It was a dark and stormy afternoon and night, but the inclement weather did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm and high spirits of Matt and Nicole’s guests for their big day. The country setting of Catlin Gardens (located in Orange County, New York about 45 minutes from both the top of New Jersey and NYC) provided a beautiful backdrop for Matt and Nicole’s ceremony, definitely taking advantage of the sweet autumnal colors of New York State.

The music for the ceremony was provided outside under a protective overhang and overlooking the grounds of Catlin Gardens by our duo consisting of trumpet and piano. The selections included 2 pieces by Bach, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and “Air on the G String”, Pachelbel’s “Canon In D” and “Rondeau” by Mouret (better known as the theme to the PBS show, “Masterpiece Theater”). At the end of the ceremony, the guests adjourned upstairs for the cocktail hour, enjoying the superior Catlin Gardens food and of course “spirits” at the bar. Our trumpet/piano duo picked up the pace with an uptempo rendition of “Sweet Georgia Brown”.

After the reception started in the main room, the bridal party intros were done to “Dance To The Music”, which got the energy level up right away. Matt and Nicole picked our version of John Hiatt’s “Have A Little Faith”(see video clip) as their first dance, which they danced to “solo”. Nicole then danced with her father to Tim McGraw’s “My Little Girl”, after which Matt and his mother had their turn to our vocalist Rhonda Bennett singing “A Song For My Son”. After toasts by the maid of honor Christine and the groom’s brother Mike (the best man), the dance floor packed up for a Sinatra medley performed by the band, including “The Summer Wind”, “Witchcraft” and “The Way You Look Tonight”. We also performed the Italian standard, “Al Di La”, by special request. The dancers really enjoyed our take on Bob Seeger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll”, Dion’s “Runaround Sue” and James Brown’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” immediately before entrée was served.

There was a healthy-sized contingent of Grateful Dead-lovers present this evening and they (and others there) ate up our versions of “Shakedown Street” and the New Orleans good-time party R&B classics “Iko Iko” and “Hey Pocky Way”. Later on, a Soul/Motown medley by the band featuring “Respect”, “Soul Man”, “Dance To The Music” and “Proud Mary” got the dancers movin’, groovin’, workin’ and steamin’. After cake cutting, the Smokin’ Section went into an extended Disco/Funk medley highlighted by “Boogie, Oogie”, “Bad Girls” and “September”. The bridesmaids really got down to our takes on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”. The finale for the evening was our version of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”, which we dedicated to Nicole.

Photography: Aperture Photography and Imaging
Frank and Darlene Gambino 518-678-0176

Videography: EK Peters Video
Eric Petterson 631-514-9630

Banquet Facility: Catlin Gardens 845-355-3555