On Sunday 29th May we had the honour of being involved in truly one of the most inspiring weddings we’ve ever had the pleasure of performing at. Paul & Amy contacted us back in August last year, and made it clear that when it came to planning their wedding, music was hugely important to them.

We worked closely with Paul & Amy, as well as the rest of their very lovely family, to come up with an entertainment schedule like nothing else I’ve ever seen before at a Wedding. We discussed quite a few different options, but after they came to see our showcase last September, Paul & Amy decided on a final line-up, and wowee did they make a fantastic choice!

Here’s a little rundown of the day’s entertainment. For couples that are really into their music, this is a true inspiration to how to make the most of your wedding entertainment….

2.45p.m We provided a fantastic string quartet that we often work with, ‘Tapestry’ to perform as guests arrived in the ceremony. This set a really lovely scene as guests arrived, and the quartet played a selection of Amy & Paul’s favourite music (all chosen by them).

3.30p.m I (Sera) performed a song in the ceremony. Amy & Paul chose ‘I’ve dreamed of you’ by Barbra Streisand. For some reason I’d not come across this song before, but it was just beautiful, and an honour to sing it for them (although somewhat nerve wracking!). Here’s a copy of the original if you fancy a listen…its very lovely…

4p.m-5.15p.m Tapestry then moved with the guests outside, and performed more of the bride and groom’s choices during the drinks reception.

5.45p.m-8.10p.m Once the room had been transformed for the wedding breakfast, our pianist performed 2 x 45mins sets of ‘movie themed’ songs (to match the ‘movie themed’ table names!). We hired in a beautiful white grand piano from Grand Hire Pianos, which sat on the white sparkly dancefloor, with a white stage and backdrop behind him. It was just gorgeous!

8.40p.m 1st dance (which was ‘the way you look tonight’) followed by MIB 12 piece band perform their first set. Paul & Amy chose every song in the set-list and we started off with some light jazz/swing like ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ and progressed into some fun party tunes like ‘Valerie’ and ‘Long Train Running’.

9.30p.m  MIB performed a 15mins Jewish Medley, again all songs chosen by our lovely couple. This included classics like ‘Hava Nagilla’ and ‘Siman Tov, Mazel Tov’ and got absolutely EVERYONE on the dancefloor. Great fun!

10p.m Our gorgeous saxophonist performed her Buddha Bar set, with our live percussionist. The idea of this is that they improvise to clubby dance style tracks, and Paul & Amy commissioned her to do this to a professional mix of their favourite club songs. It was absolutely awesome! Lindsay (sax) was up on stage in a gorgeous red sparkly dress, playing her heart out to tunes like ‘Footsteps’ and ‘Don’t Mess With My Man’. This went down a storm, and even got the older generation up dancing like they were on a night out in a posh London club

10.30p.m  MIB performed their 2nd set. This featured an epic Michael Jackson Medley, that we wrote and designed specifically for Paul & Amy. They were both keen that the music choices weren’t too cheesy, and we were really excited when they chose 4 of our favourite MJ songs (Don’t stop til you get enough, PYT, Off the Wall and Working Day & Night). It was really nice to be able to play some of his lesser known tunes – you always see bands playing ‘Beat it’ and ‘Billie Jean’ – but rarely hear these songs played live (ha, probably because they’re ridiculously hard!) so it was really great to spend some time on these great tunes. We also got to play my all time favourite song, ‘Waiting for a star to fall’ – which brought a tear to my eye!

11p.m 21st Century Riot then took to the stage, performing a set of indie and rock covers. We were a bit nervous about this bit, worried that the rock music might be a bit out of place, but everyone flocked to the dance-floor and boogied away to tunes like ‘Mr Brightside’ and ‘My Generation’. Soooo very rock and roll – I really enjoyed watching this set!

12a.m MIB performed their last set, which featured lots of modern hits like ‘California Girls’ by Katy Perry, and ‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce. We ended on a very cool anthems medley, which featured ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ and ‘Living on a Prayer’, and got the whole crowd playing air guitar!

We had such an amazing day and would like to thank Amy & Paul for including us such an awe inspiring wedding!

Here’s what Paul had to say:

‘Dear Sera, Helen and everyone at MIB,

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

We cannot stop talking about the weekend. The text messages, guest book feedback and facebook posts were incredible and keep coming! We also had 58 guests staying over and all of them were very very complimentary and raved about so many different aspects of the wedding.

The one thing everyone kept asking was: where did you find that band?! People raved about the ceremony song and said it made them cry, all said the Quartet were great and that the pianist during dinner really helped to set the mood. Beyond that, the five different sets all received amazing reviews. Particular highlights were the MJ medley, the jewish music (very well done), the end medley people said was so so different, plus the fantastic Buddha Bar set and Riot sets which people did not want to end!!!

Amy and I remarked to each other that of every penny we spent, the best money spent was on MIB! We stand by that!

We were so so pleased. We had such amazing comments and having been to 15 or more weddings in recent years we know we had the best and others also said you were the best. We just had this hunch you were going to be amazing and we were right.’

And some feedback from the rest of the family…

I just wanted to email you to let you know how fantastic I thought you all were on Sunday.  From the first time Paul showed me your website, to seeing you perform a sample set many months ago, I knew you guys would be outstanding and you definitely lived up (and surpassed) my expectations.

Sera, your solo song ‘I’ve Dreamed Of You’ during the ceremony was incredibly moving.  Tapestry and the pianist were pure class, all three sets from MIB were perfect and uplifting, Lindsay’s Buddha Bar set was amazing and 21st Century Riot rocked the Langham.

Everyone I spoke to throughout the night commented on the music and how fantastic you all were.  There was something for everyone and it was a delight to see the dancefloor full all night long.

After months of planning the day flew past so quickly but the memories will last a lifetime.  I cannot wait to see the video footage later this summer and I will make sure you receive a copy to use as you see fit.

Thanks for making Paul and Amy’s day so memorable.

David’

‘Hi Sera,
What can we say.   Faultless, amazing, professional, exciting.

From the moment we met you for coffee last year we knew all was going to be great.
You were as excited as Gerald and I as we discussed Amy and Pauls ideas.

Of course once we saw you and the team perform at the showcase event we were
even more convinced because you could provide all the different kinds of music we were wanting
for the wedding. Such a variety, each section adding another twist, each one a talking point.

Sera, when you sang during the ceremony, both Gerald and I had tears in our eyes, your most beautiful
voice, unforgettable, one of the highlights of the whole day for us.

Please pass on our thanks to each and every one of the team, and we wish all of you well in the future.
Hopefully, we will see you again sometime

Best wishes
Gill and Gerald Schneider’