There are wedding venues with a view, and then there is Tunnels Beaches in Ilfracombe, where the view rather feels as though somebody has taken a particularly dramatic section of the Devon coastline, carved a wedding venue into it and then decided that an ordinary front door would be far too conventional. Instead, guests arrive through the famous tunnel before emerging into a setting of cliffs, sea, rock and sky. For Megan and Alex’s wedding on 11 September 2026, it made a spectacular backdrop for a day of live piano and cello music.
We provided music for both the outdoor ceremony and the drinks reception, performing from one position throughout on our Nord Stage 5 piano and Yamaha electric cello. This worked especially well at Tunnels Beaches because we were able to connect directly into the venue’s own sound system. Rather than bringing our usual speakers into the equation, our instruments fed straight into the installed system, meaning the music could be heard not only around the ceremony terrace but throughout the relevant areas of the venue, both inside and outside.
It was one of those occasions where technology did exactly what technology is supposed to do: make everything easier without drawing attention to itself.
An Outdoor Ceremony Overlooking the Sea
Guests began arriving from 1pm, with the ceremony scheduled for 2pm. The ceremony area at Tunnels Beaches is quite extraordinary, sitting directly against the rock with the sea beyond and the wedding structure framed by the surrounding cliffside. Megan and Alex had chosen a wonderfully summery palette of pastel colours, with pinks, blues, greens, yellows and oranges appearing through the flowers and wedding party.
We set up to the left of the aisle when looking towards the sea, using the Nord Stage 5 and electric cello. Because ceremony and drinks reception were taking place in essentially the same area, there was no need for the usual mid-wedding relocation of instruments. We could simply remain in position and allow the music to continue as the day moved naturally from ceremony into photographs, drinks and canapés.
Given the number of moving parts at any wedding, occasionally not having to move several hundred pounds’ worth of musical equipment is a small but deeply satisfying victory.
Music as the Guests Arrived
Megan and Alex had put a great deal of thought into their music, and the pre-ceremony selection immediately showed the range they wanted for the day. Rather than sticking to one particular genre, they chose songs that meant something to them and created a very personal musical atmosphere.
Among the requests were Coldplay’s A Sky Full of Stars, Billie Eilish’s Birds of a Feather, Accidentally in Love from Shrek, Olivia Dean’s Easy to Fall in Love, John Legend’s All of Me and Alan Walker’s Faded.
The final music before the processional was particularly important. Alex wanted to enter to music from The Lord of the Rings, so the atmosphere shifted slightly as the groom arrived and everyone settled into place for the ceremony.
That is one of the great advantages of live music at a ceremony. There does not have to be a hard stop between one part of the proceedings and the next. We can extend a phrase, shorten an arrangement or move naturally into the next piece as the people involved actually arrive. Weddings, despite the best efforts of schedules, rarely operate with the precision of Swiss railways.
Music, fortunately, can adapt.
Beyoncé for the Bridal Entrance
The bridal party was a substantial one, including a page boy, three flower girls, seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen before Megan made her entrance.
For the bridesmaids, Megan and Alex had chosen Beyoncé’s version of Ave Maria. It was a lovely choice for the setting: recognisable, elegant and suitably spacious for a longer procession.
Megan then entered to Halo, also by Beyoncé.
We have played Halo many times at weddings, but it remains one of those songs that works particularly well on cello and piano. Stripping away the production of the original leaves a melody that can be allowed to breathe, and against the backdrop of the sea and the Devon cliffs it felt entirely at home.
The practical advantage of performing live was particularly useful with such a large wedding party. Rather than worrying about whether a recording was the correct length, we simply shaped both pieces around the procession itself. The music finished when everybody was where they needed to be, rather than everybody having to reach their place because the music had decided it was finished.
Music During the Signing
Megan and Alex had asked for several pieces during the signing, and we were delighted to fit all of them in.
The selection included Ludovico Einaudi’s I Giorni, music inspired by The Lord of the Rings, including The Shire and May It Be, together with Phil Collins’ You’ll Be in My Heart.
It made for a beautifully varied section of the ceremony. I Giorni brought the familiar flowing piano writing of Einaudi, while the Tolkien-inspired music suited the rugged surroundings almost suspiciously well. Had somebody appeared over the cliff carrying a sword and announcing that we were all expected in Mordor by teatime, nobody would have been entirely surprised.
The important thing was that the signing did not feel like dead time. It remained part of the ceremony, with music continuing underneath while Megan and Alex completed the formalities and their guests took in the surroundings.
A Phil Collins Wedding Exit
Once Megan and Alex were officially married, the ceremony moved into rather more celebratory territory with their exit music: Phil Collins’ On My Way.
It is a wonderfully upbeat choice for a recessional and worked particularly well after the more reflective music used earlier in the ceremony. As the newlyweds made their way back up the aisle, the music shifted immediately into something brighter and more energetic.
And from there, there was no real break in proceedings. The ceremony space became the drinks reception and we simply carried on playing.
Drinks Reception Music at Tunnels Beaches
The drinks reception ran from approximately 3pm until 5pm while guests enjoyed drinks and canapés and Megan and Alex headed away for photographs around the extraordinary coastline surrounding the venue.
Their drinks reception requests were possibly even more eclectic than the ceremony music, which is something we always enjoy. There were songs connected to particular members of the family, favourite artists belonging to the bride and groom, and a few choices which simply deserved to be heard on cello and piano.
Beyoncé naturally continued to feature prominently, including Still in Love (Kissing You), II Hands II Heaven and Texas Hold ’Em. There were also requests from The 1975, including Robbers and About You, together with music from Mumford & Sons.
Other choices included The Boys of Summer by Don Henley, Firestone by Kygo, Blackbird by The Beatles, Dancing in the Moonlight, Demons by Imagine Dragons, Rihanna’s Lift Me Up, Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club, Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, Zara Larsson and music by Foo Fighters, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode.
And then there was The Office US theme tune.
Every wedding playlist should contain at least one selection which makes somebody nearby suddenly look at us and think, “Hang on… is that what I think it is?”
Yes. Yes it is.
Music With Family Connections
Some of the drinks reception choices had particular family significance, which is always lovely to include in a wedding day.
Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me) had been chosen especially for the father of the groom, while Sister Sledge’s Thinking of You was a favourite of the mother of the bride. Michael Jackson represented the mother of the groom, while Depeche Mode was included for the father of the bride.
These are often the pieces that matter most.
A drinks reception playlist does not necessarily need to consist entirely of sweeping romantic ballads. Sometimes the best reaction comes from somebody recognising a song that has followed them around for decades and realising that the couple deliberately included it for them.
It makes the music part of the family story rather than simply something happening in the background.
Using the Venue Sound System
From a technical point of view, Tunnels Beaches was particularly interesting because we could connect the piano and cello directly into the venue’s installed PA system.
Ordinarily we travel with our own professional sound equipment and can create a completely self-contained setup almost anywhere. On this occasion, however, the venue system was already designed to distribute sound around the building and outdoor areas, so using it made perfect sense.
The result was unusually seamless.
Guests could move between the outdoor terrace and the interior spaces without suddenly losing the music. The instruments remained physically outside with us, but the sound became part of the wider venue.
For us, that is exactly how amplification should work. It should not feel like a concert PA has been dropped into the middle of somebody’s wedding. The sound should simply be clear, warm and present wherever people happen to be.
Nord Stage Piano and Electric Cello
For the day we used our Nord Stage 5 piano together with Yamaha electric cello.
The combination is ideal for a venue such as Tunnels Beaches. The Nord gives us the quality and control of a full professional stage piano while remaining practical enough to position almost anywhere, while the electric cello can be connected cleanly into a sound system without the feedback and microphone complications that can sometimes come with amplifying an acoustic instrument outdoors.
Most importantly, everything the guests heard was played live.
There were no backing tracks and no prerecorded accompaniment. Just piano and cello, adapting the music throughout the ceremony and drinks reception to what was actually happening around us.
That matters particularly at a wedding like Megan and Alex’s, where music ranged from Einaudi and The Lord of the Rings to Beyoncé, Phil Collins, The 1975, Taylor Swift, Sister Sledge and The Office. It is rather a lot of musical ground for two instruments to cover in one afternoon, but that is also exactly what makes days like this enjoyable.
A Spectacular Devon Wedding
Tunnels Beaches is certainly one of the more dramatic places we have performed. The combination of cliffs, sea, contemporary architecture and the enclosed ceremony terrace gives it a character unlike almost anywhere else.
Even the journey into the venue through the tunnel creates a sense that you are leaving the ordinary world behind for a while.
For Megan and Alex, it provided a spectacular setting for a wedding which felt personal from beginning to end. Their music reflected their own tastes, their families and the people around them rather than following a predetermined collection of standard wedding songs.
We were particularly pleased to be able to keep the music flowing continuously from the ceremony into the drinks reception, with the venue sound system carrying our live piano and cello throughout the space.
And we also loved the little guest book detail at the end of our part of the day, where we were able to leave Megan and Alex a message thanking them for choosing JAM Duo to provide their daytime wedding music.
Thank you, Megan and Alex, for inviting us to be part of such a memorable day. We wish you both every happiness for the future — and thank you for giving us perhaps the only wedding playlist this year capable of moving convincingly from Beyoncé to Middle-earth and then into The Office without anyone questioning it.
