Willowdale Estate Wedding in Ipswich, MA

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

Preprations for Jennifer & Mike's Big Day

Our planning for the big day began many weeks prior, with Jennifer & Mike expressing a variety of musical and logistical preferences with us for the big day (we take our preparation process extremely seriously). Jennifer & Mike were incredibly helpful during this advanced planning and a huge asset throughout.

Once the big day 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. Our process for loading in and setting up at any given venue is a big part of our preparation process. 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 heightened emotions of the ceremony. We contribute by performing 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 lion's share of weddings, we is asked to take care of MC services for the formal portions of the wedding celebrations. This Willowdale Estate Wedding was no different.

The couple’s First Dance

The groom and bride's first dance is traditionally one of the most emotional 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 wedding finished, the guests and vendors took a break for dinner. After a quick break, East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble circled back to the stage.

Dance Party

East Coast Soul performances commonly kick off with vintage material. We've discovered this is an excellent approach 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 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!