Hawthorne Hotel Wedding Performance - Salem, MA

A heartwarming June wedding at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble definitely made some new best friends!

East Coast Soul was invited to perform at a Hawthorne Hotel Wedding in Salem, MA for the beautiful reception of Jake and Julie in June of 2010. Jake and Julie first learned of the band through our website. We were grateful to learn that, when they decided to have a band at their wedding, East Coast Soul was their first choice for entertainment. Our website is one of the most prominent ways that people learn about East Coast Soul, so it’s great when people discover the band that way.

This was our first time working at a Hawthorne Hotel wedding. We are always excited to work with a new venue. We’ve been hearing amazing things about Hawthorne Hotel Weddings for some time, so then opportunity to work there was more than welcome.

Once the big day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Salem, MA and began our long process of loading in to the venue. It’s always a pleasure when we our weddings are local to the Boston area, though we have no issue traveling all over New England. Load in was not too difficult either. Hawthorne Hotel provides its wedding vendors with quick access through a back door directly in to the ballroom.

As is often the case, East Coast Soul was also asked to provide cocktail hour music. Because of the layout of this Hawthorne Hotel Wedding, we recommended what has become our most popular cocktail hour option, our jazz duo of keys and saxophone. Their cocktail hour was held in an upstairs balcony overlooking the ballroom. This was a really beautiful location. When that was finished, the wedding was ready to move to the reception portion of the evening.

Our performances often start with older material. We’ve found this is a great way to get folks 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 moved into performing music by artists like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. 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. Jake and Julie were big time music lovers and had a lot of input on our set list for that evening. Her family was musical as well, with her sister jumping up to sing a few songs.

Thanks so much to Jake and Julie for having us at their beautiful June, Hawthorne Hotel wedding. We wish them all the best.

Gallery

Check out some images from this Hawthorne Hotel wedding!

East Coast Soul was blessed to be brought to join Julie & Jake for their stunning Hawthorne Hotel Wedding in Salem, MA.

Preprations for Julie & Jake's Big Day

Our groundwork for the wedding day began many weeks prior, with Julie & Jake expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the wedding day (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Julie & Jake were happy to be a key part of this advanced planning and incredibly helpful throughout.

Once the wedding day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Salem, MA and carried out our normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Hawthorne Hotel weddings. We're often asked about our process for loading in and sound checking at various venues. 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 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 do our part by performing a variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy listening to. In this case, and featured music by artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davies, and more.

Reception

In a majority of weddings, the band is asked to take care of MC services for the formal portions of the receptions. This Hawthorne Hotel Wedding was no different.

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 a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. 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 returned to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul shows often start with older material. We've found this is a great way to get folks relaxed and dancing with songs they know and love. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Sam and Dave, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then moved 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 Julie & Jake for having us at their beautiful June wedding at Hawthorne Hotel! And thank you to Ryan Jensen for sharing these beautiful photos with us!