Engage!

This year Engage came to London, organised with Sarah Haywood Weddings and hosted by Historic Royal Palace Events and The Engage team, which is why we were thrilled to be arranging the music for the three-day summit this October 2019. The theme running throughout the week was Best of British, and we wanted our acts and music to reflect that.

Guests and speakers were staying at the beautiful Rosewood Hotel in Holborn over the week. There were talks and presentations from the wedding industry leaders. During the breakout sessions we had a mixture of bands performing; The Bluebirds with their sweet 3-part harmonies and The Cadillacs a 4-piece vocal harmony group playing rock-n-roll. During lunch, the guests moved into the beautiful Holborn Dining Room and Scarfes Bar, where they were serenaded with the jazz classics by The Ellingtons and charmed around the tables by roaming band favourites The Juke Joints.

The guests were hosted at London’s iconic Tower of London. Fanfares and flames greeted the guests, while a 15-piece marching band lead them around the historic building and towards the front gate. As the doors opened with a dramatic fire and trumpet display, they were guided through to the Crown Jewels exhibition by our ALR Strings 20-piece string orchestra, which began with the Game of Thrones theme tune.

Guests were charmed by medieval actors, fed like Kings and Queens from the banquet and enjoyed a host of musical performances such as a classical string duo, a harpist, an opera singer and a traditional choir.

After the Ceremony of the Keys took place, guests were led to Thames Luxury Charters’ incredible Dixie Queen boat, where our 14-piece Downtown Allstars show band rocked the night away. You know you are part of something special when Tower Bridge is lifted for the boat to pass through.

At Banqueting House the following day, the guests were treated to a 250 person Royal Banquet. With stunning floral displays, regal decor and a red carpet, guests were greeted with our string orchestra performing up the staircase, and guiding them to their seats. After a show-stopping start with a big band arrangement of ‘Feeling Good’, The Dover Street Big Band performed a sparkling set throughout dinner. After dessert began our bespoke 10-minute ‘Best of British Medley’. Created especially for this event, the medley was performed by 27 musicians and including everything from Adele to The Beatles.

Once we had everyone’s attention, The Fellas took it from there, performing a non-stop party set which had every guest on the dance floor. Meanwhile, the Undercroft had been converted into a secret Speakeasy, where Dee’s Quartet played to an exclusive crowd while they sipped cocktails and rested their dancing feet.

The night ended with a bang, with ALR Live performing a hit-filled, interactive and high-energy set. While the drinks flowed, the horn section (who can also be seen playing arena tours with the legendary Paul McCartney) and percussionist jumped down into the crowd to dance with this amazing collection of guests. It was an event that we will remember forever, and we were thrilled to be a part of it.