Losehill House Wedding band & acoustic duo
Elisabeth & Josh’s wedding day finally came around on Friday, after a year long wait to tie the knot at possibly the most picturesque wedding venue in Derbyshire, Losehill House Hotel.
Elisabeth got in touch with us, in early 2021, to perform acoustic music for the ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast, and we were delighted to learn that she’d kept us in mind for her big day ever since seeing us perform at her brother Ed’s wedding to Julia, all the way back in 2013 at the Lancashire Manor Hotel.
The glorious countryside never gets old when we drive through the Peak District, and with the sun shining we made our way through mountains and valleys towards Losehill Hotel.
We arrived to meet Josh and his dad relaxing outside before setting up to perform the ceremony music out on the grounds, with the most beautiful backdrop. With a touch of rain on the horizon we powered through practising the songs, and after the past few blistering days it was actually quite nice to cool down. But once the bride and groom’s family and friends had arrived there was no rain in sight, in fact the sun did make a very brief appearance, a sign of an amazing day to come.
As the guests were seated for the ceremony, we played an acoustic version of The Bee Gees’ ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ as well as our sleepy version of Sweet Child O’Mine by guns and roses, which had a few people nodding (in approval – we hope) in our direction.
Once the registrar returned from her meeting with Elisabeth we were a-go, performing a slow version of Rather Be by Clean bandit, a nice new arrangement for us, as we’re normally used to performing this one with our loop pedals with all of the bells and whistles, it’s so refreshing to strip everything back and come up with an acoustic version. It’s actually a really nice arrangement and made for a perfect backdrop as Elisabeth & her bridesmaid floated down the steps of Losehill House Hotel towards future husband Josh beamind with love and pride.
After they exchanged rings and had their first kiss as husband and wife we got straight into the song for signing the register. Our version of ‘Send me on my way’ by Rusted Root – a song we’ve loved ever since we recorded it back in may 2020 in our little living room/filming studio. It’s an absolutely fantastic song (made famous in the movie ‘Matilda’) and is one of the most watched videos on our Youtube Channel. It’s also become more and more popular for wedding ceremonies and drinks receptions in recent years – which we’re so happy about 🙂
We love these kinds of songs much, and it’s great to be able to give suggestions to our couples for their wedding day. Our Youtube Channel. is a great place to start, when looking for music choices. Rusted root and Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros are totally the vibe we go for for with our folk acoustic show, and Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men, Barry Louis Polisar’s All I Want Is You, and Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches almost always make an appearance at some point in the day, too!
Once the signing of the register was complete, the guests stood to whoop and cheer as the newlyweds made their way back down the aisle as man and wife, and the song they chose to accompany this indelible moment was a new song for us, but by an artist we’ve deeply loved for years. You Are The Best Thing byRay Lamontagne. 🥰
We’re long long overdue for including Ray’s work in our live sets… his voice, songwriting, vocal phrasing – everything about the man is so cool, and we couldn’t think of a better sentiment for Elizabeth and Josh to end their ceremony with.
Check out Elisabeth & Josh’s ceremony songs here:
Since the sun had, by this time, decided to grace us with it’s presence, we stayed put for the drinks reception and treated the bride and groom’s guests to acoustic versions of Teardrops by Womack and Womack, Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush (thank you, Stranger Things!!), and It Must Be Love by Labi Siffre. This warmed the crowd up nicely and we were gelighted to see a few pockets of people singing along and even having themselves a little dance now and then. We need very little encouragement to start overdoing it, and this was all we needed to start upping the tempo with things like King Of Wishful Thinking by Go West, Iko Iko by the Dixie Cups and Let My Love Open The Door by Pete Townshend.
We finished the drinks reception at exactly the right time – just as the sun was making it’s excuses and tiptoing behind a rather onimous looking raincloud. Fortunately the wedding breakfast was to be held inside, and once our gear had been moved indoors we were treated to an incredible meal of smooth pate to start, followed by some beautifully prepared and presented chicken with gratin and roasted vegetables. We were feeling pretty pampered, and we thought we were full… until the dessert arrived! A delicious, light chocolate mousse served with raspberries and a raspberry sauce. It was quite sublime, and we had to shake the urge to have a little snooze in order to be on top form for our final duty of the day.
Our acoustic wedding breakfast sets are generally designed to add pleasant ambience and aid, rather than intrude on conversation.For this reason we like to favour songs that are less upbeat and more gentle. It’s with this in mind that we prepared a playlist of around an hour of acoustic wedding breakfast music starting with the likes of Islands In The Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac, our latest YouTube upload, a soft, stripped back rendition of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by BJ Thomas, and one of our all-time favourites, Fields Of Gold by the incomparable Eva Cassidy.
The guests ate, drank and made merry as we serenaded them, and as our final acoustic set came to a close with The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon, we said our congratulations to the happy couple and thanked the assembled guests. A round of applause at dinner means all the more, since it requires the audience to put down their cutlery – so when it happens you know they really mean it.
Thank you so much, Elisabeth & Josh for booking us as your acoustic wedding band, we had such a brilliant day with you both,
Have an amazing time on your honeymoon.
Soph & Mat x