(Photo above is Rachel & Enzo’s Wedding)

Bay 7 – Durham, NC Wedding Venue

Bay 7 is 10,000 square feet of urban chic setting within a registered historic site, complete with exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, and steel girders.  When planning a wedding at the Bay 7, we have a few tips.

  1. Having your wedding ceremony upstairs or at bottom of the stairs works very well.
  2. You can have cocktail hour upstairs with a baby grand piano if you would like to use it or hire a pianist to play on.
  3. Uplights really set the mood when set downstairs and upstairs.
  4. The best location for the DJ setup is in the middle of the wall in front of the dance floor.

Sample Wedding at Bay 7

I never met Kathryn or Ryan until the day of their wedding. I was so honored to DJ their ceremony and reception at Durham’s Bay 7 in the historic American Tobacco Campus.

The Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was held on the main floor at the bottom of the stairs with a stainless background. It was so beautiful with floral arrangements by Tre Bella and lighting by Get Lit! Their minister Reverend Shaver gave a heartfelt service that included a reading by what may have been the cutest 6-year-old reader I have seen. She did an awesome job! After the ceremony, the Reverend invited guests to the second-floor balcony for drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres. During the social hour, they had a live pianist provide music.

The Introductions

After pics were taken by Hooman from Vesic Photography and video by Red Letters Media, the 180 guests made their way back downstairs for the reception. I lined the wedding party up with help from Angel from Bay 7. I introduced them to “Say Hey” by Michael Franti and they came down the stairs and lined up along the back of the dance floor. Kathryn & Ryan came down for their first dance to “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith. Kathryn’s Father welcomed everyone and the Reverend blessed the meal. During the served meal I played a mix of rock & classic soul.

The Dancing

After dinner we had the toasts and cake cutting to “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” and then came one of the most touching and special Father-Daughter dances I have seen. Kathryn’s Father Terry had made a video of him reading the book “Forever Young” along with the Dylan song it came from while pictures of her as a child played in a slide show. Not a dry eye in the room! They danced for the first half, then he handed her over to Ryan. After their dance, Ryan danced with his Mother to “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and I opened the floor to everyone.

For the next 1.5 hours, I played a mix of classic soul, oldies, top 40, some 2000s, and even Blink-182 for Ryan and his friends!! So great! We paused for the bouquet toss to “Shoop Shoop Song” and then back to dancing until the end of the night. Their last dance was “Don’t Stop Believin’” before a sparkler exit.

What an absolutely perfect reception and a great group to play for. Thank you, Kathryn, Ryan, Terry & Cathy, and congratulations!


Bunn DJ Company believes DJing is more than just showing up and pressing play. It’s also more than just knowing how to choose songs and mix them together. Being wedding DJs at Bay 7 is about creating experiences and atmospheres. That’s what our DJing philosophy boils down to. We don’t want to just provide the perfect music. We want to create the perfect day. That’s why we excel in what we do. And this wedding was a perfect example of that. Working with this awesome couple to create the day they envisioned is something we’ll never forget. And it’s a service we provide all our weddings again and again.


Photo Gallery From Bay 7 Events