Ithaca Yacht Club wedding

This weekend’s wedding gig at Ithaca Yacht Club was just so much fun!  First it was solo guitar vibes, then the band jamming and the whole gang dancing like there’s no tomorrow. Let me give you the lowdown on the awesomeness that went down.

So, the scene was set during the cocktail hour with me strumming some classic tunes. I did my thing for about 90 minutes, and it was like the melodies were mixing with the breeze, setting the mood just right. It was a classy start to an epic night of celebrating.

When the sun started to set, the rest of the band joined me, and it was a blast! For three hours, we were in our groove, and the dance floor was like a magnet pulling everyone in. It was like a non-stop dance-off where smiles were the real currency.

My favorite moments were when the bride’s dad stole the spotlight by grabbing the wireless mic and belting out to “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen along with the band. Turns out, the whole family are Springsteen fanatics, and the crowd went wild!

And then, at the end of the night, the entire wedding posse formed a big circle, arms around each other, singing “Piano Man” by Billy Joel along with the band. I found out later, this was the bride and her friends’ traditional routine in college, and they knew we the tune, having seen it in our repertoire list prior to the event. Thankfully it was captured on video.

One of the staff members came up to me and gave props to the band for nailing the volume level. He mentioned how most bands that play at the venue blast it way too loud, but ours hit that sweet spot. Many clients over the years have expressed concern while in the planning stages that we may be too loud or that we may not be loud enough.

This is one of the reasons I find out ahead of time how many guests are coming and how the room we’ll be playing in is in terms of acoustics. Sometimes, if I haven’t been to a venue before, I’ll try to arrange a site visit to see and hear it before the event. This comment about the volume that the staff person made is one I thankfully hear a lot. This wasn’t always the case; I think over the years you just learn to read a room and set the volume accordingly.

I was very grateful that at the end of the night, the bride and groom even said the night we were “perfect,” and I gave them a group hug!  Creating moments that people remember and talk about for years to come is simply priceless. Here’s to the power of live music and the magic it brings to life’s biggest celebrations!

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