Jon and Lisa Wolfe's Perfect Wedding (& Perfect Wedding Entertainment!)

You can’t recreate the atmosphere that a live band can provide. I’d recommend Munch to anybody hosting a wedding or big party without hesitation.

My husband, Jon, and I live in Lichfield in Staffordshire.  All of my family and friends live in the north-west, with Jon’s family and friends living in the Midlands, around Coventry and Solihull.  We decided that we’d like to get married in our adopted town and therefore avoid having to choose one of our “home” towns over the other.  We looked at a few venues around Lichfield and fell in love with Moxhull Hall, which is an old stately home that has recently been renovated by its owners into a fabulous hotel and wedding venue.  The décor is very contemporary and chic whilst being sympathetic to the buildings beautiful period features.

We just wanted our day to be very informal, and for everybody to come along and enjoy a big celebration and have a really fun time.  This influenced our choice of clothes.  I shunned the traditional “big” wedding dress and opted for a sleek, informal Grecian inspired dress.  My bridesmaids wore short chiffon summery dresses, and Jon and the boys wore 3 piece lounge suits rather than formal tails or morning suits.  We wanted our wedding to be bright and sunny to reflect our playful characters and love of the outdoors, so our colour theme was yellow and green. 

We included lots of little extras to complete our theme.  Favours were Mr Men and Little Miss mugs, which we personalised for each guest.  We had a sweet shop stocked with all of our favourite sweets, and a photo booth where guests could record a video, or take a photograph and leave a message.  Table numbers were photographs of us holding up the number in various costumes/poses, which made everybody laugh, and each table was given a quiz and encouraged to bet on the length of the speeches. We also gave everybody a stick of Southport rock (where I’m from).  Our final quirk was to have a cake made of cheese rather than a traditional fruit cake, and we served this at the buffet in the evening.

Our wedding ceremony was held at 2.00 pm at Holy Cross Church in Lichfield, and from there we went straight to Moxhull Hall for our wedding reception, in Jon’s Lotus Elise! 

Having attended many weddings where the photographs take forever, we were keen to keep our formal photographs to a minimum, opting instead for a more reportage style of photography.  This allowed us to be seated for dinner shortly after 4.30pm.  The speeches lasted longer than we anticipated, so we’d only just finished when our evening guests started to arrive at 7.30pm.  

The band we booked for the evening’s entertainment, Munch, played “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon for our first dance, which a friend and dance teacher had helped us choreograph.  This was the band’s opening song, and it was superb! They followed straight away with “I’m A Believer” by The Monkees, and the dance floor was packed from that moment until the last song!

Munch played two 1 hour sets, and in between those sets they provided disco music.  Munch are a great party band, and I have no doubt that the night wouldn’t have been the same without the live entertainment. 

Munch were able to make a quick assessment of the audience and played a set that ensured the dance floor was packed all night.  You can’t recreate the atmosphere that a live band can provide.  I’d recommend Munch to anybody hosting a wedding or big party without hesitation.

I loved every second!  A particularly memorable moment for me was when the church doors opened and I saw floods of smiling faces and cameras.  I loved it when my bridesmaids, flower girls, and my mum made me laugh in church by dancing to the hymns, and our hilarious Priest.  I also enjoyed being welcomed to Moxhull Hall by all of the staff who treated us like royalty, and dancing the night away with my friends and family.

What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides who are planning their perfect wedding?

Think about what you really want the day to be like, and communicate that to family so they understand what you want, and then set about achieving it! 

On the day itself, try to take in every second.  Everybody tells you that, but blink and you really will miss it!  It’s easy to say “don’t be nervous”, but if you are, you’ll miss all the fun.  It’s your day and everybody there loves you, so lap it up!  I expected to be really nervous and teary in the church, but we ended up laughing, giggling and dancing.  I loved the church bit!

Munch are a great party band, and I have no doubt that the night wouldn’t have been the same without the live entertainment. They were able to make a quick assessment of the audience and played a set that ensured the dance floor was packed all night.