It was wonderful to be back at @theoldhall in Ely at the end of July, our first time back since before the first lockdown! We couldn’t resist taking a few snaps of the outdoor ceremony area and grounds – just beautiful!
The Bride asked us to learn a new song for her entrance music, Latch by Sam Smith, we played A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, Perfect by Ed Sheeran and You Are the Reason by Callum Scott for the Signing of the Register and then we played them out to This Will Be Everlasting Love by Natalie Cole. They stopped halfway back up the aisle for a quick group photo and the Bride and Groom couldn’t help having a quick dance to our music. Congratulations guys!
📸 *video contains flashing images* 📸 Talk about exploring new ways of making music… Everything you hear on this track has been created by us on a violin, cello & electric cello. This is the first time we’ve used our instruments to record a ‘drum track’ for a song. It’s been a very exciting process, to explore the acoustic sounds of the violin & cello in combination with different microphones and electronic effects. If anyone is interested in how we went about creating these percussive sounds on our instruments please do get in touch!
When we first heard this song, we felt an instant connection to the music and lyrics. We felt it was such an emotional song, with many of the lyrics being applicable to the current situation. Immediately we wanted to reach out and connect with all of those individuals who are struggling at the moment; aren’t we all in some way holding on ’til the afterglow? So, as musicians who are stuck at home, we decided to reach out in one of the only ways we can at the moment: by playing, recording & videoing the song. With such luscious harmonies (which lend themselves very well to the violin & cello) it was the perfect song for us to explore further our layered recordings. When making the video we thought it might be interesting to include some clips from ‘behind the scenes’, showing more of our process and how we put the track together with all of the different parts. Also, a debut for our green screen – yay! 😁
Feeling a bit emotional 🥰 Thank you Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for this amazing song 🙏 Times are difficult and it’s even more important to focus on the positive things in life. We feel incredibly privileged to be able to spend the time ‘stuck’ together making music 🎶
It’s hard work for musicians and other creatives right now, aside from the difficulties caused by losing most of our income, we thrive on performing to audiences and making people happy – it’s one of the things that drives us, and it’s been taken away. BUT, continuing to make music together is keeping us going, and we hope to bring a little happiness to others in the process! 😊
So, do us a favour and give our video a share. Send it to your friends, send it to your family, send it to any key workers you know to brighten their day. Stay safe everyone, we’ll get through this ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖
For any brides and grooms struggling to think of music for their big day, we think this could be a really special choice. We can see a lot of brides walking down the aisle to this in the future, it would make amazing entrance music or even a great first dance song.
It’s Wedding fair season and we’ve got some top tips on how to make the most of the Weddings fairs you attend.
This week has certainly been quieter than the last, but by no means less exciting. The one Wedding we played at took place at The Knights Hill Hotel near Kings Lynn, we were booked to play during the Wedding Breakfast and as evening guests arrived.
A rare photo of us being Wedding Guests for a change! This was taken at the Carre Arms Hotel in Sleaford at Sarah’s Godfathers Wedding.
This is the first in a new series of blog posts where we will talk about our day-to-day lives as The Chapel Hill Duo. We will cover everything from our work at Weddings and other events to the joys and difficulties of being professional musicians living in rural Lincolnshire.
Sarah in the gardens of the Bedford Lodge Hotel near Newmarket.
When it comes to the entrance of the Bridal Party, we firmly believe that, if possible, the couple should choose a song that is special to them. Perhaps it’s a song that they heard when they first met or the first song they danced to, or perhaps they can relate to the lyrics (take “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, we’re sure all couples can relate to that one!). Maybe they just both really like the song!
Whatever the reason, you can be sure that there
won’t be a dry eye in the room, because everyone will know that this song is
‘their song’.
The happy couple saying their vows in a beautiful Celebrant led Wedding Ceremony last weekend at the Belton Woods Hotel near Grantham.
We quite often get asked this question, along with ‘when do you play music during the ceremony?’ and ‘what order do they do things in?’, and now that we are planning our own Wedding we’ve realised that even with a Civil Wedding Ceremony (i.e. not a Church Wedding) there are so many different things to consider that it can be quite daunting! So, we thought it would be worth doing a very basic blog post explaining just exactly how things go down, in chronological order, during a Civil Wedding Ceremony – it’s not quite as confusing as you might think! We will also talk about where the music usually fits in as well.
We love that moment when the Bride gets to the top of the aisle and the happy couple see each other for the first time on their wedding day. There were tears from everyone in the room – especially the groom!
As professional musicians part of our job is travelling, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot! Last week we covered about 500 miles in 4 days, which definitely falls into the ‘a lot’ category! It was worth it however, to play at 3 beautiful and wonderfully unique weddings. The theme for the week was really strong winds, making travelling and playing tricky at times. It was funny, however, as our third couple of the week were Mr & Mrs Gale!
Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia. People were dancing along to this one. Can you spot the kid teaching the bridesmaid how to floss?!
The happy couple say their vows at the Wedding Ceremony in St Michael & All Angels’ Church Brooksby.
The first wedding was in the idyllic setting of Lanwades Hall near Newmarket, an incredible building with stunning grounds to match! We were particularly blown away by the beauty of the ceremony room – just look at those windows!
