Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

East Coast Soul was fortunate to be invited to join Julia & Noah for their stunning Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA.

Preprations for Julia & Noah's Big Day

Our preparations for the wedding day began months in advance, with Julia & Noah expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the wedding day (preparation is a key part of our process). Julia & Noah were heavily involved in this advanced planning and incredibly helpful throughout.

Once the wedding day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and moved swiftly through our standard load-in, set up, and sound check process for Willowdale Estate weddings. Our process for loading in and setting up at any given venue is a big part of our preparation process. This is a part of the day that we take seriously, spending extra time to avoid rushing, and ensuring our gear is properly tuned for the room.

Ceremony

In this case, East Coast Soul was not involved with couple's ceremony, with those arrangements having already been taken care of.

Cocktail Hour

As is common, East Coast Soul was requested to perform cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a great opportunity for the bride and groom to relax after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We do our part by performing a blend of relaxed music for guests to enjoy listening to. In this case, and featured music by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more.

Reception

In a majority of wedding celebrations, East Coast Soul is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the receptions. This Willowdale Estate Wedding was no different.

The couple’s First Dance

The groom and bride's first dance is traditionally one of the most emotional parts of the wedding day. It's a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this portion of the wedding finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble returned to the stage.

Dance Party

our shows often start with older material. We've discovered this is an excellent approach to get everyone up on the dance floor with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Sam and Dave, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then transitioned into playing tunes by artists like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince and more. Finally, we ended the night performing contemporary material that everyone could sing along with.

Guests danced non-stop from beginning to end, and we limited our breaks to ensure people had as much time to dance as possible.

Thanks so much to Julia & Noah for having us at their beautiful July wedding at Willowdale Estate! And thank you to Zev Fisher Photography for sharing these beautiful photos with us!