Blog

A First Dance to Remember: Wedding Guitar at Chaucer Barn, Norfolk

Posted on: 21 May 2014

Some weddings stay with you because of something nobody could have planned. Thomas and Christie’s wedding at Chaucer Barn in Norfolk, on 21 May 2014, is certainly one of those.

I had been booked to play for their ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast. But during the meal, I was asked if I could stay a little longer. There had been a problem with the evening band’s booking, and the band wasn’t coming. Could I learn the couple’s song and play it for their first dance?

I hadn’t heard the song before. There was a recording to listen to, a guitar in my hands and a little time to work it out.

A garden wedding at Chaucer Barn

I first met Thomas and Christie at the National Wedding Show, where they stopped to hear me play. Afterwards, we realised I had already performed at their chosen venue. I remembered Chaucer Barn’s big windows and the lovely acoustics for guitar, although I hadn’t immediately placed the village name.

Chaucer Barn sits on the edge of Gresham in North Norfolk. Its brick-and-flint walls, exposed beams and landscaped gardens make it a beautiful setting for a country wedding. I think one of the nicest features of Chaucer Barn might be its stone and brickwork (see the main photo), which is the quintessential style of Norfolk.

Thomas and Christie were planning an intimate wedding with 40 guests and an outdoor ceremony by the willow. I began playing as guests arrived, ahead of the four o’clock ceremony.

Bruno Mars, Handel and a family favourite

For Christie’s entrance, they chose “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. It is a cheerful, affectionate choice for an aisle walk, and arranging it for solo guitar gives the familiar melody room to come through.

Their exit music was Handel’s “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”. I had suggested it for its lively character: a good way to mark the change from the ceremony to the celebrations afterwards.

There was also a rather different request. Christie explained that “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers”, from Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, was a sentimental family song, and asked whether I could include it.

My reply at the time was that I wasn’t quite sure how it would work for solo guitar, but I would certainly have a go! I like requests like that. They tell you something about the people getting married, and about the shared memories their guests bring with them.

After the ceremony came drinks, photographs and canapés. One small detail I still remember is the little ice-cream cart serving guests during the reception. It was a lovely touch for a garden wedding.

Learning the first dance during dinner

It was during the wedding breakfast that I heard about the problem with the band.

The couple asked whether I could help by playing their first dance. Of all the evening’s music, this was the piece they particularly wanted to keep, and I was happy to stay on.

I listened to the recording and worked it out by ear, learning the melody and chords and finding a way to put them together on solo guitar. This was a different sort of preparation from arranging a request at home: the wedding was already happening around me, and the first dance was coming up that evening.

When the time came, I played the song for them.

The agent responsible for the booking also came to the venue and DJed for the evening. He was very apologetic. It was an unfortunate mistake, but everyone worked to give Thomas and Christie a good evening, and they still had their first dance performed live.

The following day, they wrote:

“Even when the band didn’t turn up you saved the day and stayed on to learn our song just to give us a first dance. It was magical and much better than we’d planned!”

That was a wonderful message to receive.

An unexpected introduction

The evening led to something else I couldn’t have anticipated.

The agent came over afterwards and said that, although these weren’t the ideal circumstances in which to introduce himself, he would love to have me on the agency’s books.

I accepted, and I have worked with them ever since. They have become a major agency in the UK and have been great to work with. What began with a booking mistake became the start of a lasting professional relationship.

The song came back years later

Years later, Thomas contacted me with an anniversary request: would I record a video of their first dance.