Sarah and Tristan at Vanderkamp, Bernhards Bay
Peter is fantastic! He was highly professional and kept the vibes flowing all night! The dance floor was electric all night! We loved having Peter help make our special day perfect!
Wow, this place brought back some memories! Although I’ve spent plenty of time at Woods Valley while growing up in Rome, Christal and Evan’s wedding was my first time there outside of ski season, and my first time there as a wedding DJ. As always, photos, song choices and more in this blog post!
For decades, this spot just north of Rome was popular for skiing. And yes, you can still ski, snowboard or go tubing there in the winter — but now, you can also get married there during the summer!
I used to frequent Woods Valley when I grew up in Rome — it’s where I learned how to ski, and during my high school years, I had a weekly pass so I could go every Friday night after school. Coming back to Woods Valley after such a long time was amazing. The current owners have expanded and improved the lodge dramatically since I was last here. There’s much more room for big events, and they’ve added an elevator, which definitely made it considerably easier to load my gear in and out.
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As you can see in the photos, the ceremony took place behind the lodge, with the wooded area between the endings of the Broadway, Pepper’s Pride and Copycat trails serving as the backdrop.
To cover the ceremony, I had my smaller secondary sound system just inside the lodge doors, with the microphone receiver antenna on a tall mast just outside. Wireless speakers were placed at the front of the seating area, but far enough to the sides to avoid winding up in any ceremony photos.
Afterward, the party moved inside. My main setup was waiting by the dance floor by the bar area. The wireless speakers were moved inside during cocktail hour to help cover the dining area in the adjacent space.
Ceremony
Reception
This was another wedding where the newlyweds requested that their very last dance be a “private” dance, without any guests in the room. To accomplish this, I timed things out so the “everyone” last dance would end at 10:15, and acted like that was the end of the reception — congratulate the couple, everyone applauds, I thank them all for coming and wish them all farewell.
The tricky part with doing a “private” last dance is that guests often linger around, sometimes for as long as 20 or 30 minutes after the reception is officially over — even if I’ve announced an afterparty where they can continue their conversations. Thankfully, most of the guests arrived on shuttle buses from hotels in Rome, and the buses were waiting outside to bring them all back… that provided as a good “incentive” for guests to clear out quickly.
After about 10 minutes, the room was clear and Christal and Evan were able to enjoy their last dance with the entire room to themselves.
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For more — and better — photos (and video) check out the work of 123Imaging – Rob and his team came well-prepared (complete with cameras, lights, their own detailed timelines and even wireless earpieces to communicate with each other from different corners of the venue) to cover all the angles, all the key moments and even some extras including a photobooth, interviewing guests for the video and more.
Thanks again to Christal and Evan for choosing me as your DJ — wish you both all the best for a long and happy marriage!
