Granite Links Golf Club Wedding in Quincy, MA

East Coast Soul was blessed to be invited 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 reached out to 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 wedding day began many weeks prior, with Emily & Dan sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding day (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Emily & Dan were heavily involved in this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the wedding 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. 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

One aspect of our preparations involves outlining exactly what portions of the wedding day East Coast Soul will be involved with. For this wedding in particular, Emily & Dan were also looking for East Coast Soul to help out for their ceremony. Emily & Dan 's ceremony started at 5:30 pm on and was held 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 performing 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 common, 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 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 bulk of weddings, East Coast Soul is asked to take care of MC services for the formal portions of the celebrations. This Granite Links Golf Club Wedding was no different. The bridal party danced in to the sounds of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry with the wedding guests cheering them in.

The couple’s First Dance

The newly married couple's first dance is invariably one of the most emotional parts of the wedding 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 portion of the evening complete, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After a super brief break, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble returned to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul performances often start with older material. We've discovered this is an excellent approach to get folks up on the dance floor with songs they know and love. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then moved into performing music 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 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!