There are some wedding venues which barely require introduction, and Prestwold Hall in Leicestershire is one of them. With its grand stone exterior, sweeping grounds, elegant rooms and wonderfully traditional atmosphere, it is exactly the sort of place where live music feels completely at home.
On 16 August 2026, we had the pleasure of providing live cello and piano music for the wedding of Lauren and Evie at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough. Their day had a light blue, whimsical, almost Bridgerton-inspired feel, with 63 guests, beautiful flowers and a ceremony which was both elegant and very personal.
We provided music for the arrival of guests, the full ceremony and the drinks reception afterwards. It also gave us the chance to use two quite different musical setups during the day: the venue’s own piano inside the Library for the ceremony, and our Nord Stage piano with Anne-Marie’s new Yamaha SVC300 electric cello outside for drinks.
And no piano shell on this occasion. Prestwold Hall really doesn’t need much help in the scenery department.
Live music for the ceremony in the Library at Prestwold Hall
The ceremony took place at 1pm in the Library, with guests arriving from shortly after midday.
One of the lovely things about Prestwold Hall is that there is already a piano in the Library, so for the ceremony Jules was able to play the venue instrument while Anne-Marie used her new Yamaha SVC300 electric cello.
Using a real piano already in the ceremony room can work beautifully. It becomes part of the setting rather than introducing another large piece of equipment into an already elegant room, and combined with cello it produces exactly the warm, intimate sound we want for a wedding ceremony.
Before the ceremony began, Lauren and Evie had chosen a wonderfully varied selection of music for their guests.
Their pre-ceremony choices included:
- So Easy (To Fall in Love) – Olivia Dean
- Halo – Beyoncé
- All About You – McFly
- Baby I’m Yours – Arctic Monkeys
- Let It Be – The Beatles
It was a very good indication of what was to come. Rather than sticking rigidly to one genre, Lauren and Evie had chosen songs they genuinely liked, which is always the best way to approach wedding music.
Cello and piano lends itself particularly well to this sort of repertoire because songs which might originally have very different instrumentation can all be brought into one coherent sound world.
Two brides, two entrances – and two very different songs
Lauren and Evie had planned the bridal entrances particularly carefully.
Four bridesmaids entered first, before Lauren made her entrance to Video Games by Lana Del Rey.
Once Lauren had reached the front of the ceremony by the fireplace, we then blended the music into Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish.
Two more bridesmaids entered before Evie made her own entrance.
This is precisely where live musicians make such a difference.
With recorded music, you are inevitably dealing with fixed track lengths, fade points and awkward moments where someone either has to start walking at exactly the right second or somebody else has to operate a phone and hope for the best.
With live cello and piano, we simply follow what is happening.
We could extend Lauren’s entrance naturally until she was in position, bring Video Games to a musical conclusion and then move seamlessly into Birds of a Feather ready for the second bridal party.
Nothing had to be rushed and neither bride had to time her entrance to a recording.
The music followed them rather than the other way around.
Signing the register
Once Lauren and Evie were married, the ceremony moved into the signing of the register.
They had selected:
Lover – Taylor Swift
and
Love Me Like You Do – Ellie Goulding
They had also considered Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish, although the registrars had advised that two pieces would be sufficient.
Again, these are songs which work extremely well for cello and piano. Lover has become something of a modern wedding classic, and the melody sits beautifully on cello, while Love Me Like You Do has enough movement to keep the atmosphere relaxed while photographs and paperwork are taking place.
The register signing is one of those moments where music is particularly useful. Without it, the ceremony can suddenly become very quiet while everyone watches a small group of people signing pieces of paper.
Live music fills that space without demanding attention.
A Taylor Swift exit
For the newlyweds’ exit Lauren and Evie chose Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift.
After the quieter atmosphere of the vows and signing, the recessional is the point where everything changes.
The formal part is over, everyone can relax, and the couple walk back up the aisle together for the first time as a married couple.
Wildest Dreams worked brilliantly for that moment and gave the ceremony a suitably uplifting ending before everyone headed outside for the confetti and drinks.
From the Library to the gardens
After the ceremony there was a complete change of scene.
The weather behaved itself, meaning Lauren and Evie were able to have their drinks reception outside, close to the Orangery and the rear of the Library.
For us, that meant changing instruments and moving to our outdoor setup.
Jules used our Nord Stage piano, while Anne-Marie continued with her new Yamaha SVC300 electric cello.
For this part of the day we deliberately didn’t use our gloss black piano shell.
The Nord on its own was the practical choice for the location and allowed us to position ourselves neatly outside without introducing unnecessary equipment.
With a backdrop of Prestwold Hall, the gardens and guests enjoying drinks on the terrace, it was rather a pleasant place to spend an afternoon playing music.
Drinks reception music at Prestwold Hall
Lauren and Evie had given us a superb list of requests for their drinks reception.
And when we say varied, we really do mean varied.
There was Bruno Mars alongside Etta James, Cher next to Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Queen, Radiohead and even Kate Bush.
Among their choices were:
Marry You – Bruno Mars
At Last – Etta James
I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Wonderwall – Oasis
Sign of the Times – Harry Styles
Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan
Believe – Cher
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
Nothing Else Matters – Metallica
Yellow – Coldplay
The Sound of Silence
Creep – Radiohead
Lovely – Billie Eilish & Khalid
Everywhere – Fleetwood Mac
Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
Golden Hour – JVKE
Enchanted – Taylor Swift
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
Beneath Your Beautiful – Labrinth
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley
It is difficult to complain about an afternoon at Prestwold Hall when your job involves playing everything from Kate Bush to Metallica while people drink champagne in the garden.
One of the great advantages of cello and piano is that almost anything can be made to work.
Nothing Else Matters sounds completely natural on cello. So does Creep. Fleetwood Mac works beautifully, and the big Queen songs are enormous fun to play.
Meanwhile songs such as At Last and Can’t Help Falling in Love bring a more traditional romantic feel without making the drinks reception feel overly formal.
The result was a musical backdrop which genuinely reflected Lauren and Evie rather than simply being a list of generic wedding songs.
Music that changes with the day
We are often asked whether we use exactly the same setup throughout a wedding day.
The answer is no.
Prestwold Hall was a perfect example.
Inside the Library, using the venue piano made complete sense. It suited the surroundings and allowed us to create an intimate acoustic feel for the ceremony.
Outside, the Nord Stage piano was far more practical and gave us complete control over our sound.
Anne-Marie’s Yamaha SVC300 electric cello worked across both settings and is particularly useful outdoors, where an acoustic cello can struggle to project evenly once guests begin talking and moving around.
Everything remained live.
There were no backing tracks and no fixed recordings controlling the pace of the ceremony.
Just cello and piano responding to what was actually happening in the room.
A beautiful summer wedding at Prestwold Hall
Prestwold Hall suited Lauren and Evie’s wedding wonderfully.
The combination of the historic interiors, gardens, light blue details and colourful floral arrangements created exactly the whimsical atmosphere they had described to us beforehand.
Their ceremony felt intimate despite the grandeur of the setting, while moving outside afterwards immediately changed the mood into something much more relaxed.
That contrast is one of the things which makes weddings at country houses such as Prestwold Hall work so well.
You can have a very elegant ceremony indoors and, twenty minutes later, be outside with a drink, music playing and guests wandering around the gardens.
For musicians, it is also a lovely venue in which to work. Having an instrument already available in the ceremony room and plenty of space outside meant we could adapt our setup to each part of the day rather than forcing one arrangement to work everywhere.
Thank you Lauren and Evie
A huge thank you to Lauren and Evie for choosing JAM Duo to be part of their wedding at Prestwold Hall.
We thoroughly enjoyed playing for your ceremony and drinks reception and particularly loved the thought that had gone into your music choices.
From Video Games and Birds of a Feather for two wonderfully individual bridal entrances, through Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Ellie Goulding during the ceremony, and then everything from Etta James to Metallica outside afterwards, this was exactly the sort of musical variety we love.
Congratulations to you both, and thank you for trusting us with such an important part of your wedding day.
It was an absolute pleasure to provide the soundtrack.
