The great thing about being a live wedding band is that you get to visit some of the country’s most fascinating buildings. Not only that, we get to rock the party at them too! Chateau Impney was without doubt one of the most memorable. Still in our home of the West Midlands, Worcestershire’s Chateau Impney is, as you can see for yourself if you google it, an impressive building!
8 Times The Fun!
The room the band were playing in was, somewhat surprisingly, octagonal! The maths geeks among the band enjoyed the unusual qualities of the room, and it made for a unique setting for a wedding reception!
John Legend’s All Of Me was the couple’s choice for the first dance, and with the full 5 piece lineup the arrangement sounded gorgeous. In the last few years this track has been a popular choice, and it’s easy to see why. A lovely sentiment with an ideal slow dance tempo: we’re sure it’ll be a popular choice for the years to come!
Stevie Wonder vs The Fresh Prince
As the dance floor built in excitement and energy over the night, the band threw a few improvised additions their way. Of particular note was James’ Fresh Prince Of Bel Air rap in the instrumental section of Superstition. The Stevie Wonder track has a groove allows plenty of space for fun ad-libs – keep your ears peeled (is that a phrase?!) at any of the next shows!
As the night rocked on, favourites including Domino brought the dance floor to a true frenzy! So much fun, and here’s hoping we’ll get another visit to Chateau Impney soon!
The great thing about being a live wedding band is that you get to visit some of the country’s most fascinating buildings. Not only that, we get to rock the party at them too! Chateau Impney was without doubt one of the most memorable. Still in our home of the […]
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The grounds at Osterley Park, in Isleworth, not far from Twickenham, and only a short hop from Central London, play host to a handful of weddings per year. As such, The CoverUps were very pleased to be part of the Beazley’s special day in this magnificent location with its palatial Georgian country house and beautiful gardens.
Seamless Summer Operation
We arrived at 4pm to set up the stage. We provided an additional microphone for speeches (useful in large marquees like today because the soft sides absorb a lot of the sound) and sound-checked before guests arrived for the wedding breakfast. Thanks to the the band’s efforts and the slick organisation of the venue staff, we had smooth transitions throughout the evening’s proceedings and the party kicked off shortly with Queen’s ‘You’re my Best Friend’ as the couple’s first dance.
Don’t Stop Us Now!
More and more guests joined the dance floor as spirits rose and the summer evening air cooled, culminating in a stomping second set. We made the most of our 5-piece repertoire and the wider variety that a female vocalist allows. Nevertheless it was the classic numbers like Superstition, Don’t Stop Believing and Don’t Stop Me Now that had everyone really moving. Guests were left wanting more as the strict noise regulations limited the live performance to a midnight finish. Despite an abrupt ending, it was a wonderful night that we were very happy to be part of.
Congratulations to Nick and Charlotte Beazley, and thank you for having us share in your day.
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The grounds at Osterley Park, in Isleworth, not far from Twickenham, and only a short hop from Central London, play host to a handful of weddings per year. As such, The CoverUps were very pleased to be part of the Beazley’s special day in this magnificent location with its palatial […]
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A whisker over the hour from our Coventry HQ, The Hyde Barn is a wonderful wedding venue nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds. Having enjoyed playing a wedding at the Hyde Barn last year, it was a great welcome call to return (this time with an added acoustic set!).
Lazing On A Sunny Afternoon
It was great fun providing an acoustic set over the drinks reception in the afternoon. After the busyness of getting ready, followed by the formality of the ceremony, for many involved it is the first chance to unbutton the collar and begin to relax into the day. A mix of Jason Mraz, Billy Joel and a few laid back versions of upbeat tunes (Crazy by Gnarls Barkley is always fun), the mood of the day was set. The groom himself, a big fan of 90s indie, gave us the chance to roll out some Oasis and Stereophonics tracks. Trusty digital songbook at hand, songs were dusted off from right at the back of the catalogue!
A Moving Performance
After the acoustic set was over, it was time for a quick break before the rest of the band arrived. With some debate over the location of the evening set, the gear was left in place in the hope it might get to stay set up! As it was, we moved through to the main hall to play the main set. The main room at the Hyde Barn is spacious, giving us more room to let go and even get the groom up for some singing!
Rocking The Cotswolds
With the gear in place, including the groom’s guitars and amp we’d set up for him, we were ready to begin. The first dance was the Lumineers with Ho Hey. First things first we got the crowd in on the chants before kicking into the track ourselves. It’s a great way to start the dancing and a lovely vibe to that track. “I belong to you, you belong to be, you’re my sweetheart” – you could hardly find a better sentiment to start married life! And so, the night rocked on with a combination of indie and pop hits, with a few visits from the groom and his old band mates to play us through some of their favourite tunes. As you can see from the photos below, it was a great night. And with over a hundred weddings a year at Hyde Barn, we’re looking forward to being back to this great wedding venue soon!
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A whisker over the hour from our Coventry HQ, The Hyde Barn is a wonderful wedding venue nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds. Having enjoyed playing a wedding at the Hyde Barn last year, it was a great welcome call to return (this time with an added acoustic set!). Lazing […]
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Nuthurst Grange has quickly become one of the band’s new favourite wedding venues. Just to the South of Birmingham, it lies in Warwickshire countryside barely 20mins from the CoverUps Coventry HQ. On arrival we were delighted to find out our set up was well beyond earshot of the dining wedding guests, leaving us free to get our equipment set up, and even have a quick run through the first dance!
More Than Words
In over a decade, playing hundreds of weddings, it’s amazing that this was the debut for us playing this particular first dance. More Than Words by Extreme is a gorgeous choice, and one both our guitarist and vocalist cut their teeth on nearly 2 decades ago. The delicate track was perfect for the Nuthurst Barn, and as the guitar struck up there were whoops and the guests recognised the distinctive guitar pattern. A few bro-mance harmony moments later and the guests flocked to the dance floor.
80s Power Pop
The night continued with throws of the 80s (while More Than Words was technically released in the 1990, the whole album has that 80s rock sound: just check out Steve playing Decadence Dance from the same album!) From Paul Simon (You Can Call Me Al) to Aha and Huey Lewis And The News it was a time machine trip Marty McFly would have been proud of!
Back To The Future
From there – after a short break for everyone to catch their breath – the band pulled the set right back to the modern day. With Happy by Pharrell Williams running straight into an impromptu rendition of Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off (as requested by the bridesmaids) the band rocked the dance floor hard through to the end of the night.
We’re looking forward to a return to Nuthurst Grange in the new year, but for now, just enjoy the photos of the night!
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Nuthurst Grange has quickly become one of the band’s new favourite wedding venues. Just to the South of Birmingham, it lies in Warwickshire countryside barely 20mins from the CoverUps Coventry HQ. On arrival we were delighted to find out our set up was well beyond earshot of the dining wedding […]
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Just an hours drive from the band’s hometown, Coventry, we arrived at Hoar Cross Hotel in Burton Upon Trent for Tanya and Matthew’s wedding reception. The venue itself is a genteel estate set amidst 50 acres of beautiful gardens. Being the summertime, the building was naturally landscaped with vines and moss growing all along the architecture giving it a romantic fairy-tale feel. We had no doubt it was going to be the perfect setting for this wedding as we unpacked our vehicles and began to set up for the evening – not least as we were working once again with the excellent Planned For Perfection who had worked their wedding planning magic on the day’s events!
A Thousand Years
The room at the venue was ready to go as we arrived, meaning we could be straight in to set up. With the guests enjoying drinks both in the room and on the terrace, we used our year’s of experience to make sure we were set up quickly and discretely – allowing everyone to enjoy a quiet drink before the entertainment kicked off!
… Because when it did, there was to be no let-up in the pace! Shortly after 7pm, as we went to get fed and changed, the couple had some Arabic dancing! The couple had hired a specialist DJ who pumped out the infectious beats while the professional dancers got the party started.
The first dance marked something of a pause for breath in the energetic dancing, being Christina Perry’s A Thousand Years from the Twilight Saga. With the added female vocals of the 5-piece band the song soared across the happy couple as they slowed danced across the dance floor.
A Night Of A Thousand Songs
Not only had the couple enhanced the band with the additional vocal, but they’d also chosen to extend the live playing time to 3 hours. After a strong start to a packed dance floor with great early evening dance floor fillers like I Want You Back, Rehab, American Boy, we left them wanting more with a rocky end to the set.
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Just an hours drive from the band’s hometown, Coventry, we arrived at Hoar Cross Hotel in Burton Upon Trent for Tanya and Matthew’s wedding reception. The venue itself is a genteel estate set amidst 50 acres of beautiful gardens. Being the summertime, the building was naturally landscaped with vines and […]
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