Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

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

Preprations for Jennifer & Mike's Big Day

Our groundwork for the wedding began well ahead, with Jennifer & Mike sharing their music and logistical preferences and vision with us for the wedding (preparation is a key part of our process). Jennifer & Mike were happy to be a key part of this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the wedding arrived, East Coast Soul traveled to Ipswich, MA and moved swiftly through our standard 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 asked to provide cocktail hour music. Cocktail hour is a wonderful chance for the bride and groom to unwind after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. We do our part by performing a blend of relaxed music for guests to enjoy listening to. In this case, and featured music by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and more.

Reception

In a lion's share of celebrations, East Coast Soul is asked to provide MC services for the formal portions of the receptions. 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 unforgettable parts of the wedding. It's an opportunity for the bride and groom to take a moment for themselves. With this portion of the wedding complete, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After as short a break as possible, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble circled back to the stage.

Dance Party

our performances often start with older material. We've found this is a great way to get folks up on the dance floor with songs they know and love. Artists like Marvin Gaye, Sam and Dave, The Temptations, and more dominated the beginning of our set list. We then moved 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 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!