A Jewish wedding with Mike Paul-Smith Music

Andy and Karen are a wonderful couple, based in New York City, who booked a whole-day wedding music package for their Jewish wedding through Mike Paul-Smith Music. 

Andy and Karen found out about us because we had performed at Andy’s best man’s wedding the year previously – and a few weeks after that wedding, they got in touch asking us to perform for them. 

They live in New York and, as it happened, we were able to arrange a wedding planning meeting there – Mike taking a few hours out of a holiday to discuss their plans for the big day. 

Everything came together perfectly, with the dream combination of efficient wedding planner, excellent venue and marvellous suppliers coming together to create a perfect day. 

Many thanks to Peartree Pictures for allowing us to share photos of Andy and Karen’s wedding.

The Chuppah

The setting for this incredible wedding was The Elvetham Hotel, in Hampshire. The Chuppah was to take place on the outside lawns, and we were blessed with beautiful weather. 

Andy and Karen went for a classical music feel for their Chuppah, so opted for our Wedding Pianist accompanied by a cellist. 

We performed some of their suggestions for important parts of the ceremony – including Elgar’s Salut d’Amour and Handel’s Largo – with our choice of classical music for 15 minutes before the ceremony.

The first dance

During the drinks reception our live musicians took a break, and set up for the evening band in the marquee. 

Andy and Karen decided to start the dancing with a traditional first dance to Dean Martin’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head – Karen somehow battling through some tough choreography despite having broken her ankle just two months previously.

The Horah

Then, it was the moment we had all been waiting for – Andy and Karen’s Horah, to the traditional Hava Nagila. 

Andy and Karen were lifted high on chairs for this joyful traditional celebration.

The party

Then it was on with the party – with three sets of music from our 10-piece The Get Downs band. The dancefloor was full all night as everyone celebrating the happiest of occasions with this fantastic couple.

After the wedding

After the wedding we caught up with wedding planner Kate from Isabella Weddings, who had this to say about our performance:

“Down for the Count were the band for the evening reception and they were absolutely sensational. They played swing and soul music with a few modern classics thrown in for good measure. All of the guests danced the night away with this fantastic couple and everyone had such a fabulous time.”