Mark and Zoe Lancaster's Perfect Wedding & Perfect Wedding Entertainment!

I would definitely recommend that you hire live wedding entertainment. Our biggest budget by far was entertainment, but it was so worth it. Yes, the wedding is about you two, but why have loads of guests there if you’re not going to show them a good time! The impact that live entertainment had on our wedding day was massive – to walk down the aisle to a song written for us, and to have all your friends dancing and singing at the end of the night with the band was just the best!

Where did your wedding take place, why did you choose that venue, and how big was your wedding party?

Our wedding ceremony took place at St James Church in Taxal, Whaley Bridge, followed by a posh marquee reception at my aunt and uncle’s farm, Lane Head Farm.

Did you have a theme for your wedding, and what sort of look and feel did you want to create?

We had a vintage garden party theme, hiring in vintage crockery, table cloths and vintage lace napkins. (* Check out Alive Network's "Vintage Wedding Entertainment Ideas" blog post here)

Our flowers were amazing – organic wild flowers grown in Shropshire by The Thoughtful Flower Company.

We also had vintage tractors to bring all of our 80 guests from the church to the house.

Please tell us about the running order and format of your day, including details of any live music or entertainment

At 2.15 pm our guests were collected from the hotel that most of them were staying at and brought by mini bus to St James Church.

Solo singer and guitarist Kevin Stanley was at the church on their arrival providing the ceremony music and performed some of his own original music and some cover songs.

I arrived at 3.00 pm and walked down the aisle to a song written especially for us by Kevin Stanley.

Our church service consisted of three hymns, a reading, and a poem written for us by a friend.

We signed the wedding register and left church to more live music.

Vintage tractors with straw bails for seats took us from the church to the farm were we were greeted by Pimm’s and Mojito’s for welcome drinks, plus savoury and sweet scones.

Flowers hung outside the church, and we had flowers at pew ends and a massive flower display in the font.

Kevin Stanley provided live music in the background, and a Basil Faulty impersonator mingled with guests and generally gave everybody a good laugh. This meant we had no low point of the day. 

Tables in the marquee were set up in long rows and were named after married couples at our wedding.

The table plan was in a flower basket for each row, and when guests went into the main marquee they were given a glass of champagne with a strawberry at the bottom.

The flowers were amazing, spilling out of vintage tea cups and teapots.

Guests found their places at tables, which also had a picture taken at the wedding of the couple whose table they were sat at. There was information about the married couples and also questions to get guests talking.

We did speeches before the meal, including me – the bride. As my father passed away due to lung disease, we gave lung foundation pins to the men and explained why. Everybody wore them in remembrance of my dad’s life.

The ladies were given lavender filled hearts made out of vintage cloth which you could smell for miles. Dinner was a barbecue with lots to choose from, and some fabulous desserts.

Afterwards, the Basil Faulty look-a-like came back in and got people up to audition for Manuel roles, and we all ended up singing "We’re all off to sunny Spain, viva Espana!" It was such a good laugh.

Then the room was emptied while it was turned around for the evening wedding entertainment. Mark and I go to ballroom dancing so our first dance was a waltz to Songbird by Eva Cassidy, and then our party band hit it!

We booked 4 piece rock and pop band, The Fubars, who had the place jumping! It was Glasto weekend, and it felt like it on our wedding day - they were amazing!

The mini-buses came back to collect everybody at midnight and the party continued back at the hotel until 4.00 am in the morning! We loved it all.

How big an impact did live entertainment have on your wedding day and would you recommend it to others?

I would definitely recommend that you hire live entertainment. Our biggest budget by far was entertainment, but it was so worth it. Yes, the wedding is about you two, but why have loads of guests there if you’re not going to show them a good time! The impact that live entertainment had on our wedding day was massive – to walk down the aisle to a song written for us, and to have all your friends dancing and singing at the end of the night with the band was just the best!

What were your favourite moments of the day?

The church, we all loved it. Our vicar knows us well, and we had written our own vows involving our daughter. It felt so personal, and not stuffy like many church weddings can be.

I loved watching everybody at the end of the night punching the air to the music, but more than anything was when Mark cried during his speech, which was very unlike him, he was just so loved up!

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

Don't worry about the weather - I stressed over it forever and ever. It rained most of the day and we had tractors and a barbecue, but you honestly wouldn't have noticed. We had umbrellas, and everybody wanted a tractor ride regardless of the rain, plus it kept us all together and made some great shots.

Spend a long time with your photographer and don't worry about how many questions you ask. Jim Hunter Photography was brilliant from the rehearsal shoot to trash the dress. He has been an absolute rock, and he was so calm on the day!

We made lots of stuff ourselves. We even had a real apple tree as a wish tree. It's amazing when all the planning comes together.

Make sure you use an agent when booking entertainment as it takes so much of a weight off your mind. Nick at Alive Network was the best! We had been let down by a band we had booked ourselves, so we weren’t prepared to take that risk again. Nick sorted out booking The Fubars for us, and it all went without a hitch! Cheers Nick x.