April 19, 2017

Canapes, bow ties, and a fabled ‘old-fashioned on the rocks’… These are some of the signs you’re in a swinging environment. We have a lot of associations with swing performers: their smartness, respectability, charm and ever-lasting joie de vivre are great for your marital ceremony. Yet, what theme can fit wedding swing bands like a glove, we hear you cry?

Well, the glove in question can look very different, depending on how you use a swing booking. Follow us as we reel off some ace imagery and characteristics for your wedding, where a Sinatra-lover will feel right at home…

Preparing for take-off

For some, the glamour of airline travel has pretty much vanished into thin air since the 1950s and 60s. Back then, stewardesses were the peak of fashion, and pilots were seen as heroes by any kid with a toy plane. Those hats, dresses and uniforms could be swooping to the fore of your wedding plan, as you seek to imitate a premier airport lounge.

Swing music, of course, is all about flying high on restless energy. Aside from that particular hit song, there’s a sense of cool, swaggering grace in any swing setlist, made to back your air hostess dance routine!

A night at the movies

Do you ever watch the Academy Awards? It’s a suave template for your reception. There’s the movie-star look, the lights and the drapes, and (of course) the brass band music to play each person off the stage.

Hire a swing band for a film-themed event, and make your guests feel like A-listers. They can transition between speeches, or soundtrack a screen projection of the happy couples’ photos and home videos. And don’t forget the trimmed, smart look the swing band will bring with them – it’ll draw out your evening’s magisterial qualities.

The roaring twenties

We may consider this sort of music de rigueur, as if it’s always been part of our cultural history. But there was a period when swing acts exploded with freshness, daring and charisma. The formative stage of the genre – that is, the 1920s – also happens to be in vogue with wedding planners, or any mastermind who’s seeking a classy, rip-roaring affair.

With flappers, art deco furnishing and lots of black and gold, you can land a stunning impression with this theme. Get a 1920s swing band to replicate the sensation of the age; with jazzy, toe-tapping tunes to blast out, they’ll get everyone in the mood for some 20s style hedonism!

There are as many varieties of wedding swing bands as there are venues, colours and props. Don’t settle for any of the lesser acts, though – you don’t want a sloppy sound to puncture the atmosphere.

Our own experience as the Silk Street Swing Band has helped us realise just what a wedding audience expects, in terms of diversity and commitment. Call us today for a chat about your booking; if you don’t have a theme, we can suggest a few more, and do whatever it takes to get your wedding entertainment in-tune with your concept…