Willowdale Estate Wedding in Topsfield, MA

East Coast Soul was blessed to be asked to join Jennifer & Mike for their stunning Willowdale Estate Wedding in .

Preprations for Jennifer & Mike's Big Day

Our planning for the wedding day began well ahead, with Jennifer & Mike sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding day (we always leave an excess of time for preparation). Jennifer & Mike were happy to be a key part of this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the wedding day arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to and took care of the normal load-in, set up, and sound check process 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 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 contribute by providing a blend of relaxed music for guests to listend to. In this case, and featured music by artists such as Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and more.

Reception

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

The couple’s First Dance

The newly married couple's first dance is invariably one of the most unforgettable parts of the wedding day. It's a chance for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this part of the wedding 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 commonly kick off with vintage material. We've found this is a great way to get everyone up on the dance floor with songs they know and love. Artists like Marvin Gaye, Sam and Dave, The Temptations, and more dominated the outset of our performance. We then moved 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 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!