On a sweltering day in May I was booked to perform at the wedding of Jack and Michelle. The ceremony took place at Ware Priory in Hertfordshire, and for the afternoon reception guests boarded a boat set for Stanstead Abbots. It was my job to provide music for the ceremony and for the boat trip, including the couple’s first dance.

For the ceremony, Michelle had chosen to walk down the aisle to an instrumental version of Paramore’s ‘The Only Exception’. For her exit with Jack at the end of formal proceedings, they asked me to play an instrumental version of ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles. It seemed I was saving my voice for later!

After moving my equipment on to the tug boat and setting up, guests started to embark. Jack and Michelle had invited around 50 friends and family to celebrate with them on the water. The professional team at http://www.leeandstortboats.co.uk were there to greet the wedding party and ensure that the trip went smoothly, in addition to the all-important management of the bar!

was great fun playing for Jack and Michelle

The couple were showered with confetti as they exited the ceremony room

Everyone had a quacking time

Having a wedding on a boat was an unusual idea that really paid off

The boat trip lasted roughly three hours and I played two extended sets during this time. It was quite a young group so I played some of my more contemporary covers including Craig David, Hey Ya by Outkast and Mr Brightside. Jack and Michelle chose to have Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran as their first dance, and there were plenty of emotional speeches too. Time flew by and before we knew it we were docking once more at Ware Priory.

The couple and their guests moved on to The Saracens Head in Ware to continue their celebrations as evening guests arrived. They were a great bunch of people and it was a pleasure to be involved with a wedding that was refreshingly different. We didn’t lose anyone overboard and I think everyone had a good time. Success!

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Speeches took place onboard

A safety briefing took place before departure

It was a lovely sunny day for a wedding

I played two instrumental pieces during the ceremony