Project Description
Holliday Wedding
On Saturday December 16th 2017, XO, London Wedding Band, travelled to Stationer’s Hall, London, for the wedding of Clea and Damien. We had an incredible time at Mr and Mrs Holliday’s wedding – their friends and family were ready for a party from the first song until the very end, and we had so much fun!
The Venue
Stationer’s Hall is a Livery building completed in 1673, situated near St Paul’s. It is an absolutely stunning venue in central London, and accommodated quite a large wedding party for Clea and Damien. This was our first time here and we loved playing in such a beautiful venue. There are three rooms used during a wedding at Stationer’s Hall, and the main hall is where the ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening reception are held. With high ceilings, a large stained window at one end, and flags hanging from the sides, it is a breathtaking room. Clea and Damien chose to set up the wedding breakfast with a long table layout, with four tables almost to the length of the hall. This really suited the room and was a great use of space.
Check out the venue’s website here – www.stationers.org
The Set Up
As the couple had their ceremony a little later than usual, we waited until the ceremony finished and the staff were changing the room around for the wedding breakfast. This was the perfect time for us to assemble our equipment as the wedding party was in a different room. Once the room was ready for the breakfast, and the majority of our gear was ready, we left the hall for the party to enjoy their food. We were treated to a lovely meal and could hear the wonderful speeches through the speakers. Once the food had been eaten and coffee and tea had been served, the guests vacated the hall for another room turn around! We finished our set up and managed a quick sound check before the bride and groom cut their cakes (a sponge cake and a cheese cake!) in the other room. The party was then ushered back into the hall for the final time, ready for the first dance.
The First Dance
The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley
Clea and Damien chose the perfect song to fit with the traditional venue and style of their wedding – ‘The Wonder Of You’ by Elvis Presley. This was a new first dance song for us, and it was a wonderful moment to see the newly married couple surrounded by their friends and family. I hope we get to perform this song again, as it was very romantic and heartfelt!
Live Party Band
We followed Elvis with a crowd favourite, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, which started slowly and builds into the famous chorus we all know. It was the perfect bridge between the slow first dance and the evening’s party! The crowd were straight on the dance floor and enjoyed every moment. We played ‘Dancing In The Moonlight’, which is a great sing-along, and the classic ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ before heading into our tried and tested Disco Medley.
A bit later on the guests enjoyed a bit of Rock N Roll, with ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Teenage Kicks’ and ‘You Really Got Me’ going down a treat. We love mixing it up with genres, so everyone is catered for. Everyone knows these classic songs and can get involved and sing along. Another great one for this was Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, which never fails to get an audience singing!
For our final set we dived into our Party Medley, which never lets us down. ‘24K Magic’, ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Shut Up and Dance’ are definite favourites of ours! To start rounding off the evening, we burst into The Proclaimers’ ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), to our audience’s delight! Everyone was truly in the party spirit, and gained top marks for their singing to ‘Living On A Prayer’ and ‘Sex On Fire’. These songs are perfect for the end of a wedding, when everyone has had a few drinks!
As it was the Christmas season, it would be rude not to include a festive song or two, and one of our favourites is Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’. Clea enjoyed it so much, she joined us on stage and became an honorary percussionist, tambourine in hand! This was such a memorable moment, and we have video footage as evidence!
Mr and Mrs Holliday were so welcoming and were incredible hosts! We’d like to thank them for hiring us as their wedding entertainment – it was an incredible and truly memorable evening. We hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did!