Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

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

Preprations for Julia & Noah's Big Day

Our groundwork for the big day began well ahead, with Julia & Noah expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the big day (we take our preparation process extremely seriously). Julia & Noah were incredibly helpful during this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the big day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and carried out our normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Willowdale Estate weddings. We're often asked about our process for loading in and sound checking at various venues. 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 asked to provide cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a great opportunity for the bride and groom to unwind after the intense emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by providing a variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy. In this case, and featured music by artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davies, and more.

Reception

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

The couple’s First Dance

The bride and groom's first dance is invariably one of the most emotional parts of the big day. It's an opportunity for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this portion of the evening finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After a super brief break, East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble circled back to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul shows often start with older material. We've found this is a great way to get guests up on the dance floor with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and more dominated the outset of our performance. We then moved into playing tunes by artists like Whitney Houston, Prince, Michael Jackson 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!