Last Saturday I joined the Exe Valley String Quartet as we returned to a very familiar venue. We play many weddings and events at Bovey Castle every year so it was nice to be back after a break due to Covid. A beautiful wedding and the chance to play some of our classical repertoire pre ceremony. We played outside overlooking Dartmoor for the drinks reception. This gave us the chance to play a few of our new arrangements and some old pop and rock classics.

Friday 20th August I played at Staddon Heights Golf Club for the wedding of Rachel and Craig. This was the view from the ceremony! It was a lovely ceremony taken by the brides father both from America. Rachel came into 'All of me' and the wedding party exited to 'Viva La Vida'. I then played on for an hour or so for the drinks reception. A lovely gig with lots of really positive feedback. Congratulations to Rachel and Craig.

Wednesday 18th August. Short trip down the A38 to the very beautiful Shilstone House to play for the wedding of Robbie and Emma. What a lovely place to play. We had the very lovely 'Canon in D' for the entrance music, 'All of me' for the signing and then a brand new arrangement of 'Simply the best' for the exit music. We then went into the gardens for the drinks reception where I rocked things up a bit with Sigala, Bastille and even a little bit of Moana! Great day. Congratulations to Robbie and Emma. Lots of lovely guests giving me lots of lovely feedback.

My busy August continued in Torquay on Saturday 14th August. Another traditional church wedding and again playing the piano/organ in the ceremony. Congratulations Emily and Warren. I played a little bit of violin pre ceremony and then it was a real pleasure to play Trumpet Voluntary and Mendelssohns Wedding March for the entrance and exit. I accompanied Megan, one of the bridesmaids as she sung 'Grow old with me' beautifully during the signing of the register.

A road trip to Dorset last Wednesday 11th August. A traditional church wedding ceremony which was really lovely followed by some electric violin at the very beautiful Sopley Mill. Congratulations to Matt and Rachel. It was nice to play some piano for the hymns today and to accompany the very talented Zoe who was one of the bridesmaids. Thank you to Marian Keohane the brides mother for looking after me with a very tasty three course meal before driving back to Devon.

Saturday 7th August I went off to the amazing Paschoe House. I have played there many times with the Exe Valley String Quartet but this was my first visit as a soloist. Congratulations to Cerys and Jack on your beautiful wedding ceremony. I played 'Can't help falling in love with you' for the entrance of the bridal party. I then played 'A million dreams' and my new arrangement of 'Hold my girl' by George Ezra which was a special request from Cerys. I then played 'Adventure of a lifetime' by Coldplay for the exit. I love playing that opening riff on the fiddle!! The rain didn't make any difference to the day as I played a varied set list for the drinks reception.

Back to the solo gigs this weekend. Friday 6th August I went off to a new venue for me - Barons Hill Farm. Lovely to play in the great outdoors and I even had a tractor in the audience - now that's a first. Congratulations to Laura and Tom on your wedding. I enjoyed arranging and learning "Old Pine' by Ben Howard for Laura's entrance. I also played Shotgun and Don't stop me now' in the signing of the register and then the happy couple exited to 'I will wait' by Mumford and Sons. I loved the venue and the festival vibe to the occasion.

I know that I say this a lot but I really do get to play at some beautiful places. I started August with a wedding just down the road at The Great Barn Devon with the Exe Valley String Quartet. We played for the ceremony only today in a beautifully converted barn with a really lovely acoustic. The bride and bridesmaids walked into 'Can't help falling in love with you'. We played 'What a wonderful world' and 'Moonriver' for the signing of the register and then 'God only knows' by the Beach boys for the exit of the bridal party and guests. Lovely venue and lovely weather.

I ended a very busy July with a road trip up to North Devon and the stunning Tawstock Court with the Exe Valley String Quartet. Wow. This was our first visit to this venue and it was a lovely place to play. The wedding was outside over looking the gorgeous North Devon countryside. We played some of new arrangements today including I Giorni (Einoudi), Photograph (Ed Sheeran) and Always remember us this way (Lady Gaga). The happy couple made their exit to the very popular Viva La Vida (Coldplay). We went inside then to accompany the first part of the wedding breakfast. Another lovely wedding. Onto August!

I had a weekend away from my solo gigs last weekend and a lovely weekend with the Exe Valley String Quartet.  On Friday 23rd July we played at Deer Park Hotel nr Honiton.  This was an outdoor wedding in very hot conditions down by their amazing summer house. We played a selection of classical favourites before the ceremony and then a selection of pop music and film themes for the rest of the ceremony and the drinks reception.  On Saturday we drove up to Somerset and to a new venue for us Forde Abby nr Chard.  The ceremony was indoors so it was really nice to play in such a great acoustic.  We then went outside for the drinks reception.  Again we played a mixture of genres including 'Can you feel the love tonight' from The Lion King and our brand new arrangent of 'Royals' by Lorde which works really well for a string quartet.  The guests at both weddings were very appreciative of our playing which is always nice to hear.

July 18th 2021. My extremely busy (but totally enjoyable) July continued with a return to Rockbeare Manor but this time as a solo violinist. Congratulations to Megan and Ben on a beautiful wedding in the glorious sunshine. Megan wanted 'My Heart will go on' just before her entrance in memory of her Nan. Megan walked into my new arrangement of Let it go (James Bay). I played 10,000 hours and Pompeii during the signing and then the bridal party and guests 'danced' out to Came here for love (Sigala, Ella eyre). A really lovely gig and its always nice to get lots of positive feedback on the day. Thank you.

On Wednesday 14th July we returned to Rockbeare Manor for our third wedding in just over a week. We played outside this amazing building in the glorious sunshine and then accompanied the guests during their drinks reception on the lawns. Congratulations to Ellie and Bradley on a lovely wedding. Amongst the repertoire today was our new arrangement of 'Wings' by Birdy which is a lovely track. Other requests included 'Thinking our loud' by Ed Sheeran and 'Whatever' by Oasis. Thank you to Rockbeare and their staff for looking after us - see you very soon.

The weekend continued on Sunday 11th July this time in Torquay and the very beautiful The Osborne Hotel. What a stunning backdrop for a wedding ceremony! Congratulations to Razan and Ahmad on your wedding day. You both looked amazing and Im so sorry it rained on your big day. A first for me though - playing Canon in D under a brolly in Torquay!

Well it has been a very long time to wait but after 16 months and over 470 days of having to sing in our front rooms, kitchens and garden sheds all by ourselves with only a computer as our friend we finally got to sing all together again outdoors last weekend.  It was awesome and such an emotional time.  You don't know what it means to sing with other people until you are told that you are not allowed to sing with other people.  We could all hear each other and hear all the fantastic harmonies and feel the music running through our veins.  Everybody who came along had a thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting experience and this marked the beginning of our journey as a choir back to live and fabulous rock choir sessions in September.  Loved it!

On Monday 5th July we returned to Rockbeare Manor for the wedding of Dan and Lauren. Very different technique of playing needed on Monday as the ceremony and the drinks reception were both outside. Always fun though! Lauren walked down the isle to 'When you say nothing at all' which is one of our brand new arrangements. During the signing of the register we played a couple of beautiful melodies from Love Actually and then the bridal party made their exit to 'One day like this' by Elbow. We played a wide and varied selection of pieces and songs during the drinks reception including a request to play the theme tune from Superman which seemed to go down very well! It's great to be back.  It is always nice to receive positive feedback from the bride and groom. Dan and Lauren said 'We just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for your incredible performance at our wedding on Monday. You guys were amazing and really moving, we loved the selection.' We are really happy with the last bit of this feedback mentioning how much they enjoyed what we chose to play.  It is so important to choose music that captures the spirit of the wedding and compliments the atmosphere being created.  Every wedding is different.

July 3rd 2021. My busy week of gigs continued down in Wembury by Plymouth with a lovely wedding in a private garden. Congratulations to Liam and Emily on such a lovely and unique wedding ceremony. It was a pleasure to be a small part of your wonderful and special day. Music requests included 'All of me' by John Legend, 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen and of course Pachelbel's Canon for Emily's entrance.