501 Union Wedding, Brooklyn, NY for Huijie & Yongxiao

Before their beautiful 501 Union wedding, I met with Huijie & Yongxiao twice in midtown Manhattan to go over details, discuss music and get to know each other. I was struck by their fun and friendly manner and enjoyed planning with them. Read on to find out what we came up with...

by DJ Ben Boylan

The Venue

501 Union is one of my favorite venues (in fact, I included it in my Best Brooklyn Venues article). It has three separate spaces, perfect for ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. Famous for its gorgeous light fixtures in the main room, 501 (along with its sister venue The Green Building across the street) is a must-see when planning an NYC wedding.

Hui & Yong had a beautiful ceremony in 501 Union's front room. The wedding party walked down a rose petal covered aisle to "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele. They were followed by Hui who entered the room to Iron & Wine's "Love and Some Verses."

For my ceremony setup, I had a wireless mic for the officiant, a great speaker and a recorder to capture the ceremony so I could send it to them after the wedding. The ceremony was really nice. Guests clapped and cheered as the couple exited to "Happy" by Pharrell.

When the ceremony concluded, guests moved to the bar room for drinks and snacks. Hui & Yong asked me to choose nice, light music for this time. I picked a mix of current indie tracks and soft classics that set a nice vibe for this 501 Union wedding.

An hour later guests were invited to be seated for their first course and I introduced the wedding party and the couple. They all entered to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" and sat for their salad.

Once everyone had their main course, speeches began. There were 3 speeches from friends and family and then Hui and Yong gave one. I provided them with a wireless mic and announced each person with a mic I had at my table. Everyone did a great job and got a lot of applause.

Next, the couple did their first dance to "Perfect Symphony" by Ed Sheeran & Andrea Bocelli. When they were done, I invited their guests to join them and we entered the dance portion of this 501 Union wedding. At Hui & Yong's suggestion, I chose a great mix of songs including EDM, pop and hip-hop tracks. They had a wild dance set and it was really fun. Hui followed it up by throwing the bouquet.

After the bouquet toss, they cut the cake and played the newlywed game. If you're not familiar with the game, the couple each held a whiteboard and marker and sat in chairs with their backs to each other. I provided a wireless mic and their guests took turns asking them questions. Hui & Yong each held up their answer and their guests were cracking up. A lot of the questions were pretty funny.

Afterwards, guests enjoyed drinks and dessert while I played a mix of current hits. At the end of the night Hui and her mom told me how pleased they were with the night. It was an awesome wedding.

I had the pleasure of working with these great vendors:

Coordinator and Caterer: Heather Levine of Naturally Delicious

Photographer: Jason Thomas Crocker of Jason Thomas Crocker Photography

See below videos for more photos!