After 2020 was the year where everyone had to stay apart, I'm grateful that this second half of 2021 has allowed everyone to get back together. It was awesome to see some familiar faces at Jessica and Alex's wedding reception at the Tailwater Lodge in Altmar -- including two couples who had me DJ their weddings over the past several years!

Two previous couples at the same wedding... coincidence? Small world? Not at all. The credit goes back to my days in TV news, where I worked with Greg. Even though I had left TV a few years earlier, Greg recommended me -- and I was hired -- to DJ his brother Matt's wedding in 2015. Then, Greg and Emily hired me to DJ their wedding the following year. And here we are, back together in 2021 -- Alex is Emily's younger brother. So there you have it, all in one tidy paragraph!

A unique aspect of the Tailwater Lodge is the way the cocktail and reception areas are separated by a wall of glass dividers. During cocktail hour, the only lights on in the ballroom are the uplighting, which subtly teases everyone until the venue turns on the main lights and opens the doors so everyone can enter.

Although the ballroom is near the back of the property, there's a separate entrance and plenty of parking near that entrance. Guests staying the night can remain indoors, while guests who are just coming for your festivities can find a great spot near the door without a long walk to the ballroom. There's also a sizable coat room just inside the door, so if you're getting married on a chillier fall day like Jessica and Alex did, you don't have to worry about coats "cluttering up" all the guest tables.

Jessica and Alex's Key Song Choices

• Wedding party intros consisted of songs selected by each of the wedding party couples. Prior to each wedding, I custom-edit each one so guests hear at least a few seconds of the "hook" (or another highly-recognizable part of the song) combined with an instrumental section so I can announce the names without competing with the vocals in the song. Sometimes I edit a "donut" (so-named because I make an announcement during a brief instrumental "hole" between two vocal parts) and sometimes the edit begins with an instrumental and then goes into vocals which play as the couple enters, until it's time to crossfade to the next introduction.
  • Watching the Wheels
  • Beginnings
  • Uptown Funk
  • Ice, Ice Baby
  • It's Tricky
  • Bring 'Em Out
  • 24K Magic
• Newlyweds' intros: Paramore / Still Into You
• First Dance: Justin Bieber / Lifetime
• Father / Bride Dance: Paul Simon / Father and Daughter
• Groom / Mother Dance: Molly Pasutti / The Man You've Become (a surprise selection from Alex's mom)
• Cake Cutting: Rolfe Kent / "Dexter" main title theme
• Last Dance of the Night: Semisonic / Closing Time

The mother/groom dance was a surprise to Alex -- I was notified that his mother would be selecting the song and emailing me the title separately. I made sure to keep it off the timeline that I provided to Jessica and Alex to review before the big day, so as not to spoil the surprise!

Tailwater Lodge Wedding DJ Photo Album Highlights

As always, this is just a select handful of my photos -- I have even more photos of Jessica and Alex's Tailwater Lodge wedding reception on my Facebook page!  Scroll down for a direct link to the album.

Click any photo to see larger version

Thanks again to Jessica and Alex for choosing me to DJ your reception! Always a pleasure to DJ weddings at the Tailwater Lodge... I had a great time and wish you both all the best for many years of love and happiness together!!