Martha and Tom live in Washington, DC, but Martha grew up in New Hartford, near Utica, so they decided to come back to CNY for their wedding. The ceremony was held at a private residence, friends of Martha's family, in a rural area north of Utica. Despite a little rain, it turned out to be a great evening!
This is the second event in a row where, because the bride and groom lived outside of the area, all of the planning was handled online. Martha, Tom and I arranged a video chat session to lay down the initial groundwork for the event, and then we pretty much handled the rest via email. Even without an in-person meeting, we covered all of the details and everything came together nicely.
Because this was a Jewish wedding, the ceremony could not begin until sundown. As a result, the order of events was a little different than a usual reception. Guests arrived during the cocktail hour. Throughout this time, I was asked to make occasional announcements inviting guests to enjoy lawn games which were set-up outside of the party tent. After the cocktail hour, toasts were given, followed by dinner.
After dinner, the plan was to have everyone go outside for the ceremony... but it was raining. Although the "backup" plan was to hold the ceremony inside the party tent, Martha really wanted to be married outside. I covered with instrumental music as we extended the dinner hour until a break in the rain provided just enough time for the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds cut the cake, danced their first dance, and then we opened up the dance floor for the rest of the night. Guests had their choice of an "early" bus back to Utica at 9pm, or a "late" bus at 10. The crowd was so active on the dance floor, hardly anyone wanted to get on the early bus!
And here is the 5-star review Martha posted on WeddingWire:
Peter was very flexible and willing to work with my ever-changing plans for the flow of the wedding day. When I paid him for an extra 1/2 hour that we didn't end up using, he refunded me for that half hour. Very much on the up and up! He is extremely professional and organized. He gave me great confidence that our music would be awesome, and it was! thanks Peter!
Thanks again for the great review, Martha and Tom, and for choosing me to be your DJ! Also a pleasure to work with Scott Kretschmann Photography and Bella's Event Planning!
