Rhode Island weddings are in a class of their own. Whether it’s a timeless Newport wedding experience, a farm or vineyard tucked off the beaten, or perhaps you're looking forward to hosting your friends and family at Private Residence, East Coast Soul has been there! Learn more about how we approach Rhode Island weddings below, and let’s talk more about your plans!
Despite Rhode Island being the smallest state in the country, it has become an absolute mecca for beautiful, timeless weddings. With Newport as its epicenter, the state beautiful scenery (never far from the ocean) serves as an incredible back drop for a wedding during any season.
East Coast Soul has been fortunate to spend countless weekends hopping from one corner of the Ocean State to another; from Narragansett’s beaches, to Providence’s colleges and halls, to the quiet vineyards of the countryside, to beautiful private waterfront estates, and everywhere in between. Oh, and don’t forget Block Island — a short ferry ride to an island that’s a world away.
Our favorite Rhode Island wedding venues
One of the initial steps we recommend in prepping for a Rhode Island wedding is to develop a list of of your favorite venues. Although it’s slightly more common for a venue to be booked first, it’s not uncommon at all for folks reach out to us before booking a location. Our favorite Rhode Island wedding venues are:
Our favorite Rhode Island wedding vendors
We’ve been very fortunate to work with some wonderful Rhode Island wedding vendors. Check out a list of some of our favorite photographers:
Check out some of our
Rhode Island Weddings
This is just a small sample of all Rhode Island Weddings!
Some of our favorite images from East Coast Soul's Rhode Island Weddings!
Our Favorite
Rhode Island Weddings
A heartwarming June wedding at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, RI where East Coast Soul's Daptone ensemble laid down an unforgettable performance!
An incredible October wedding at the Newport Marriott in Newport, RI where East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble laid down an unforgettable performance!
An amazing August wedding at the Private Residence in Little Compton, RI where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble left everything out on the dance floor!
A lovely June wedding at the Fort Adams in Newport, RI where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble blew the roof off the place!
An incredible October wedding at the Glen Manor House in Portsmouth, RI where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble had a night to remember!
A lovely October wedding at the Ochre Court in Newport, RI where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble blew the roof off the place!
An exquisite September wedding at the Spring House Hotel in Block Island, RI where East Coast Soul's Soulsville ensemble just crushed it!
A heartwarming August wedding at the OceanCliff in Newport, RI where East Coast Soul's Stax ensemble had an amazing time!
An exquisite July wedding at the Private Residence in Westerly, RI where East Coast Soul's Daptone ensemble left everything out on the dance floor!
Testimonials from Rhode Island Weddings
"East Coast Soul's Stax band was incredible for our wedding! Their passion and enthusiasm was evident the whole night which truly made for a special event. Even before the night of the wedding, East Coast Soul was great to work with - very professional, thorough, and responsive. Cannot recommend hiring East Coast Soul enough."
David (Groom)
Rumford, RI
August 6, 2022
"THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING BAND, EVER. We felt comfortable hiring them for our wedding based on their glowing reviews but were even more blown away with them on our wedding day. I have never attended a wedding where almost every guest was on the dance floor the entire night. Not to mention, we had a 180 person wedding and the dance floor overflowed so people were dancing elsewhere in the tent because the band was so great. Art and Sean made the whole process easy and seamless from the beginning and really worked with us to ensure our night was perfect, answering many of our questions and being so flexible when we had to reschedule our wedding due to the pandemic. We had MANY wedding guests reach out to us afterwards saying ECS was the best band they have ever heard and they either wish they had a band like ECS for their wedding or will be hiring ECS for future events. I cannot recommend ECS enough. They made our wedding the most perfect night, ever."
Sarah (Bride)
Bristol, RI
October 16, 2021
"East Coast Soul was the vendor I was most excited to book. I'm a musician in the wedding industry, so my standards were high! I could go on and on about how much I love this band, but the quote of the evening I heard over and over was "I feel like I'm at an incredible live concert." The energy Soulsville brought to our wedding and the professionalism Sean and Art had throughout the booking (and postponing!) process makes them a 5+ star group."
Christina (Bride)
Newport, RI
August 28, 2021
"East Coast Soul truly made our wedding. The universal compliment from our guests was the music. We are beyond grateful to the entire team for making the planning process so efficient and the day itself so special. There were family members I wholly anticipated to sit down the entire night on the dance floor, smiling, laughing, and making a party train. What talent and energy ECS brought! I would highly recommend them to anyone! (P.S. I later heard that the pianist was covering his keyboard with his jacket so that we could move forward with our outdoor ceremony despite a scattered shower. I would have thanked him that day, but I was oblivious to the fact that it had even rained. Seriously, thank you so much.)"
Talia (Bride)
Bristol, RI
August 8, 2021
"East Coast Soul was, without a doubt, the most incredible wedding band we ever could have asked for. We booked them sight unseen after seeing a different ensemble from the band play at another wedding several years ago, and never thought twice about booking a new ensemble without seeing them prior. We had 7 pieces and it was absolutely perfect. They have a very involved form that clients fill out to create the best night possible with the clients' visions prioritized from the beginning. This form and the details are not set in stone, though, so you are free to edit and amend throughout the planning process as your vision changes: this is ideal because not all major music decisions are easy to make from the beginning. The details are not so much that they are overwhelming, though. It is just enough to feel like you as the client have control over the event and the flow, while also giving ECS the freedom to do what they do best. We chose to have the band run the show - we did not have many stipulations or requests, and we are so happy that we had ECS use their best judgment of the night and the crowd to optimize the performance. They handled absolutely everything A/V from the beginning: from a gorgeous guitar playing for the ceremony, to the wedding party introductions, through the first dances (they even changed a lyric in a song for us as well as learned a new song), toasts, and the dance floor. They had suggestions for all of the processionals/entrance songs and we were so happy to have gone with their selections that made more sense than what we had initially requested. Their set list is long, diverse, and fantastic. Everyone was out on the dance floor all night. Their breaks were appropriately timed, they maintained high energy all night, and they got the party going again after people took breaks from the dance floor. They were excited, engaged, and seemed truly happy to be there with us on our special night. Their vocalists even got out on the dance floor with us to engage with the crowd. They did not have any special requests or needs, and were so easy to accommodate and work with from the beginning. ECS was the first thing we booked for our wedding after the venue, and we're so glad we did. This band is well worth it: you'll be happy you booked them and you'll never look back."
Elizabeth (Bride)
Middletown, RI
September 28, 2019
"We had East Coast Soul-Atlantic play at our wedding in September. They were so easy to work with and made planning the musical portion of the evening super easy. We loved that they also played for the ceremony and during the cocktail hour! The reception was so much fun because the band picked amazing songs to play and kept everyone out on the dance floor!! Plus, they were the most reasonably priced band we looked at! Thanks for helping make our wedding so memorable!"
Beth (Bride)
Newport, RI
September 28, 2019
"ECS played our wedding in July, and they were unbelievable. Sean and Art were great in the months leading up to the wedding, always responded promptly and professionally, and answered all of our questions. The performance itself was absolutely awesome - we and our guests were blown away at the quality of the music and the energy of all the players. I highly recommend the full 10 piece band! All in all, ECS was probably the single best decision we made in the process of planning the wedding. They knocked it out of the park! "
Nicholas (Groom)
Portsmouth, RI
July 29, 2018
"You can trust East Coast Soul Throughout the whole process, from reaching out to them to packing up on the night of the wedding these guys were professional, fun, and willing to go the extra mile. First, get a band for your wedding. These guys bring so much energy, entertainment and talent it's absolutely worth it. Now that you've made that decision, you'll be safe with East Coast Soul. When we started reaching out we told them our date, what we music we were interested in etc. However, we didn't sign a contract right away. East Coast soul and Sean were very patient. Finally, they reached out and said, "We have someone else who would like to put a deposit down but we've already been talking with you guys." It was very kind and courteous. Obviously, that little bit of pressure got us to pull the trigger. I'm glad we did. Their whole demeanor and style is to be upfront, kind, and honest. They want the night to be as awesome and successful as you do. The night of the wedding, they did a great job reading the crowd, MC'ing the night, and providing extra equipment. Their skill and talent rise above their truly excellent music. They also have a keen sense of rhythm for the night and an awareness of how the party should be rolling. At one point they were supposed to play a slow song to allow for cutting the cake but Sean wisely spotted the look the bride was sending him and noticed the cake wasn’t ready. He wordlessly nodded and adapted the plan. None of the guests noticed, but it’s that kind of skill you need at a wedding. We had a ‘backyard style’ wedding and no wedding planner so the expertise they brought was very welcome. They showed up on time, followed the limited instructions we’d given and ran with the plan without being inflexible. Throwing a wedding, you’ve got to hire vendors you trust to do a good job and then stand back and let them kill it. That’s just what East Coast Soul did for us. Because we’d hired the best, we didn’t need to stress over the details, they had the whole thing covered. Their music was amazing, people were up and dancing the whole night. They read the crowd, learned all the songs we asked for, (and they sounded great on those songs (talking heads, and rolling stones), and even played an extra hour! Throwing a wedding can be stressful. Hire these guys, you won’t be sorry, your guests won’t be sorry, your wallet won’t be sorry, and you won’t have to stress over any entertainment."
Whitman (Groom)
Saunderstown, RI
June 16, 2018
"As we were planning our Newport wedding over the last year, we knew that the band was the priority! Every memorable wedding we had been to were always the best dance parties and we knew we had friends and family that brought the energy! Needless to say we had very high expectations for our band. After hearing ECS at a Newport wedding two winters ago, we knew they were for us. Not only are they professional, responsive, and diligent in the planning process, but they are so much FUN night of. They are performers in every way and brought the exact energy that we had been after. Our guests and us loved loved loved every song and frankly did not want them to stop. We cannot thank them/you enough for the best party of our lives. We will certainly be reliving their songs and music for quite some time! "
Dana (Bride)
Newport, RI
May 27, 2018
"If I could give a million stars, I would! East Coast Soul played at our wedding in summer of 2015 at OceanCliff in Newport, RI and despite the gorgeous setting, wonderful food, beautiful flowers, etc, all anyone can talk about was how great the band was. They kept everyone on the dance floor (including my 90 year old grandmother) and they didn't take a single break in our entire 4 hour reception! There was something for everyone- I don't think there was a genre or song they couldn't play and they had an expert instinct for what balance of songs would keep the party going. Typically at weddings, the younger crowd dances while everyone over 30 sits looking miserable. With ECS, almost everyone wanted to dance and those who didn't were having too much fun watching the show to be bored. They were extremely professional and made the process of selecting songs and hiring them incredibly easy. They were clearly invested in making sure they delivered the experience we wanted, rather than what they thought we should do. They were flexible with our requests and were so much fun it felt like they were just more friends at our wedding. The venue literally had to kick us out because even my grandmother and great uncle were still dancing at 1130pm. They had such a full, authentic sound with so much energy that you could have believed that they were playing an arena show. They were also excellent MCs and made the announcements about first dances and cake etc very special. We can't recommend them enough. They are worth every penny- if you have to cut money in your budget somewhere else to hire them, do so- everyone will be too busy having a good time to notice any cuts you made to other aspects of the wedding!"
Emma (Bride)
Newport, RI
August 17, 2015
"ECS was amazing!!! They were everything we hoped for in a wedding band. Our dance floor was jam packed all night long with all generations of guests! To start with, they are great to work with. Very quick to respond, very professional, and very reasonably priced! We got married on Block Island it was their first time playing out there. We took the chance because we were really into their style. So happy we did it. They were great! They did a great job with the announcements, which is always challenging when you are announcing 26 people. They got all of the names right! The music was awesome! Additionally, we had some friends who are in a band and they wanted to play a song that night. This was a surprise and was not pre-arranged at all. The band was so accommodating and let all the guys get on stage and play their song. The horn players from ECS joined them in an LCD Soundsystem cover. Pretty awesome to have the band able to switch gears like that at the drop of a hat. It was amazing! The guys are my husband’s best friends so having them up there was so special for us. ECS could have easily said no, as this was a disruption to their show and set-up but they were AWESOME!!! I recommend ECS 100%!!!"
Danielle (Bride)
Block Island, RI
September 13, 2014
"East Coast Soul was an amazing addition to our wedding reception. They were easy to work with, super professional, and played with so much energy and enthusiasm that our guests couldn't stop dancing. Even weeks after our wedding, one of the first things that our guests tell us about our wedding is how much they loved ECS. The music was incredible and they kept the energy up all night. They not only sang and played their hearts out, but they also were amazing dancers and put on such a show that just watching them was fun! You can tell they really love what they do and their enthusiasm is contagious. Book this band, you won't regret it!"