A lovely October wedding at the Newport Marriott in Newport, RI where East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble definitely made some new best friends!
Testimonial
"East Coast Soul was fantastic! Aside from our venue. the band was the first vendor we booked. We loved the reviews and videos we saw. and got in touch early on. The team is very interested in matching couples with the band that would be the best fit, and we knew this would be Soulsville. We wanted our music to be a highlight and we knew we wanted a combo of motown/soul/minimal top 40s. And they delivered! Soulsville did an outstanding job bringing our party to life. People can't stop talking about how great they were! The dance floor was packed the whole night, which is exactly how we pictured our wedding. They performed a stellar Hora for our Jewish wedding and performed all of our first dance songs beautifully. The most exciting thing, though. was the Hey Jude/Shout mashup - we didn't want it to end! We are so grateful to the band for making our party so memorable. We highly recommend them! And as someone who did a LOT of research and who has been to a LOT of weddings, I feel that the value of this band is unmatched. Stop your search now!"
Emily (Bride)
Newport, RI
October 12, 2019
Gallery
Check out some images from this Newport Marriott wedding!
East Coast Soul was grateful to be brought to join Emily & Drew for their stunning Newport Marriott Wedding in Newport, RI.
Preprations for Emily & Drew's Big Day
Our planning for the wedding day began many weeks prior, with Emily & Drew expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the wedding day (preparation is a key part of our process). Emily & Drew were happy to be a key part of this advanced planning and super helpful throughout.
Once the wedding day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Newport, RI and began our standard load-in and sound check for Newport Marriott weddings. We get a lot of questions about the logistics of loading in to any given venue. 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
One aspect of our planning involves outlining exactly what portions of the wedding day East Coast Soul will be involved with. For this wedding in particular, Emily & Drew were also looking for East Coast Soul to help out for their ceremony. Emily & Drew 's ceremony started at 6:00 pm on and was held the Atrium at Newport Marriott. East Coast Soul prepared a a Solo Piano performance and One Wireless Mic and One Lavalier Mic for speeches. Following East Coast Soul providing approximately 30 minutes of “prelude” music as guests arrived, the ceremony took place. Emily & Drew provided a beautiful collection of songs for us to perform for the ceremony:
- Processional: The Beatles – In My Life
- “Bride’s Entrance”: Roberta Flack – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face [Performance]
- Recessional: Hall & Oates – You Make My Dreams [Recording]
Cocktail Hour
As is common, East Coast Soul was asked to provide cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a wonderful chance for the bride and groom to relax after the intense emotions of the ceremony. We do our part by providing a variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy listening to. In this case, cocktail hour took place Upstairs from ceremony in the hallway outside of ballroom. We provided a Playback and and featured music by artists such as Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and more.
Reception
In a lion's share of wedding celebrations, the band is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the weddings. This Newport Marriott Wedding was no different.
The bride and groom’s First Dance
The couple's first dance is traditionally one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding day. It's an opportunity for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. Emily & Drew danced to Crazy Love by Van Morrison, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. With this part of the evening complete, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble circled back to the stage.
Dance Party
our shows commonly kick off with vintage material. We've found this is a great way to get folks relaxed and dancing with songs they know and love. Artists like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the outset of our performance. We then transitioned into performing music 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 Emily & Drew for having us at their beautiful October wedding at Newport Marriott! And thank you to Silver and Salt Photo for sharing these beautiful photos with us!
Ready to Learn More?
Planning a Wedding? Maybe at Newport Marriott, perhaps in Newport, RI? Either way, feel free to learn more, and let's connect!