There are some weddings which remind us that the word luxury has become rather strangely defined. Scroll through social media for long enough and it can start to mean enormous country houses, champagne towers, acres of flowers and table settings which appear to have required the combined resources of several small nations. All of that can be wonderful, of course, but Cheryl and Karla’s wedding at The Village Hotel Portsmouth reminded us that there is another sort of luxury which matters rather more: being surrounded by genuinely lovely people, having a venue which wants the day to work, and spending several hours in an atmosphere where everyone simply seems happy to be there.
For us, this was exactly that sort of wedding. Cheryl and Karla were two of the loveliest people we have had the pleasure of working for, and from the moment we arrived the whole day felt relaxed, friendly and welcoming. Nothing was unnecessarily complicated, the venue team were helpful, access was straightforward and the entire celebration took place within a dedicated area of the hotel. It was, in many ways, the perfect working wedding for JAM Duo — not because it was extravagant, but because everything simply worked.
A Wedding at The Village Hotel Portsmouth
The Village Hotel Portsmouth provided Cheryl and Karla with a modern indoor setting for their wedding, with the ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast and later cocktail hour all taking place within the same dedicated part of the hotel.
From our point of view this was an excellent arrangement. We were effectively working between two adjacent rooms during the course of the day, which meant that moving the piano and cello between different parts of the celebration was straightforward and could be done without disrupting the flow of the wedding. There was no lengthy relocation across gardens, staircases or distant function rooms; instead we could concentrate on what we were there to do — provide continuous live music as the atmosphere changed from ceremony to reception, through dinner and into the evening.
The room itself had been dressed in navy and orange, reflecting the colours chosen for the wedding party. The combination worked particularly well against the modern interior of the hotel, with fairy lights and ceiling drapes giving the ceremony space a much softer and more celebratory feel.
Around fifty guests joined Cheryl and Karla for the day, which gave the wedding a particularly warm and personal atmosphere. It was large enough to have plenty of energy during the drinks reception and meal, but still intimate enough that everyone seemed connected to what was happening.
Live Music for the Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony began at 2pm and gave us our first opportunity to bring some of Cheryl and Karla’s wonderfully varied musical tastes into the day.
For the entrance of the bride, they had chosen Kiss the Girl from The Little Mermaid. Disney music works remarkably well for wedding ceremonies when the right song is chosen, and this one has exactly the combination of warmth, romance and familiarity which makes it feel immediately appropriate without becoming overly formal.
During the signing of the register we played music including The Reason by Hoobastank and Amazed by Lonestar. These were excellent examples of the sort of choices we particularly enjoy arranging for cello and piano. Neither is what might traditionally be described as “wedding music”, but both translate beautifully into instrumental arrangements and, more importantly, they meant something to the couple.
Then came one of our favourite choices of the day.
Cheryl and Karla walked back down the aisle together to Life Is a Highway by Rascal Flatts.
It is difficult to imagine a better way of announcing that the formal bit is finished and the celebration has properly begun. It was upbeat, joyful and completely suited to the personality of the wedding.
From Disney to The Killers – A Very Varied Drinks Reception
After the ceremony we moved into the neighbouring space for the drinks reception, where the musical brief became considerably broader.
And we rather liked the instruction: essentially, play a mixture of The Rasmus, Queen, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Disney, Keane, 1990s pop punk and music spanning the 1990s right through to the present day.
That is exactly the sort of brief we enjoy.
Songs such as In the Shadows by The Rasmus sit surprisingly naturally alongside more melodic choices such as Somewhere Only We Know and This Is the Last Time by Keane when arranged for cello and piano. Throw Queen, Foo Fighters and The Killers into the same afternoon and you end up with something much more interesting than a conventional collection of background wedding music.
One of the great advantages of playing live throughout a wedding is that we can respond to what is happening in the room. The drinks reception naturally wants music with a little more movement and energy than the ceremony, while still leaving enough space for guests to talk, greet one another and enjoy the reception. It is not about creating a concert. It is about helping shape the atmosphere without ever overwhelming it.
Wedding Breakfast Music
We then moved again for the wedding breakfast, continuing with Cheryl and Karla’s broad mixture of music while guests sat down to eat.
The transition from drinks reception into dinner is often one of the most interesting parts of a wedding musically. The room settles, conversations become more relaxed and the music can move between quieter arrangements and more recognisable contemporary songs depending on the atmosphere.
Because we had been given such an open musical brief, we could continue moving through several decades and genres rather than being tied to one particular style. Pop, rock, Disney and more reflective songs could all sit alongside each other, which made the wedding breakfast feel personal to Cheryl and Karla rather than simply sounding like a generic wedding playlist.
Their speeches were scheduled for after the meal, so our role during dinner was very much to provide the musical backdrop to that part of the celebration before attention moved towards the speeches.
Cocktail Hour and the Later Part of the Day
Our final section of the day was the cocktail hour, which gave us another opportunity to bring some energy back into the music as the wedding moved towards the evening.
Again, the repertoire included everything from rock and pop through to Disney and favourites from the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. By this stage of a wedding we have usually been playing for several hours and have a good sense of the musical character of the room, making it much easier to choose songs which fit the atmosphere naturally.
Cheryl and Karla had also chosen From This Moment On by Shania Twain for their first dance later in the celebrations — a rather lovely contrast to some of the rockier choices which had accompanied the earlier parts of the day.
The Kind of Hospitality We Remember
We also want to say a particular thank you to Tommy and the team at the venue, who looked after us throughout the day.
It may sound like a small detail, but the way musicians and other suppliers are treated by a venue can make an enormous difference to a wedding day. Helpful staff, sensible access and people who communicate properly allow us to concentrate on the couple rather than logistics. Everything at The Village Hotel Portsmouth was refreshingly straightforward, and the team could not have been more accommodating.
At the end of our playing, Cheryl and Karla had also very kindly arranged for us to have food in the hotel restaurant. After providing live music across the ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast and cocktail hour, this was enormously appreciated.
Supplier hospitality is never something we take for granted, and gestures like that tend to say rather a lot about the people making them.
A Wedding We Will Remember
What made this wedding special was not any single decoration, room or piece of music. It was the people.
Cheryl and Karla were quite simply a joy to work with. Warm, appreciative, relaxed and clearly having a wonderful day, they created the sort of wedding atmosphere which spreads naturally to everyone around them.
There will always be weddings which photograph spectacularly for social media, with grand staircases, sweeping estates and extraordinary styling. But there is another kind of wedding which we value every bit as much — one where the couple are lovely, their guests are happy, the venue staff are welcoming and everyone involved seems to understand that the purpose of the whole thing is actually to enjoy the day.
Cheryl and Karla’s wedding was exactly that.
Thank you both for choosing JAM Duo to provide the music for such a large part of your wedding day. It was our absolute pleasure to be there, and you genuinely rank among the loveliest couples we have had the privilege of playing for.
We wish you both every happiness for the future.
