A Beautiful Wedding at a Unique Venue in the Thousand Islands

Arrival by boat, captained by dad

This past Saturday, June 23rd, I had the pleasure of providing outdoor ceremony sound and reception entertainment for the wedding of Alison Daub-Sychra and Jordan Bowman of Atlanta, GA.

The wedding took place at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY on the Shore of the St. Lawrence River.

First Dance as Husband and Wife

The Antique Boat Museum is a unique venue in every way. The "campus" (as they refer to it), is a meticulously landscaped grounds, including several outbuildings full of beautiful antique boats.

The bride arrived on a boat captained by her father, and walked up the dock to Harp music in the grounds directly behind the main museum. The officiant and couple's vows were heard crystal clearly by all guests thanks to our low-profile ceremony sound system.

After the ceremony, guests made their way to the reception area. They had the option to join us on the large covered deck overlooking the peer for cocktails, music & mingling, or they could enjoy a sightseeing tour on an antique boat, or tour the museum.

The several activities made for an interesting and fun reception. 

Twisting into the sunset!

The night was capped with dancing on the deck with a beautiful backdrop of the sun setting on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence river. 

We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of Allison and Jordan's wedding. They're a great couple with beautiful families. Though it was a small group of guests, it was a truly FUN wedding!

Sincerely,
-Kirk Rothrum
CNY Select DJs

A Toast, to Memorable Wedding Toasts!

Matron of Honor Jennifer Kennedy Toasts Amy & Scott

Yesterday I had the honor of providing services for the wedding of Amy and Scott Steele, in the Terrace Room of Wysocki's Lake Park Manor in Cicero, NY. 

Amy and Scott are a fun couple with great taste in music, who also write and perform some great music of their own! Instead of focusing on the happy couple, my post today is more about the Best Man and Matron Of Honor, who made two of the most heartfelt toasts I've ever heard. 

Matron Of Honor and sister to the bride, Jennifer Kennedy gave a true peak into their beautiful family. Her toast was a very personal reminder to me of the words of one of my mentors: It's All About Love. 

The Best Man's toast was no-less moving. Including a hilarious story and recalling some of the great memories that brought him to this day, standing up for his friend. 

A good toast is very personal, isn't too long, it wishes the newlyweds well on their life together, and it ends with a raising of the glass. Both of these were perfect in every way, and moved many to tears.

If your Maid/Matron of Honor or Best Man is losing sleep over crafting something special, and they're inclined to seek outside help, you may want to recommend the book "Wedding Toasts Made Easy" by Tom Haibeck (Amazon link). I've not read it personally, but have heard nothing but positive reviews.







Until next time, all the best!

-Kirk Rothrum
CNY Select DJs

Spotlight: The $500 DJ and Avoiding a Wedding Disaster

A picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes saving a little money, turns out to be no savings at all. What you don't see in these images, is the mortified clients.
Imagine how your wedding day would go, if your guests entered your ballroom, to be greeted by one of these monstrosities, or messy pigsty's straight out of some audio hobbyists bedroom.

Click Images to Enlarge

Notice the Runner in the image to the right. This is the scene of not only someones reception. But their ceremony as well. What you're looking at is a large wooden frame with red rope-lights. I can only imagine the DJ thought everyone had come to see HIM. So sad.

Here is the table of CDs from the same wedding above. Without even getting into any debate that CDs are old technology, the area is a disorganized mess.

You may have heard if a national company called "The Pros". They will supposedly connect you with a wedding professional in your area. This is one such "pro". What a cluttered mess of wires.





This DJ offers to bring a whopping $80,000 worth of equipment to your wedding! All for $795! Firstly, the equipment in this image is nowhere near $80,000 in value. But if it were, I think most couples would prefer he left $70,000 worth of it AT HOME.




Just ridiculous. A "truss" is the large metal "frame" that DJs sometimes setup and hang lights on. Unless carefully wired and/or dressed, they are often an eyesore.





Another huge truss, this time with hardly any lights at all. I'm not sure which looks worse.

Go ahead, make a request... Trust me, there is a DJ hiding back there somewhere. Possibly wearing a tin foil hat.

This looks like a great outdoor wedding, or family reunion, or graduation party. The DJ was kind enough to get all "gussied up" in a tank top so everyone could enjoy his muscles. My wife would say this entire post is too smarmy. I'll stop.

 I don't have anything snappy to say about this one. I'm speechless!

A yard sale electronics table?

This wedding looks like it's in a decent Hotel conference room. What a mess!









A Typical CNY Select DJs • Select Receptions Setup

See any messy wires?

All of our equipment connectivity is in the front of our cases, and any extra cabling is wound and tucked away neatly. No eyesore, no tripping hazard.

The image to the left shows our speakers at a recent wedding reception. Our Cords to speakers are always neatly wrapped and hidden. The sound system in this image provides more than enough for a group as large as 300 guests. All of our equipment is modern, cutting edge, and unobtrusive.