The Cotswolds is host to some pretty spectacular venues, and we’ve just been introduced to yet another! The wedding party and guests hailed from across the globe, and it seems with the world to choose from, they chose Whatley Manor! It’s a beautiful Cotswold house, lovingly and authentically restored, treading graciously the line between contemporary and traditional styles. Not simply a wedding venue, it is well worth popping in if you’re in the area – and the band can heartily recommend the food!
That Crazy Little Thing
With an early arrival booked for an acoustic set, singer and bassist arrived just before 4:00pm to set up. The wedding ceremony itself was planned for 4:30pm, leaving just a half hour to get the slimmed down acoustic rig set up. With thoughts that autumn was upon us early, the sunshine felt like a real unexpected bonus to a lovely setting. We were greeted by a remarkably relaxed groom and we knew the tone was already set for a delightful day!
The chilled acoustic set ran over the drinks reception out on the terrace. The live music really helped set the mood for the day, and guests from across Europe sat and enjoyed some British sun and a few classic songs from British bands – English Man In New York felt particularly poignant.
After a number of speeches, the band were set and ready to go for the couple’s first dance. They’d chosen to choreograph a routine which, given that the guests didn’t event expect the groom to make an appearance on the dance floor at all, was greeted with rapturous applause from the wedding party. Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen was the chosen track, played by the band, and a great choice it was too!
Encore!
With a large french contingent, our front man made an effort to engage the dance floor in French which was met with a mix of appreciation and bemusement as the broken phrases attempted to convey spoken sections of a few songs. With such a light atmosphere, the fun kept flowing through the whole night, with everything from Get Lucky‘s appearance to Billie Jean being met with much joy.
A lovelier couple you’d be pushed to find, and it was a true pleasure working for them. Take a look at our photos from the day below to see just how much fun was had by those celebrating with this delightful pair!
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The Cotswolds is host to some pretty spectacular venues, and we’ve just been introduced to yet another! The wedding party and guests hailed from across the globe, and it seems with the world to choose from, they chose Whatley Manor! It’s a beautiful Cotswold house, lovingly and authentically restored, treading […]
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Always a delight to play, Ettington Park is just down the road in Stratford-Upon-Avon. With stairs and a lift to contend with on the load in and out, it’s nice to know we’re close to home. Tonight we arrived and while the guests tucked into their dinner, we had a head start by loading all our equipment into the corridor just outside the Long Gallery. With what feels like half a ton of equipment loaded up the stairs, we were all ready for our dinner!
Live First Dance For The Fans
It’s always great to play for real music lovers and these guys were huge Snow Patrol fans. Their first dance was one of the band’s more contemplative tracks, Lifening. Lyrically this song sat wonderfully as a choice and it gave the couple a lovely moment to themselves on the dance floor. Their second track was Chasing Cars: the band’s most popular song, and one for the other couples in the room to join in on.
We were into our main set from there. 80s tracks seemed to be a hit: dance floor fillers from Erasure and Bruce Springsteen made a welcoming appearance in the set! A Little Respect hadn’t made a set list in a few months, so it was great fun to pull that one out at the bride and groom’s request.
Great Wedding Venue
We all had a great night and very much due to the excellent staff at Ettington Park. We were looked after brilliantly, and the couple was as happy as could be as the night came to an end. The Long Gallery is an ideal venue for a wedding reception, and while the load in and out is one of the more painstaking ones we’ve encountered, it’s always worth it for the experience of a wedding evening at Ettington Park.
Enjoy the photos, and we’ll see you next time!
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Always a delight to play, Ettington Park is just down the road in Stratford-Upon-Avon. With stairs and a lift to contend with on the load in and out, it’s nice to know we’re close to home. Tonight we arrived and while the guests tucked into their dinner, we had a […]
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Being based in Coventry ourselves, it is always nice to visit Coventry’s busiest wedding venue. This was the second of three weddings at Coombe Abbey this year and was as elegant and lively as ever!
Calling First Dancers!
The first dance was Charlene Soraia’s rendition of The Calling’s Wherever You Will Go. The track has a lovely sentiment, and the cover was a lovely arrangement for a first dance. We’re always happy to play a first dance live, but with tracks like this it’s often nice to have the vocal from the studio version, and we’re never offended by such a request!
From there, we filled the dance floor with a range of tracks from Michael Bublé to Chuck Berry and a great cross section of all that lies between. The second set climaxed with Andy Williams’ Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and it was a great night had by all.
Coventry’s Finest Weddings
As with all the weddings we’ve played at, Coombe Abbey demonstrated why the venue is so popular for weddings in the Coventry area. It was elegant, fun and well managed: three important elements to make sure your big day is one to remember for the right reasons! We always enjoy working with venues that have the same ethos of professionalism as we strive to achieve within the band, so we’re looking forward to our next Coombe Abbey wedding later this year! Until then, enjoy the photos!
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Being based in Coventry ourselves, it is always nice to visit Coventry’s busiest wedding venue. This was the second of three weddings at Coombe Abbey this year and was as elegant and lively as ever! Calling First Dancers! The first dance was Charlene Soraia’s rendition of The Calling’s Wherever You […]
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Last Saturday’s gig took us to the absolutely stunning views of the Peak District. After a beautiful drive up winding country roads, we came to what we thought was the venue, White House Farm. We drove up to the barn, not a guest or marquee in sight. A friendly local then came out to us and we asked him where the wedding was. We certainly couldn’t see anything that gave us any clues! He pointed us in the right direction and we began the drive up to the top of a hill. As we got to the top, the venue came into sight- it was an amazingly unique tipi! It was the perfect, secluded reception venue!
As soon as we began our first set the dance floor was filled with the Bride constantly bringing the energy as she didn’t stop jumping for most of the hour! There were chants, cheers and shouts as we finished our first set with the undeniable classic ‘Mr.Brightside’.
It’s always our aim as The CoverUps to do the best job we can, and it’s lovely to hear from guests what they think. The highest compliment of the night was from the Father of the Bride! After rushing to meet us after our first set, he exclaimed, “The quality is sensational!”
After a quick nibble of some cheese and crackers it was time for round two and things got off to a great start. The drums began the intro groove to ‘Valerie’ and yet again the guests kept the dance floor rammed. It’s always nice to see people of all ages enjoying the music, and there was no exception at this wedding. Young, old or in between – everyone had their moves out!
Shortly after we finished, the Bride and Groom left, but the party didn’t stop there. While packing up to go home, guests continued to dance the night away and were still dancing even as we drove off to get back home!
All in all it was a great night for us. A Beautiful setting, unique venue, good food and an energetic crowd. Congratulations Patrick and Faye! Have a great honeymoon and we hope you enjoy the start to your new life together.
Last Saturday’s gig took us to the absolutely stunning views of the Peak District. After a beautiful drive up winding country roads, we came to what we thought was the venue, White House Farm. We drove up to the barn, not a guest or marquee in sight. A friendly local […]
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In all our performances at weddings up and down the country we meet a variety of excellent wedding photographers. One such fellow is Alex Bradbury: you really should check out his work! Not just a great wedding photographer, but his passion for photography extends to his holiday time too. Check out his amazing shots of his Ice Cave Tour.
Trash The Dress
For many brides, especially those brides to be, the dress itself is one of their most precious, treasured possessions. It might seem like madness to think about getting it dirty at all…
… Alex has introduced us to something new though – the Trash The Dress Photo Shoot. These kind of photo shoots can be a real realease, and great fun by the looks of things!
Live Photos Of The Band
And so – having seen all his work, we were excited to invite Alex to take photos at one of our weddings this year. As you can see, they’re a far cry from the timer shots we take for the blog, really capturing the atmosphere. If you’re looking for a great wedding photographer in Warwickshire and the West Midlands, give Alex a call, or drop by his website: http://www.alexbradbury.co.uk/
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In all our performances at weddings up and down the country we meet a variety of excellent wedding photographers. One such fellow is Alex Bradbury: you really should check out his work! Not just a great wedding photographer, but his passion for photography extends to his holiday time too. Check […]
Read More
The School House in Weeford isn’t quite the throw back to your youth you might expect – a lovely wedding venue situated in rolling West Midlands landscapes, without a hint of the headmaster’s office! Being close to the M6 toll, the band took the near empty motorway and skirted our way around the north of Birmingham.
The Who’s Who Of Indie Bands
The couple gave away a real love of indie music through their requests. From Blur, Oasis, The Killers – the list took the band back to more youthful days and made for a great lively set list.
The first dance was the Arctic Monkey’s rendition of an old Van McCoy song, and shows quite a different style to their usual guitar lead anthems. Baby I’m Yours is a lovely choice for a first dance, and with a little help from our TC Helicon H1 hamony pedal, we had a great time playing that live for the couple.
Groom Takes The Stage
It’s always great when a bride or groom joins us on stage – whether impromptu or otherwise! This night the groom had requested playing Live Forever by Oasis with the band as the finale to the first set. It’s a great chance for us to bring out a song many of us learnt years ago. As you can see from the photos below, he had the audience enraptured and pulled of the familiar licks with aplomb! Great effort!
The night rolled on, intervals filled by a DJ from Blaze Discos. The night ended with an awesome trio of songs chosen by the happy couple, and a little Oasis treat by way of an encore. A lovely, lively evening for all at the School House. Here’s to the next one!
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The School House in Weeford isn’t quite the throw back to your youth you might expect – a lovely wedding venue situated in rolling West Midlands landscapes, without a hint of the headmaster’s office! Being close to the M6 toll, the band took the near empty motorway and skirted our […]
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A stones throw away from our Coventry home, the idyllic Wethele Manor, Leamington Spa was the setting for the wedding of Mr & Mrs Boswell. It wasn’t our first time playing at the Manor so we set up quickly in familiar surroundings while being looked after by the wonderfully helpful staff with food and drink. The night started quickly as the guests filed in for the Bride and Groom’s first dance to the classic ‘Amazed’ by Lonestar, played by the band. This track set the rocky tone for the night as our first set was filled to the brim with rock classics from band like The Beatles, Blur, The Strokes and Guns ‘n’ Roses. It proved to be very popular with the crowd as the dance floor was packed for the whole set, and there were even one or two shouts of ‘encore’ at the end of the first half!
Guitarist Steals The Show
The second set was another rock-filled extravaganza and throughout the crowd couldn’t stop watching Steve our guitarist as he nailed classic solo after classic solo. A surprising hit of the night was ‘Basket Case’ by Green Day. A song specifically requested by the Bride & Groom, it went down a storm and the words were sung in unison by almost everyone in the room! By the end of our second set everyone was rocked out, and entertained and happy guests said their goodbyes to the happy couple.
The Best In The West (Midlands!)
For us it was a job well done and time head home, putting our dreams of rock stardom back in the box for another day – but at least we got to bring it out for a little while!
A stones throw away from our Coventry home, the idyllic Wethele Manor, Leamington Spa was the setting for the wedding of Mr & Mrs Boswell. It wasn’t our first time playing at the Manor so we set up quickly in familiar surroundings while being looked after by the wonderfully helpful […]
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