When Kim and Tom were planning their wedding, they asked each DJ they spoke with to create a mini mix for them. They had very specific taste in music. I gave it a shot and sent them a mix the next day. They went crazy for it! Next thing you know, they had signed up and we were celebrating their wedding together.
Arnold House Wedding
Livingston Manor, NY for Kim & Tom
by DJ Ben Boylan
Venue
The Arnold House is a gorgeous venue in the Catskills. It has a barn for your reception and fields for your ceremony. I have DJed there several times. It’s located about 2 hours from NYC by car. In the last year they added a new room to the barn for cocktail hour. The staff is great (ask for Justine).
Ceremony
Kim and Tom had their ceremony in a field a few moments walk from the barn. They had a band. I just provided mics. They had one guest do a reading. It was a beautiful ceremony.
Cocktail Hour
For cocktail hour Kim & Tom provided a playlist of oldies. Everybody had been watching the weather because there was a chance of rain. It must have been divine intervention because it started raining at the exact moment cocktail hour started inside.
Lights
Kim and Tom chose my uplighting package. I brought ten uplights. Five of them I set to amber (gold basically) and shone them up the wall on the side of the reception room where guests ate. The other five I set to flashing colors and shone them up the wall around the dance floor. They looked awesome.
Intros, speeches and dinner
To kick off the reception I introduced the parents, wedding party and couple. They all entered the room to Human League’s “Keep Feeling Fascination.” Great song. Then we went right into the special dances.
Kim and Tom did their first dance to “Your Song” by Elton John. Tom got everyone singing along to the chorus. Next, Kim danced to “My Gorl” with her dad. Finally, Tom danced with his mom to Iron & Wine’s version of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” It’s a great version I hadn’t heard before.
Before speeches, Kim surprised her parents. Their anniversary was in just a few days so I announced it and had them dance to their wedding song. It was “Through the Years” by Kenny Rogers. Everyone cheered them on.
There were four speeches including one from Kim & Tom. They all used my wireless mic and sounded great. The main course of bbq lamb and brisket, and whole trout came out next.
Dancing
Finally I turned on the lights around the dance floor and we started the dance set. Kim and Tom had asked for EDM remixes of throwbacks and pop songs. We packed the dance floor with nothing but remixes for over three hours. It was really fun.
Before the end of the dance set, Tom surprised Kim worth a real fireworks show outside. I knew about it beforehand and Tom had chosen “Don’t Stop Believin” to be played as they walked outside. Without exaggerating, it was almost as good as what they do on July 4th in NYC.
And to end the dance set, Kim chose two classic sing alongs. First “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing and then “Sweet Caroline.”
We were so happy that we hired DJ Ben Boylan for our wedding this August at Arnold House! Before hiring him, we asked him to create a 30 minute set - something that many other DJs wouldn't do - based on some song examples and a vague description my fiance gave him. HE KILLED IT! He goes above and beyond, even meeting with us near our apt in BK before the wedding to go through the schedule and our playlist for the night. He kept everyone dancing all night, and he was the ultimate professional - what more could you ask for a wedding DJ?! Hire this guy! - Kim
Thank you Tom & Kim for letting me be a part of your
Arnold House wedding
I had the pleasure of working with the following vendors:
Venue: Justine Hoskin of The Arnold House
Coordinator: Hilary Smith of H. Smith & Co.
Photographer: Jesse Pafundi of Golden Hour Studios
