MATT & BRITT
From chilled drinks to 90s dance: wedding sax at The River Barn
The River Barn · Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire
Matt and Britt travelled up from the Cotswolds for their northern wedding after falling in love with The River Barn. They found me online and booked my dual package: live sax for their afternoon drinks reception and evening party.
It meant I got to create two very different moods for their day, from relaxed acoustic pop while everyone enjoyed champagne to interactive R&B and 90s dance sax alongside DJ Jon Lowe.
Relaxed drinks reception sax in Lancashire
For the afternoon, I kept things chilled with acoustic-style sax versions of familiar songs. Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and “Smooth Operator” were just the sort of tunes guests could recognise and hum along to while chatting.
It was a lovely way to accompany the champagne and photographs, giving the reception a classy, easy-going atmosphere. Afterwards, Matt and Britt told me they’d had loads of lovely comments about the afternoon sax, which is always so nice to hear.
A beautiful barn setting near Poulton-le-Fylde
The River Barn is a lovely converted barn in Lancashire, with exposed beams and greenery that make such a beautiful setting for a wedding. Matt and Britt added plenty of their own personal touches, including cat cutouts that later found their way into the party.
For my performance, I plugged into the venue’s Bose sound system. The sound was distributed evenly through the space, so the music could be heard without one area needing to be particularly loud. That worked beautifully for the drinks reception, keeping the music present while guests could comfortably talk.
90s dance, R&B and live sax with DJ Jon Lowe
In the evening I joined DJ Jon Lowe, whose smart setup and lighting looked brilliant in the barn. His lighting could react to the music live, and he brought some really interesting mashups to the party.
Matt and Britt’s guests were completely up for dance music. R&B went down brilliantly, but 90s dance was a particular favourite, so John and I really embraced that during the sax sets. We kept things upbeat, responding to the tracks that got everyone going.
Making the guests part of the performance
For me, live wedding sax is about the interaction as much as the music. I love getting among the guests, encouraging the singing and dancing, and making those little moments happen that feel personal to the couple.
At Matt and Britt’s wedding, that meant picking up their cat-print posters, joining in the singalongs and getting people doing their best sax impressions on glow sticks. There was so much fun to be had with the details they’d brought to the day.
Thank you, Matt and Britt, for bringing me into your northern wedding celebrations. From the relaxed afternoon to those big 90s dance tunes in the evening, it was a pleasure to be part of it.
THE WEDDING TEAM
- Venue: The River Barn, Poulton-le-Fylde
- Live sax: Spencer Sax · Dual drinks reception and evening party package
- Evening DJ: Jon Lowe · @djjonlowe1