Heat Wave in Yorkshire

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What an incredible burst of sunshine we had to help celebrate an abundance of events last weekend.

The Great Gathering, organised by local communities around the UK, showed an abundance of street parties, picnics and bake offs. The events gave communities the chance to show compassion and support and were held in loving memory for Jo Cox, the Labour MP who we lost in June 2016. The weekend is said to have been one of the biggest community celebrations planned since the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

It was also a very busy weekend of celebrations for our six piece function band – Func On The Rocks.

Wedding Band

On Friday we shared in the second wedding reception of Laura and Phil who had just returned from their wedding holiday and honeymoon on the beautiful mediterranean island of Cyprus. Holding their ceremony at the stunning Louis Ledra Beach Hotel, Paphos. To make sure none of their family or friends missed out on celebrating with the happy couple, the Bride and Groom arranged an evening party for their return to England.

Laura and Phil certainly brought the weather back with them as Huntington, North Yorkshire was basking in glorious sunshine. As the guests began to arrive it was clear just how excited friends and family were to see the sun-kissed couple after their adventure abroad.

We started the live music with the couple’s first dance, a piano and vocal rendition of All of Me by John Legend (a personal favourite of mine).

Wedding Party Live Music

Once the party was underway we noticed some very talented musicians on the dance floor. With the help of some blow up instruments we found ourselves a new member of the band. This little guy strummed his green guitar with all his heart and soul from start to finish!

Guitar hero

During a bit of rock and roll, the infectious strumming of Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry we invited the little rock star up onto the stage to show us his skills! It was such a heartwarming sight.

Laura and Phil Wedding Huntington Working Mens Club

We continued the weekend of fun with the 50th birthday party for Mark Wilcox at the super stylish The Mere Golf Resort and Spa.

Birthday Party Mere Golf Resort and Spa Cheshire
Happy Birthday Mark

Friends and family had come from far and wide to share in the celebrations with the Wilcox clan and they certainly made it extra special for Mark.
Joining together to sing him a big Happy Birthday we managed to get some excellent dance moves off the birthday boy in the middle of the circle.

Birthday Party Dance Floor

It was a lovely mixed group of ages at the party so we tried our best to keep both sets of live music varied from soul to indie, Motown to pop. The younger guests sang their hearts out to Rather Be Clean Bandit, whilst the more mature guests showed us, they still got it! With their incredible swing dancing moves and lyrical perfection to Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison.

A fabulous, hot weekend all round. Congratulations to everyone who was celebrating we hope to join in the fun with you again soon.

Magnificent marquee wedding

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Congratulations to everyone who took part and supported ITU World Triathlon in Leeds this weekend, truly inspirational athletes.

We were aware roads around the City Centre would be closed for the event, however luckily for us we only had to make a short trip to one of Yorkshire’s little gems – Ilkley.

We were stunned to see Ilkley Golf Club green had been transformed into a Wedding Wonderland.

The Marquee was beautifully decorated with delicate summer wildflowers and embellished with charming bunting, which was handmade by the Mother of the Bride. The Father of the bride designed stunning planters, which were gracefully poised at the entrance to the marquee.

The personal touch made Ilkley Golf Club the perfect setting for our Bride and Groom Jen and Rich.

Ilkley Golf Club Wedding Marquee

Whilst the guests enjoyed a cool glass of Pimms our boys performed a jazz trio ensemble; playing some well-loved Jazz standards and Rat Pack favorites including Autumn Leaves, Summertime and Fly Me To The Moon.

The trio played ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ as a special request for the Bride and head Bridesmaid to bring back memories of their time together in Brazil.

After the wedding breakfast and speeches Func On The Rocks we ready to get the party started and begin the evening reception.

The happy couple performed their first dance as husband and wife and chose one of our favorite Van Morrison classics Moondance.

Mr & Mrs Bean had perfected their unique dance routine, which stunned all their friends and family. It set the bar when it came to dancing for the evening!

Jen and Rich Wedding First Dance

The guests were certainly up for the dancing challenge and joined the newlyweds on the dance floor with delight, they even brought a blow up sheep with them which we found hilarious.

Yorkshire Wedding Party

Wedding Band Horns

After our first set we had a catch up with some familiar faces Cathrine and Jeff. We performed at Jeff’s Birthday party in Bramham Village Hall a few years ago and always spot the gorgeous couple on the dance floor at The Bramham Summer Ball at Bowcliffe Hall.

We will be performing at Jeff’s daughters wedding in September, which we are really looking forward to.

Familiar faces

We also had a chat with England Rugby star Phil Dowson and his beautiful fiancée Dani who are getting married in 4 weeks. Good luck guys we know your Wedding day will be incredible!

Wedding Singers with Phil Dowson

By the second set of live music the full moon was out in full glory, as were the extra special dance moves from Jen and Rich and their friends and family. There was such a sense of love and friendship on the dance floor, a truly humbling sight for us.

Wedding Band Dance Floor

Leeds Wedding Band Singers

To bring the live music to a close we got the crowd to sing their hearts out with us and I’m sure the passion in their voices could be heard for miles around.

Jen and Rich Wedding Ilkley Golf Club

Thanks so much to everyone for helping Jen and Rich celebrate their big day, I’m sure they will look back with such fond memories as their day was pure perfection from start to finish.

Bride and Groom Dance Floor

Lots of love to you both Mr & Mrs. Bean, we wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

Jen and Rich Wedding Ilkley Golf Club

Bank Holiday Bliss

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What an incredible May Bank holiday weekend!

With glorious sunshine and blue skies we took a trip from Leeds to North Yorkshire’s Allerton Mauleverer.

On arrival we were greeted by spectacular views, we had reached our destination, the prestigious Allerton Castle; a Grade I listed, nineteenth century Gothic mansion, which is a truly spectacular sight.

Allerton Castle describes itself as Englands most elegant and illustrious gothic revival stately home, and we believe this is no exaggeration.

Allerton Castle Yorkshire Wedding

We have performed at Allerton Castle numerous times over the past 12 years and every time we return we are still taken aback by its breathtaking beauty.

We set up in the Great Hall as the staff transformed the room ready for the evening wedding reception. Right on cue the speeches came to a close in the Ballroom and the evening guests began to arrive.

Chandelier Allerton Castle

As the guests gathered round the dance floor the Bride and Groom began their first dance as husband and wife. An acoustic version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ was the perfect choice for this fun loving couple. Katie and Ed’s friends and family beamed in happiness and love for the happy couple and soon flooded onto the dance floor to declare the evening celebrations had well and truly begun.

Dance floor

We kept our sets fairly modern and upbeat as requested by the bride and groom featuring songs from Maroon Five, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé along with some classic sing-along’s such as Higher and Higher and I Want You Back.

Wedding Band Leeds

After our first set we met Josh, an eight year old from Baildon who has taken drum lessons for the past six months. Our Drummer Steve let Josh show off his skills on his drum kit whilst his mum told us that he felt inspired by the band and we have influenced him to practice more, which is fantastic. Good luck Josh. Steve watch out we may be replacing you soon!

Drummers

As an eight piece band including saxophone and trumpet we made sure there was no excuse but to be on the dance floor showing off your best moves and boy were there some good moves. The dance-off during Stevie Wonders ‘Superstition’ was an incredible sight.

Brass section Singers

As the crowed chanted for more at the end of the second set we decided to get all the friends and family to sing along with us to the timeless ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen.

Dance Floor Wedding Singer

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate Katie and Ed’s Wedding day with us and to all the staff at Allerton Castle who worked so hard to make sure the day was seamless for the happy couple.

Wedding Singers Bride

One Hull of a Wedding

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On Saturday afternoon May 13th, we took a trip from Leeds to The East Riding of Yorkshire for another magical wedding at Rise Hall near Hull.

Rise Hall is one of our favorite wedding venues due to its stunning, picturesque grounds and fairytale wedding breakfast and reception area.

The sprinkle of candlelight around the room and twinkling fairy lights, which illuminated the ceiling, brought a magical and romantic touch to the big day.

Rise Hall Hull Wedding

After celebrating the cutting of the cake we performed the couple’s first dance as husband and wife. The guests gathered around the dance floor and shared the special moment, whilst the happy couple gently swayed to swinging melodies of ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ by Frank Sinatra.

We invited all the family and friends onto the dance floor; and as if by magic the energy in the room became addictive. All the guests danced and sang along to Soul, Pop and Motown in celebration for Natalie and James’ big day.

Natalie and James Wedding Rise Hall dancing

We were thrilled to see some familiar faces Liam and Heather. Func On The Rocks performed at their wedding almost two years ago at Hazlewood Castle. It was so lovely to have a catch up with them and hear all about married life.

Liam and Heather Wedding Guests Rise Hall

Before we started our second set of live music we noticed the Master of the house; Mr. Tom Cat asleep under one of the guests seats. We hope we didn’t disturb him with Tina Turner’s Proud Mary!

Rise Hall Cat Sleeping

The second set was met with even more energy than the first (if that was possible). We definitely learned some funky moves from these guys and we very impressed with their extensive lyrical knowledge. We had a ball performing for them!

Func on the Rocks Wedding Band

We never refuse an encore – and we love to make it extra special by inviting the Bride and Groom to the middle of the dance floor surrounded by their loved ones. We sang together at the top of our lungs to the iconic (I’ve had) ‘Time of My Life’ from the legendary movie Dirty Dancing. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Func on the Rocks Wedding Band

Saturday night’s wedding at Rise Hall has left us with more fond memories and we hope to return soon.

Hot new venue debut performance

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This Saturday we travelled to Liverpool for the wedding of Jenny & Graham.

The Old Blind School located in the heart of Liverpool (aka the home of the Beatles) was the perfect spot for our super trendy couple.

Wedding Venue Liverpool

With it’s quirky and stylish decor the Old Blind School went the extra mile to make sure this wedding was one to remember.

Congratulations wedding sign

Jenny and Graham – our two fashionistas showed us just how unique you can be with your wedding dress, and groom attire.

Jenny wore a super glamorous 1950’s figure hugging dress for her first dance but soon transformed into a strapless pantsuit, which meant she could dance the night away like a true style icon!

Wedding Singers

Their guests, who were also dressed to the nines, were definitely ready to help the happy couple celebrate their special day. They partied hard until the wee small hours of Sunday morning.

We were asked to keep our repertoire pretty retro with artists like The Beatles, Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie with a some added current tunes from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars and Pharrell Williams. This proved to be the perfect cocktail of tunes.

You know a good wedding when all friends and family are mixed together on the dance floor and giving it everything they have from head to toe. The party people filled the dance floor from the first dance ‘Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac’ to our rocking out, sing along encore ‘Don’t Stop Believing by Journey’.

Jenny and Graham Wedding The Old Blind School Liverpool

A big shout out to The Old Blind School who were fantastic to work with. They mentioned that this was the first wedding hosted at the venue which is amazing as it ran so smoothly and the staff were on it every step of the way. As a function and corporate band we felt the evening ran smoothly and professionally from start to finish and we are sure they are going to have an abundance of wedding events moving forward as this really is a truly special place for any event.

Tour De Yorkshire

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Massive congratulations to everyone who took part and supported Tour De Yorkshire 2017 which took place in Tadcaster this weekend.

On route to our gig we were uplifted by West Yorkshire’s community spirit.

The streets were decorated with an array of colourful bunting, balloons and smiling faces. Yorkshire definitely knows how to celebrate!

And speaking of celebrations; Saturday was also significant as we got to bring out to play our big sister party band; Pure Mojo for the wedding of Matt & Nat.

Hornington Manor Yorkshire Wedding VenueWedding sign

Our ten piece wedding band Pure Mojo is led by three incredible vocalists Cherie Gears, Melody Reed and Sam Hendrix who are illuminated by the addition of a steaming horn section (saxophone, trumpet and trombone) – this combination takes Func On The Rocks to the next level!

Function Band Wedding SingersHorn section

The Bride and Groom Matt & Nat had planned their fairytale wedding to the very last detail and their wedding venue choice of Hornington Manor was the perfect setting for their perfect day.

Mat and Nat lights

Mr & Mrs Round love live music and were glued to the dance floor all night long with the amazing moves of the bridesmaids, groomsmen and fabulous family and friends.

Wedding band

The wedding guests sang their hearts out to each song, showed off their signature moves and together made the wedding reception extra special for the happy couple.

A big shout out to Hornington Manor who are an exceptional wedding venue. Thank you for being so easy to work with and accommodating we hope to be back soon for some more live music fun!

#firstdancefriday

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If you and your partner have been racking your brains to come up with that perfect first dance choice but just can’t quite decide… To give you a bit of inspiration we’ve recently been uploading some of our past first dance rehearsals on Facebook every #firstdancefriday.

This week we’ve put together our top 5 faves as a little recap and we hope you’ll be tuning in to see the next installments over the coming weeks. Find us on Facebook here.

 

 

 

If it ain’t Pembroke

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We’re delighted to share with you a few beautiful snaps from the wedding of Gary and Lucy at Pembroke Lodge in Surrey. Mr and Mrs Major tied the knot at this truly gorgeous Georgian mansion and we shared a relaxed afternoon with them as our acoustic duet, then on to a fantastic evening of dancing and much merriment. Their first dance choice was Ellie Goulding’s intimate cover of the huge Justin Timberlake hit ‘Mirror’. We also had the pleasure of performing the father/daughter dance live – ‘Grace’ by Wolftones. We thoroughly enjoyed being a part of their special day and we wish them all the best with the next chapter of their lives together.

“Func on the Rocks, a band that will make your day, literally. Personal chilled acoustic to showstopping performances again & again. If you’re looking for the perfect band, don’t go anywhere else, you just found them. ”
Mr & Mrs Major 21/11/2015 Pembroke Lodge, Richmond

“Annie & the band,
Your band has been the talking point of the whole wedding party & families since our big day. To say you made the reception a night to remember is an understatement. The amount of people that were dancing to the 1st song & the shouts for an encore say it all
We could of partied all night long with you guys, we only wish you could of celebrated it with us. To top it all off, the way you sang our 1st Dance song & the Father of the bride song were just perfect. Thankyou for making our day so memorable & performing like it was your last song, every song.
We would book you again in a heartbeat, keep in touch, see you all soon
Mr & Mrs Major x” – Bride & Groom

Because they’re happy…

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Today we’re revisiting another of our absolute favourite weddings from this year, celebrating the marriage of the lovely Mr & Mrs Ellis at Rudding Park Hotel, Spa & Golf. We’ve got a great little video to show you courtesy of Richard at Magic Moments Photo & Video which captures the mood perfectly and shows what a great crowd they were and how all of their family and friends made such a special evening for the bride and groom. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did being a part of it! Clap along…

“I can’t thank you and the band enough for last night. They were absolutely brilliant and I couldn’t have asked for more.
Our first dance was amazing and exactly what I had hoped for. It was brilliant how everyone rushed on to the dance floor as it picked up to full speed. I am so glad we went for “Happy” and trusted you to create an arrangement for us!
So many people last night were telling me how brilliant the band were and how great Cherie’s voice is, and I have had so many more positive comments today. I always wanted our guests to fill the dance floor and it was full all night thanks to you guys. It was just what I had hoped for!
Thank you too for all of your organisation and help along the planning process – you were always so accommodating and responsive and that was really brilliant.
Laura x” – Bride