Tag Archives: Wedding

New Stunning Coastline Venue

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Saturday the 23rd of September was our first visit to Tynemouth Castle and Priory.

Although we often travel from Leeds to the North East, Tynemouth has somehow been missed out of the list until now. What a beautiful little town and stunning cliff face! We had a lovely drive through the traditional streets and made our way through the Castle walls and gatehouse into the English heritage site.

Tynemouth Priory Castle Wedding Marquee Live Music Party Coast

We definitely understand why this couple chose this for their wedding reception spot! The views are breathtaking and it was so special to be surrounded by the ruins of Benedictine priory.

The stunning marquee sat proudly amongst the history of the town taking in the fresh sea air.

Tynemouth Priory Castle Wedding Live Music Party Band Beach

After the speeches the best man announced the cutting of the cake, followed by their first dance as husband and wife. The newlyweds chose the popular 90’s hit Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. The new Mr & Mrs impressed the crowd with their dance routine including some impressive twirls and dips.

First Dance Live Music Wedding Leeds Tynemouth Priory Marquee

The first set of live music continued with some swinging classics, Soul, Motown and UK chart hits.

During our break we made friends with the singing chefs while they prepared fresh fish and chips for the evening buffet.

Live Entertainment Music Yorkshire Northumberland Singing Chefs Dancing

As we began the second set of live music our gorgeous Bride Alexandra appeared in a new knee length wedding dress. Alex certainly knows how to celebrate in style and the new outfit was the perfect transition to allow her to show her guests her best dance moves.

Gorgeous Bride and Groom Dancing Wedding Party Band

As our bride and groom are huge live music fans they requested we play 3 sets of live music, which we arranged prior to the wedding. We of course obliged and were very impressed with the dance floor stamina of their friends and family as they boogied the night away!

Party Time Packed Dance Floor Wedding Party Band Yorkshire

Destination Duncombe Park

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Duncombe Park, Helmsley, York was a new wedding destination to add to the long list of wedding venues that Func On The Rocks have performed at over the years; entertaining at weddings and corporate events.

Duncombe Park Wedding Venue Band Func on the Rocks Stately Home Live Band

The estate sits amongst 300 acres of parkland and shares its home with some very friendly sheep who are free to roam around the stunning grounds.

We passed the grand stately home and turned left, entering the enchanted forest. Our trail was illuminated by string of fairy lights which guided us to the wedding destination.
We set up the band equipment in the marquee as the staff arranged the finishing touches to the venue before the guests arrived.

Love Seat Bench Wedding Date Bride Groom

This wedding was made extra special for us as we performed with our horn section at the Father of the Bride’s birthday party a few years back in Bramham, North Yorkshire. We also caught up with Jeff and his partner Catherine when we performed at their friends’ wedding earlier this summer; so it was lovely to catch up with them and meet the rest of the family.

Wedding Band First Dance Live Music Marquee Entertainment

The bride and groom kept their first dance top secret so they could surprise all their friends and family. As soon as we sang the first few notes the crowd joined in and their suspense turned into a warmth for the happy couple as the danced to ‘You Got The Love’ by Florence and the Machine.

As requested we followed the first dance with the Pharrell Williams hit ‘Happy’, which went down a storm! The dance moves were in full swing and from then on the new Mr & Mrs and their guests danced the night away.

Live Music Wedding Band Dancing Dance Floor Wedding Guests

Midweek Matrimony

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We love an unconventional wedding, something out of the ordinary and starting our weekend on a Tuesday definitely fits the bill.
Traveling up the A1 to one of our favourite venues and one of the North Easts most distinguished wedding locations, Middleton Lodge in Richmond.

Although we perform at Middleton Lodge frequently during wedding season this was our debut performance in the The Coach House.
The rustic and shabby chic decor was the perfect setting for our Bride and Groom, who added a personal touch to every step of their wedding day.

Instead of a wedding cake the couple presented each guest with their own miniature bottle of champagne. Gathered in the courtyard all friends and family shared a toast to the happy couple.
Jenny and Stephen have known each other since they were kids and were brought back together by true love as adults.

To make their first dance extra special they chose the epic 1980’s classic ‘Sweet Love’ by Anita Baker. Both Jenny and Stephen were 80’s babies and born within only a few days of each other, which some of the wedding guests didn’t know until that point.

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We were thrilled to see all their friends and family in high spirits and ready to rock the dance floor!

The glamorous bridesmaids were dripping in floor length golden sequin dresses. Each dress with its own individual touch, was the perfect compliment to the Bride’s silky golden locks and embellished wedding gown.

Bridesmaids Wedding Singer Middleton Lodge Richmond North Yorkshire

The proud Father of the Bride was beaming all night long as he danced with his daughter and was our biggest fan, never leaving the dance floor!

Father of the Bride Dance Floor Proud

On Wednesday (the new Saturday) we took a trip from Leeds to Staffordshire. A stunning rural setting with lush countryside which reached as far as the eye could see and home to some beautiful, majestic animals.

Countryside Wedding Venue Rural Horses Sheep Ashes Barn Leeds

The Ashes Barn overlooked a glistening lake. As we were setting up and the sun was setting over the lake we spotted a flock of birds come to land on the clear water, it was a magical sight.

In the sister barn the Bride and Groom had organised a bouncy castle for the little ones (and energetic adults) which looked great fun and was a lovely unique touch to their day.

Wedding Bouncy Castle Kids Entertainment Music Leeds

Most of the guests were also from Leeds so we knew they would be up for a party!

The Bride and Groom chose Lionel Richie’s ‘I Call it Love’ for their first dance together as husband and wife and asked us to follow it with Prince ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ which was the perfect choice to get everybody grooving on the dance floor.

We kept our set varied with lots of different genres and eras of music and made sure to pick the songs which would keep everyone on the dance floor.

Dancing Wedding Guests Leeds Staffordshire the Barn Disco Live Music

The new Mr & Mrs requested us to finish the night with Take That’s ‘Never Forget’. The crowd sang along with love for the happy couple, it was a truly memorable moment.

We could definitely get used to midweek weddings as they were so much fun!
As a function band it’s our job to bring all the guests together for the evening reception and keep them boogieing all night long and these guys sure made our job easy for us.

Band Live Music Wedding Dancing Leeds Wedding Entertainment

Happy birthday to you

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Another busy week last week for the Func On The Rocks crew! Friday night was the 60th birthday celebrations for Tonie. The last time we saw this lovely lady was on her son’s wedding day at Holdsworth House two years ago.

We were thrilled to see the happy couple again, along with their new addition to the family; nine month old Matilda.

60th Birthday Party Live Band Huddersfield Football Club

We arrived at Huddersfield training ground to see the venue had been beautifully decorated with gold balloons awaiting the party to commence.

The celebrations got underway at 7pm with friends and family travelling far and wide to make sure they joined in the fun with the birthday girl.

Dance floor birthday party Huddersfield Training Ground

We kept the music quite old school as we knew our birthday girl liked a bit of Northern Soul and the Commitments.

The crowd let their hair down to some soul classics and sang along with us to The Jackson 5 and Whitney Houston.

On Saturday morning our piano player Lee, and vocalist Cherie, took the scenic route from Leeds to North Yorkshire’s High Birstwith.

The grand marquee was awaiting its guests in anticipation and were lucky enough to set up for our duo performance in the sunshine.

Marquee Wedding Reception Pianist Live Music

After the wedding ceremony at a separate location the guests started to arrive. Friends and family were guided down the pink carpet for the drinks reception by beautiful, individual plant pots.

Wedding Marquee Yorkshire

Wedding Breakfast Marquee Yorkshire

We serenaded the guests with some memorable jazz songs and easy listening classics as they sipped their champagne and congratulated the bride and groom on their marriage.

After the speeches and wedding breakfast the rest of the band arrived at the venue, including saxophonist and trumpet player Jake and Jonny.

Wedding Band Live Music Piano

Live Music Wedding Band Function Marquee

After the cutting of the unique ‘cheese’ cake we announced Grace and Ben’s first dance as husband and wife. They picked the U2 hit ‘With or Without You’ as their special song and as they gazed into each other’s eyes they sang along to every word.

Friends and family joined the happy couple on the dance floor and soon enough the evening reception was in full swing.

Live Wedding Band Music Leeds Yorkshire

No warming up necessary for these guys, they were ready to boogie!!
The dance floor was filled with the stunning lilac bridesmaid dresses swinging from left to right and some incredible dance moves could be seen throughout the marquee. I’m sure the wedding photographers got some amazing shots!

We kept the repertoire varied from Michael Jackson to Clean Bandit.
After the crowd cheered for more at the end of the second set of live music, we decided to get everyone to sing along to Dirty Dancing’s ‘Time of My Life’. The dance floor erupted with nostalgic energy. It was an incredible sight!

Wedding Marquee Party Live Music

Thanks to everyone at Huddersfield Town, The Yorkshire Club and the staff at Grace and Ben’s wedding, it’s such a pleasure to work alongside such professionals. We hope to see you all again soon for some more musical fun.

Bride and Groom Wedding Singers

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.

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