The ceremony at Hensol Castle on 22 August was at three o’clock, outside, with the wedding breakfast running late behind it. Our duo played the ceremony and the drinks reception. While that was going on out in the grounds, the PA and most of the evening band’s gear went into the Courtyard Hall.
A 3pm ceremony moves the whole day
A three o’clock ceremony pushes everything back. Photographs run into the drinks reception, the wedding breakfast starts late, and the speeches finish around the hour a band would normally be arriving to build a stage. So we build it earlier.
Setting up while the ceremony ran outside
Every guest was outdoors for the ceremony and the photographs afterwards, which leaves an empty room and no audience. PA up, backline and drums in, lines run, desk patched. Then we left it alone and stayed out of the way through the breakfast.
After the speeches there was a line check and a change of clothes. Nobody had to sit through a band building a stage over their main course, and the evening started at the time it was written down for.
The duo through the afternoon
The ceremony and the drinks reception were the duo - the same musicians who play the evening, at a scale that suits a room where people are talking to each other. One band on site all day rather than two sets of strangers passing in the car park. There’s more on how the acoustic and full-band lineups fit together on our weddings page.
In through the front door
Photographs were happening outside where we would normally take the kit in, so everything went through the main entrance: a walk up from the road, a flight of steps, then down the corridor, down a slope and across the courtyard into the hall. Wheels and a slope are an interesting combination with a loaded flightcase behind them.
Load-out went straight out the back, no steps. If you’re booking a band here, agree with the venue in advance which door they can use at the hour they arrive. The current access route is written up on our Hensol Castle wedding band page.
Somewhere Only We Know
The first dance was Somewhere Only We Know, played live by the full band.
Other couples were on the floor with them before the end of it. Worth asking your band about if you would rather not spend three minutes on an empty dancefloor.
If your ceremony is late
Tell your band the ceremony time, not just the evening start time. Then ask your venue when the room is empty during the day and offer that window for setup. At Hensol it was the ceremony itself; somewhere with an indoor ceremony it is usually the drinks reception.
The Brotherhood are South Wales’ premier wedding and corporate band, based in Newport and playing across the Vale of Glamorgan. See our wedding bands Cardiff page for the venues we know best, or the wider South Wales wedding bands page. Check our availability for your date.
