When her mom first contacted me about this event, I learned Ke'haulani ("KK" for short) and Zachary have already married for about a year. But, living in Alaska, it was easier to have the two of them come "back home" to Central New York rather than having all the guests head northwest. So, we did an entire wedding celebration -- ceremony included -- at one of the Utica area's most popular venues, Hart's Hill Inn.
The ceremony was originally going to be outside, but a rainy forecast (which turned out to be accurate) prompted the formulation of backup plans during the week leading up to the big day. Hart's Hill Inn used dividers to split its spacious 7500-square foot ballroom so that the ceremony space would enjoy a smaller, more "chapel-like" setting, leaving most of the remaining space for the reception.
The display tables for cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres were positioned on the dance floor, and moved out of the way shortly before it was time to formally introduce the wedding party and flow into the first dance. Regular readers of the blog my setup looks slightly different -- rather than using my own black tablecloth, the venue already had white linens for the DJ table.
KK & Zach's Key Song Choices
Ceremony
- Processional: Pachelbel / Canon in D
- Grand Entrance: Wagner / Wedding Chorus
- Recessional: Mendelssohn / Wedding March
Reception
- Wedding party intros: Justin Timberlake / Can't Stop the Feeling
- First Dance: Louis Armstrong / La Vie en Rose
- Father / Bride Dance: The Green / Alive
- Groom / Mother Dance: Phil Collins / You’ll Be In My Heart
- Cake Cutting: Natalie Cole / (This Will Be an) Everlasting Love
- Bouquet Toss: Beyonce / Single Ladies
- Last Dance of the Night: Justin Timberlake & Beyonce / Until the End of Time
The ceremony took place at 6:30pm, with cocktail hour beginning shortly before 7, and wedding party intros at 8:00pm. Now, most weddings would go first dance, parent dances, toasts and then dinner. But given the later hour, KK and Zach wanted to get to dinner as soon as possible. So, after the intros, we just did the first dance and parent dances before opening the buffet.
Toasts and cake cutting took place at the end of dinner, but didn't delay the opening of the dance floor. That's because the head table is the first table invited to the buffet -- so the wedding party is usually finished eating before most of the other guests. We had no problem doing the toasts and cake cutting as the last few tables finished-up their meals. KK and her brother then shared a dance, and about midway through, they invited everyone else out to join them. By this time, everyone had finished eating, so the timing worked out nicely!
Photo Album Highlights
As always, this is just a select handful of my photos -- I have even more photos on my Facebook page! Scroll down for a direct link to the album.
Click any photo to see larger version
Thanks again to KK and Zach -- and to KK's mother, Rachel -- for choosing me as their wedding DJ! I had a great time and looks like everyone else did as well. I wish you both all the best for many, many years of love and happiness together!
This will likely be the last post for awhile -- only one wedding left for 2019, and it's right at the very end of December! In the meantime, dates for 2020 are starting to fill in... but I still have plenty of availability, so if you've found my blog because you're looking for a DJ, let's talk!
