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Wedding Guitar at Notley Abbey: From the Beatles to Jack Johnson
Posted on: 17 April 2014
My first meeting with Sarah was at the National Wedding Show in 2012, a year and a half before I played at her wedding at Notley Abbey on 17 April 2014.
Looking back through our correspondence, it is lovely to see how the plans gradually took shape. At first, there was a possible date and an offer to send her a CD. Later came the venue, the arrangements for the day and, eventually, a carefully chosen selection of songs for the ceremony.
The music brought together the Beatles, Stand by Me, Just the Two of Us and Jack Johnson—a warm, melodic programme for a spring wedding in a place with quite a story of its own.
From a wedding show to a CD in the post
After meeting Sarah at the show, I offered to send an album so that she and her partner could listen properly at home.
There is something rather nice about that detail now: a CD arriving in the post, giving a couple time to sit down together and decide whether this was the sound they wanted for their wedding.
By March 2013, Sarah had listened and written back:
“We loved it. Your music was beautiful.”
She also asked whether I could play a particular song for her entrance, rather than working only from a fixed set. I explained that we could arrange music for the different parts of the ceremony and discuss the choices as the wedding approached.
At that stage, she hadn’t settled on the songs. There was plenty of time, and listening was a good place to start.
Notley Abbey: medieval history and a theatrical connection
Notley Abbey stands near Thame, on the Buckinghamshire side of the Oxfordshire border. Its history reaches back to around 1162, when an abbey was founded there for Augustinian canons. The surviving Grade I listed house incorporates the former abbot’s lodging and part of the west range of the cloisters, with alterations made over the centuries.
Much later, it became the home of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. That is quite a change of character for a place: from a medieval religious community to the home of two of the best-known figures in theatre and cinema, and eventually to a setting for weddings.
There was a small theatrical connection in our own correspondence, too. While we were sorting out the booking, I was in Amsterdam working on a show. Returning a signed contract took a little longer than intended because I was away without a printer—one of the less glamorous details of life as a travelling musician.
When Sarah first told me the venue, I looked it up and replied that it looked beautiful. Its old stone buildings and long history certainly gave the wedding a distinctive setting.
“Here, There and Everywhere” for the entrance
By January, Sarah had chosen the ceremony music.
For her walk down the aisle, she requested the Beatles’ Here, There and Everywhere. It is a lovely choice for solo guitar: a gentle melody with enough movement in the harmony to keep it expressive without needing a busy arrangement.
When adapting a song like this, I want the melody to remain clear and natural. The guitar has to carry both the tune and its accompaniment, but the result should still feel like a song.
For an entrance, that sense of ease matters. The music needs to leave room for the walk and the occasion itself.
Two songs for the signing
For the signing of the register, Sarah chose Stand by Me and Just the Two of Us.
Both have strong identities, although they offer different things to a guitarist. With Stand by Me, the familiar bass pattern is an important part of what people recognise. The arrangement needs to suggest that pulse while allowing the melody to sit above it.
Just the Two of Us brings a different rhythmic feel and a lovely sequence of harmonies. On solo guitar, there is scope to bring out those details while keeping the tune at the centre.
Together, they made an appealing pair for the signing. Choosing two pieces also gives a little flexibility: there is music ready if the formalities and photographs take longer than expected.
What I liked about Sarah’s choices was their consistency of feeling. They came from different musical backgrounds, but all three had an intimacy that suited the occasion.
Leaving to “Better Together”
For the recessional, Sarah asked for Jack Johnson’s Better Together, describing it in her email through its familiar refrain, “better when we are together”.
It made a cheerful conclusion to the ceremony. After the gentler entrance and the music during the signing, this was a chance for the guitar to become a little brighter and more rhythmic as the couple walked back up the aisle.
A wedding ceremony does not need to stay within one genre to feel coherent. Here, the connection came through the character of the songs and what they meant in the context of the day.
Leaving room for an April wedding
We also discussed the practical possibility of playing outside. Sarah hoped that, if the weather allowed, either the ceremony or the reception might take place outdoors, and wanted to check what that would mean for the amplification.
I confirmed that playing outside was possible and that I would bring extension leads. The venue had also requested the relevant insurance and equipment documentation, so those arrangements formed part of the preparation.
These are modest details compared with choosing the entrance music, but settling them beforehand gives everyone fewer things to think about on the day.
The same applied to timing. In our early correspondence, I explained that I preferred to agree the parts of the wedding I would cover and allow some flexibility, rather than leave the couple worrying about every small delay. Alongside the ceremony itself, we had discussed music as guests took their seats and during the reception afterwards.
A message from Sarah
A few days after the wedding, Sarah wrote:
“Thanks so much for playing at our wedding. Your music is truly beautiful and it made our day truly special.”
She added that she was sorry we hadn’t had a chance to speak:
“I just kept getting whisked away!”
That is something wedding musicians understand very well. Between the ceremony, photographs, family and friends, the couple rarely have a quiet moment. There is never any need to apologise, but it is always lovely to hear from them afterwards.
From our first conversation at the wedding show to that final email, this booking had developed over many months. At its heart were four songs, chosen with care, and the pleasure of bringing them together on one guitar at Notley Abbey.
