After we played for the ceremony, our lovely newlyweds drove off in this gorgeous Morgan with tins rattling behind. It was a fabulous day out. The weather was perfect and the drive through the Peak District to the wedding was breathtaking. We played a variety of popular songs as the guests arrived including Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. During the Signing of the Register the guests listened to Fly Me To The Moon and Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. Then, The Greatest Day by Take That, was chosen for the bride and groom to walk out down the isle and into the bright sunshine outside. The couple had a very special guest at their wedding. She was the Dog of Honour. I just wished I had taken her photograph. She was gorgeous.
3 Comments
When the weather is just perfect, it is such a joy to play outside and no where could be better than by the vintage inspired bandstand at the gorgeous Pendrell Hall in Staffordshire! We always come prepared with sunglasses and pegs for the music in case it is a little breezy so there is no need to worry if you decide to have your ceremony amongst the trees and butterflies. At Pendrell Hall we picked just the right spot for a magical ceremony. Close to where the guests were seated and in glorious shade. Just something that we need to have so that our instruments do not get damaged by the heat of the sun.
For more details about weddings at Pendrell Hall please visit their website http://www.pendrellhall-venue.co.uk About the Upper House... The Upper House Hotel is steeped in local history, built in 1845 for Josiah Wedgwood’s grandson Francis. It has been lovingly converted into a luxury hotel set among 10 acres of woodlands and beautifully landscaped gardens. We have had the wonderful opportunity of playing several times at this fabulous location and we often relax after our performances in the beautiful peaceful drawing room, snuggling up to the large open log fire whilst enjoying a cream tea and a sandwich or two. The service and food is excellent here, the staff so pleasant and the gardens magnificent particularly in summer creating the perfect backdrop for photographs. There is a beautiful conservatory called the Novello Room in which the ceremonies for weddings take place. It is beautiful and light and on a warm summers day the doors open wide onto the patio and gardens beyond. The views from the terrace are stunning. But not all of the wedding ceremonies are held here.. there is an elegant pagoda among the greenery where if you like you can have your ceremony there with the bluebells and bumble bees. To find out more about The Upper House you can visit their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/upperhousehotel/ or their website www.theupperhouse.com Sarah Jackson and Dave Lycett in the Novello Room at the Upper House, Barlaston
From time to time we receive lovely thank you cards and emails from our special couples and we have just received a card from Barbara and Steve who were married at The Upper House in Barlaston. Thank you so much for sending such a beautiful card with your encouraging kind words. We really appreciate you contacting us after your wedding and we love to hear how you enjoyed your day. Thank you so much for getting in touch with us here at Quartet Cabaret, and may we wish you both many happy years together.xxxx
We love to play @The Upper House, Barlaston. First of all the building lends itself so well to accommodating a string quartet and the acoustics are perfect to making the strings resonate beautifully. Secondly, the staff at the Upper House are wonderful and create a lovely atmosphere. They really go out of their way to look after you. Last weekend we played there for their wedding fayre and we are looking forward to playing for quite a few weddings next year at the Upper House.
We met lots of wedding suppliers there and all of good quality. There was:- Alison O@Mara of www.alisonomarafloraldesign.co.uk Enchanted table designs, www.enchantedtabledesigns.co.uk James Barlow The Wedding Singer www.theweddingsinger.uk.com Chris Stokes an amazing magician and illusionist www.chrisstokesmagic.co.uk Wayne Shelton, the Staffordshire Toastmaster www.staffordshiretoastmaster.com Dave Dee Disco Hire www.davedeediscos.co.uk Kim Shaw photography www.kimshawphotography.co.uk A shoe boutique www.shoebeedoo.co.uk Please get in touch with us if you would like further information or if you would like to book us. We require a non refundable deposit of 25% to secure the date for you and then the final balance is due a week before the performance. We will agree a start time and a finishing time and then we will then turn up to your event half an hour before the start time to set up. All we need is 4 armless chairs and a space to play in of about 7ft square. We can play outdoors if the weather is fine and we now have our own PA system if you have more than a 100 guests which we will bring along for no extra charge. We will look forward to playing for you so get in touch with us today!
We spent an afternoon in the delightful company of each other and our Creative Director Calum Smail @zummcreative recording @the two doors studio in Alsager. The microphones we used were 4 microvox and they come complete with a power supply and jack to an xlr adaptor. The microphones attached to the tail pieces of our instruments by velco and the mics were directed towards the f-holes. We love the ease with which these could be attached and the fact that our instruments were not damaged at all. The mixer was a Behringer XENYX 1202FX 12 INPUT 2 BUS MIC LINE MIXER and the digital recorder we used was a H4n Handy recorder. We played five songs, Pachelbel's Canon, Billie Jean, You Know I'm no Good, Fly Me to the Moon and The Wedding Song. Looking forward to hearing the mix and watching the video and we shall of course update the website with our new video.
I have to admit I have never attended an humanist wedding and it was the first time for the quartet even though we have been playing together for 6 years! Our usual weddings have been either civil ceremonies or church weddings, so this was a unique experience and one which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone thinking about getting married. The humanist celebrant was very smart, warm and friendly and spoke about the couple getting married in a personal way. There was much humour interspersed with readings and poems. Music accompanied the start of the ceremony and the quartet played Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan). The ceremony concluded with a fabulous balloon release and music of John Legend 'All of Me'. We then played on as the guests drank champagne in the glorious warmth of the sun.
Apparently an humanist wedding need not take place in licensed venues. You could even opt for having your wedding at your own home! Nikki and Sarah however, chose to have their wedding outside on the terrace @The Inn at Grinshill. It was a beautiful setting and the music from the string quartet could be heard all over the garden without drowning out conversations. We had many lovely comments from the guests saying how much they were enjoying the music and I was pleased that we were doing a good job and it was going down well. If you would like an humanist wedding ceremony, you can contact www.humanistceremonies.org.uk/weddings or for your local humanist celebrant who was conducting this ceremony and who was lovely contact www.maxinebeech.com |
AuthorSarah Jackson Archives
August 2022
Categories |