Today was another early start for us as we headed to the unique seaside town of Brighton in East Sussex.
Chris and Camilla’s wedding was a two venue setup for us with the reception taking place in Proud Cabaret Club, Brighton. Certainly this is one of the more unusual venues we have been asked to play in but also sounded like a lot of fun.
Arriving a few hours ahead of the ceremony gave us time to partially set up at Proud so we could seamlessly transition from the ceremony into the drinks reception. Parking was a potential hazard at this location so we had to be quite cunning in terms of how many hours we parked and where so we didn’t go over the 4 hour limit but also were able to unload and then later reload after the reception.
The Church Ceremony
The day started at the Brighton Congress Hall for a Salvation Army church ceremony which was in fact lead by Chris’ sister.
As there was a grand piano in the ‘church’ Anne-Marie took her acoustic cello and the instruments were miked up by the church sound team. This not only saved a lot of time setting up at the Church but enabled us to get our other kit set up ready for the reception.
Along with 3 fairly traditional hymns for the wedding ceremony Chris and Camilla had chosen some more unusual songs for the rest of their ceremony.
Pre Ceremony
1) All The Small Things – Blink 182
2) Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
3) Wonderwall – Oasis
4) Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon
5) Mr Brightside – The Killers
Bridal Entrance
1) You’ve Got the Love – The Source
Signing
1) Seasons of Love – RENT
2) Blinded by Your Grace – Stormzy
3) Love of My Life – Queen
Exit
1) Feel The Love – Rudimental
We absolutely love it when couples choose an eclectic mix of music and we also feel it’s really important for all our couples to have the music they want which will help make their day memorable and important to them personally.
The Reception at Proud, Brighton
After the ceremony we jumped back in the car and headed swiftly back to Proud Cabaret to finish setting up and be ready to play music as Chris and Camilla, along with their guests, arrived for the drinks reception and the rest of the afternoon / evening entertainment.
In the run up to the wedding we had mostly been dealing with Chris and he was very specific about the music to be played at each part of the day. For the drinks reception the music chosen was:
1) Marry You – Bruno Mars
2) Your Song – Elton John
3) Love Is All Around – Wet Wet Wet
4) I Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
5) Paradise – Coldplay
6) Moon River – Audrey Hepburn
7) How Deep Is Your Love – Bee Gees
8) I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
9) One Day Like This – Elbow
10) Dance Monkey – Tones and I
11) Rule The World – Take That
12) Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
13) Starlight – Muse
14) Dancing In The Moonlight – Toploader
15) Angels – Robbie Williams
There were some great choices here and with our Bose speakers acting as on stage monitors our Nord Stage Piano and Yamaha Electric Cello sounded fabulous through the main venue PA.
We took a short break after the drinks reception whilst the guests were seated for the meal and then returned to the stage to play a second 90 minute set whilst food was served.
1) Jurassic Park – John Williams
2) Stand By Me – Ben E King
3) What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
4) Tale as Old As Time – Beauty & The Beast
5) The Sound of Silence (Disturbed) – The Verve
6) Stay Another Day – East 17
7) My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion
8) Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship
9) Perfect Day – Lou Reed
10) Sweet Disposition – Temper Trap
11) Now We Are Free – Hans Zimmer
12) Feeling Good – Nina Simone
13) I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith
14) Together In Electric Dreams – Human League
15) Africa – Toto
After our second set we had to quickly clear the stage to make way for the Caberet entertainment. Chris and Camilla had kindly provided us with our own table on the balcony and a 3 course meal so we could sit and enjoy some of their fabulous entertainers.
We particularly enjoyed Dolly Rocket who was the mistress of ceremonies!
This was an amazing wedding which we were absolutely delighted and honoured to be a part of. It’s definitely the first time we have been the ‘warm up’ act for such fabulous cabaret performers and we enjoyed every minute of Chris and Camilla’s amazing wedding.
We wish them both every happiness as they embark on their future married life together.
