Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

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

Preprations for Julia & Noah's Big Day

Our groundwork for the big day began months in advance, with Julia & Noah expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the big day (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Julia & Noah were incredibly helpful during this advanced planning and super helpful throughout.

Once the big day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and carried out our normal load-in, set up, and sound check process for Willowdale Estate weddings. We get a lot of questions about the logistics of loading in to any given venue. 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 wonderful chance for the bride and groom to relax after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by performing a variety of relaxed music for guests to enjoy. In this case, and featured music by artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davies, and more.

Reception

In a majority of celebrations, we is asked to take care of MC services for the formal portions of the celebrations. This Willowdale Estate Wedding was no different.

The groom and bride’s First Dance

The newly married couple's first dance is traditionally one of the most unforgettable parts of the big day. It's an opportunity 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 as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble circled back to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul shows commonly kick off with vintage material. We've found this is a great way to get folks relaxed and dancing with songs they know and love. Artists like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Earth Wind & Fire, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then transitioned into playing tunes 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 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!