An incredible wedding at the Artists For Humanity in Boston, MA where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble left absolutely everything out on the dance floor!
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Check out some images from this Artists For Humanity wedding!
East Coast Soul was blessed to be asked 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 well ahead, with Sarah & Ben expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the wedding (preparation is a key part of our process). 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 began our standard load-in and sound check 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
Part 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 interested in East Coast Soul to help out for their ceremony. Sarah & Ben 's ceremony started at 6:00 pm on and took place 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 roughly 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 common, East Coast Soul was requested to perform cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a wonderful chance 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 listening to. 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 John Coltrane, Miles Davies, and more.
Reception
In a majority of receptions, East Coast Soul is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the weddings. This Artists For Humanity Wedding was no different.
The couple’s First Dance
The groom and bride's first dance is almost always one of the most emotional 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 play the first dance song live, instead of performing it from a recording. Sarah & Ben danced to The Horrah, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. With this portion of the wedding complete, 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 a majority of weddings, East Coast Soul is often requested to play the couple's parent dances. This was a chance for the to join Sarah & Ben to share a brief moment in the middle of the dancefloor with their father and mother. For this particular wedding, the bride and her father danced together. Ben and his mother shared a dance to The Temptations - My Girl/Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Parent dances are a fantastic way to start the dance party 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
East Coast Soul performances often start with older material. We've discovered this is an excellent approach to get guests relaxed and dancing with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. 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 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!