East Coast Soul at Timber Hill Farm | Kyra & Ben’s Gilford, NH Wedding
Some weddings are built around one clear priority: get to the dancing as fast as possible. Kyra and Ben’s celebration at Timber Hill Farm in Gilford, New Hampshire, was absolutely one of those nights. From the moment guests arrived at the hilltop field and barn, the whole day had this fun, easy, let’s-do-this energy — and the music was front and center the entire time.
Ceremony in the Field
Kyra and Ben held their ceremony out in the field at Timber Hill Farm, with the barn nearby and the kind of wide open New Hampshire skies that make everything feel a little bigger. At the time we finalized details, ceremony sound and performance were still in the “TBD / let’s talk through it” category, but the plan was simple:
-
Same hilltop field as the reception environment
-
Barn as the backup if weather rolled in
-
A meaningful, personal ceremony that flowed right into a party-focused evening
Even without locked-in processional music yet, the ceremony was always meant to feel relaxed and heartfelt — more about the people and the place than a super-formal production.
Cocktail Hour on the Patio
After the ceremony, guests moved to the outdoor patio next to the main building for cocktail hour. Kyra and Ben asked for an instrumental duo, with a playlist that felt like a nod to their parents’ record collections and their own favorites all at once:
-
Nat King Cole
-
Etta James
-
Van Morrison
-
Carole King
-
Frank Sinatra
-
Aretha Franklin
The vibe: warm, jazzy, and classic — nothing too precious, just familiar tunes that sound great over conversation and clinking glasses. With the barn and field close by, people could wander, take in the sunset light, and ease into the evening.
Intros & First Dance in the Barn
Everyone headed into the barn around 5:55 PM for the reception, and this is where the energy kicked up a notch.
Kyra and Ben wanted intros that felt like a real “we’re starting the night” moment. The plan:
-
Parents & wedding party entering to:
“You Can’t Hurry Love” – Olivia Dean (live Jools Holland version) -
Couple’s entrance to:
“A Little Honey” – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
The barn is made for this kind of thing — big sound, wood beams, and a room full of people ready to yell and cheer.
Right after their entrance, Kyra and Ben went straight into their first dance:
-
First Dance: “The Way I Love You” – Michal Leah
They’re hoping to have Kyra’s cousin Grace — an up-and-coming singer-songwriter — sing it live with the band backing her, and we’re ready to support that. If logistics shift, a recording is on deck, but either way the song is such a sweet, modern choice that fits them perfectly.
When their first dance wrapped, we kept the momentum going by inviting everyone up for an immediate follow-up tune — ideally “Dance with a Stranger” by Lake Street Dive — as a way to set the tone: this is a night where you dance with your people, and maybe a few new ones, too.
Toasts & Dinner
Once that opening dance moment landed, we shifted gears and invited guests to be seated for toasts and dinner.
The flow:
-
Group dance after the first dance
-
Guests seated
-
Toasts in this order:
-
Welcome + toast from Kyra’s dad, Ed McNamara
-
Maid of Honor – Kinsey McNamara
-
Best Man – Liam Shanahan
-
Dinner followed right afterward around 6:15 PM, with either a small instrumental combo or recorded music, depending on what felt best for the room. The couple was flexible here — their biggest priority was making sure the evening stayed on track so they could get back to dancing.
Vendor meals were handled by Curt’s Catering, with the coordinator Michelle making sure the band was fed right after toasts so we’d be ready to go when the dance floor opened.
Sunset, Cake & Parent Dances
As the sun started to dip, Kyra and Ben planned to sneak out for sunset photos just before 7:00 PM, with sunset around 7:35 PM. While guests relaxed and finished dinner, they grabbed those golden-hour shots, then came back inside ready for the “act two” of the night.
The sequence:
-
Cake cutting to “Days Like This” – Van Morrison
-
Immediately followed by parent dances:
-
Bride & Father: “Father and Daughter” – Paul Simon (shortened a bit)
-
Groom & Mother: “Soul Sweet Song” – Tedeschi Trucks Band (also shortened)
-
No extra fanfare, no extended transitions — just meaningful dances that flowed naturally into opening the floor.
Dance Floor: Classic, Upbeat, and All-In
By 7:30 PM, the full band kicked into the main dance set, and from there the plan was simple: keep the energy high until 10:00 PM (with a hard cutoff from the venue).
Kyra and Ben’s requests leaned heavily toward:
-
Classic rock and soul (Springsteen, older R&B, rock staples)
-
Vintage-leaning dance tunes
-
Upbeat, feel-good crowd pleasers
Their must-plays say a lot about the night:
-
“S.O.B.” – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (ideally as the closer)
-
“Glory Days” – Bruce Springsteen
-
“Mr. Brightside” – The Killers
They also gave a clear sense of what not to play — no “Uptown Funk,” no “Shut Up and Dance,” no “Cake by the Ocean” — which left room for more unique picks while still delivering the big singalongs and guitar-driven anthems the crowd would love.
The couple is planning to provide a custom playlist for band breaks to keep the vibe consistent between sets, and the overall mandate couldn’t be clearer:
“We are so excited. Our priority is getting to dancing as soon as we can and having as much dancing as possible!”
That’s our kind of couple.
A Night at Timber Hill Farm to Remember
Timber Hill Farm is one of those New England venues that feels timeless—field, barn, sky, and just enough rustic texture to make everything feel cozy without sacrificing the party. Kyra and Ben filled that space with so much joy: enthusiastic intros, a heartfelt first dance with a family vocalist, a packed barn, and a setlist that leaned hard into upbeat, classic, guitar-forward tunes.
Kyra & Ben — thank you for inviting East Coast Soul into such an important night. We can’t wait to get that barn shaking.
