A heartwarming wedding at the Artists For Humanity in Boston, MA where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble had an incredibly time that will *not* soon be forgotten!
Gallery
Check out some images from this Artists For Humanity wedding!
East Coast Soul was fortunate to be brought to join Sarah & Ben for their stunning Artists For Humanity Wedding in Boston, MA.
Preprations for Sarah & Ben's Big Day
Our preparations for the wedding began many weeks prior, with Sarah & Ben sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding (we take our preparation process extremely seriously). Sarah & Ben were incredibly helpful during this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.
Once the wedding arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Boston, MA and took care of the normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Artists For Humanity weddings. Being prepared for load-in and set-up at any given venue is a critical part of our workflow. 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 preparations involves outlining exactly what portions of the wedding East Coast Soul will be involved with. For this wedding in particular, Sarah & Ben were also looking for East Coast Soul to help out for their ceremony. Sarah & Ben 's ceremony started at 6:00 pm on and was held Artists for Humanity at Artists For Humanity. East Coast Soul prepared a a Solo Piano performance and Single Mic for speeches. Following East Coast Soul providing approximately 30 minutes of “prelude” music as guests found their seats, the ceremony took place. Sarah & Ben provided a beautiful collection of songs for us to perform for the ceremony:
- Processional: The Who – Love Reign O’er Me
- Recessional: Bill Withers – Lovely Day
Cocktail Hour
As is often the case, 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 heightened emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by providing a variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy. In this case, cocktail hour took place Second floor of Artists for Humanity. We provided a Playback and and featured music by artists such as Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and more.
Reception
In a bulk of weddings, East Coast Soul is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the wedding celebrations. This Artists For Humanity Wedding was no different.
The groom and bride’s First Dance
The couple's first dance is consistently one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding. It's an opportunity for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. For this particular wedding, we were asked to perform the first dance tune live, instead of performing it from a recording. Sarah & Ben danced to The Horrah, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. With this part of the wedding finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble returned to the stage.
Parent Dances
In many weddings, East Coast Soul is often requested to perform the couple's parent dances. The parents dances were an opportunity for the to join Sarah & Ben to spend a couple minutes in the middle of the dancefloor with their parents. For this particular wedding, the bride and her father shared a dance. Ben and his mother shared a dance to The Temptations - My Girl/Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Parent dances are an amazing way to kick off the performance portion of the evening. We often ask guests to join the couple and their parents on the dance floor, and then move directly in to the rest of the performance.
Dance Party
our dance performances commonly kick off with vintage material. We've found this is a great way to get everyone up on the dance floor with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Marvin Gaye, Sam and Dave, The Temptations, and more dominated the outset of our performance. We then transitioned 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 Sarah & Ben for having us at their beautiful November wedding at Artists For Humanity!
Ready to Learn More?
Planning a Wedding? Maybe at Artists For Humanity, perhaps in Boston, MA? Either way, feel free to learn more, and let's connect!