Wedding DJ at Colloca Estate Winery Sterling, NY
Colloca sits above Little Sodus Bay, off Lake Ontario, and it is a big property. The ceremony is out in the field at the end of a walkway, looking over the water. The reception is in the main hall, a two story timber room with a balcony that runs above the floor, and cocktail hour goes either inside or out under the birch trees beside it.
What I know about this room
A DJ walking into a room for the first time spends the first hour learning it. Where power is, how the ceremony space carries sound, where the booth can sit without blocking a sightline, how long load-in actually takes when the parking is full.
None of that is difficult. It is just time, and on a wedding day time is the one thing nobody has spare. Having worked Colloca Estate Winery before means that hour is already spent, and it was spent on a day that was not yours.
The booth here does not go against a wall. I set up in open space with the kitchen straight behind me, so the service path during dinner runs past the booth rather than around the edge of the room, and guests could walk straight up to me. Most rooms put the DJ in a corner. This one puts you in the middle of the night, and it made the whole thing friendlier: people came over and talked to me instead of shouting a request across a floor.
The ceremony is out in the field
A walkway takes you down from the hall to the ceremony lawn, with chairs set either side of the aisle, barrels at the front and Little Sodus Bay behind the arbor. It is far enough from the building to need its own sound system down there, which is a separate setup rather than a speaker pointed out a door.
Cocktail hour goes inside or under the birches
There is a birch tree area off the side of the hall that the venue often uses for cocktail hour. At the wedding I worked it was planned for both, and almost everyone stayed inside, so cocktail hour ran off the main system and no outside rig was needed. Worth deciding which you want and saying so in the plan, because an outdoor cocktail hour is a second setup and an indoor one is not.
The balcony is part of the room
An upper level runs above the floor, with stairs on both sides behind the booth, and larger weddings seat guests up there. The couple I worked with did the bouquet toss from the balcony, and the photographer went up for the group photo. He took a microphone with him, which mattered: from up there he was directly above me with no line of sight, so we could not work off each other the way we would across a room. Anything run from the balcony needs a microphone and a plan.
Load-in is genuinely easy
The event space has its own drive, so you pull up, unload at the door, then park on the other side of the building by the tasting room. No long carry across grass, which is not true of every property this size.
The floor sits between the booth and the sweetheart table
The sweetheart table faces the booth directly across an open dance floor, with guest tables down both sides. It is a good arrangement: the couple can see the whole floor, and the floor fills from the middle rather than from one end.
“He was extremely helpful during the planning process, and was flexible to some requests that popped up on the day of.”
Questions worth asking about a waterfront venue
These come up at nearly every lakeside and riverside property, and the answers shape your timeline more than most couples expect.
Does the venue have a sound limit or a curfew?
Nothing came into play on the night I worked here, and the hall is a solid building set well back from neighbours. Confirm your own end time with the venue and build the night backwards from it, including anything that follows the last song. The couple I worked with arranged a fireworks show at the end, which was their own vendor rather than the venue, and that kind of thing has to sit in the timeline rather than be added to it.
Is the ceremony in a different space than the reception?
Yes. The ceremony is out in the field at the end of the walkway, overlooking Little Sodus Bay, and the reception is up in the hall. That means a separate sound setup down at the ceremony and a walk back up for your guests, which is worth a few minutes in the timeline rather than a rush.
Who is coordinating the day?
Some couples hire a planner, some hire a day-of coordinator, some rely on venue staff, and some have none of the above. All four are workable. Put me in touch with whoever is involved and I deal with them directly rather than through you. Where there is no coordinator, the reception timeline is mine to run so that role does not quietly become yours.
Can you work with the venue's in-house sound system?
Yes. I am comfortable working inside house systems or alongside a venue's AV team, and I bring a full professional setup with backup cabling and equipment as standard. Whichever the venue prefers, the integration is worked out before the day.
Do you charge extra to travel here?
No. Sterling is inside the area I cover, so getting there is already part of the number I give you rather than a line added afterwards. Travel for venues further afield, including destination weddings, is worked out per event when we talk.
Getting married at Colloca Estate Winery?
Tell me your date and I will reply with availability and a real number. I read every inquiry myself.
Check Your DateAll Wedding inquiries are coordinated through my booking partner, Washburn Entertainment.