Olde Tater Barne in Central Bridge, NY Venue Review
Barn Venue for Rustic Wedding
We have been DJing weddings for almost 15 years and I still had not had an opportunity to do a wedding here. I guess I was missing out!
If you too like the idea of a rustic wedding as many brides are, that is, getting married at a venue that makes you feel like you are on the set of “Little House on the Prairie,” then you may want to give the Olde Tater Barne a gander.
LOCATION: First off, for those of you not in the know, Central Bridge, NY is only a hop skip and a jump away from Schoharie, NY, so it’s not a bad trip from Albany or Schenectady at all.
Ole Tater Wedding Ceremony
ATMOSPHERE: The Olde Tater Barn, aside from having a great location set aside for an onsite ceremony loaded with flowers also has a massive cornfield behind the barn. It was fun to see the photographers really taking advanage of this backdrop. At one point, they had the bride and groom gou out into the stalks and took some really great pictures from within the crop itself!
Much like Pat’s Wedding Barn in Troy, NY, the barn is rustic, but has all the modern amenities to really keep your guests comfy in all seasons. A massive door also opens up on the side of the barn and allows for a great little cocktail reception spot.
On our particular wedding, there was tons of dancing on the ample dance floor and great food and drink for all provided by the in house catering service. Below are some more pictures! If you would like to check out there site at Olde Tater Barne, please do!
Above is a video of my first time DJ’ing at Holiday Inn Express of Latham NY, this weekend. It’s a great place for a wedding reception with modern fixtures, multiple chandlers, ample seating and dance room for a medium sized wedding of maybe 150 or so.
Located right off of the Northway Route 87, Latham NY as a town is a great place to have a wedding; not too far from Albany, Schenectady and Troy, NY.
The Holiday Inn as a venue is a great place covering all bases for your ceremony and reception. At the wedding that I was the DJ for on Saturday, the bride & groom got married right on site, had a great photo shoot in the courtyard, and moved into the reception without a glitch. All inclusive is the key to easy transition and success for your special day.
At this particular wedding, the bride & groom had cake pops (another thing I am relatively new to), and wedding photobooth action provided by www.bryerphotography.com .
Holiday Inn Express Wedding of Latham, NY
A LOOK AT THE VENUE…
CEREMONY – The ceremony can take place in the Gazebo room or outside in the courtyard with a real gazebo.
For this particular wedding, it was overcast with a chance of rain early here in October, so the venue had a great backup plan all ready to go inside. This was good in the end because it did rain. However, everything still came off just fine.
COCKTAIL HOUR – Your cocktail hour can take place in a separate room, just outside the reception hall. In this room, there is a small fountain as a centerpiece for appetizers. The room is a little narrow, but has multiple doors for means of exit. The room is also right off of the reception hall, itself.
RECEPTION HALL – In the middle of the facility, the hall is easy to get to and very accommodating. They have a separate dance floor and the floor plan that the venue went with at this particular wedding was very effective, with entertainment in mind, as well as food service. (This is not always the case.)
Anyhow, without hesitation, I would recommend taking a look at this venue for your wedding.
Mountain View Fire Hall – A great place to reserve for your small / medium party
Planning a party of under 100 people or so? Looking for a hall with kitchen access? Want to keep the party affordable?
If you are in the Wynantskill / Troy, NY area and are looking for a good hall for a sweet 16 party, class reunion or engagement party, this may be the place for you. Both DJ Maria and myself have had the pleasure of serving as in-house go-to DJs for 90% of the firehouse banquet functions and we can safely say these are great people to do with business with.
Seating a small to medium party or event comfortably, Mountain View Volunteer Fire Company has a great recreational room for rent.
DJ Maria one foot out in the back starting the dance
Mountain View VFC has a full kitchen and allows outside catering. The idea of a venue allowing you to have full control of the food creates a potential for super savings for any party planner. There is a full kitchen set off to the side with two serving windows into the room.
There is comfortable seating for about 100 people still with room for dancing with plenty of additional tables and chairs available.
The hall is also ground level and handicap accessible. Here is the contact information:
Mountain View Volunteer Fire Company / Mountain View VFC 2 Shafter Avenue Troy, New York 12180 518/283-4530
Planning a wedding with great flowers in the Albany NY region or beyond? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then maybe you will want to try this idea out… “Tiny Flower Pot Wedding Place Cards’
What a better way than to kick off your rustic wedding with little tiny live flowers as the place cards to show your beloved guests to their seats!?
What this couple did was they went to a craft store and bought loads of little vase-like jars, but super small. The next step is easy: Just get some nice flowers, chop them up. Stuck them into little bottles like these, and add the place card tag – and you are done!
On the Monday, September 8, 2014 episode of @Midnight on Comedy Central, I was featured as the subject of a bit about DJs. I was spoofed hard, but I loved every minute of it!
You may recognize @Midnight host Chris Hardwick from AMC’s Talking Dead and Talking Bad. He is the after-show guy for both Walking Dead and Breaking Bad who immediately discusses the new episodes with celebrity superfans. He is a self-proclaimed nerd as I am, so being a fan of both of the AMC award-winning shows myself, it was my great to be ribbed by one of the best.
ABOUT THE SHOW – @MIDNIGHT: This episode of Hardwick’s relatively new show @Midnight features three comedians “playing” on a game show-like set who buzz in and comment on topics like the news, the entertainment world and odd clips from the internet. This one was about WACKY DJ pictures like myself who do weddings and even more particular, BAR MITZVAHS.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES: The picture of me featured was taken at a Halloween wedding I DJ’ed for my good friend and fellow DJ, Pete Sefcik. Chris Hardwick and The Sklar Brothers really had some fun at my expense! Although it was in costume, I was supposed to be dressed as RUN-DMC’s Jam Master Jay in the picture, but really only looked whiter than WonderBread. Alas, I deserved every bit of their spoofing.
This clip is a total riot and I really loved the exposure! Thanks Chris! You are the man! 🙂
Russian Weddings Have Many Interesting TraditionsOther than mail order Russian brides, there are some different traditions that revolve around Russian weddings. Whether you are a Russian bride or groom-to-be, this is a great list of Russian traditions that may help you come up with some great ideas to commemorate and celebrate your ancestral roots of Old Mother Russia.
First off, did you know that Russian weddings are much longer than the traditional American wedding of today in that they typically go on for two full days?
Kiss Print NapkinTHE KISS PRINT NAPKIN – Before the wedding ceremony, it’s tradition for all Russian grooms to accomplish a few prenuptial traditions. For example, when he comes to pick up his bride, the groom may be handed a napkin with lipstick prints of the bride and her attendants on it. In the unfortunate case that the groom can’t pick out which is his bride’s kiss print, he must pay a fine to the bride-to-be. In jest, Grooms who guess wrong may have to cover a shawl with money to reassure her.
PRE-CEREMONY REGISTRATION- The official traditional Russian ceremony is only one part of the entire wedding event. To start things off, the bride and groom arrive in separate cars and are lead into different rooms that are ideally a decent distance apart before filling out the regestration papers. Next, the couple wait until they are called.
Bussian Butterfly TossPRE-CEREMONY BUTTEFLY TOSS – Once the Russian bride and groom exit the civil marriage registration office, it’s time for picture taking to commemorate the occasion. Friends and family members toss flower petals, coins, and sometimes release butterflies to wish the couple good luck. And before they leave, it’s tradition for the groom to sweep the bride up in his arms and kiss her in front of all assembled, among flying butterflies.
PRE-CEREMONY BREAD PRESENTATION – Before exiting the registration hall, a member of the bridal party, or sometimes another special person is assigned to present the bride and groom with the ceremonial bread and salt tray, which will be an interesting part of the Russian wedding tradition. Next, the bride and groom are lead into the actual ceremony hall where the actual rites and vows are to be held.
Bridal Party SashesBRIDAL PARTY SASHES – It’s tradition for the best man and maid of honor to wear sashes over their clothing.
RUSSIAN WEDDING RUG – For the ceremony, the bride and groom stand on a traditional wedding carpet and the officiant reads a welcoming speech and then asks the bride and groom to confirm their reason for being there. Very much like our American tradition, the Russian bride and groom then engage in an exchanging of rings, the couples sign in the registry, and then the witnesses sign and the couple are pronounced man and wife.
BREAD BITING TRADITION – A platter of bread is presented during the ceremony to the Russian bride and groom at hand. This part of the ceremony symbolizes the hope for a healthy long life with prosperity for the couple. The bread is then bitten into by both the bride and groom, and the joke is that the one who takes the largest bite will make all the major decisions and essentially be the one who wears pants in the family!
The Bridal Five Stop Tour DECORATED BRIDAL RIDE – After the wedding, the bride and groom make a nuptial tour of their town’s historic sites. To transport themselves and their guests to these locations in class, many Russian brides and grooms will hire a fancy limousine covered in with gold decorations and flowers. Quite often, villagers will see the couple’s names painted on a side window, and wave good luck in support of their neighbors’ happy day. When the couple cannot afford a limo, most just have their bridal party pimp out their ride, or borrow a friend’s car suitably tricked out ride, as well. Either way, the bride and groom ride in style.
FIVE STOP TOUR – For Russian brides and grooms the historic town bridal tour is not only a matter of showing up in a specific and often scenic location for photography reasons, the ride is a symbolic act that assures a long and happy marriage.
Typically, the bride and groom make pitstops at five different places around the city that hold special meaning for citizens. There they have post-wedding photos snapped, and at each stop-off, the bride and groom leave flowers to symbolize their contribution as husband and wife to the history of the town/village.
The Dove Release TraditionDOVE RELEASE – The couple sometimes simultaneously releases a white dove, as tradition, to symbolize and emphasize the purity of their love, near a waterfront.
BRIDAL RANSOM – There is also a silly tradition of “the stealing the bride”, when the groom takes his eyes off the bride, she might get stolen and the groom will have to pay ransom! All in jest, of course!
