Category Archives: Wedding Party

5 Songs to walk down the aisle

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You may have spent a long time discussing your first dance song with your partner, but don’t neglect other important pieces of music you’ll need on your day! For your wedding ceremony songs, you’ll need to make at least two choices – namely, your processional and recessional songs.

A processional song is the music that you and your wedding party will walk down the aisle to – you can have one song for everyone, or choose a separate song for your grand entrance. At the end of the ceremony, you and your new husband leave the venue to your recessional music, which tends to be more upbeat than the processional.

1. Bridal Chorus, Wagner

Often known as Here Comes The Bride, this piece of classical music is the traditional choice for the procession of the bride, and is often played on an organ. We’ve chosen a slightly more modern arrangement by Vicente Avella on classical piano – that way you can keep the element of tradition without the drama!

2. Canon in D, Pachelbel

Another very popular choice with brides. This gorgeous piece of music sounds beautiful played by a traditional quartet, but we also love this version by Per-Olov Kindgren on classical guitar.

3. A Thousand Years, The Piano Guys (originally Christina Perri)

Sometimes couples can’t decide between a classic instrumental or a more modern love song with vocals for their processional music. Why not get the best of both worlds with an instrumental cover of one of your favourite songs? We seriously love this piano and cello cover of Christina Perri – check out The Piano Guys for more classical covers.

4. Glasgow Love Theme, from Love Actually

Walking down the aisle to a song from your favourite film soundtrack is another way to incorporate instrumental music with a personal touch into your ceremony. There are loads of options to choose from – Love Actually is a great place to start, and will have you welling up before you know it.

5. Marry Me, Train

If you want a modern song but aren’t sure what sort of thing to go for, then we think this a great choice. The melody and lyrics are both beautiful, and the tempo isn’t too fast for a processional.

Popular first dance songs

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Your wedding is going to be one of the happiest of your life. Unless you’re taking part in Don’t Tell the Bride, that’s just a guaranteed fact. A big part of planning your wedding day is that all important first dance and deciding which song you will share with your new husband or bride. Do you want to go for a classic, a current top 40? Here to offer up some inspiration in the form of the most popular first dance wedding songs.

Before we list them here, we feel we should point out that this is as close to scientific as it gets because the data comes from Spotify, who analysed over 12,000 wedding playlists on their streaming service to find out just what newlyweds are dancing to. Without further ado then, in order, here is the global list of the most popular first dance wedding songs.

You’ll notice that Ed Sheeran has two songs in the top ten, whilst ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ features twice, sang by two different artists.

“Thinking Out Loud” – Ed Sheeran

“At Last” – Etta James

“Can’t Help Falling In Love” – Elvis Presley & the Jordanaires

“Marry Me” – Train

“Tenerife Sea” – Ed Sheeran

“You Are the Best Thing” – Ray LaMontagne

“First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes

“Make You Feel My Love” – Adele

“Everything” – Michael Bublé

“Lucky” – Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” – Ingrid Michaelson

“Better Together” – Jack Johnson

“God Gave Me You” – Blake Shelton

“Come Away With Me” – Norah Jones

“The Luckiest” – Ben Folds

Getting the music just right

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We all know that when it comes to creating the perfect atmosphere for your wedding, music plays an important part. But if you really want to personalise the soundtrack to your big day, why not consider a completely bespoke musical experience? Here are our top tips for creating bespoke wedding music that wows!

Consider the musical heritage of both bride and groom

Combining Reggae with Charleston makes for a lot of fun, for example. Or mixing world music styles such as Sega and Mauritian traditional music. Speak to your band to see what’s possible. Depending on the preferences of you and your better half, don’t choose between them;combine them and make something totally unique to your personalities.

Mix up playlists and songs
Who didn’t have a secret obsession with the American TV Series ‘Glee’?! Their mash-up song selection was genius and can be recreated with the right band. If the groom is a Led Zep fan but the bride is a ‘Belieber’ you can ask your band to make a first dance song that suits you both perfectly, and perform it live, mash-up style!

Try non-traditional instruments performing traditional songs, or vice versa

A string quartet playing Bohemian Rhapsody, for example sounds awesome. The traditional wedding march on electric guitar? Seriously cool. You can even see if your musicians will mix up their dress code and typical band setting – we once had a band who loosened their ties and set down their instruments before crowd surfing over guests!

Include some singing waiters…

Singing waiters may seem a bit cheesy to some, but they’re still great fun. Or you could try something similar – one of my favourite wedding gigs involved recreating the scene from the film Love Actually where the musicians sit amongst the congregation in the church and stand up as each instrumental section joins the wedding march.

Try a completely non-conventional wedding band

When it comes to hiring wedding entertainment, the sky’s the limit. Depending on your tastes you can choose from heavy metal, bandeoke (karaoke with a live band), reggaeoke (karaoke with a live reggae band), an opera performance, or even Burlesque dancers and fire eaters. Just decide on what’s going to make the day special for you and reflect your tastes, and go for it!

Make your own Wedding decorations

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Perfect as favours or place names, why not showcase your talents as we show you how to make these fun felt wedding decorations…

What you need

  • Coloured felt

  • Stuffing (cotton wool balls)

  • Contrasting thread or wool

  • Needle

  • Scissors

  • Pins

  • Card template

Instructions

Pin your heart template to your felt (you can print a paper one from the computer) then cut around the template. Be sure to keep the template tight to the felt for a professional-looking finish.

Put the two felt hearts together and pin in the centre. It’s now time to start stitching, using a blanket stitch. If you are unsure of this stitch, you are sure to find it on You Tube.

For the stuffing we used unravelled cotton wall balls. Stuff as much or little as you like, the more shape the better the finish.

Continue to sew the heart, once at the end, tie a knot with the needle and thread. Snip the ends and you have a beautiful felt heart.

Top Tip

If you wish to use the heart for hanging, pull a piece of thread through one of the stitches, or put wire or a small stick in the bottom of the heart and use as a cake topper or in your wedding flowers.

Alternatively scatter loosely on your wedding table for a pretty look.

Unusual wedding entertainment ideas

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When booking entertainment for your wedding day, it’s often difficult to know what works. Do you want to book the same function band that you saw at a friend’s wedding? Perhaps, but you want your special day to be unique! So how can you make your wedding day extra special? What sort of wedding entertainment should you hire for your big day? We’ve come up with a few unique cabaret ideas to help get you thinking!

Drag Queen

A Drag Queen isn’t a typical addition you might expect to see at a wedding but they can be a wonderful Master of ceremonies and deliver a stunning and outrageous show at the reception. From stand up to singing, a drag queen diva will wow your wedding guests. The ultimate in unique wedding entertainment.

Aerial Silk Artist

One for the larger wedding venues, there is no piece of unique wedding entertainment more beautiful than an aerial silk artist. Suspended from the ceiling by flowing silk drapes, a talented performer can twist and turn to music to create an ambient acrobatic display or even improvise a hanging routine. A majestic and graceful act, it’s best to let the photos speak for themselves! No performance is ever the same.

Classical music artists

One for the classical music lovers how about a little background music on your wedding day? Classically trained singers from the Royal Academy of Music will captivate your audience. A fabulous addition to any wedding, enjoy a flawless rendition of your favourite classical piece to make your wedding day truly magical.

Related Dancers

When it comes to unique wedding entertainment ideas, it’s often easy to forget that your guests are as part of the big day as yourselves. A function band is great to get the room going but many attendees are often too shy to hit the dance floor. By booking a dance group who relate to the style of music that your function band play, the evening can incorporate the fun nature of your event and music that suits your particular musical tastes.

Help your guests feel relaxed

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When it comes to wedding reception entertainment ideas, there’s a number of ways which you can go. Many choose to simply ditch entertainment completely in favour of quiet talking or complete silence as guests struggle to work out just who they should speak to over their glass of Champagne. In order to break the ice, we think that a little wedding entertainment goes a long way and here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Bagpiper

There’s nothing quite like completing the wedding vows and heading to the wedding reception to be met by dulcet tone of the Bagpipes. Many of the guests may be in kilts anyway so it’s a perfect excuse to celebrate your heritage! Admittedly if neither the groom or bride are Scottish or Irish, bagpipes may be a truly unusual wedding entertainment idea, but there are many other options.

Living Topiary (or a puppeteer!)

Don’t go thinking that these two are just wedding entertainment ideas for kids, because they really aren’t. When you think about it, a wedding is a celebration and all about having fun, so it makes sense that the wedding reception entertainment is fun as well. With that in mind, Living statues are the perfect solution for ensuring a good time is had by all. These living statues always go down well, whilst a puppet show is an endearing way to tell the story of the couple. It’s bespoke, imaginative and unusual wedding entertainment most guests won’t have seen before.

Fortune Teller (or Tarot Card/Palm Reader)

Some strolling entertainment at your reception is often a fab way to get people chatting. Moving away from the music acts, there are some wonderfully romantic wedding entertainment for hire that at first might not seem obvious but then make sense when you’re there. One of these is looking into hiring a fortune teller, tarot card or palm reader. A great bit of fun, you never know, they may just see another wedding on the horizon between a couple of your guests!

Magician (or Graphologist)

If you aren’t too sure about predicting the future of those in your wedding party, ideas don’t come much better than hiring a magician for your big day. As the wedding reception entertainment, magic is sure to bring people together and provides a little relaxation for the Best Man and others ahead of the speeches later on! A graphologist is also an unusual entertainment idea for a wedding but no less compelling. Who doesn’t want to know what their handwriting tells an expert about them!? You never know, the writing might be on the wall for another marriage before too long.

Do something that’s just right for you

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1. Walk Down Memory Lane

Make the guest feel like integral parts of the day by incorporating them into the décor — in a gallery of meaningful photos. Why not hang pictures of the bride and groom with friends and family along the walk from the ceremony to the reception. It’s a fun cocktail party conversation starter.” As guests take a leisurely stroll and find pictures of themselves with you, they can reminisce and socialize.

2. Break the Ice Creatively

When you enter your reception for the first time as husband and wife, don’t just take a conventional arm-in-arm stroll. “Run. Skip. Dance. Swoop in on a rope swing! Brainstorm with your groom about the most creative, appropriate way to make a big impression. This is a great way to break the ice and set up for a fun vibe for the rest of the event.

3. Play Party Games

How about the menus being puzzles, so each person got one piece of the puzzle at their place setting, then everyone had to put the pieces together to get the full menu description. Crossword puzzles are fun for the back of a program or if you have guests going on a long bus ride to get to the reception venue.

4. Be Entertaining

Guests always love the energy of a live band but tend to want to hear the original artist sing their favourite tunes. As a compromise, a bride may hire a wedding band but also play DJ music during the breaks, or she’ll arrange to have live music during some parts of the event and recorded music during others. 

5. Surprise them!

Love poems from a book makes a wonderful, lasting guest favour that’s much more meaningful that a bag of sugared almonds! If you buy in bulk, you might get a discount — contact your bookseller directly. And don’t forget to add a personalized bookmark thanking your friends and family for sharing your big day with you.”

Wedding Entertainment Planning

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Choosing wedding entertainment is a very important part of your wedding planning process. Your guests may not remember the theme of your wedding centrepieces, the type of cars or even the design of the cake. The last memory of your wedding for you and your guests is having the most important people in your life having fun and dancing with all the new friends that they have made. If you don’t plan your wedding entertainment properly, your guest’s last memory will be how the wedding ended at 9pm!

Band or DJ?

There are advantages and disadvantages of having both. The pure sound of Live music with a wedding band can really bring a great buzz to your reception but will be more expensive than a DJ, and most bands stick to a set list.

A Wedding DJ can only play pre-recorded tracks which means that their sound isn’t as good as a live acoustic band, but the DJ can play any type of music, take requests and works out less expensive than a band.

Band & DJ package

You can have the best of both worlds with live music from the band and disco music with requests for your wedding. The live band can play the first half of the evening (from after dinner until the evening buffet), and the DJ can play the final half of the evening (from the evening buffet to the close of the bar).

Once you have decided this, there are so many questions: A swing band? A cover band? What type of DJ?

Vision & Theme

To avoid becoming overwhelmed consider your vision and theme for your wedding reception.

Close your eyes & imagine it. Talk it out. Different visions and themes call for different music: a swing band would be perfect for a Vintage themed reception, while a great cover band has something for everyone and Ceilidh band would be great for a Traditional Irish / Scottish themed reception.

Make sure that your wedding DJ has had experience, can take requests and has a good quality sound and light show. As with every industry there are good ones and bad ones… The bad ones are cheap and you certainly get what you pay for. So make sure the last thing that your family and friends remember is that great DJ that finished off your day with a bang!

Summertime entertainment

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Make the most of the sunshine and delight your guests with the best in British summertime wedding entertainment for your wedding day and evening party. Let the fun begin!

Forget high priced tickets for muddy fields and distant views of so-so bands bring the festival to your wedding instead. Set up a stage or two, pop up a beer tent and start booking your acts. The famous festival mixes its music, so you can hear an up and coming bad one set, then opera the next! Do the same; mix rock and jazz, acoustic and electro, DJs, opera singers and solo sax. Remember, that gospel choir who performed at the ceremony and the function band you’ve booked for the evening would probably love to be part of your wedding too!

Turn your wedding into a traditional fete on the lawn, with lots of activities for all ages, and a slap-up tea on vintage china in the marquee instead of a formal sit-down meal.

Give your wedding a contemporary twist with a roving street magician ready to thrill anyone with card tricks and logic-defying illusions anytime, any-place, no table required.

Keep the little ones amused for hours with the help of professional children’s entertainers. Kids can twist and turn with balloon modellers, fall about laughing with a clown, get artistic with face painters. Warning; adults always want to join in too!

Bring a sense of theatre to your festival with unusual acts, such as stilt walkers, living statues, mime artists, themed walkabout and more.

Hire some paparazzi desperate to take your guests’ photos, and get the latest scoop. Give your guests a taste of celebrity fame when the pics get posted online to a private micro-site, to view and buy if they wish.

OK, we know the weather is even more unpredictable than the best man’s speech, so choose wedding entertainment that works just as well in your venue as outside on the lawns, such as micro-illusion magicians, caricaturists or a small jazz band.

An unforgettable day

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What evening reception would be complete without a party function band or DJ? Rock and Pop bands are by far the most popular choices, with soul, disco, and salsa offering something a little different.

DJ’s are a good solution if a band is out of your budget but are also often booked as well as a band to fill in the gaps between the bands performances. Also, ask if the band themselves can DJ in between sets as this is very often possible. 

Don’t just stop at wedding music though as all manner of wedding entertainment can be arranged. From top illusionists that will entertain your guests while they mingle, to traditional dancers and stage hypnotists, there’s no end to the fun that are there for the taking.

Whether your special day is a small registry celebration, or a large church gathering or a more personal non-religious ceremony, start as you mean to go on, by making the first day of the rest of your lives the best day of your lives.