Top 11 Live Music Wedding Tips

Having live music can really add some zing to your wedding in so many ways. It's great to have a live band to dance to in the evening but for those who don't want to dance they can watch the performance as though they're at a concert - something for everybody.

You can also have live performance in your ceremony. It really adds to the intimacy of the moment to know that the music you are experiencing is a one-off. What you are hearing is totally unique just like the moment you say "I will."

During drinks and canapés the mood can be really enhanced if you have a string quartet inside a medieval hall or maybe a small jazz ensemble if your guests are mingling on a lawn.

In this post we will try and give you some idea on what sort of music you could have and some practical advice on how to go about planning and organising it.

First of all it is useful to determine your music requirements for your wedding e.g. background, ceremonial, dance.

Also, have an understanding of where your live musicians would perform e.g. how much space there is, indoors or outdoors, how much echo there is and whether power is available.

Below is a list of Top 10 Live Wedding Music ideas together with useful things to think about if you're considering booking them. Combining live musicians with "canned" music (either from your iPod/iPhone into a sounds system...or having live musicians working alongside a DJ) can give you the best of both worlds. Often musicians will start the evening and hand over to a DJ for the last part of the evening.

1. ORGAN and CHOIR is the traditional music combination for church weddings. They are usually associated with the church you are getting married in and will be used to providing ceremonial music. All you will have to do is select your music/hymns. Nowadays fewer people are familiar with church music and it is often a good idea to book the organ and choir so there is a strong core to the music. It can be a bit uncomfortable if your guests mumble through the hymns with no organ/choir to back them up.

2. PIANO is fantastically flexible at a wedding. It sounds amazing as indoor background music but can also be used for ceremonial music. Some pianists can also do a comedy act and/or will sing as well. Many pianists will bring their own electronic piano. These sound fantastic, they're always in tune and take up very little space but do require mains power. It is worth finding out whether your venue has a quality piano that is kept properly maintained and regularly tuned.

3. HARP is wonderful as background music and is plenty loud enough to fill a good sized room but takes very little space and does not require mains power. It is not really suitable for outdoors and is not often used for ceremonial music. It works very well in a ceremony room whilst waiting for the bride and as background music during the wedding breakfast. It is a very calming sound.

4. ACOUSTIC GUITAR can provide a wonderful interlude during a ceremony but is also very good for background music in intimate indoor rooms. It takes up very little space and does not require mains power. Like the harp, it provides a very calming sound.

5. STRING QUARTET is great for background music both inside and out. They can also be used for ceremonial music at intimate ceremony venues e.g. a hotel room, stately home room, chapel or small church. They are great for background music during canapés and wedding breakfasts. They are not really suitable for large churches, cathedrals or weddings on large grass fields. Their repertoire is often wide ranging and can be great entertainment. If you want them to play particular pieces at your wedding you should mention it to them before hand so they can make sure they have brought the music with them.

6. SOLO SINGER can be great for background music during outside canapés and wedding breakfasts if the room is big enough. Solo singers usually bring their own sound systems that will require mains power. They can be very good for a First Dance and some will have sufficient repertoire that can sing throughout the entire evening disco. Such singers sometimes have lighting as well as sound systems. Some solo singers are actually tribute singers and have very elaborate remotely controlled lighting and backing tracks so they can get your guests really excited even before they get on set. Some singers have a very varied repertoire, some specialise in a particular genre so make sure you have this discussion them before you book.

7. JAZZ QUINTET can be a fantastic way of setting the mood for a vintage themed wedding. They are a little louder than a string quartet and can sound fantastic on the lawn of a stately home whilst guests play croquet with vintage cars on the drive. It can sound very Jeeves and Wooster. Jazz quintets can also be terrific for the party in the evening. They do not need mains power. We've had them used for ceremonial music too and it has worked very well.

8. ROCK/POP TRIBUTE BANDS can sound amazing at the party in the evening but they need quite a bit of space and can take a while to rig up. They will also need mains power. A good live band can be a fantastic ending to a perfect day and it can be like being at a concert. Some bands can be uncomfortably loud in a room that is too small for them but there are some very small bands who have very little equipment and sound fantastic. So have a look try and book a band that would best suit your venue as well as your tastes.

9. BRASS BAND/WIND BAND can be a fantastic way of adding authentic vintage sounds to a wedding in a large field or on the lawn of a stately home. Brass bands can sound very 1930s Agatha Christie/church fetes. The band does need some space and chairs but does not need mains power. Outside, especially on grass, a brass band is a lovely background sound. A brass band is also very good for ceremonial music in medium to large churches or cathedrals. They are a little too loud and strident to be good background music indoors. They are not usually very good for the traditional evening party because they don't normally have large amounts of dance music in their repertoire but they will often put on a good concert, particularly if you want to put on something of a Last Night Of The Proms type of evening rather than the more normal disco dance.

10. ORCHESTRA and CHOIR are amazing in a large church or cathedral. Nothing can make a bride feel more like a princess than walking up the aisle to the sound of trumpets, timpani, strings and a big four part choir. They won't need any mains power but they will need considerable space and enough light to read their music. They may also require some rehearsal time to be scheduled in because it is likely that it is an ensemble put together specially for your wedding.

11. STEEL BANDS - We will admit that we flinched at the thought of a steel band at a wedding but it was amazing. There was a small steel band ensemble in the church which was used for the ceremony and it was very mellow and calming and beautiful. Then later a larger ensemble was used in a huge barn. They were amazing. They played great rock/pop dance numbers and brought the house down. This particular steel band not only had the steel drums but also an drum kit and an electric bass guitar so some steel bands may need power and quite a lot of space. 

Hopefully this has given you an insight to some of the possibilities regarding live music at your wedding. Get it right and it can sound fantastic...and with a little planning it is very easy to get it right. Enjoy.

by Jacqui and Steve
Hampshire Wedding Photographers

Maximising Your Chances of Getting Sunset Wedding Photographs

Sunsets are very special and so are wedding photographs of a bride and groom at sunset, sadly they are surprisingly difficult to achieve. So many things have to be right to be able to get one and it is not helped by the fact that they are difficult to predict and they can sometimes only last moments. But the more you understand about sunsets and evening skies, the more you may be able to plan to maximise evening sky photo-opportunities at your wedding.

The above photograph was taken after we'd said goodbye to everyone and were packing our cameras away in the car park when we saw this amazing sky. The bride and groom were having a great time dancing with their guests.

We popped back in with apologies and mentioned that, if they were interested, there was a lovely sunset. Their guests encouraged them to go out and get the photographs. We unpacked the cameras and five minutes later we had taken this photograph. Ten minutes later and the sky had gone a dull blue with no evidence that there'd ever been a sunset.

There are lots of different sorts of sunsets. The one above is where the sun has gone down but is still reflecting its colour onto the evening clouds. It makes for a rich red colour reflected in the clouds but only lasts moments.

With this sunset the sun was still in the sky, bursting its golden light through newly formed holes in the clouds. The sun is higher in this sky and the colour is more golden and less red and the effect lasts longer.

This sunset had virtually no clouds at all but the sun settled in exactly the right place allowing us to place the bride and groom in front of the last orange-red light of the day. The great thing about this venue is the totally open line of sight to the horizon where there sun actually sets. 

At this venue, there was no such open line of sight to where the sun would set but there was a small aperture between the distant hedges and the hanging leaves of the near tree. Obviously this means that we had to photograph earlier than sunset so the light was more golden and less red.

At this city venue there was no open access to the Western horizon. An hour or so before the sun sets, there is a lovely golden colour to the sunlight which can be great to use as a back light for some romantic photographs.

Using the same golden light as a main light can give some lovely photographs too. At this time of the evening the sunlight is such a romantic colour.

If you have something reflective in the direction of the setting sun (like the sea, a lake or even wet mud like in this photograph), then it can hugely enhance the effect of sunset in the picture. 

In this photograph the reflective surface is simply the hot smooth surface of a tarmac road. To the human eye the road looks like a distraction but through the lens it greatly enhances the effect of the setting sun.


As the sun lowers towards its horizon it side-lights the clouds and often makes for a very interesting evening skies even before it goes golden (if it's going to).


Sometimes, when it has been overcast all afternoon, as the sun lowers it can cause a break in the cloud layers that can result some stunning evening sky effects. If it is going to break like this, there are signs that it might do so half an hour or so beforehand. Enough time to get the lights rigged and to get some great photographs if your schedule allows.


Even if the sun does not break through, quite often the cloud will thin and the resulting back-lit clouds can make for some really worthwhile romantic portraits.


If your venue has no open sight-line to the Western sky then your only option may be to use the Eastern sky. The Eastern sky gets unusable sooner than the Western sky so it's important to get there early but the results can be subtle and delightful.


Even when all the above options are not available there are sometimes some great opportunities for an evening sky despite how unlikely they may look to the human eye.

This photograph was taken in the hour after sundown. It was raining, overcast and was getting dark very quickly.

Fortunately the stone work was floodlit by yellow lights. When auto-white balance on a camera tries to neutralise yellow, it adds blue thus making the grey sky an appealing blue colour.

Back-lighting the bride and groom gave the couple a nice rim light round them and threw some nice shadows on the pavement which look great when added to the reflections from our main light. The back-lit rain gave us a star field.

This whole photograph session only took two or three minutes and we were all back in the dry.

This photograph was taken several hours after sundown and there was no light in the sky at all. A back-light on the rain provided a star field behind the bride and groom and lit the white gazebo as well as throwing dramatic shadows across the lawn. The path lights gave some nice reflections in the wet stone.

Here's a summary of the some of the take-aways regarding sunset photographs:

1. If you'd like a sunset photograph on your wedding day, plan for it. If a sunset doesn't happen, there's often something interesting and beautiful that does.
2. Pick a venue that has an open view to the Western sky close by
3. If that open view has something reflective (water or wet mud or tarmac) in front it then the sunset colours will be spread vertically over the frame.
4. Look up the sunset time and check what your wedding schedule says you'll be doing one hour either side of sunset (don't forget to take account of daylight saving time in your calculations)
5. If your venue doesn't have an open view to the Western sky but does have one to the Eastern sky then you must plan to go out earlier than the sunset times might suggest.

There is a lot luck required in getting great sunset photography on your wedding day but you can maximise your chances by planning and being ready for it if it happens. Even if the sky does not light up with golden, orange or red clouds, an evening sky can be gorgeous in so many ways so it's well worth scheduling in 10-20 minutes for it in the evening if it's something you'd like.

Good luck

  by Jacqui and Steve

Hampshire Wedding Photographers

Who would win? Brides versus Doctor Who

I don't mean that brides are the new enemy of The Doctor...despite any superficial visual similarities they may have to the Daleks...i.e. the long skirt to the floor and smooth motion across the floor.

What I mean is that traditionally brides know how to keep secrets and know the power of a well managed reveal.

Brides keep their wedding dress hidden from all but their chosen inner circle of friends and family. The first time their wedding dress is seen is on her wedding day, together with her expensive hair and  amazing makeup. She is seen for the first time with the whole ensemble and her bridal party in her chosen venue. 

We're great Doctor Who fans and like so many others, we can't wait to see Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.

When I say, we "can't wait"...actually I mean I wish the new series started this Saturday...but it can't and we shall have to wait until the Autumn.

When the BBC released the promo shot of Peter in his new Doctor Who outfit, it was for sure an interesting glimpse into what we might see in the Autumn.

But would it have been more memorable, more special, to have seen him for the first time in his first episode with everything that goes to make Doctor Who what it is...the script, the action, the humour, the tension, the music, the acting, the lighting, the charm....not just a still of a costume.

I remember watching drip fed promo making-of trailers and documentaries of a much awaited James Bond film. When I eventually watched the film, all the drip fed promos had spoilt it for me...they had some how taken away the magic that normally makes a James Bond movie so compelling. I knew what was coming, I knew how it was done.

And this is where, in our opinion, brides get it right. They keep the magic locked away until they reveal it at exactly the right moment and in the right place...on her wedding day.

In this respect brides beat Doctor Who, every time...at every wedding.

#toptip if you're using #pinterest: many brides use Pinterest nowadays for inspiration and it's a great idea. Our tip though is that you create a "private" board for your best pins for your wedding. Otherwise, if it's public your guests just need to look at your wedding board and they may see some things you'd rather have kept a secret until the big day.

Steve Dunster

10 Important Wedding Day Grooming Checks

You'll look fantastic on your wedding day but as the day wears on, it is worth checking that certain things are still in place and looking as good as they can, especially prior to having any photographs taken by your wedding photographer.

Here's a list of ten that will make a big difference to your official photographs.

FOR THE BRIDE

1. Tighten dress lacing - as the day wears on your lacing may loosen, to keep you and your dress looking magnificent, get your Maid of Honour to check whether your lacing needs tightening: before you go into your ceremony, before your group shots, before your portraits

2. Check your bra line and straps - check everything is tidy and as it should be: before you go into your ceremony, before your group shots, before your portraits, before speeches, before your cake cut and before your first dance

3. Straighten your rings - you won't be used to wearing two rings on your ring finger, just check they are straight and nicely snuggled up to each other before your cake cut - your photographer may zoom into take a shot of your knife and hands

4. Straighten your veil - check that your veil is evenly covering each of your shoulders, a symmetrical veil can look great

FOR THE GROOM

5. Empty trouser pockets - in everyday life, few people wear jackets so it has become normal to load up trouser pockets with everything from keys, to change, to iPhones. Sadly doing the same thing in your wedding suit is not a good look. For your wedding photographs to look at their best, remove everything from your trouser pockets. Essential items will look better in jacket pockets than in your trouser pockets

6. Pull your cuffs so they are showing - cuffs have a habit of riding up into your sleeves so pull your cuffs down so you can see a finger or two of white cuff beneath your sleeve. Check before the ceremony starts, before any formal group shots, before your speech, before you cut your cake and before your First Dance

7. Wear your jacket during your Speech, Cake Cut and First Dance - as you sit down for your meal it is natural to relax, enjoy yourself and take your jacket off. Photographs of your Speech, Cake Cut and First Dance will look immeasurably better with your jacket on

8. Check cravat has not dropped - loosely tied cravats can drop, so check it doesn't need a little tightening prior to the Ceremony, Group Shots, Portraits, Speeches, Cake Cut and First Dance

9. Handkerchief straight - there are many styles of handkerchief folds you can put in your outside jacket pocket, but check that it's still looking good prior to the Ceremony, Group Shots, Portraits, Speeches, Cake Cut and First Dance

10. Button holes don't go in button holes - a common mistake is to put "button hole" flowers in lapel button holes, sadly it's not a very good name for them, they are pinned to the lapel. Tradition says: guys should have their button hole flowers on their LEFT lapel pointing UPWARDS, and ladies should have their button hole on the RIGHT pointing DOWNWARDS.

by Steve Dunster

 

Using Pinterest for your Wedding Inspiration

If you haven't discovered Pinterest and you're getting married, sign up TODAY...it's free...and you'll love it.

We're of the generation that doing wedding research meant buying way too many wedding magazines, using scissors to cut out the best bits and glue to paste them into our "Wedding Inspiration Scrapbook."

Nowadays, like everything else in the Digital Age, there's a better, faster and cheaper way to do the same thing...and it's called Pinterest.

If you haven't already done so, Sign Up for your free account with Pinterest, decide whether you want to say a bit about yourself and put up a profile picture.

Before you can pin, you need to create at least one Board, onto which you can Pin the cool stuff you find. You can create as many Boards as you like but don't have too many to start with. I would recommend you start off with maybe: "Wedding Stuff I Like", "Humour" and "Cute" ....or something just to get you going.

As soon as you start Pinning, you'll realise you want more Boards, so just create them as you think of them. You'll find your own level.

Now you're ready to start Pinning. There are two modes of Pinning:

1. When you Pin pictures already on Pinterest onto your own boards, and
2. When you Pin pictures into Pinterest and your own boards from a website you're looking at

Pinterest is huge and has come from nowhere in the last 12 months or so. If all you do is:

a) search Pinterest for "wedding", or

b) select the Pinterest "Wedding" category

...you'll find an endless supply of inspiration already posted into Pinterest by other brides and wedding suppliers.

In the process of this you'll no doubt come across Boards of Pinners (jargon alert: Pinners = users of Pinterest) who have similar tastes to you, in which case you can click to Follow their Board or maybe even Follow the Pinner (in which case you'll follow ALL their boards, but you can Unfollow any boards you don't like at a later date). Pins by people and Boards that you Follow will appear in your Timeline, just like Facebook etc.

Go to the Pinterest Help Centre and it will help you put a Pinterest button onto your Internet Browser. Then, whenever you are browsing the Internet and you see anything you want on one of your Boards, all you have to do is press the Pinterest Button on your Browser and select which Board you want it in.

Boards can either be Public or Secret. As soon as you start narrowing your choices for your wedding, we recommend that you have some new Boards that are Secret and in here you can put the things that you're seriously considering...that way all your choices will remain a surprise for your guests on your Big Day.

You'll soon find that your Wedding Board fills up and you may want to Split it into say: Wedding Cakes, Wedding Shoes, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Venues, Wedding Photographs, Wedding Rings...you get the idea.

You can re-Pin anything from one of your Boards to any of your other boards and this is how you can stay organised.

If you like something but you don't have a Board to Pin it in and don't want to create one for it, you can just Like it by clicking the Heart.

It's not just photographs that are on Pinterest. You'll find many "Infographics".  These are usually very interesting and show in a graphical and digestible form how to do something.

You'll also find links to blogs, useful websites, videos and a whole host of thoroughly engaging things.

If you really like a particular Pin, you can click through and it will take you to the original website that the original Pinner got it from. This is often the supplier so you can buy it if you choose to.

Also, if you click on a Pin you can leave comments that the Pinner will see and an interesting exchange can often result.

Pinterest is great on a desktop or laptop computer but the tablet and smart phone Pinterest apps are awesome.

If you do try, do follow us on Pinterest. We've got some particularly popular "Ideas for your Wedding" and "Wedding How-To Tips" Boards as well as Boards with our latest photography, offers, tips and advice...as well as a little humour ;)

It might sound a bit involved but Pinterest is very intuitive, thoroughly addictive, free and an amazing way to get inspired for your wedding.

Enjoy

by Steve Dunster

Wedding Tips: Why Your First Dance Matters

When I say your First Dance matters I don't mean you need to go to a lot of bother to learn elaborate dance steps, in fact far from it. 

What I mean is that something magical often happens in a bride and groom's First Dance as a married couple and when it can make for some fabulous wedding photographs...perfect to place at the end of your wedding album.

A bride and groom have spent the day making public promises to each other, exchanging rings, being the centre of attention and looking fantastic. So when the lights dim and a bride and groom take to the dance floor, holding each other whilst their favourite song is played...it is little wonder that magic happens.

Some couples prefer not to do a First Dance together because they don't feel very confident dancing but it's not about the dancing, it's about the magic.

When a bride and groom experience the magic of the First Dance they love it, it's probably the most intimate moment they'll have had all day. 

But it's not just the bride and groom who love that magical moment, your guests love it too...and of course we've already spoken of the amazing photographs that can be captured.

If you want to learn some proper dance moves or even take dance lessons then that's fine, it's your day and you should live it with no regrets as far as is practicable. 

But if you do, you may well be concentrating more on the dance steps than your togetherness...but that's okay because as soon as the dance is finished, you'll probably look into each other's eyes and hug...and the magic happens.

If you feel you can't dance and don't want to learn, it's absolutely fine. Hug each other in the middle of the dance floor, look into each other's eyes, slowly move from one foot to another, slowly rotate to the music and enjoy each other's company...and the magic will happen.

If you really don't want to do a First Dance, then that's fine too, it's your wedding...but at least you should know it's not about the dancing, it's about the magic. 

You'll love it, your guests will love it and your photographs will look fabulous at the end of your wedding album...with this knowledge you can make an informed decision as to whether doing a First Dance at your wedding is right for you.

You shouldn't do it just because it's tradition but it is such a lovely moment it is easy to see why it has become part of the wedding tradition.

by Steve Dunster

8 December 2013

Wedding Entertainment Ideas

Some of our couples have hired musicians to play in the background to help in the mood setting.  We have seen harpists, jazz quartets of saxophones, string quartets, trios of keyboard, drum and guitar and singers.  

Sometimes singers will simply bring a box of tricks with them with all their backing tracks whilst others will play a piano or keyboard and sing along to that.  There are some pianists who will even play gentle music in the background whilst you all eat your meal - rather like a cabaret artist.

Ice-cream is always popular and we often see a queue at any ice-cream bicycle or van.

A popular choice for wedding entertainment is to have a magician. These guys simply move around the room amongst your guests wowing them with their fabulous magic tricks and easy humour.  Some of these magicians are simply awesome - one guest at a wedding was amazed to discover her wedding ring made its way into a sealed envelope in the magician's wallet which had been in his pocket all the time! 

Children hate being cooped up and having nothing to do. Inside or out, children will run around with the other children and largely entertain themselves when they're not sat down eating. 

Some couples provide garden toys and games, primarily for the children but in our experience they're just as popular with the grown-ups.

Some couples could hire a separate room at the venue and then hire in a minder, or simply ask a friend to just keep an eye on them, with a selection of toys and games and maybe a TV and DVD player with a selection of films for them to watch.

Another option would be to hire a children's magician or clown.  He can set up in a small area of the venue and will keep children of most age groups quite happily entertained with his tricks and jokes. 

For the more adventurous couple, a buckeroo machine can certainly liven things up.

A great option for keeping all your guests of all ages entertained during your meal is to give little bags of LEGO and run a competition for the best model. We did this once and it was great fun...but WE WOZ ROBBED!

Characaturists are becoming very popular. They don't keep many guests occupied at once, unlike magicians, but they work quietly with one couple at a time and build a portfolio of hilarious cartoons of your wedding guests that you can keep forever.

 by Jacqui Dunster

5 December 2013