperatures, music and dancing enjoyed by close friends and family. Pure Catering and Events provided a level of service that you just don’t experience very often and the photographer Michelle Neumayer covered all the angles and captured beautiful images that will surely be cherished for a lifetime. Kate of Lovewell Celebration Design did a fantastic job coordinating everything. I was fortunate to be able to share this day with Jessica and Jason and wish them well in their new life together.

Here are a few photos I took during the wedding reception. Enjoy!

Amy and Luke had their wedding and reception at Tioga Gardens, in Owego, NY.  This was the first time I had been to Tioga Gardens so I gave myself a lot of extra time to make the drive to ensure I would have some time to familiarize myself with the venue. I was so glad I had extra time because the drive down Route 38, through Dryden, and all the small towns along the way was beautiful with spectacular scenic beauty around every bend in the road.

I arrived at Tioga Gardens and immediately fell in love. Primarily a Florist and Garden Center, it also has gorgeous grounds with meticulously maintained perennial gardens, a separate area to have a wedding ceremony surrounded by lush, exotic water features including an arched bridge & small gazebo and a pavilion. Photo opportunities abound.

After the ceremony, everyone leisurely made their way to the reception area while enjoying the gardens and peaceful bucolic setting that Tioga Gardens offered. Guests enjoyed a nice assortment of hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour and then a delicious meal provided by Red & White Catering.

For their first dance, Amy and Luke selected a tune by Bunny Wailer, “Dreamland.” Toasts were then given by the Best Man, Michael, the Maid of Honor, Genna and the Bride’s Father, Phil.

Amy and her Father danced to “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys and then Luke and his Mother danced to “A Song For My Son” by Donna Lee Honeywell. A short time later the wedding cake was cut and the dance floor was opened for dancing.

Highlighting the evening was a Slovak wedding ceremony called the Redovy. In this ceremony, the bridal veil is removed by the Godmother who then gives it to the Mother of the Bride. Following this, the Mother of the Bride places a bridal cap (The Cepec) on the Bride’s head and the Bridal Dance begins (The Redovy.) The Bridal Dance is an opportunity for the guests to dance with the bride and then each guest receives a drink and a small piece of wedding cake. It was wonderful traditional dance that I had not experienced before.

And then there were the Polkas! Wow, did the guests enjoy that as well as the rest of the dance music that was played. All in all, it was a fantastic time for everyone and the bride and groom enjoyed every second of it.

It was great fun to be able to share this day with Amy and Luke. Congratulations to the bride and groom and here are a few more photos that I took during the evening. Enjoy.

This wedding reception was fantastic. Sure, it was at the Statler Hotel Ballroom on the Cornell University campus, but that’s not really why it was fantastic (although that helped.) It really boiled down to the fact that the Bride, Groom and guests were just fantastic people and everyone was having a great time dancing and enjoying the special moments of the wedding reception. What special moments? The well-produced video montage during the Father of the Bride’s welcoming greeting was one such moment. The family tradition of the dancing alligator was another special event that I shall not soon forget. But most of all it was the fun-loving spirit of the families and guests in attendance there to celebrate the marriage of Sarah and Robbie. I’ll say it again, this wedding was fantastic.

Once the doors to the ballroom opened, formal introductions took place followed by the Bride and Groom’s first dance. They chose a song that was previously unknown to me however it was a great choice… “More Love” by Tim O’Brien. After the first dance, toasts were given by the Best Man, Derek and Matron of Honor, Lauren.

The staff at the Statler always does an exemplary job and the meal and service provided by the Statler was perfect. Between the meal courses we had the other formal dances.Sarah and her father danced to “Father & Daughter” by Paul Simon while Robbie and his mother danced to “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.

Once the open dancing started, it was simply exhilarating to witness the enthusiasm of everyone on the dancefloor. But the highlight of the evening had to have been when I started playing “Wipe Out” by the Beach Boys to hearld the arrival of the dancing alligator. This is a long-standing family tradition and pretty much mayhem ensued as the dancefloor transformed itself into a quivering blob of bodies wriggling around on their backs. Let’s just say it was hilarious and you would have had to have seen it to fully appreciate it. Bravo for family traditions like that!

The evening closed with a wonderful Frank Sinatra song, “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Sarah and Robbie, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding. It really was a memorable wedding reception for so many reasons. Enjoy these photos that I took during the evening.

Lauren and Matthew had their ceremony and reception at Suzanne’s in Lodi, NY. This was my first time at Suzanne’s and I was extremely impressed with the beauty of the location, the quality of service the staff provided and the food that was served. First class all the way around. The large, recently refurbished barn was a fantastic space to have the dinner and dancing… the large (and I mean large) sliding doors on both sides of the barn open fully to allow gorgeous views of Seneca Lake on the one side, and on the other, views of wildflowers and a very cool garden shed in the midst of a beautiful flower garden.

One of the unique aspects of the ceremony was the fact that the ring-bearer was a dog. Yes, a dog. But a very friendly and happy dog who fulfilled his role perfectly. With a gentle breeze wafting through, Lauren & Matthew exchanged their vows and became husband and wife.

Cocktail hour was outside on the two-level deck behind the restaurant. Just beautiful with wildflowers and meticulously maintained vegetable gardens. After cocktail hour, guests made their way back to the barn for the meal and dancing that would follow.

One little surprise occurred when the electric power suddenly went out. After checking fuse panels, circuit breakers and anything else we could check, we concluded that it was not “us” that caused the power outage, but something else. After a phone call to NYSEG, who quickly dispatched a truck to the scene, it was discovered that a fuse blew in the transformer across the street from Suzanne’s. Normally a power outage would cause all music to stop completely, but some quick thinking on my part resolved that dilemma as well. One of the guests pulled their truck with an awesome sound system in it, up to the barn doors and I was able to patch my laptop with all the music into his sound system and play music throughout the meal and even for the first dance. Fortunately, NYSEG was able to restore power after a short while and the guests erupted into applause as the lights suddenly popped on; a great relief that enabled the reception to continue with no further surprises.

The guests were enthusiastic dancers and the evening went by too quickly. It was just a wonderful place with such positive energy… one of those weddings that I will remember for a long time. It was good to work with a friend and awesome photographer, Shai Eynav as well as to meet Bob (owner of Suzanne’s along with his wife Suzanne.) The wedding planner was Jennifer from Ceremonies and Event Planning of the Finger Lakes.

Thanks to Lauren & Matthew for choosing to use my services. I hope you enjoy these photos that I took.