A&K's Anyella's Vineyards Wedding, Skaneateles, NY

Since, it's now November, and peak wedding season has come to a close, I thought it would be a good time to look back at a few weddings I didn't have time to blog about!

One such wedding that comes to mind, is the wedding of Allison and Kevan! They were married at St. Mary's church in Skaneatles, and since historic old church doesn't have a sound system, we were glad to provide the music for their beautiful ceremony. After the ceremony, guests convened at Anyela's vineyards, overlooking beautiful Skaneateles Lake.

After an elegant cocktail hour, guests were treated to Allison and Kevan's friend Chris, singing an acoustic cover for their first dance. It was one of my favorites all year. It's always so personal when a couple asks a friend to play such a pivotal role in their day. The guests loved it!

After an elegant cocktail hour and dinner, I opened the dance-floor and set the party in motion. As usual, I invited Allison and Kevan to request music, and they outlined a great starting point of around 30 songs they love from all Genres. With that and guest requests, I filled in the blanks to create a playlist that kept the dancefloor the 'place to be' all night.

Allison was kind enough to give us the following review: 

5.0/5.0

• Quality of Service:  (5.0/5.0)
• Responsiveness:  (5.0/5.0)
• Professionalism:  (5.0/5.0)

• Value:  (5.0/5.0)
• Flexibility:  (5.0/5.0)

"We planned our wedding from abroad, and Kirk was so flexible and helpful throughout the planning process. The night appeared pretty much seamless with him at the helm, and he was great about addressing a variety of needs/nerves with speeches and toasts. When my now-husband flew back to the states, Kirk went out of his way to meet with him (our only in person meeting before the wedding!). We also had a pretty specific vision for what kinds of music we wanted, and that we wanted a quiet DJ. Kirk 100% lived up to that. There was not a single song played that cleared the dance floor, and Kirk sort of faded into the background except to help with schedule transitions. He was fantastic, so professional, and got rave reviews from our other vendors. He even put up with a slightly intoxicated guest who kept calling him Captain Kirk, which pretty much makes him a hero in my eyes."

Last Dance, Oasis - Wonderwall

I had the pleasure of working with some wonderful vendors as well.  Kate Brown at Lovewell Celebration Design, coordinated the entire day, and photographer Martha Swann captured it all. Combined with the Anyella's, Allison and Kevan were in good hands all the way around. 

Thanks Allison and Kevan for letting me be a part of your big day! 

Best. 

Kirk Rothrum

Select Receptions by CNY Select DJs

We won The Knot "Best of Weddings"... WOOHOO!! :)

We're thrilled to have received news from TheKnot, one of the top wedding websites in the world, that Select Receptions has been chosen as their 2014 Best-Of-Weddings Pick!
We received the following notification email yesterday:

Though Select Receptions doesn't advertise on TheKnot, it is indeed one of the top websites in the world for planning a wedding. It's an honor to have been selected for the Best Of Weddings award for Upstate NY. Frankly, it's our clients who have been very outspoken about the level of service I provide. It's an honor to be a part of their important celebrations. They are much more than "gigs" to me, and I hope that has shined through in my work.

According to TheKnot, Jan.1 they will roll-out updates on their site to reflect the new "Best-Of-Weddings" status. If you're a member of TheKnot, you can view our profile and login to read reviews here.

A special thanks to TheKnot for this recognition, and a huge THANK YOU to my awesome couples who made it possible!

Best,
Kirk Rothrum
Select Receptions by CNY Select DJs

A Rockin, Delicious Dinosaur BBQ Wedding Reception

Photo by Tom Harmon

On Saturday, September 21, I was the luckiest DJ in Syracuse. I had the pleasure of providing services for the wedding reception of Tim and Sarah Fredenburg. Sarah, a well known CNY wedding photographer, professionally uses her maiden name Sarah Heppell. As someone who is active in the local wedding industry, Sarah sees a lot of DJ's, I was honored she chose Select Receptions!




One of the important aspects of Tim & Sarah's big day was personalizing their Grand Entrance and the Wedding Party Introductions. During a client meeting, Tim told me briefly about the ordeal he had "popping the question". The more he told me, the funnier it got, and it really made sense to share this hilarious romantic story with their guests. After welcoming their important guests, and introducing their all important wedding party, I shared with friends and family the touching, funny, and romantic story of Tim, and a ring. A ring he kept in his pocket for an entire week, waiting for just the right moment. With every day, another tacky restaurant, bad desert or pouring rainstorm spoiled the chance at the memorable proposal Sarah deserved. Although the entire story lasted just a few minutes, it showed guests a window into Tim's romantic side, with a lot of laughs.

The night unfolded soon thereafter with lot's of drinking and consuming copious amounts of some the best barbecue in the world. If you're considering a Dinosaur BBQ wedding, pull the trigger and do it!






Tim & Sarah are a fun couple who love funky music, from Cake to the Kool & The Gang, they love to groove. Guests packed the dancefloor early on, and kept it hopping all night long, even forming a Soul Train Line. I had the pleasure of working with Photographer Tom Harmon, and at a later date, may update this post with more of his images.

Thanks again Tim & Sarah! I LOVE you guys and absolutely loved sharing in your day.
-Best
Kirk Rothrum, Select Receptions, Syracuse, NY

--
UPDATE: 
We just received the following review, Thanks guys!

5.0/5.0

• Quality of Service:  (5.0/5.0)
• Responsiveness:  (5.0/5.0)
• Professionalism:  (5.0/5.0)

• Value:  (5.0/5.0)
• Flexibility:  (5.0/5.0)

Kirk was great. He was flexible about playing the type of music we wanted to hear. I gave him a list of about 12 dance songs we wanted to hear (mostly funky 70's or dancy 80's stuff) and he ran with it, adding his own touch to the selection and providing us with a truly tailored musical experience. He was very good at gauging the room and knew when to switch from eighties dance party to modern club music (when the drinks had coursed through the guests.) Also, Kirk knew how to be a good DJ without attempting to make himself the center of attention, which I think a lot of DJs try to do. He didnt talk too much, just when needed. He was professionally dressed, as was his assistant. Kirk rules. 

A Classy, FUN Tug Hill Vineyards Wedding for the books

It's October 7, and although peak wedding season 2013 is slowly but surely winding down, keeping up with blog posts is harder than ever. I don't get a chance to blog about EVERY wedding, but I think this one deserves a mention. On 8/31 I had the honor of helping Erin and Shane Manns celebrate their marriage, at the beautiful Tug Hill Vineyards, in Lowville, NY (A great venue with a staff that's second to none).

Erin and Shane are a great couple, who also happen to be police officers, who met while on duty, at a traffic stop! They were introduced to the "Cops" theme, and walked into the room cuffed to each other!

I had the pleasure of working with photographer Emmanuel Vaucher, whose pictures can be seen in this blog-post, tell the rest of the story.

Needless to say, Erin and Shane's friends and family were a TON of fun. Erin emailed me the following after her wedding:

"I would love to give you a wonderful review.  That evening went off without a hitch and you guys had a huge part in it. I will give Theresa (manager at he vineyard) your contact info, if you don't mind. I'm  trying to get her to put all of our vendors on their list that they hand out to everyone. we had such a blast." 

-Erin Barrett

Thanks Erin and Shane! It was a pleasure helping you celebrate your all important day!

Best, Kirk Rothrum, Select Receptions by CNY Select DJs