It's been awhile since my last visit, so it was nice to venture down into Hamilton, a charming village in the heart of Madison County, for Mary and Anthony's wedding reception.  The venue was the Colgate Inn, where I played another reception in 2013 -- in fact, it was my blog post about that wedding which prompted Mary to contact me last summer about my availability. I'm glad she did because, as you'll see from the photos in this blog post, it turned out to be a great reception!

When Mary first contacted me, she and Anthony were living out-of-state. Because a face-to-face meeting wasn't feasible, we handled the initial questions/answers and booking via email.  Over the winter, they both found new jobs in Syracuse and moved here! In the spring, we had a chance to introduce ourselves in-person.  In fact, I'll throw in a plug -- Anthony's the executive chef at Modern Malt, so that's where we all sat down to map out the reception.  This relatively new spot in Syracuse's Armory Square has some great original twists on everything from the food menu (including breakfast all day) to the milkshakes, the bar service and even the desserts.  Our meeting was my first time there, but it wasn't my last -- I've enjoyed a few trips back since then.

In any event, onto the wedding reception!  Mary and Anthony booked an awesome live band for the cocktail hour, which took place in the front lobby and just outside the front door of the Colgate Inn. While the band was going, I was in the Green Room, near the back of the building, setting-up my sound and lighting gear. Everything was ready to go by the time the cocktail hour ended.  The guests moved into the room, took their seats, we did the wedding party introductions, and things were underway from there!

As always, here are the songs these newlyweds chose for the key moments of their ceremony:

• Wedding Party Intros: Stevie Wonder / Signed, Sealed, Delivered
• First Dance: Jason Mraz / A World With You
• Bride / Father Dance: The Beatles /  I Will
• Groom / Mother Dance: Louis Armstrong / What a Wonderful World
• Cake Cutting: Maroon 5/ Sugar
• Bouquet Toss: Meghan Trainor / Dear Future Husband
• Garter Toss: Justin Timberlake / Sexy Ladies
• Last Dance of the Night for Everyone: The Wanted / Glad You Came

And now here are some photos from the event.  The first two show how compact my setup can be when needed.  Mary and Anthony were at (or pretty close to) max capacity for the room, so there wasn't much floor space left, but I've worked in even tighter spots before.

Click any photo below for a larger version.

 More Event Photos
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Even though this was my first time at the Colgate Inn this season, it was my second time working alongside their catering staff this year -- they're available to travel to venues that don't have an in-house catering team.  And both times, the food was excellent!  And if you're ever looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late night snack in Armory Square, check out Modern Malt and help support another locally-run business! I'm not saying it just because Mary and Anthony were wedding clients -- but I'm a sucker for pancakes and they do an awesome job whether you get them plain or with one of the various options (I recommend the chocolate chip cookie dough).

Thanks again to Mary and Anthony for booking me as your DJ!  I had a great time, it looked like all the guests had a great time, and I wish you both all the best for many years of happiness together as husband and wife!