My first ever trip to Newcastle and what a lovely wedding to make the journey for!
Becky & Beth celebrated their wedding at The Vermont Hotel, right in the heart of Newcastle, and invited me along to provide live sax across two very different parts of their day.
Rather than booking one continuous two-hour performance, they had a brilliant idea: split the music into two 60-minute sets, each with a completely different purpose.
Their original message summed up exactly what they wanted:
“We would love to have you playing after our ceremony for an hour 3-4pm and then an hour to start our evening 6.30-7.30!”
And when it came to the atmosphere:
“We would love for the hour after the ceremony to be your ‘Beautiful Background Music’ vibe please and then the hour later would be ‘get the party started’ vibe.”
That gave us the perfect framework for the music.
3pm: beautiful background music.
6:30pm: time to get the party started.
This was actually my first time visiting Newcastle, which made the trip up for Becky & Beth’s wedding even more special.
The Vermont Hotel sits beside Newcastle Castle, making it a pretty spectacular city-centre setting for a wedding and it was brilliant arriving somewhere completely new to play for such a lovely couple.
The plan for the day also shows why I always encourage couples to think about when they want live music rather than simply booking a set amount of time and trying to squeeze everything into it.
Becky & Beth knew there were two points where they wanted the sax to make an impact, so we built the performances around those moments.
My first set began at 3pm, immediately following the ceremony.
At this point, nobody needed a full-blown party.
Guests were grabbing drinks, congratulating Becky & Beth, chatting with friends and family and settling into the afternoon, so the music needed to complement what was happening rather than dominate it. This is what I often describe as my “Beautiful Background Music” approach.
The sax is still very much part of the atmosphere, but there’s room for conversation and for everyone to enjoy that lovely period immediately after the ceremony.
Becky & Beth had included She’s The One by Robbie Williams amongst their song choices, which fitted this side of the day beautifully.
For the second set, Becky & Beth wanted to signal that the evening was beginning.
So naturally, the repertoire changed with it.
Jubel – Klingande
The Rhythm of the Night – Corona
This Girl – Kungs
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! – ABBA
It’s quite difficult to remain politely seated with that combination!
Where the first performance had been about sitting naturally underneath the conversations happening around the room, this one was about becoming part of the action.
More energy, bigger tracks and songs that people immediately recognised. It meant the sax could help bridge that transition from the daytime wedding into the evening celebration rather than everyone simply waiting around for the party to begin later.
Becky & Beth’s choices are also a perfect example of why I don’t think couples need to worry too much about making every song on their wedding playlist fit neatly into one genre.
Robbie Williams and ABBA?
Absolutely.
Klingande and Corona?
Throw those in too.
The important question is less “Does everything on our playlist match?” and more: “How do we want this part of our wedding to feel?”
Once I know that, we can shape the music accordingly. For Beth & Becky, that meant something relaxed and romantic after the ceremony before completely changing gear later in the day.
A big thank you to the brilliant team involved in Becky & Beth’s day:
Venue: The Vermont Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne
Wedding Coordinator: Lukas Common
Photographer: Curtis & Booth Photography
Videographer: Waterfall Weddings
Content Creator: Every Frame Counts
And, of course, a huge thank you to Becky & Beth for inviting me all the way up to Newcastle to be part of it.
They were such a lovely couple to work with from the initial planning through to the wedding itself, and I loved getting to soundtrack two completely different sides of their celebration.
Not a bad introduction to Newcastle either!
If you’re currently planning your wedding, think about the points in your day where music could genuinely change the atmosphere. That might be walking out of your ceremony, having drinks with your guests, making an entrance into your wedding breakfast or getting everyone ready for the evening.
You don’t necessarily need live music constantly. Sometimes it’s about choosing the right moments for it.
If you’re planning a wedding in Newcastle, Norfolk or anywhere across the UK and would like to talk about how live sax could fit around your plans, get in touch and let’s build the music around your day.
Beth & Becky
