Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

East Coast Soul was blessed to be invited to join Jennifer & Mike for their stunning Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA.

Preprations for Jennifer & Mike's Big Day

Our preparations for the big day began many weeks prior, with Jennifer & Mike sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the big day (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Jennifer & Mike were heavily involved in this advanced planning and super helpful throughout.

Once the big day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and began our standard load-in and sound check for Willowdale Estate 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 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 variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy. In this case, and featured music by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more.

Reception

In a lion's share of weddings, we is asked to take care of MC services for the formal portions of the weddings. This Willowdale Estate Wedding was no different.

The bride and groom’s First Dance

The couple's first dance is consistently one of the most emotional parts of the big day. It's a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this portion of the evening finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble returned to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul performances often start with older material. We've found this is a great way to get guests up on the dance floor with songs they know and love. Artists like Sam and Dave, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the outset of our performance. We then moved into playing tunes 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 Jennifer & Mike for having us at their beautiful March wedding at Willowdale Estate! And thank you to Leona Campbell Photo for sharing these beautiful photos with us!