Your wedding day is, hopefully, without doubt going to be one of the best days of your life. With so much to think about, it’s often hard to know where to start.
The Venue
Most wedding couples start planning their big day by choosing a venue. Nowadays, we are all spoilt for choice.
Choosing a wedding venue for your big day can be one of the most stressful yet crucialdecisions of your ‘wedmin’.
From barn conversions, Grade II-listed properties, farmhouses and hotels, the UK has thousands of wedding venues to pick from, making finalising your list of possible destinations for your nuptials all the more challenging.
Additionally, some wedding venues come with wedding planners, dry hire fees, accommodation, weekend packages, linen hire (yes, that’s a thing) and menu tasting, which makes choosing your wedding flowers, wedding photographer and wedding dress a piece of cake in the grand scheme of things.
JAM Duo have travelled all over the UK and performed in lots of different venues. If you need some inspiration then have a look through our venue directory. This is simply a list of some of the venues we have really enjoyed working with. We don’t give recommendations, nor do we make any charge for venues to be in our directory. The venues are simply in alphabetical order to hopefully provide future couples with some inspiration.
Once you’ve decided where to have your wedding ceremony it is time to start looking for a perfect dress. From a photography point of view, it is very important to choose a gown that would look harmonious in the environment. For traditional cathedral ceremonies pick a dress with a train and embellishments. Cathedral/church spaces are usually grand and so should be your dress. For a garden ceremony: A-line or mermaid silhouettes with lace details would look elegant and timeless.
The Dress
Finding your dream wedding dress can be stressful. After all, you’ve likely never tried one on before, and it’s the most expensive garment many women will ever own, so it can feel like the pressure is definitely on while wedding dress shopping. It may also feel like there’s a whole new language to decode—tulle, A-line, fit-and-flare, organza, sheath, etc. Not to mention, more brides are doing multiple dresses—a more formal one for the ceremony and a party-centric one for the reception—which can make shopping even more stressful.
The right dress takes time and research to find so do your homework. Pinterest is your best friend, as are real weddings.
The key to actually figuring out what styles and colours you like is to look for models that represent your body type and skin tone. If you’re athletic with a completely flat chest, you need to be searching for images of dresses on similar build models. Short and curvy? The column dress isn’t going to look the same on you as a 6ft model.
Dress budget
Having a dress budget or a price range is a great idea and essential. It’s your starting point for the search for your dream dress. When thinking about your budget also consider how much it would be to complete your alterations and add that in too. Let your consultants know your price range so they can steer you in the right direction.
Shop early but not too early
There is no such thing as too early. Once you get engaged the excitement of finding YOUR dress is what every bride experiences. Before booking appointments start your search online, through social media or bridal magazines. New styles and trends get released every season. We recommend allowing yourself 10 months before your wedding is perfect, it gives you time to visit all your boutiques on your list without having to rush to make a decision.
Ultimately of course, no one knows better than you what style of dress you like and feel comfortable in. It’s cliche but true, you wear the dress, the dress doesn’t wear you, so make sure you’re not so bowled over by a gorgeous gown you forget to ask whether you feel like you in it.
Wedding Music
When it comes to wedding music, the choice is astronomical. There are so many songs out there, how are you going to narrow it down? The process can feel overwhelming but it needn’t be. All you need to do is pick songs that are meaningful to you as a couple. It’s that easy.
JAM Duo pride themselves on being able to play any piece of music. Whether you want something with classical elegance such as Pachelbel’s Canon, or something contemporary like Chandelier by Sia, we have it all covered. Literally. Covers of popular and contemporary songs are our most popular requests.
You can hear us perform and listen to a wide range of musical styles by visiting our listen page. There are currently over 130 tracks on there for you to enjoy. This is not by any means our ‘repertoire list’. These are just some of the songs we really enjoy performing and some of the music which is most requested for weddings.
If your favourite song isn’t currently on there, then please get in touch. If you decide to book us to play for your wedding then we will be happy to record a sample of your favourite song arranged for piano and cello so you can hear how it will sound on your wedding day.
Why Cello?
The Cello is one of the most sublime sounding of the string family. It is also surprisingly versatile. When placed in a string quartet the cello often just takes the bass line. It has a similar role in the orchestra. But as a solo instrument and accompanied by the piano the cello has a lovely tone which is ideal for a lot of popular covers we perform.
The musical range of the cello is broadly similar to the human voice, give or a take a few notes and so it is exactly right as a solo instrument to perform popular covers. This is perhaps why The Brooklyn Duo and The Piano Guys have become so popular in recent years.
