On 6th April 2018, XO Party Band travelled to the wonderful Barn at Bury Court for the wedding of Iain and Stephanie – the new Mr and Mrs Richardson! We had an incredible time being a part of your wedding celebration – thanks to the wonderful couple for having us!

The Venue

We were pleased to return to the Barn at Bury Court – a venue we’ve visited regularly over the past few years and always love. The barn is the perfect backdrop for a wedding – beautifully yet simply decorated, the space is stunning on it’s own but equally as great to put your own stamp on.

A barn is always a lovely space, and this has to be one of the best we’ve visited.

The barn is a large, open plan venue, but can be split into two with discreet curtains to help separate areas for certain parts of the day. The wedding ceremony is held in the lower area of the barn, with the curtains closed to give a more intimate atmosphere. The wedding breakfast is then held on the other side of the curtains, which is the larger space. Whilst this is going on, it keeps the other space curtained off and the band can set up inconspicuously. Once the meal and speeches have been enjoyed, the curtains are drawn to reveal the whole room, ready for the evening party!

The Set Up

We arrived at the venue at 4:30, which gave us plenty of time to be ready for the first dance at 8pm.
The set up situation at this venue is ideal, as the wedding breakfast is curtained off; we were able to load our gear straight into the performance space without disturbing the party. Once we had got everything in place and plugged in, we headed to a separate room to have our food whilst the wedding speeches went ahead (the food here is always amazing!)
With the speeches were over and tea and coffee being served, we were able to perform a quick sound check. This is important to make sure we sound great out front, and that we can all hear ourselves well in order to give the best performance! When we were all happy, it was time for the evening party!

The First Dance

The One – Kodaline

Stephanie and Iain’s first dance was Kodaline’s lovely song ‘The One’. I am surprised we haven’t had this song previously for a first dance, as it fits the bill perfectly. The new Mr and Mrs Richardson took to the dance floor with all their guests gathered around, and after the first section of the song, they welcomed everyone to join them. Before long the dance floor was completely full and we aimed to keep it that way!

Live Party Band

We continued with some classic singalong tunes, like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’. After a long day, the wedding guests were very much up for a party, and our disco medley, with The Jackson Five’s ‘I Want You Back’, Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop The Feelin’ and ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse, went down perfectly. We rounded off the first set with a few rocky numbers – ‘Satisfaction’, and ‘Summer of ‘69’ really got the crowd singing and we left them wanting more!

After a short break, we were back for our second and final set of the evening. A few pop sing-alongs really encouraged the guests back onto the dance floor – no one can resist getting involved with Lionel Richie’s ‘All Night Long’, or ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia’! We started with a bang and kept the energy high with our loved Party Medley. Performing Bruno Mars’s track ‘24K Magic’ is always so much fun, seamlessly flowing into Beyoncé’s ‘Crazy In Love’, which encourages the best dance moves. A few more highlights from the set include Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’, and for Stephanie and Iain, another ABBA song ‘Dancing Queen’. We really kept the best for last and broke into Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’, which may have been the reason for a few sore throats the next day!

With the crowd begging for more, we succumbed and began an XO favourite – ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen. This song rounded off the evening so well, as we encouraged the couple into the middle of the dance floor for one last special moment surrounded by their friends and family, before the drums kicked in and the crowd swarmed the floor!

It was an absolute pleasure to be back at Bury Court Barn, and to be a part of such a special day!
Thank you so much to Iain and Stephanie for having us – we had an incredible time, and we hope we helped to create some wonderful memories.

Congratulations again to the wonderful, new, Mr and Mrs Richardson!