There are a whole heap of things to think about when you’re organising your wedding day. Anything from the clothes you and the wedding party will be wearing, to what type of paper the orders of service will be printed on, to what size prawns will be served with the bubbles in the afternoon.
All elements that seem like the biggest deal at the time but how many times have you heard ‘I was at a wedding the other day; it was amazing - they served these really reasonably sized prawns…’
Not many.
What people do remember are the cool things, the brash and colourful things and the lovely, personal things to you as a couple. An element of your wedding that fulfil all three of those things is a cool saxophone entrance. There are a variety of ways that you can utilise a saxophonist for when you enter and I’ll list a few options below:
The Saxy Pied-Piper
Your saxophonist leads or trails you as you enter your hall or barn for dinner etc. playing your favourite song. This is great and is a big high point of the day but it does have a tendency to distract from you as a couple.
The Saxophone Hype
Quite similar to the above but with your saxophonist starting to play before the happy couple enter, building a sense of anticipation and fun. The happy couple enter the wedding breakfast to an already hyped room with guests on their feet, swinging their napkins and making a load of noise to welcome the new couple to their first meal together. I think this is my favourite way to do it and it is absolute chaos but that frenetic and wild energy that makes weddings so much fun.
The Secret Saxophonist
Crouching Sax, Hidden Saxophonist. There are loads of ways to do this the best way is to have everything (speakers etc.) set up in advance and with the sax player out of sight (but comfortable nearby). It’s worth mentioning that having Bluetooth control of the speaker system is really useful in this instance. This goes down well although I have had more elderly guests tell me that I was in the wrong room before and turn off my background music so do watch out for that wilful great aunt.
Things To Avoid
I’ve done a few of these secret reveals over the years where I (and sometimes a band) had to wait in a dark tent in silence for an hour or two for the curtain to be pulled down in mid-Summer heat. The lack of moving air and anywhere to sit down means that we definitely didn’t play our best - the crowd still enjoyed the performances but I would recommend avoid sticking your musicians in ovens if at all possible!
Notable Mentions
Other notable mentions that probably aren’t possible at a normal wedding but cool nonetheless. A friend of mine had a saxophonist winched up on a crane and lowered into the outdoor wedding party; I have no idea what he was playing but it looked amazing but the budget for that one stunt must have been quite silly.
Pricing
I offer a saxophone wedding entrance performance as a £100 add-on to my standard performance set of 2x45 minute sets or 3x30 minute sets (£375) so for £475 (plus travel). Other sax players will be a little cheaper or more expensive depending on location, experience or how busy they are but this is a good ballpark.
Service Area
I generally service the south of England but mainly service the South East, namely London (I’m based in the Dulwich/Forest Hill/Peckham area), Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire but I’m willing to travel further afield depending on the date and distance. I charge travel at 0.25p per mile if I have to be travelling for over an hour each way.
If you end up hiring a saxophonist to play your wedding entry, drinks reception and play in the evening with a DJ then they will often do a bit of a deal to help you out so it is worth asking if you think you might want to lay on the sax heavily on your evening.
Any saxophonist you book will come with their own PA (speaker system) and their own microphone so they will have the option of being self-contained for your reception, they’ll just need power.
Nick Pike Saxophone
A talented and versatile saxophonist, Nick plays iconic pop, funk and soul songs reworked with his unique touch. Nick Pike Saxophone is available throughout London, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and Berkshire. Book now >
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