On Saturday 19 September 2026, JAM Duo had the pleasure of providing live cello and piano music for the wedding of Lucy and Daniel at The Priests House at Barden Tower, near Skipton. This was a particularly enjoyable wedding for us because the music moved from a very traditional classical ceremony through to a much more contemporary wedding breakfast, allowing us to use two quite different musical setups during the course of the day.
The Priests House is a wonderfully atmospheric wedding venue, and the ceremony took place indoors in the Chapel, where there is a grand piano already in situ. For this part of the day, Jules used the venue piano while Anne-Marie played her acoustic cello, giving the ceremony a completely natural and traditional sound which suited the setting perfectly. With Daniel and his guests arriving from 12.30pm and the ceremony beginning at 1.30pm, we were able to provide a carefully planned sequence of music as the various members of the wedding party arrived and took their places.
Traditional Music for the Wedding Ceremony
Lucy and Daniel had chosen a notably traditional selection of music for the ceremony, which made a refreshing contrast to some of the more contemporary repertoire we are often asked to play. As guests arrived, we played the Flower Duet and Bach’s Prelude in C Major before moving into some particularly appropriate ceremonial music for the arrival of different members of the wedding party.
Daniel entered to Handel’s Alla Hornpipe, while the mother of the bride was accompanied by the Trumpet Voluntary. The page boys, Jack and Luca, made their entrance to music from Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, continuing the formal feel of the ceremony.
For Lucy’s entrance, the music began with Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba before moving into Wagner’s Bridal Chorus. With the acoustic cello and grand piano, this worked especially well in the Chapel and gave the arrival a suitably grand and traditional character.
The signing of the register brought a slight change of mood with Hoppípolla and Max Richter’s Spring 1, based on Vivaldi’s Spring. These pieces provided a lovely bridge between the more formal ceremonial music and the celebrations to follow.
The Mendelssohn Wedding March — In Full
Lucy and Daniel chose Mendelssohn’s famous Wedding March for their exit, and this was one of the musical highlights of the day.
Most people are familiar with the opening few bars of the Mendelssohn, but there is actually considerably more music beyond the famous opening. Because of the way the ceremony concluded, there was a good opportunity to continue playing rather than simply stopping once the couple had reached the back of the Chapel.
As a professional church organist, Jules has played the Mendelssohn Wedding March many times over the years, so it was particularly enjoyable to be able to explore rather more of the piece than wedding guests normally hear.
And yes — for those musicians who know exactly what we mean — that chord was played correctly.
A Complete Change of Setup for the Wedding Breakfast
Following the ceremony, Lucy and Daniel and their guests moved outside and into the Oak Room for drinks, canapés and photographs while the Chapel was transformed for the wedding breakfast.
We were not booked to provide music for the drinks reception, which actually worked very well from a practical point of view. It gave us plenty of time to completely change our setup and prepare for the next part of the day without having to rush between locations.
The ceremony setup of venue grand piano and acoustic cello was replaced with our own equipment. Jules moved onto the Nord Stage piano, placed inside our gloss black grand piano shell, while Anne-Marie changed to the Yamaha SVC300 electric cello.
The piano shell gave the setup the appearance of a small grand piano while still allowing us to use the flexibility and sound options of the Nord Stage. Together with the Yamaha electric cello, this created a rather different look and sound from the ceremony and was ideal for the more contemporary repertoire Lucy and Daniel had chosen for their meal.
Our position for the wedding breakfast was also quite unusual. Rather than being placed against a wall or at one end of the room, we were situated on a small dance-floor-style stage in the middle of the Chapel between the dining tables. It meant the music became a central part of the room while still remaining at a level where guests could talk comfortably throughout the meal.
Contemporary Music During the Wedding Breakfast
The music choices for the wedding breakfast could hardly have been more different from the ceremony, which is one of the things we particularly enjoyed about this wedding.
Lucy and Daniel had chosen a broad collection of modern songs including Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, Everglow by Coldplay, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve, Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader and Golden Brownby The Stranglers.
The list also included Together in Electric Dreams, The One by Kodaline, Starlight by Muse, One Day Like This by Elbow, Faded by Alan Walker and Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.
There were plenty of wedding favourites too, including Chasing Cars, Your Song, Marry You, Perfect and When You Say Nothing at All, alongside music by Imagine Dragons, Robbie Williams and Oasis.
This kind of varied playlist works particularly well during a wedding breakfast. Rather than creating the feel of a formal recital, we can move naturally between different styles and decades, allowing guests to recognise songs as they are eating and talking while the cello and piano provide a continuous musical backdrop.
Two Different Sides of JAM Duo
One of the things we enjoyed most about Lucy and Daniel’s wedding was the opportunity to show two very different sides of JAM Duo in the same venue.
The ceremony was deliberately traditional: a real grand piano, acoustic cello and classical ceremonial music in an historic Chapel. A couple of hours later, the same room had been transformed, and so had we, with the black gloss piano shell, Nord Stage piano and Yamaha electric cello accompanying a programme ranging from Coldplay and Fleetwood Mac to Muse, Oasis and Bruno Mars.
It demonstrated nicely how live cello and piano can adapt to very different parts of a wedding day without needing backing tracks or pre-recorded accompaniment. Every note throughout the ceremony and wedding breakfast was played live by the two of us.
Lucy and Daniel had around 60 guests and had chosen an elegant traditional colour scheme of sage green and ivory, with tails and dove-grey waistcoats for the groom and groomsmen. Together with the setting at The Priests House, it gave the ceremony a particularly timeless feel before the day became increasingly relaxed and contemporary during the wedding breakfast.
We thoroughly enjoyed being part of Lucy and Daniel’s wedding and wish them both every happiness for their future together.
And, rather unusually, we do not have long to wait before returning to The Priests House — JAM Duo will be back at this lovely Skipton venue again on Wednesday 23 September for another wedding and another completely different day of live cello and piano music.
