Into my 8th year as a wedding DJ, it's hard to believe there are still some major venues where I haven't done a wedding yet.  I've DJ'ed a corporate holiday party at Turning Stone Casino Resort before, but it wasn't until now that I've DJ'ed a wedding there.  Had a blast helping Andrea and Larry celebrate! And big props to the Turning Stone staff who run a tight ship and keep everything flowing smoothly.

If you've been to Turning Stone, you may have happened upon a cluster of conference/event spaces.  They're just off the gaming floor, near The Showroom.  Four of these rooms provided the setting for Andrea and Larry's wedding ceremony and reception.  One room, Tuscarora, was set-up for the ceremony, with seats arranged in rows with an aisle down the middle.  Going down the hallway past Tuscarora, there are three more rooms -- Cayuga, Onondaga and Seneca -- which had their partition walls removed to form one larger space for the reception.

For this event, I used two sound systems: one for each space.  This ensured no gaps in coverage, as guests exited the ceremony space and moved into the reception space.  You'll see more details in the photos which follow, but first, as always, here are Andrea and Larry's musical selections for the key moments of the event.

Andrea and Larry's Key Song Selections

Ceremony

• Processional: Christina Perri / A Thousand Years
• Grand entrance: Alison Krauss / When You Say Nothing at All
• Recessional: Justin Timberlake / Can't Stop the Feeling

Reception

• Wedding party intros: Pharrell Williams / Happy
• First Dance:  Ed Sheeran / Thinking Out Loud
• Father / Bride Dance: Heartland / I Loved Her First
• Cake Cutting:  Brett Young / In Case You Didn't Know
• Bouquet Toss: Beyonce / Single Ladies
• Garter Toss: Queen / Another One Bites the Dust
• Last Dance of the Night: Ed Sheeran / Perfect

Andrea and Larry had an awesome group of friends and relatives on-hand for the reception.  Since Andrea and Larry didn't have many requests beyond what's listed above, it was pretty much a blank slate once the dance floor opened.  Although I had a long list of sure-fire wedding hits ready to go, the crowd had some of great requests of their own.  It's always interesting to see where things go, when there's room to accommodate more of the guests' on-the-spot requests.

Oh, and I need to mention Andrea and Larry's neat solution to a common wedding reception question: what's happening with all the centerpieces?  Well, every guest seat had a party favor, and one random favor at each table had a sticker underneath.  Just before the introductions, while we had a captive audience, I asked everyone to look at their party favors.  The guest at each table with a sticker on their favor was the winner of their table's centerpiece.  If a guest didn't want the centerpiece, they could decide who else would get it instead.

Photo Album Highlights

The crowd had a great time -- but you don't have to take my word for it!  Here are just some of the photos I managed to snap during the event.  And there's even more on Facebook... scroll down to the blue button to see them all.

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 View/tag/like/share these photos -- and 13 more -- on Facebook
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I'll admit, I was a little nervous about my first wedding at Central New York's largest venue.  Why?  I don't know!  But Turning Stone event coordinator Jennifer was great.  When I sent her the timeline I created, based on Andrea and Larry's input, she actually called me to acknowledge receipt, and to provide some very helpful advice about where to load-in my gear and to let me know about some late decisions to change the layout, which actually made my job easier.  Day-of-event, Jennifer and her team were just as professional as she was on the phone.  They clearly have their act together, and I would love to work with them again sometime.

All in all, the wedding ran smoothly -- right on time, everything happened when and how we all expected.  Andrea and Larry were a great couple to work with!  I'm thankful to be chosen as their wedding DJ, and I wish them (and their little flower girl Mya) all the best in their next big chapter together!