Granite Links Golf Club Wedding in Quincy, MA

East Coast Soul was blessed to be asked to join Emily & Dan for their stunning Granite Links Golf Club Wedding in Quincy, MA.

Introductions and Preprations for Emily & Dan's Big Day

Emily & Dan first got in touch with us in January of 2018. East Coast Soul actually performed at the groom's brothers wedding several months prior. The bride emailed with "I can honestly say anytime someone brings up that wedding people start raving about you." Of course, we're thrilled to join for another family event! Our preparations for the big day began well ahead, with Emily & Dan offering a myriad of musical and logistical options with us for the big day (we take our preparation process extremely seriously). Emily & Dan were incredibly helpful during this advanced planning and incredibly helpful throughout.

Once the big day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Quincy, MA and took care of the normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Granite Links Golf Club 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 big day East Coast Soul will be involved with. For this wedding in particular, Emily & Dan were also interested in East Coast Soul to help out for their ceremony. Emily & Dan 's ceremony started at 5:30 pm on and took place The Lawn at Granite Links Golf Club. East Coast Soul prepared a a Solo Guitar 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 & Dan provided a beautiful collection of songs for us to perform for the ceremony:

• Prelude: James Taylor
• Processional: James Taylor – Carolina on My Mind
• “Bride’s Entrance”: Zac Brown Band – Free (performed by the Best Man)
• Recessional: The Band – Atlantic City

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 relax after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by providing a blend of relaxed music for guests to listend to. In this case, We provided a Piano/Sax Duo and and featured music by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more.

Reception

In a lion's share of celebrations, the band is asked to handle MC services for the formal portions of the weddings. This Granite Links Golf Club Wedding was no different. The guests of honor crushed it by dancing in to Teenage Dream by Katy Perry with everyone cheering them on.

The groom and bride’s First Dance

The newly married couple's first dance is invariably one of the most unforgettable parts of the big day. It's an opportunity for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. Emily & Dan danced to I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Mark Jones, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. With this part of the wedding 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.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul dance performances commonly kick off with vintage material. We've discovered this is an excellent approach to get everyone up on the dance floor with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, 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 Emily & Dan for having us at their beautiful June wedding at Granite Links Golf Club! And thank you to Somerby Jones for sharing these beautiful photos with us!