Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

East Coast Soul was blessed to be brought to join Julia & Noah for their stunning Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA.

Preprations for Julia & Noah's Big Day

Our preparations for the wedding began well ahead, with Julia & Noah sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Julia & Noah were heavily involved in this advanced planning and incredibly helpful throughout.

Once the wedding arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and took care of the normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Willowdale Estate 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

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 requested to perform cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a great opportunity for the bride and groom to unwind after the intense 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 Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and more.

Reception

In a lion's share of receptions, 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 newly married couple's first dance is invariably one of the most meaningful parts of the wedding. It's a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this part of the evening finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After a super brief break, East Coast Soul's Soulsville 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 relaxed and dancing with songs they're familiar with. Artists like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then transitioned 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 Julia & Noah for having us at their beautiful July wedding at Willowdale Estate! And thank you to Zev Fisher Photography for sharing these beautiful photos with us!