There are certain things you hope for when somebody books an outdoor wedding ceremony in England.
Firstly, that it doesn’t rain.
Secondly, that it doesn’t rain sideways.
And thirdly, that nobody has to make the slightly optimistic announcement that “we’re going to give it another ten minutes and see what the weather does.”
Fortunately, for Pam and Richard’s wedding at Sopwell House in St Albans, none of this was necessary. On 31 July 2026, summer had apparently checked its diary, realised it was supposed to be July and produced exactly the sort of afternoon you would actually choose for an outdoor wedding.
Sunshine, blue skies, immaculate gardens and a beautifully decorated gazebo awaited the couple and their guests. And alongside it all, JAM Duo were there providing live cello and piano wedding music for the outdoor ceremony and drinks reception.
No backing tracks, obviously. Just Jules at the piano and Anne-Marie playing our new Yamaha electric cello.
An Intimate Wedding at Sopwell House
Pam and Richard had chosen a wonderfully intimate wedding with just 18 guests.
There is something rather special about weddings of this size. With several hundred people, a wedding can occasionally begin to resemble a small regional conference with better flowers. With 18 guests, everybody really is there because they matter.
The ceremony took place outside at the gazebo in the gardens at Sopwell House, with the wedding styling based around ivory, white, blush pink and sage green.
And it worked beautifully.
The gazebo itself had been decorated with greenery and soft pink and white flowers, while blush fabric dressed the aisle chairs and generous arrangements of flowers lined the white aisle leading towards the ceremony.
Pam’s bridal gown looked perfect against the soft colours of the gardens, while Richard and the groomsmen wore light grey suits — an excellent choice on what was turning into a properly warm summer afternoon.
The overall effect was elegant without being overdone.
Which, frankly, is much harder to achieve than people think.
Setting Up for an Outdoor Wedding Ceremony
For this wedding we were using our Nord stage piano and new Yamaha electric cello.
There was no gloss black piano shell on this occasion. Much as we love using it, not every setting needs a grand-piano-shaped object appearing in the middle of it.
Sometimes the best solution is simply the Nord itself: compact, discreet and allowing us to position the musicians exactly where the ceremony requires.
For Pam and Richard we were set up alongside the gazebo, close enough for the live music to feel part of the ceremony but without becoming part of everybody’s wedding photographs.
This is something we consider carefully at outdoor weddings. The music needs to project properly, particularly when guests are sitting in an open garden rather than an enclosed room, but the musicians shouldn’t dominate the ceremony visually.
There was also a 90dB sound limit at Sopwell House, which was absolutely fine for what we were doing. Cello and piano for a ceremony and drinks reception does not require the sonic output of Glastonbury.
The idea is to create atmosphere, not frighten the wildlife in neighbouring counties.
Music as the Guests Arrived
Pam and Richard had put a great deal of thought into their music, starting with a lovely collection of songs for their guests arriving before the ceremony.
We played:
- All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
- Stand By Me – Ben E. King
- Kiss Me – Sixpence None the Richer
- Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
- Feels Like I’m Falling In Love – Coldplay
This is exactly what pre-ceremony music should do.
It shouldn’t announce itself with a loud metaphorical trumpet and demand that everyone stop talking. Instead, it should quietly establish the atmosphere as guests arrive, take their seats and realise that the wedding is actually about to happen.
Live cello and piano are particularly good for this because we can shape the music around what is happening in front of us.
If guests are still arriving, we continue.
If everything suddenly moves more quickly than expected, we adjust.
And if somebody important has temporarily disappeared in search of a handbag, buttonhole or small child, we can keep playing until civilisation is restored.
That’s one of the great advantages of using live musicians for a wedding ceremony rather than relying on a fixed recording.
Canon in D for the Bridal Entrance
For Pam’s entrance, she had chosen Canon in D by Pachelbel, arranged for cello and piano.
There were no bridesmaids or flower girls walking before her. Pam was making the entrance alone, travelling from the terrace towards the gazebo.
That made the timing particularly important.
Canon in D remains one of the most popular pieces of wedding ceremony music for a very good reason. It has that rare quality of sounding unmistakably bridal without needing any explanation whatsoever.
The first few notes begin and everybody knows what is happening.
But playing it live also means we can make the music fit the entrance rather than expecting the entrance to fit a recording.
A bride can walk at exactly the pace she wants. We watch, listen and shape the arrangement accordingly, arriving at the musical conclusion when she reaches Richard rather than when Spotify happens to decide the track is finished.
And with Pam making the walk towards the gazebo through the gardens at Sopwell House, it was one of those occasions where Canon in D fitted the setting perfectly.
Music During the Signing
Once Pam and Richard were married, the ceremony moved on to the signing of the register.
For this they had chosen three pieces:
Everything – Michael Bublé
All The Small Things – Blink-182
Better Together – Jack Johnson
And this is where wedding music becomes rather more interesting.
There is absolutely no rule stating that the signing has to consist of delicate classical music accompanied by everybody sitting solemnly and considering the legal implications of matrimony.
Pam and Richard wanted All The Small Things played with a little more pace so that it kept the energy established by the previous song.
So that is exactly what we did.
One of the pleasures of arranging modern songs for cello and piano is discovering just how well material from very different genres can work.
Blink-182 probably didn’t write All The Small Things while thinking, “One day this will work splendidly on cello beside a gazebo in Hertfordshire.”
Nevertheless, it does.
Dancing in the Moonlight – In Broad Daylight
For their exit as newlyweds, Pam and Richard chose Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.
At approximately lunchtime.
In brilliant sunshine.
But we decided not to trouble ourselves with the astronomical inconsistency.
It is a fantastic wedding exit song: upbeat, instantly recognisable and perfectly suited to that moment when the formal part of the ceremony is finished and everybody can start celebrating properly.
Pam and Richard walked back down the aisle together as husband and wife, with cello and piano providing the soundtrack before everyone moved towards the terrace for drinks and canapés.
And so did we.
From the Gazebo to the Terrace
One of the less visible elements of being daytime wedding musicians is that occasionally the musicians need to move.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
Piano, cello, stands, amplification, cables and the assorted collection of objects which apparently multiply every time you load a car.
Fortunately, the team at Sopwell House were extremely helpful and we were soon relocated from the ceremony area to the patio and terrace ready for the drinks reception.
This is one reason we plan our equipment carefully for weddings where more than one location is involved.
The aim is that guests finish the ceremony, pick up a glass of something cold and discover the musicians are somehow already playing in the next place.
They do not particularly need to know what happened in between.
And ideally nobody should witness a pianist carrying a keyboard while trying to look dignified.
Live Music for the Drinks Reception
The drinks reception ran from 12.30pm until 2pm, with guests enjoying drinks and canapés outside on the terrace.
Pam and Richard had given us an excellent and wonderfully varied list of music.
There was jazz and swing with Fly Me To The Moon, New York, New York, L-O-V-E and Dream A Little Dream Of Me.
There was classic pop with How Deep Is Your Love, I Just Called To Say I Love You, Brown Eyed Girl and Your Song.
There was Queen with Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
There was Africa by Toto.
There was McFly.
There was Guns N’ Roses.
There was the theme from Friends.
And then, because apparently we hadn’t covered enough musical territory already, there was The Force Theme from Star Wars, Back to the Future, and music from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
This is precisely why we enjoy playing music for wedding drinks receptions.
There is no reason for the repertoire to remain within one genre.
In the space of 90 minutes we can move from Frank Sinatra to John Williams, from Elton John to Guns N’ Roses and from the Bee Gees to Back to the Future without anybody having to explain why.
It simply becomes the soundtrack to the afternoon.
Bitter Sweet Symphony – With the Strings Where They Belong
Pam and Richard had also asked for our entrance-style arrangement of Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, specifically with the strings carrying the famous main melody.
A perfectly reasonable request.
That string line is, after all, the entire point.
It is another piece which works exceptionally well with electric cello and piano, giving Anne-Marie the chance to bring the melody properly to the foreground while the piano provides the harmonic drive underneath.
Our new Yamaha electric cello was particularly well suited to the drinks reception setting.
It gives us a clear, controlled sound outdoors and allows the cello to retain its character even when playing modern repertoire alongside an amplified stage piano.
For wedding music, that versatility matters enormously.
We can play Pachelbel for the bridal entrance at midday and Sweet Child O’ Mine over drinks an hour later using exactly the same two musicians.
Which is rather more interesting than changing to a generic playlist the moment the registrar leaves.
Choosing Your Own Wedding Music
Pam and Richard’s choices are also a very good example of something we encourage all of our couples to do:
Choose the music you actually want.
Your wedding does not need to sound like somebody else’s wedding.
If you want Canon in D for the bridal entrance, wonderful.
If you want Blink-182 while signing the register, equally wonderful.
And if your ideal drinks reception includes Sinatra, Star Wars, Disney, Toto, Queen, McFly, Stevie Wonder and Guns N’ Roses, there is absolutely no committee waiting to disqualify you.
We have hundreds of recordings available online, but couples are not restricted to a fixed playlist. We arrange and perform music across an enormous range of genres and can help shape choices for each part of the day.
That freedom is one of the main advantages of having professional live wedding musicians.
The music can genuinely belong to the couple.
Daytime Wedding Musicians at Sopwell House
Pam and Richard’s wedding was a perfect example of how effective live music can be across the first part of a wedding day.
The ceremony had its own musical identity: romantic, personal and carefully timed around each important moment.
Then, without changing musicians or introducing backing tracks, the mood shifted naturally into the drinks reception with lighter and more varied music while everyone relaxed on the terrace.
For couples considering daytime wedding musicians at Sopwell House, cello and piano work particularly well because the combination is flexible enough for both parts of the celebration.
It can accompany a bride walking through the gardens to Canon in D and, shortly afterwards, provide a cello version of the Back to the Future theme while somebody opens another bottle of prosecco.
Both are important musical responsibilities.
We take them equally seriously.
A Beautiful Summer Wedding in Hertfordshire
After weeks of looking suspiciously at weather forecasts for various outdoor weddings around the country, Pam and Richard’s day gave us everything you could want from a summer wedding.
A beautiful outdoor setting.
An intimate group of family and friends.
Blush pink flowers and greenery surrounding the gazebo.
Sunshine which actually behaved itself.
And a couple who had chosen music that genuinely reflected them rather than simply selecting whatever weddings are apparently supposed to contain.
It was an absolute pleasure for Anne-Marie and me to provide the cello and piano music for Pam and Richard’s wedding ceremony and drinks reception at Sopwell House.
Thank you both for asking JAM Duo to be part of such a lovely and wonderfully personal day.
And thank you for proving that a wedding playlist can move from Pachelbel to Blink-182, travel briefly via Frank Sinatra and Star Wars, and eventually arrive at Guns N’ Roses without the universe collapsing.
We always suspected it could.
