Today we were in Buckinghamshire for the stunning wedding of Charlotte and Dimitar. JAM Duo were booked to provide music for their Wedding Ceremony and Drinks reception. Whilst this was our first visit to Hedsor House, we always investigate the venues beforehand and we had been given plenty of information from Charlotte including photographs to suggest where we might set up.
This means we always arrive with a good idea of where we are going to be and what we will need to set up. Nevertheless we always arrive in good time and allowed ourselves well over an hour to prepare for our first involvement with today’s wedding which was the Wedding Ceremony.
The Wedding
Charlotte and Dimitar
Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire
Saturday 2 March 2024
Ceremony and Drinks Reception
The Wedding Ceremony
Our first involvement with today’s wedding was to provide music for Charlotte and Dimitar’s Wedding Ceremony in the Great Hall just inside the entrance to Hedsor House. This rather splendid room has space for at least 100 guests with a gallery around the top. We had discussed our position with Charlotte over WhatsApp prior to the wedding and there was a degree of flexibility.
On paper the gallery looked like a good place to be but in reality it was less practical. Whilst it looked grand it would have limited our view to see the bridal entrance (reasons for which I will explain later) and also there wasn’t actually that much space. By setting up at the front of the wedding we could be neatly out the way so we didn’t get in the way of photographs but equally have a good view to communicate with the registrars and see the bridal entrance.
On a practical level it also gave us a very short and easy route to get to the drinks reception without colliding with the guests. This is actually quite a big consideration for us as we do not really want to be fighting through the guests with our instruments to get to the drinks reception first. At Hedsor there was a door out of the ceremony room into the lounge which was perfect for us to slip seamlessly into the drinks reception and set up without being noticed.
Music for the Ceremony
Charlotte had chosen some fabulous music for the wedding ceremony. In particular her bridal entrance was Arrival of the Birds – The Cinematic Orchestra. As no arrangement of score of any kind exists for this in a useful format, we created our own bespoke version for Charlotte as she had also asked for a particular climatctic point of the piece for the moment she walked up the aisle after her bridesmaids.
This is why we needed a good view of proceedings as we always ‘time’ the music to suit perfectly. Once the bridesmaids were all in position we engineered a small cut to the part Charlotte wanted, added a few cinematic strings to further enhance the sound of our performance and hopefully achieved the grand entrance that she wanted!
The rest of the music for the wedding ceremony included:
Pre Ceremony
Songbird – Fleetwood Mac / Eva Cassidy
All Of Me – John Legend
How Long Will I love You – Ellie Goulding
Stand By Me – Ben E.King
Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
Signing
Can You Feel The Love Tonight – Elton John
Accidentally In Love – Shrek
Exit
This Will Be An Everlasting Love – Natalie Cole
A lot of these songs and many others can be heard by visiting our listen page which (as of March 2024) contains nearly 300 examples of us playing which we have recorded in our studio.
The Drinks Reception
The Drinks reception was being held in the lounge area adjacent to the ceremony room. Whilst not a huge space for 100 guests it had a convenient corner for us to set up and the guests could also spread throughout the venue during the drinks reception.
Our setlist for the drinks reception, again chosen by Charlotte and Dimitar included:
I Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Love Story – Taylor Swift
Signed Sealed delivered – Stevie Wonder
Shallow (A Star is Born) – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
All About You – McFly
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
Paradise – Coldplay
Lord of the Rings – The Shire (Groom request – we would love to be near when you play this)
Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap
As It Was – Harry Styles
Feeling Good – Nina Simone
A Sky Full Of Stars – Coldplay
Dancing In The Moonlight
L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole
The Venue – Hedsor House
Described as Tatler’s Dream wedding venue, Hedsor House offers both dry hire and package options for couples looking to get married.
Alongside the main house you also have the Hive. Nestled within the 100 acre grounds of Hedsor House, The Hive is an enchanting luxury self-catering cottage which offers the perfect opportunity to relax the night before your wedding.
We really enjoyed being a part of Charlotte and Dimitar’s wedding and we wish them every happiness as they embark on their married life together.
