Ochre Court Wedding in Newport, RI

East Coast Soul was grateful to be brought to join this beautiful couple for their stunning Ochre Court Wedding in Newport, RI.

Preprations for the couple's Big Day

Our planning for the wedding began well ahead, with the bride and groom sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). The bride and groom were heavily involved in this advanced planning and incredibly helpful throughout.

Once the wedding arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Newport, RI and took care of the normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Ochre Court 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 often the case, East Coast Soul was requested to perform cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a great opportunity for the bride and groom to unwind after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We do our part by providing a blend of relaxed music for guests to enjoy listening to. In this case, and featured music by artists such as Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and more.

Reception

In a lion's share of celebrations, the band is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the receptions. This Ochre Court Wedding was no different.

The bride and groom’s First Dance

The groom and bride's first dance is almost always one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding. 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 quick break, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble returned to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul dance performances often start with older material. We've found this is a great way to get guests relaxed and dancing with songs they know and love. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Sam and Dave, 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 this beautiful couple for having us at their beautiful October wedding at Ochre Court!