Samantha and Derek had unique plans for their wedding in the Thousand Islands: a ceremony overlooking the St. Lawrence River at the Saint Lawrence Spirits Château in Clayton, followed by a reception a few miles down the road at Angel Rock Cottages in Cape Vincent. More details on the day, with photos and song picks... all in today's blog post!
It's been several years since I've had a wedding where I provided sound at separate venues for the ceremony and reception, so I enjoyed tackling the logistics of Samantha and Derek's wedding. Following the drive up I-81 north from Syracuse past Watertown, the first stop was the Angel Rock Waterfront Cottages & Vacation Homes in Clayton, where the reception took place.
After setting-up my primary sound system, dance lighting and uplighting in the event barn there, it was time to head east toward Clayton, to prepare for the ceremony outside at Saint Lawrence Spirits Château. As always for ceremonies, I was mindful to set-up everything as far out of the way as possible -- sound system in the back, well beyond the last row of seating, and speakers to the sides of the seating, so they wouldn't be visible in any key professional photos of the ceremony.
Click any photo for a larger version
As soon as the ceremony was over, it was time to quickly pack everything up at the Château and head back to Angel Rock. Although everything was already set-up, I just needed to turn on the uplights and be ready to begin the cocktail hour music when guests started to arrive.
And one piece of personal trivia: after celebrating my 150th career wedding earlier this season, time for another milestone! Angel Rock happens to be the 90th venue where I've provided wedding DJ services (not counting private residences). And now, time for our first photo break in this post!
Samantha & Derek's Key Song Choices
Ceremony
- Processional: Vitamin String Quartet's covers of "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles and "Lover" by Taylor Swift
- Grand Entrance: Grace Davies / Iris
- Recessional: Greta Van Fleet / Light My Love
Reception
- Wedding party intros: Sammy Adams / All Night Longer
- First Dance: Chance Pena / Highs and Lows
- Father / Bride Dance: The Chicks / Landslide
- Groom / Mother Dance: Michael Buble / Forever Now
- Open Dance Floor: Killers / Mr. Brightside
- Last Dance of the Night (Everyone): Noah Kahan / Everywhere, Everything
- Last Dance of the Night (Newlyweds Only): Good Neighbors / Home
Angel Rock Wedding Reception Photo Highlights
What a party! I usually hold a banger like "Mr. Brightside" until a bit later into the evening, but Samantha and Derek's request to play it right out of the gate to open the dance floor turned out to be a big hit! To help enhance the party atmosphere, they provided a basket of light-up foam sticks and a couple baskets of heart-shaped sunglasses, which you'll notice in the photos below.
And, not only was this my second wedding in a row where guests formed an impromptu conga line -- things really got crazy later in the evening as the newlyweds were hoisted up into the air by some of their guests! Things wrapped up with everyone circling around Samantha and Derek for their last dance of the night.
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As always, just trying to get some shots of the DJ equipment setups, key moments and some dance floor action... but I'm far from a professional photographer. For that, I'll defer to the excellent work of Macy Petrie Photography (and look closely... you might spot me behind the mic in a couple of shots):
And one clever thing I wish I had photographed -- outside the entrance to the barn, the seating chart didn't list table numbers... rather, coordinates, like E2 or A6. Battleship? Not quite, but kinda close. Opposite the seating list, they had a huge, framed boating map of the Thousand Islands, and the coordinates led to one of the more prominent island on the map -- like Heart Island, the home of the famous Boldt Castle, for example. And then inside, each table was named for one of the islands on the map. It was a cool way to tie in the local surroundings.
One more quick shout out: thanks to planner Michaela Noble! When I realized the original floor plan for the barn might not have been ideal in terms of my spot in relation to the dance floor and the acoustics, she graciously accommodated my suggestions and I really appreciated that. She's at Noble Weddings & Events if you're looking for a wedding planner in the North Country.
Last but certainly not least, thanks again to Samantha and Derek for choosing me as your wedding DJ! I know there are lots of great choices for wedding entertainment, so it's always an honor and a pleasure to be the one entrusted with such an important occasion. I wish you all the best for many years of love and happiness!
