My 2023 wedding season is underway! After the relatively mild winter we had, I don't think anyone was expecting waves of lake effect snow on Rachael and Jeffrey's mid-March wedding day. But if there's one place to watch the snow, it's from the huge windows of the Grand Ballroom on the 10th floor of the Marriott Syracuse Downtown!
Also a surprise to me -- the layout for Rachael and Jeff's Marriott Syracuse Downtown wedding was a bit different than my previous weddings here. In the past, the sweetheart table (or head table) was usually set up by the windows, and I was on the opposite wall next to the doors. For this wedding, those two positions would be reversed.
Although I'll admit I was nervous for a minute, several elevator rides to bring in the equipment gave me time to rethink how I would make this happen. In the end, it actually worked out better this way! I would be directly next to the dance floor and I wouldn't need to run cables up to the balcony and across the doorway, as I had to do in the past.
The only tricky part was that I'd temporarily need to set up a bit to the side of center, to remain out of sight during the ceremony. But I used an outlet that would allow me to stay plugged in when it was time to move my table out to the center of the wall. Keeping the music going was key because my sound system in the ballroom was feeding cocktail hour music to my new wireless speaker in the lobby.
Here are shots of before and after, along with a few from Rachael and Jeffrey's first dance:
Rachael and Jeffrey's Key Song Choices
Ceremony
- Groom Entrance: Howard Shore / Concerning Hobbits
- Processional: Pachelbel / Canon in D Major
- Grand Entrance: Sing2Piano / Somebody to Love
- Recessional: Natalie Cole / This Will Be
Reception
- Wedding party intros: Queen / Another One Bites the Dust
- Wedding party intros 2: Lil Wayne / A Milli
- Newlyweds' intros: Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg / Still D.R.E.
- First Dance: Jeff Buckley / Hallelujah
- Father / Bride Dance: Tim McGraw / My Little Girl
- Groom / Mother Dance: Dillon Carmichael / Son of A
- Anniversary Contest: Deana Carter / Strawberry Wine
- Last Dance of the Night for Everyone: Frank Sinatra / New York, New York
- Last Dance of the Night for Newlyweds: Russ / Summer at 7
If you're familiar with Jeff Buckley's rendition of Hallelujah, you might be thinking, "wow, 6½ minutes is a super-long first dance." But Rachael and Jeff had ballroom dancing lessons and timed their moves to go along with a shorter edit that I put together, just a little over 2½ minutes long, and they did a great job!
Marriott Syracuse Downtown Grand Ballroom Wedding DJ Photo Highlights
Here are some of my photos from Rachael and Jeffrey's Marriott Syracuse Downtown Grand Ballroom wedding reception. Scroll down for more from their professional photographer!
Click any photo to see larger version
As I've often said, I'm not a professional photographer -- I just try to take a few shots here and there to show my equipment setups and to show people having a good time. Here's a sneak peek at some of the work by Rachael and Jeff's professional photo: Jacq Photography from Norwich:
Thanks again to Rachael and Jeffrey for choosing me as your wedding DJ! It was a great way to kick off the 2023 wedding season and I wish you all the best for many years of love and happiness together!!
