Every couple is different, so we’re happy to have as much or as little contact as they would like. Once we have all the key information we need, there’s usually no need for lots of regular contact, but we’re always happy to answer questions or have a chat if anything comes up. Some couples like to check in with us as their wedding gets closer, and this can usually be done with a quick email or message rather than needing a call or video chat. Simon normally looks after emails and phone calls, while Fiona usually handles social media and messages, so couples can contact us in whichever way suits them best.

This really depends on what works best for each couple. Some couples like to have a final check-in before the day, while others are happy for us to arrive and liaise directly with the venue or wedding coordinator. We’re happy to do either and will make sure we have all the important timings and details we need before we arrive. If anything changes or there’s anything the couple would like to discuss beforehand, we’re always happy to have a quick chat.

If you’ve never booked a live band before, don’t worry! We love what we do and genuinely love being part of people’s special days. We’ll guide you through anything you’re unsure about, and there’s no need to worry about knowing exactly how everything works. We’ll take care of the music side of things while you enjoy your evening, and we’ll always try to add a bit of fun along the way. We’re also happy to chat through your music choices and ideas, although we can’t promise Simon won’t find a way to sneak 5, 6, 7, 8 by Steps into the conversation! 😂

Your first dance is a really important moment for you both, and we want to make sure it’s something you’ll look back on and love. Once you’ve chosen your song, we’ll listen to it and work out the best way for us to perform it. We’ll always do our best to play your chosen song live, but if we feel we can’t do it justice, we’ll be honest with you and can play the original recording instead. Either way, the most important thing is that you get to have that special moment with the song you’ve chosen.

We’re always happy to look at requests that aren’t already in our repertoire. If there’s a particular song you’d love to hear, let us know and we’ll have a listen to see if it’s something we can learn and perform well. Some songs are easier for us to arrange than others, and this can also depend on how much time we have before the event. If we don’t feel we can make it work well live, we can always play the original recording instead, or chat with you about an alternative if you’d prefer.

There’s lots of flexibility when it comes to making the evening your own. We can include some ceilidh dancing, play live music throughout the evening, or even switch to a DJ set for the final hour. We’ll also ask if there are any particular artists or genres you enjoy and, where possible, we can include more of those in the evening. We’ve even had guests join us for a song or two, so if you have an idea or something special you’d like to do, let us know and we can work together to make it happen.

It really comes down to what you would like as a couple. We’ve had bridesmaids call the bride and groom onto the dance floor using our equipment, or the wedding coordinator can do this if you’d prefer. We’re happy to accommodate whichever works best for you, just let us know in advance so we can make sure we have any names or details right, and occasionally practice those last names! 😂

When it comes to inviting guests onto the dance floor during the first dance, again, it’s completely up to you. Some couples want to have the whole song to themselves because it has a special meaning, while others are happy for guests to join them straight away.

Our usual approach, if you’d like guests to join in, is to let the couple have a verse and chorus together first. This gives the photographer, videographer or content creator a chance to capture some lovely shots of just the two of you before we invite the bridal party and then the rest of the guests onto the dance floor.

The main things we like to have beforehand are the venue details and the contact details for the wedding coordinator or main venue contact. Any information the venue can provide about access, setup times, space, power or noise restrictions is always helpful too. We’re used to working in different venues and will do our best to work around any restrictions, so if there’s anything you think we should know about the venue, just let us know.

We’re happy to deal directly with the venue or wedding planner for any information we need for the day, and it’s usually easiest if they can contact us directly. Couples are also welcome to chat with us about any ideas or possible changes they’re considering, and we can help work out what’s possible. If it involves changing the booking, such as different start or finish times or adding extras, we’ll then ask you to discuss this with Coast so everything can be agreed and updated correctly.

Thankfully, this has never been an issue for us. If one of us was unexpectedly unable to perform, we would contact Coast Entertainment straight away and work with them to find the best solution. Coast also has an emergency replacement process in place should a replacement act be needed.

We aim to arrive at least an hour before we’re due to perform. We’ll check in with the wedding coordinator or venue team, confirm the timings and make sure everything is going to plan before loading in and setting up. Once we’re set up, we’ll do a quick soundcheck to make sure the volume works well for the size and shape of the room.

If the evening entertainment is in the same room as the meal, our setup time can sometimes be affected if the meal runs over or the venue needs time to turn the room around, but we’re used to working around this where needed. Where possible, Fiona will also try to catch the couple for a quick hello and to check that everything is still as planned.

We normally aim to arrive around an hour before we’re due to start. We plan our journey and arrival time in advance, taking into account things like the distance, venue access and anything unusual about the setup. If there are any factors that could affect our arrival or setup time, we’ll make sure these are discussed and planned for before the day. We always allow ourselves plenty of time so we can be set up and ready to go without rushing.

As a vocal and guitar duo, everything runs through our desk, which gives us a lot of control over the overall volume. This means if a venue has a noise limiter or specific sound restrictions, we can make adjustments quickly and easily to keep things within their limits.

We’ll always take the venue’s restrictions into account and make sure we’re not pushing the volume beyond what’s allowed. Because we can make changes so easily, it shouldn’t have a noticeable impact on the evening for you or your guests.

And if there is ever a little technical hiccup, don’t worry, Fiona will probably just keep singing until Simon gets it sorted! 😂

We like to keep things smart, comfortable and relaxed. Simon will normally wear jeans, a shirt and trainers, while Fiona will usually wear a dress or skirt and top with trainers. We make an effort to look smart and wedding-appropriate without being overly formal, and if you have a particular dress code or theme, we’re happy to work with that where possible with a little notice.

We have a baseline setlist, but we’re constantly changing the order depending on what we’re seeing on the dance floor and any requests we receive. If a particular style or artist is going down well, we can bring more of that into the set, swap songs around or change direction if the mood shifts.

We pride ourselves on having a good mix of music throughout the evening, and we’re always happy to learn new songs where possible if you give us enough notice. The idea is to have a plan, but still be able to adapt it to the people in the room and make the evening feel right for you and your guests.

We’d like to think we work in waves throughout the evening, building and easing the energy depending on how the night is going. As we get into the second half, we’ll usually start building towards a bigger finish, with the aim of ending the night on a high with our final song.

Our break is usually timed around the evening buffet, but just because we’re taking a break from performing live doesn’t mean the party has to stop! We’ll keep music playing during the break and, if there are any requests we haven’t been able to fit into our live sets, this is often a good opportunity to get them on. So don’t be surprised if you still see people dancing while we’re taking a breather!

We’re always happy to take requests on the night and will do what we can to keep everyone happy. If there are any songs or artists you’ve specifically asked us not to play, we’ll always respect that.

Guests are welcome to come up and let us know what they’re looking for, ideally in between songs when we have a moment to chat. They can also write their request down and pass it to us, which can sometimes be easier when we’re busy playing.

We can’t promise we’ll be able to play every request live, but we’ll always have a look at what we can do and, where possible, we’ll try to fit it into the evening.

For us, it’s mainly about letting the music do the talking. We’re not a big “stand up and talk between every song” kind of band, but if the crowd interacts with us, we’re always happy to join in and have a bit of fun with them.

We’re also more than happy to make announcements throughout the evening if you’d like us to, whether that’s inviting everyone onto the dance floor, introducing a special moment or helping with anything else you’d like announced.

Things don’t always go exactly to plan at weddings, so we try not to panic. We’ll look at what’s happening, speak to the venue team and work out the best way to keep the evening moving.

At a recent wedding, the meal was running slightly behind and golden hour arrived while we were waiting for the couple. After speaking with the venue, we started playing some live music to keep the guests entertained. Once the couple arrived, we made the announcement for the cake cutting and then moved into their first dance, so everything still flowed naturally.

We’ve even had to deal with the Scottish weather! At a drinks reception where the rain arrived, Fiona carried on singing under a brolly while Simon worked on moving as much of our equipment indoors as he could. There was very little interruption to the music, and the show carried on.

For us, it’s about staying calm, looking at the options and finding a workaround rather than letting a change in plans spoil the evening.

This is one of those things that can look different at every wedding, because every couple, crowd and evening is different. We’d love nothing more than to have everyone dancing from the first song until the last, but weddings are about more than just the dance floor. People will naturally dip in and out to grab a drink, catch up with family and friends, take photos or just enjoy the atmosphere.

You might have a busy dance floor early on, then see it quieten down for a few songs before people get back up again. As the evening goes on, we’ll keep an eye on how the crowd is responding and adjust what we’re playing to suit the room.

So rather than expecting the dance floor to look exactly the same at 8.30pm, 10pm and 11.30pm, we see the evening as a bit of a journey. Our job is to read the room, play a great mix of music and help create those moments where people think, “Oh, I love this one!” and head back onto the dance floor.

We usually have a few key songs that we like to use towards the end of the evening. These tend to be a little more interactive, with plenty of singing along and a few moments that usually get an “ooooh” or “ahhh” from the room before people head back onto the dance floor.

From there, we’ll normally build towards one final big song, which is usually Loch Lomond. We’ll get everyone up on the dance floor and finish the night with everyone singing and dancing together.

We’ll always be keeping an eye on the timings too, particularly last orders and transport arrangements. If the schedule allows and the crowd is still going, we’re more than happy to squeeze in a “just one more” before we call it a night!

Yes, we offer live ceilidh dancing as an option and Simon will normally call the dances and talk everyone through the steps. We usually recommend around 4 songs as a good amount, as ceilidh dancing can be pretty high energy!

Before we get started, we’ll do a couple of quick practice runs without the music so everyone can get a feel for the steps before we add the music in. Once the music starts, Simon will continue to call the dances and guide everyone through them.

We know ceilidh dancing isn’t for everyone, so there’s absolutely no pressure to join in. We’ll keep it fun and welcoming, and for those who do want to get involved, we’ll do our best to make sure everyone knows what they’re doing and has a good time.

The handover is pretty seamless. We’ll usually finish our live set with Loch Lomond, which we play as the original recording, and then Simon will take over with the DJ set so the music keeps going without a big pause or changeover.

The DJ set is also a chance for guests to request songs they’d like to hear, while we’ll also bring in some of the music we’ve noticed has been going down well earlier in the evening. Whether that’s indie, pop, country or a little bit of GBX, we’ll mix things up based on what you and your guests are enjoying.

For us, it’s the feedback we get throughout the night from both the couple and their guests. We’ll often have people coming up to us between songs to tell us they’re enjoying the music, request a favourite song or just have a chat, and it’s always lovely to hear that people are having a good time.

We also love hearing from the couple themselves, whether that’s a quick chat during the evening or a message afterwards. Knowing that we’ve helped make their wedding a little more special and that they’ve enjoyed having us there is what makes us feel like we’ve had a great night too.

One thing we’ve had couples mention afterwards is that we were just as good live as we were in the videos they’d watched when they were deciding whether to book us.

We know that not every couple gets the chance to see us play live before their wedding, so choosing a band can involve a bit of trust. It’s always lovely to hear that the live experience matched what they were expecting from the videos, and that we delivered the kind of evening they were hoping for.

That’s a really hard one because we’ve built up so many special memories with our couples over the years, and they’re not always the big moments.

Sometimes it’s something really simple, like a personal note from a couple thanking us for being part of their day. Other times it’s the guests going completely wild on the dance floor, kids breakdancing across the room, or somehow every single song turning into the Macarena!

And then there are the moments that you definitely don’t plan for, like the time the groom’s kilt decided to make an unexpected appearance on the dance floor... enough said! 😂

So picking one favourite is pretty much impossible. It’s all those little unexpected moments, funny stories and personal memories that make each wedding special for us.