Jessica and Gary's wedding reception at the beautiful Genesee Grande Ballroom inside the Collegian Hotel and Suites in downtown Syracuse was a blast! The evening was packed full of memories that friends and family -- including some who traveled thousands of miles from South America -- will enjoy for years to come.
The evening started with cocktails and hors d'ouvres in the lounge area of the hotel's 1060 Restaurant, which was closed off exclusively for the reception guests. Classics from the "Rat Pack" filled the air as guests mingled. Then, we moved everyone down to the hotel's ballroom for the rest of the evening.
The playlist included several unique songs, paying tribute to family members who traveled from near and far to help Jessica and Gary celebrate their big day. Guests filled the dance floor for a number of Spanish-language songs, Portugese-language songs, and a Polish-language song.
The songs selected for the "major" traditional dances should be pretty familiar to my blog readers:
- Cocktail Hour: Frank Sinatra / Come Fly With Me -- and other "Rat Pack" songs
- Wedding Party Intros: Kool & The Gang / Celebration
- First Dance: Ronan Keating / This I Promise You
- Family Dance: Sister Sledge / We Are Family
- Bride / Father Dance: LeeAnn Womack / I Hope You Dance (Jessica allowed her father to pick this and keep it a surprise -- he told me during the cocktail hour)
- Groom / Mother Dance: Josh Groban / You Raise Me Up
- Bride / Mother Dance: Celine Dion / Because You Loved Me (this was also a surprise; Jessica didn't tell her mom they'd be dancing beforehand)
- Cake Cutting: Natalie Cole / This Will Be
- Last Dance of the Night for Everyone: Hunter Hayes / Wanted
Here are some photos from the evening:
Here's the 5-star review Jessica posted on WeddingWire afterwards:
Peter was a pleasure to work with for sure! He did a great job editing a special request song for a mother-daughter dance! Also, our guests truly had a great time.
Thank you!
Jessica and Gary, thanks so much for choosing me to be your DJ, and thanks for taking the time to share your review! It was a lot of fun, I loved your song requests, and I'm glad you were pleased with my services. I really hope I get to play another wedding at the Genesee Grande someday!
