Bedford Golf and Tennis Club Wedding in Bedford, NY

East Coast Soul was blessed to be asked to join Lily & Nick for their stunning Bedford Golf and Tennis Club Wedding in Bedford, NY.

Introductions and Preprations for Lily & Nick's Big Day

Lily & Nick first reached out to East Coast Soul in October of 2014. Our groundwork for the wedding began many weeks prior, with Lily & Nick sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Lily & Nick were happy to be a key part of this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the wedding arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Bedford, NY and began our standard load-in and sound check for Bedford Golf and Tennis Club weddings. Our process for loading in and setting up at any given venue is a big part of our preparation process. 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 wonderful chance for the bride and groom to relax after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by providing a variety of relaxed music for guests to listend to. In this case, cocktail hour took place in the same space as the venue. We provided a Guitar/Sax Duo and and featured music by artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davies, and more.

Reception

In a majority of celebrations, we is asked to handle MC services for the formal portions of the celebrations. This Bedford Golf and Tennis Club Wedding was no different. In this case we introduced the couple by themselves, leading them directly into their first dance.

The couple’s First Dance

The couple's first dance is consistently one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding. It's a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. For this specific wedding, we were requested to play the first dance song live, as opposed to performing it from a recording. Lily & Nick danced to A Whole New World from Aladdin, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. With this portion of the evening complete, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After a quick break, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble circled back to the stage.

Parent Dances

In a majority of wedding performances, East Coast Soul is requested to perform the couple's parent dances. For this wedding in particular, the groom and his mother shared a dance to Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and this was actually our only parent dance for the evening. Parent dances are a fantastic way to kick off the main dance performance. 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

As part of our preparation process, we like to get a sense of what the bride and groom are excited to hear. Lily & Nick Were a huge help here, giving us a ton of great input. The bride and groom requested artists like Jackson 5, Sam Cooke, The Supremes, amn The Temptations. They also requested certain specific songs such as Brown Eyed Girl, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Shake It Off, For Once In My Life, Twisting The Night Away, Don't Stop Believing, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Baby I Need Your Lovin', and of course, Shout!

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 Lily & Nick for having us at their beautiful June wedding at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club!