On the 7^th July, XO Party Band joined Elizabeth and Ashley for their wedding at the stunning Millbridge Court, Farnham. Such a beautiful day and an even better celebration – congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs Brookes!

The Venue

Millbridge Court is a unique, exclusive wedding venue located on the border of Hampshire and Surrey. The venue is beautifully modern, with every stylish detail finished to the highest standard. The layout is perfect for a wedding and it is always a pleasure for us to return.

Guests arrive at the beautiful building and enter the entrance hall. This is at the front of the venue, ideal to meet and greet and wait for the ceremony.
Further into the venue, there are two large mirrored rooms, with large windows looking out onto the extensive grounds. The left room is used both for the wedding ceremony and the evening reception, with a hidden bar opened for the party. The right room is used for the wedding breakfast and is set up ready to go early on. This set up is ideal, as it avoids any turn around time, ensuring the day flows smoothly.

The drinks reception is usually held in the lovely gardens, or in the space between the two large rooms and the entrance hall. There is plenty of space everywhere, especially as the venue has exclusive use for weddings.

The Ceremony

Lizzie and Ashley had opted for the acoustic trio (guitar and piano with female and male vocals) for their wedding ceremony, so Carl, Ross and I arrived at 12 to set up, ready to go for the ceremony at 1. We set up at the back of the room, so the music could be heard throughout the space but weren’t distracting.
The space looked beautiful, with stunning flower displays at the front and lanterns and petals lining the aisle. The guests were ushered into the ceremony room just before 1, and we were waiting for the bridal party!

Once we were given the nod, we began to play the aisle march – ‘Marry Me’ by Train. The bridesmaids entered first, and then Elizabeth walked in joined on her father’s arm. We brought the song to an end as Lizzy joined Ashley at end of the aisle. During the ceremony we played two requested songs whilst the couple signed the register – these were ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri and ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson. Once Ashley and Elizabeth had been pronounced Husband and Wife, the guests clapped and celebrated as the couple exited to us playing ‘Ho, Hey’ by The Lumineers.

The Drinks Reception

The drinks reception began straight after the ceremony – the guests vacated the ceremony room out into the gardens, as it was such a beautiful summer’s day. We very quickly moved our acoustic set up to face outside, ready to serenade the party whilst they enjoyed their drinks. This time Carl, Greg and I were playing as a slightly different trio – guitar, cajon (drum box), female and male vocals – this option is great to include a good beat.

We played an hour set, including a great mixture of songs, from ‘I’m Your’s’ by Jason Mraz to ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac. It so much fun playing acoustic sets during the day, especially when the weather is perfect, it’s a great taster for everyone too before our evening party set! After we finished, it was time for us to set up for the evening.

The Evening Set Up

The ceremony set up had been cleared and the room was ready for us to transform! We carried in the remainder of our equipment from the van and began assembling gear. Luckily the room was lovely and cool with the air conditioning, as it was a real scorcher!

One of the first things we put up is our star cloth back drop, which is a great background for pictures and makes the room feel evening ready. Greg then set up his drum kit as we erected the speakers and lighting towers. Everything else then fits in – microphones, keyboard, guitar amps, etc, the list goes on!

With the set up complete, we were able to do our sound check as the guests were enjoying the wedding breakfast in the other room. Everything was then ready to go as soon as the food and speeches were over – the ideal situation, meaning no time is lost. Once we were happy with our sound, we cleared up and headed to a separate room to have some food and watch the rest of the England game (we won!)

 

The First Dance 

Perfect – Ed Sheeran

Mr and Mrs Brookes chose the Ed Sheeran song ‘Perfect’ for their first dance as a married couple, which may as well have been written for the occasion! The room was full and everyone gathered around the couple and sang the words to them – such a lovely moment!
Soon enough, they encouraged everyone to join in, and the dancefloor was full of couples and friends enjoying the song.

Live Party Band

Lizzy and Ashley wanted their wedding day packed with music, so we had three sets of live music planned for their evening. The first dance left the dance floor packed full of people ready to dance the night away, so we continued with our ‘Disco Medley’, including The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’, Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ and ‘Valerie’ by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. We then finished the first set with some great singalongs, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ included ‘and the requested John Mayer song ‘Waiting On The World To Change’, as they’re big fans – great tune!

Our second set started with some pop classics – ‘Love Shack’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and progressed into some popular rock tunes – ‘Don’t Stop Believing by Journey, ‘Summer Of ‘69’ by Bryan Adams and ‘Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ by the Arctic Monkeys all went down incredibly well with the crowd, and left them desperate for more!

After a quick break, it was time for our last set, and the guests were raring to go!
We started back with our tried and tested Party Medley – ‘24k Magic’ by Bruno Mars, Beyoncé’s hit ‘Crazy In Love’ and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ to name a few included. Everyone loved our mash up of Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ and Foreigner’s ‘Eye Of 

The Tiger’, which is so much fun to perform!
We love bringing the night to a close with some crowd pleasers – it’s fun to great everyone singing back at you. ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Mr Brightside’ and ‘Sex On Fire’ went down an absolute treat, and before we knew it, it was time for our final song.

We closed with ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus, but no one was ready to go home, so we were (quite easily) convinced the play one last song. We closed with our favourite, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen. We love to end the night with this one by encouraging the bride and groom into the middle of the room and getting their friends and family to surround them in a big circle. Everyone knows the words to this one and rightly so – what an amazing song!

Thank you so, so much to the new Mr and Mrs Brookes – it was an honour to play throughout the day at Lizzy and Ashley’s wedding. It was a beautiful day and an incredible party in the evening to celebrate!
Congratulations again guys, and all our love and best of luck for the future.