Nope, you're not seeing double -- my third wedding of 2019 just so happened to bring me back to the same venue as my first one -- the Craftsman Inn and Suites in Fayetteville. May and Kevin's wedding was similar in some ways to Stacy and Alex's, but different in other ways. Keep reading and I'll explain!

The first two segments of both weddings were nearly identical. At the start of the day, a movable divider wall split the main ballroom in two. On one side was seating for the ceremony. May and Kevin hired a third-party vendor who set-up pipe and drape, along with flowers on pedestals, to adorn their ceremony site.

On the other side of the wall, out-of-sight from guests, dinner tables were lined-up. Once the ceremony ended and guests moved to the separate cocktail hour space (where I had a second sound system ready to go with background music), the divider wall would open up and the Craftsman's crew would quickly begin rearranging everything.

Chairs would be moved out of the way so tables could be moved into place. Then, chairs would be moved again, set around the tables. Someone else assembled the dance floor, a few servers filled glasses, while a couple of people picked up the last of the flower petals from the ceremony.

It's amazing to see how much work happens in such a short amount of time. (It's almost like watching Saturday Night Live's crew remove the "cold open" set in less than 2 minutes. Except at a wedding venue, there's often a lot more to do and fewer people to do it... but thankfully, more time.)

Mixing Things Up

This is where things got different: for the previous wedding, the dance floor was in the middle of the area formerly occupied by the ceremony. I only had to move my sound system a few feet out of the corner. For May and Kevin's wedding, the dance floor was across the room, straddling the divider wall line.

The distance didn't make a big difference, as I was still able to slide the entire table across the floor in a matter of minutes. Since the lighting truss was already set up, it was just a matter of moving everything into place and connecting a few cables to make everything work!

Now, I can't say I had a "favorite" or "preferred" layout between the two weddings -- they both worked equally well. Most of all, I enjoyed having the experience of two different layouts in the same venue.

More pictures coming up, but first, as always, for those of you seeking some inspiration for your own planning purposes... here's what May and Kevin selected for the key moments of their wedding day.

May and Kevin's Key Song Choices

Ceremony

• Processional: Vitamin String Quartet / Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)
• Grand Entrance: Rachel Pierce / A Thousand Years (Christina Perri)
• Recessional: Kristian Bush / Say Yes

Reception

• Wedding party intros: Chainsmokers & Coldplay / I Want Something Just Like This
• First Dance: Ed Sheeran / Perfect
• Cake Cutting: Lukas Graham / Love Someone
• Last Dance of the Night: Louis Armstrong / What a Wonderful World

Photo Album Highlights

As always, the blog features just a portion of the photos I took -- you'll find my Facebook page has more!  Scroll down for a direct link to the album.

Click any photo to see larger version

While I hope you enjoyed my photos, my quick snaps from the DJ booth don't compare to the awesome shots by Sandra Lee Photography:

And here's the review Kevin posted afterward:

Peter was great to work with. We selected him based on all the positive reviews we saw, specifically the comments about his organization and the support he provides throughout the planning process...in the end he met or exceeded all of our expectations.

We appreciated that Peter was very accommodating with our schedules both times we met him in person as we were driving in from out of town. Our vendors remarked how great it was to work with Peter and our dance floor was packed the entire night! Peter is helpful, flexible and very friendly and we will certainly recommend him to our family and friends in the future.

Thanks again to May and Kevin for selecting me as your DJ -- it was an honor to be a part of your special day, hearing the story of how you met, and I wish you all the best for many more years of happiness together! And thanks again to Kayla and the crew at the Craftsman -- a great team to work with, and I hope to return again!