And later that same week, I went to Chateau de la Côte with SouthWest for a full wedding. To me, that means playing the ceremony, the drinks party, then the evening with the band.
The ceremony was wonderful, held in woodland in the chateau grounds. I had to use some rocks under my stool and keyboard stand, because of a fairly steep slope, but challenges are always welcome. I also had the opportunity to learn “Isn’t she lovely?” for the Processional, and a couple of other news songs for the service itself.
With the help of some enthusiastic groomsmen, I relocated to another part of the garden for drinks. This is what it looked like…
There was a photo booth over there under the gazebo, and this wedding also had a pony and shire horse from Hire a Shire, accompanied by Ruth (tell her I said “Hi”). Yes, the day was exactly as hot as it looks from this photo.
When everyone went in for dinner, I set my amp up for the speeches and came out to help set up for the evening party. Grass isn’t ideal, but our lovely clients provided a soft stage for us and we made it work…
And now, here’s a very rare thing. I always ask wedding photographers for images of the band. They often go “Yeah, yeah” then don’t send anything through. Not so with Ian Avery. Many, many thanks for these, which will be going on the band’s website in the coming weeks…
Let’s here it for the band 
With Wil on vocals 
Eric on guitar 
Yours sincerely on ivories 
Thierry on bass 
Gérard on drums 
A real backstage view
Yes, I did shoot some video and record some sound, but you’ll have to wait for that…
