Your Surrey Wedding - Feb/Mar 2019 (Issue 75)

For Uptown Music, nothing makes your wedding celebration stick in your guests’ memory like a dancefloor filled with old friends, new friends and big, big tunes. The company has spent the last 20 years making music, from playing in the West End to organising bands for soap star weddings, the events have been varied but the lessons have been simple. Owner, Mark Seacomb advises: ❤ Consider venue constraints. When finding your perfect venue it really is worth asking about curfews and sound limiters. Our bands will play as loudly and as late as we’re allowed!  ❤ Get the bar as close as possible to the dancefloor. This top tip of party feng shui is an absolute must. By making sure the drinks are in the same room as the music you won’t lose dancers to the bar and you’ll lure the more reluctant to throw some shapes. And even the most stalwart of bar-proppers will be able to hear your favourite tunes. ❤ Keep the dancefloor as compact as possible. Bigger isn’t always better; always preferable that the dancefloor looks full rather than feels empty. ❤ Don’t have the live band playing too early. The later the better as far as dancing is concerned; you’re giving your guests an opportunity to mingle, grab a drink and relax after their meal (not to mention some time to shake off the speeches). The last thing anyone wants is to dance on a full stomach. ❤ Include sound checks and set up time in your planning. A professional band will take around 45 to 60 mins to set up and an early set up will incur (in our view, unnecessary) costs. If you’re using one-room that will require some movement of tables to create the dancefloor, this is especially important. Expect them to sound-check so that they are at their very best for you and allow a moment when they can do this with least disruption. ❤ Really consider that first dance. Talk to your band about whether the first dance is best pre-recorded or played live; they will be perfectly placed to advise. Rest assured that they are talented enough to play it – it might just be that nothing beats the original! ❤ Use the band’s experience. We always work with our clients to put together the ideal setlist for your event; you’re paying for their experience, so trust them to put tracks in the best possible order to draw your guests to the dancefloor and keep them there.  Check out uptownmusic.co.uk Getting the most band for your buck Emma Harris of Surrey’s First Dance shares her fondest memory marking twenty years in business. “How did it start? Well what seems like an age ago now in 1999, some friends of mine were getting married and one night they asked me, ‘Emma could you make up something for our first dance?’ I was a dancer at the time so perhaps not that strange a request but still a little odd I thought,” explains Emma. “So we met up in their kitchen, opened a bottle of red wine and I choreographed something to the beautiful John Denver piece Annie’s Song ; a waltz if you will. “A few weeks later at the wedding, they performed their dance and the guests went mad! In a good way. Hmm…there might be something here! I thought. And so it began... “I started doing first dances for friends, friends of friends and then finally I set it up as a business in 2004 and we have been going from strength to strength from there. I have had lovely teachers along the way (my sister Katie being one of the main teachers) and I can hand on my heart say that I have taught absolutely lovely couples ‒ here’s to the next 20 years!” Check out firstdance.co.uk To read Emma’s full account head to our website yoursurrey.wedding 20 years since my first dance! EVENT PLANNER, STYLIST, COORDINATOR AND MORE... You may think that a wedding planner, organising her own big day would find the whole experience particularly easy, and to a point, you would be correct. However, it comes with a whole world of difficulties too – as Surrey’s Amore Star Events owner Gilly Keat shares... “Do you feel an immense amount of pressure to have the Pinterest-perfect day? Or are you struggling with your guest list? Feeling a bit overwhelmed? – welcome to my world! “Obviously it’s not just my wedding, there’s a wonderful fiancé too, who has his own opinions, however, he’s not involved in the wedding industry. “I’ve been desperate to get married since I was old enough to wrap a duvet round me, pretend it was a gown, borrow my mum’s heels and pop a pillow case on my head as a veil. I’m obsessed with weddings. “My perfect wedding day has changed throughout the years. I’ve seen so many different types, styles, colours, concepts and themes that there is almost too much choice. I also felt an inordinate amount of pressure from the industry and from friends and family – I’m a wedding planner, so surely I should know exactly what I want, what to do and where to start!” To ready Gilly’s full account head to yoursurrey.wedding What’s more, you can follow Gilly’s wedding planning journey at amorestarevents.co.uk/blog 10