There are warm summer weddings, there are hot summer weddings, and then there are weddings where the first item on the musicians’ technical rider really ought to read: “One large tree, preferably with shade.”
Hannah and Harry’s wedding at Bury Manor Barn in Pulborough fell very firmly into the third category.
We joined them on 15 August 2026 for a full afternoon of live cello and piano, beginning with their outdoor ceremony in the amphitheatre, continuing through the drinks reception, and finally moving inside the barn to play during the wedding breakfast.
And despite the rather determined Sussex sunshine, it was a fabulous day in a genuinely lovely setting.
A beautiful wedding venue in West Sussex
Bury Manor Barn is one of those wedding venues which works particularly well because the different parts of the day each have their own character.
Outside, there is an amphitheatre-style ceremony area surrounded by old stone walls and open countryside. The tiered seating, decorated with cushions in soft pinks, peaches and creams, looked fantastic against the natural stone and summer landscape.
At the far end of the ceremony space was a large circular floral arch dressed with white flowers and greenery. Beyond the wall were fields and rolling countryside, giving the whole ceremony area a wonderfully secluded feel despite the wide-open views.
Hannah and Harry had chosen light blue as the main colour for their wedding, accompanied by pale pink, peach and white flowers. The bridesmaids wore blue, while Harry and his groomsmen were in navy.
It all fitted the surroundings beautifully.
The only slight complication was the temperature.
It was hot.
Very hot.
The sort of hot where putting a cello, a piano and two musicians directly in the sunshine for several hours starts to feel less like wedding entertainment and more like some sort of endurance experiment.
Fortunately, there was a large tree close to the ceremony area which provided enough shade for us to set up comfortably while still allowing the music to carry across the amphitheatre.
This became JAM Duo headquarters for the first half of the afternoon.
Live music before the ceremony
Hannah and Harry had put a lot of thought into their music, and we always enjoy weddings where the soundtrack covers several different styles.
As guests arrived and took their seats, we played a selection chosen by the couple including:
- You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
- The Scientist – Coldplay
- A Million Dreams – The Greatest Showman
- Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
- So Easy (To Fall in Love) – Olivia Dean
Pre-ceremony music is an important part of the atmosphere.
Guests are arriving, finding people they haven’t seen for months, deciding where to sit and, in August, quietly assessing whether their chosen outfit was perhaps designed for a rather cooler climate.
Live cello and piano gives those 20 or 30 minutes a sense of occasion without turning them into a concert. The music sits naturally beneath the conversation while marking the transition from everyone arriving to the ceremony actually beginning.
And with around 86 guests gathering in the amphitheatre, there was soon a lovely buzz around the venue.
Four bridesmaid entrances and Songbird for Hannah
Hannah had eight bridesmaids entering in pairs, which meant four separate bridesmaid entrances before her own arrival.
This is precisely where live music has a major advantage over simply pressing play on a recording.
Nobody needs to walk faster because the chorus is approaching.
Nobody has to wait awkwardly because the track has another 27 seconds left.
We can watch the bridal party, follow what is happening and shape the music around the entrance itself.
Once the bridesmaids were in place, it was time for Hannah.
For her bridal entrance she had chosen Songbird by Fleetwood Mac.
It is a beautiful choice for cello and piano: simple, warm and melodic without becoming overly dramatic. In an outdoor setting such as Bury Manor Barn, it worked particularly well.
Hannah made her way through the amphitheatre towards Harry beneath the floral arch, while we played Songbird live from our shady position beneath the tree.
Exactly how a bridal entrance should feel: unhurried, personal and completely connected to the moment.
Music during the ceremony
For the signing of the register, Hannah and Harry had chosen several songs, giving us enough music to cover however long the formalities happened to take.
Their choices included Can’t Help Falling in Love, Fallingforyou by The 1975, and Birds of a Feather.
Again, this is something we always recommend.
Signing the register is one of those parts of a wedding ceremony which can take three minutes or ten. There may be photographs, witnesses to organise and paperwork to complete.
Having several pieces of live music ready means there is never a strange silence and, equally, we can bring the final piece to a natural conclusion the moment everything is finished.
Then came one of our favourite choices of the entire day.
For Hannah and Harry’s exit from the ceremony they chose Concerning Hobbits from The Lord of the Rings.
Excellent.
After all the emotion and formality of a wedding ceremony, there is something rather wonderful about a newly married couple walking back up the aisle to music from Middle-earth.
And it works remarkably well on cello and piano.
Drinks reception music beneath the trees
With Hannah and Harry officially married, guests moved into the drinks reception.
We remained outside and repositioned as necessary while still making very enthusiastic use of the available shade.
By this point the sun had absolutely no intention of becoming any less enthusiastic, so the tree remained our closest and most valued colleague.
The couple had given us a fantastic list of requests for the drinks reception, ranging from classic pop to contemporary favourites.
Among their choices were Dancing in the Moonlight, All You Need Is Love, Love Story, Together in Electric Dreams, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Everywhere, Paradise, Pink Pony Club, Sign of the Times, A Sky Full of Stars, Africa, Make You Feel My Love, Dancing Queen and I Say a Little Prayer.
They had also told us that they particularly liked Wham!, The 1975 and Coldplay, which gave us plenty of scope to add suitable music around their main requests.
This is exactly how we like couples to approach their drinks reception playlist.
Give us plenty of songs you love, tell us the artists and styles you enjoy, and then let us build a live set around them.
The result feels personal without being rigid.
While photographs were being taken and guests enjoyed drinks around the grounds, cello and piano provided the soundtrack to the afternoon.
Moving into Bury Manor Barn
After several hours outside, we then moved into the barn ready for the next part of the wedding.
Quite apart from being another lovely space, entering the barn also provided something which by this stage had acquired almost mythical status.
A roof.
And shade.
The wedding breakfast followed the speeches, with Hannah and Harry allocating the period between 4pm and 4.30pm for speeches before the meal.
They had chosen Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting by Elton John for their entrance, which immediately set a rather different tone from Songbird earlier in the afternoon.
This is one of the things we particularly liked about their music choices.
There was no attempt to make everything conform to a single genre.
Fleetwood Mac could happily coexist with Elton John, Taylor Swift, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and The Simpsons.
As indeed they should.
Film, television and musical favourites during dinner
The wedding breakfast playlist was particularly fun.
Hannah and Harry had chosen a collection of film, television and musical favourites including:
Interstellar, Game of Thrones, Bridgerton, The Force Theme, Hedwig’s Theme, E.T., Tale as Old as Time, Pure Imagination, The Simpsons, the theme from Up, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, I’ll Be There for You from Friends, My Heart Will Go On, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park and Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
This sort of repertoire works brilliantly during a wedding meal.
Instrumental versions of familiar themes give guests that little moment of recognition — the inevitable glance across the table when somebody realises exactly what we are playing — without competing with conversation.
And cello and piano lend themselves particularly well to film music.
John Williams alone has done an admirable job of keeping wedding musicians occupied for decades.
From Hogwarts to Jurassic Park and Star Wars, there was certainly plenty for us to work with.
A wonderfully personal wedding soundtrack
What stood out about Hannah and Harry’s wedding was just how personal their music was.
There were romantic choices where they mattered, but also plenty of personality.
Songbird for the bridal entrance.
Concerning Hobbits for the ceremony exit.
Taylor Swift and Coldplay during the afternoon.
Elton John for the wedding breakfast entrance.
Then everything from Bridgerton to The Simpsons during dinner.
That is exactly what wedding music should be.
Not a collection of songs chosen because somebody somewhere has declared them to be “wedding appropriate”, but music which actually means something to the two people getting married.
Thank you, Hannah and Harry
A huge thank you to Hannah and Harry for choosing JAM Duo to provide the live music for their wedding at Bury Manor Barn.
We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the day and playing for the ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast.
Bury Manor Barn is a beautiful venue, and the outdoor amphitheatre in particular creates a really distinctive setting for a wedding ceremony. The combination of the old stone walls, countryside views and floral arch looked superb.
Admittedly, on one of the hottest afternoons of the summer, we also developed a particularly strong appreciation for its trees.
But once we had established our suitably shady performance spot, it was a wonderful afternoon of live music in a gorgeous West Sussex setting.
Congratulations again to Hannah and Harry, and thank you for trusting us with such an important part of your wedding day.
We hope married life contains plenty more Fleetwood Mac, Coldplay and Elton John — and, when required, the occasional hobbit.
