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.