Ben and Leigh Christensen's Perfect Wedding & Perfect Wedding Entertainment!

Our first dance was very special as it was our favourite song played live especially for us!! We'll always remember that.

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

Our wedding took place in a lovely little village called Stock, near Chelmsford in Essex. We chose Crondon Park Golf and Country Club as it was perfect for us. 

It had a really relaxed feel to it and meant that we could have the ceremony and reception all in the one place. As a converted barn it also looked beautiful!! 

They offered a dedicated wedding planning team who were fabulous, and the day ran so smoothly. Our party was made up of 82 guests during the day, rising to 150 for the party in the evening.

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

We tried to keep everything as simple as we could, and with having the wedding and reception all in one venue, this was easily done. 

The wedding ceremony started at 2.00pm and was followed by a drinks reception, during which we had photographs taken. 

A lovely dinner followed, with speeches done last. Thankfully, the audience had loosened up by this point and the speeches went down a storm. 

The party band we booked to provide our evening wedding entertainment, ETA, arrived at 7.00pm to set up and played background music until we were ready for our first dance at 8.00pm. 

Our first dance was “Hey, Soul Sister” by Train, which ETA learnt especially.

First dance was followed by a hog roast buffet at 9.00pm.

Mingling was followed by dancing, then more mingling as ETA played extra time all the way through to midnight, only stopping for refuelling at 9.00pm. 

It was all over in a flash but thankfully the videographer captured it all!!

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

We didn't pick a theme at first but as we went along a lot of the decisions we made led us down the vintage road. (* Check out Alive Network's blog on "Vintage Wedding Entertainment Ideas")

We wanted a traditional, relaxed day with all the things you would expect, favours, confetti, champagne but all with a bit of a twist.

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

The live entertainment was a huge hit!! We really wanted a party atmosphere in the evening with lots of dancing and singing. 

As soon as our party band ETA came on stage, everybody was hooked. They learned our first dance for us which made it even more special as we had gone for a fairly recent song. It was amazing!!

From that point on the dance floor was packed. They even managed to drag men away from the bar (which made a massive difference to the final bill!!). The mix of songs was brilliant, and the interaction with the crowd really made everybody feel they were part of the band. 

So many people have commented on the band and how impressed they were. I couldn't recommend hiring live music enough, and especially ETA.

What were your favourite moments of the day? 

Saying I do of course! I think seeing so many of our family and friends in one place, all having a lovely time. 

Our first dance was very special as it was our favourite song played live especially for us!! We'll always remember that.

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

Get the basics right, which are the ceremony, food, drink and entertainment. No-one will remember what colour the menus were, but they will remember the key moments.

Try not to stress, set a cut off date a few days before the wedding then make sure you take those days to relax and be pampered.

ETA even managed to drag men away from the bar (which made a massive difference to the final bill!!). The mix of songs was brilliant, and the interaction with the crowd really made everybody feel they were part of the band.