Chris and Ashley's wedding was one of the first (if not the first) to take place at Lake Shore Yacht & Country Club following some major renovations. As this was my first wedding at this venue, I've nothing to compare it to, but the new look is wonderful. Check out the photos and music selections inside this blog post.Even though most of my June dates were snapped-up pretty early, I was glad I still had Chris and Ashley's date available. They contacted me after attending Paula and Sarah's wedding in February. (Thanks again to Paula and Sarah for helping Chris and Ashley connect with me!)
Chris and Ashley's day started with an outdoor ceremony by the water, followed by cocktail hour on the deck. Guests would then move indoors for the remainder of the reception.
At first, we planned to cover everything with a single sound system, just inside the door from the deck to the ballroom. But as the wedding date drew closer, we learned that the newly-renovated ballroom's bar sits right where I would need to be. The new DJ location was too far from the door, so we decided to go with two systems.
Outdoor ceremony DJ setup
To cover the outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour, I had one set-up at ground level, underneath the deck. I had one speaker out on the lawn, close enough for the guests to hear everything, but set to the side so it wouldn't interfere with photos. A second speaker above me, on the deck, allowed for a seamless transition into cocktail hour upon the conclusion of the ceremony.
This actually turned out better for the ceremony, as I was literally right where the bridesmaids and Ashley would be exiting the building to walk down the aisle. That made it much easier for the venue coordinator to cue me when it was time to switch the music for Ashley's grand entrance.
Indoor reception setup
My other system was set-up inside the ballroom, complete with dance floor lighting and wireless uplighting, ready to go when guests moved indoors. Photos of the setups are seen here.
More photos from this wonderful celebration later right after Chris and Ashley's musical picks for the key moments of their wedding day:
Chris and Ashley's Key Song Selections
Ceremony
- Processional: Piano Guys / A Thousand Years
- Grand entrance: Ed Sheeran / Perfect
- Recessional: American Authors / Best Day of My Life
Reception
- Wedding party intros: Alan Parsons Project / Sirius
- Newlyweds' intros: Kenny Loggins / Footloose
- First Dance: Ed Sheeran / Thinking Out Loud
- Groom / Mother Dance: Van Morrison / Days Like This
- Bride / Son Dance: Skylar Grey / Stand By Me
- Cake Cutting: Archies / Sugar, Sugar
- Last Dance of the Night - Everyone: John Legend / All of Me
- Last Dance of the Night - Newlyweds: James Arthur / Say You Won’t Let Go
Photo Album Highlights
Disclaimer: I hate to admit it, but I had everything I needed for this wedding... except my "good" camera. (At least it was non-essential to my role as the DJ, but this explains the phone-quality photos.)
Click any photo to see larger version
Looking forward to checking out some better images by Amy and her assistant from That's Life Photography, as they become available.
Thanks again to Ashley and Chris for choosing me as their wedding DJ! It was great to get to know you both... I wish you all the best for many years of love and happiness together! And kudos to the staff at Lake Shore ... the renovations look great and I'd love to DJ more weddings there in the future.
