Velvet Noir

We can be fully set up in 1 hour from when we get access to the room.

We play 8pm-12am (with a 30 minute break).

Yes we’ll always try our best to accommodate your timings if they’re different from the standard 8pm-12am set.

We take a 30 minute break and this is usually during your evening buffet, if you’re having one. We’ll definitely play background music for you during this time.

We don’t offer custom set lists as such no, but before the big day we’ll send you our most recent up to date set list, and you’re more than welcome to request certain songs that you definitely want (or don’t want) to be played on the night. 

Yes of course! Just make sure you give us enough notice to learn and rehearse it, so we can make sure it’s perfect for you!

We always welcome requests! We can’t guarantee that we’ll know every request, but if we don’t we always make a point of playing the original song during our break. 

Yes we offer a disco set from 12-1am. It’s a great opportunity you and your guests to make requests for the set list during that hour. 

Yes, we can also perform at your Ceremony and/or Drinks Reception. You have the option of booking Chelsea singing solo, or both Chelsea & Connor as an acoustic duo – so you can have all your entertainment for the day covered with us!

Yes we bring everything that we need, and it’s all included in your quote.

We bring a great energy because we love what we do, and that comes across in our performances! We have fun on stage and like to make everyone feel involved. Don’t be scared to talk to the band too, we love having a laugh with you all!

Between the four of us we have such a varied taste in music, but I’d say we all love the likes of Prince, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga.

Yes we can! We usually do 3 dances, Gay Gordons, Canadian Barn Dance and Strip the Willow. This would usually take between 20-30 mins depending on the number of guests taking part, how well people know the steps etc. We use tracks with traditional instruments for the ceilidh section and we’ll call all the steps throughout the set for you too.

I enter the booking into our shared band diary and mark the date as unavailable. I make note of any special booking notes ie the bands set times, early setup required, hotel stay required etc and make sure it doesn’t clash with any other existing bookings.

Chelsea deals with all communication in the band so you always speak to the same person and there’s never any crossover or confusion. We discuss the details via email with our couples, 6-8 weeks before the wedding is the perfect timeframe. If you want to reach out sooner that’s of course no problem. You can also reach Chelsea via the band’s Instagram and facebook page if you ever wanna chat!

Firstly, I listen to the song if it’s not one we’re already familiar with. I enter it into our shared diary, so the band members know all the upcoming first dances for the coming months. This gives everyone a chance to learn the songs at home before we come together at rehearsal. Unless the couple request the song to be changed/altered in any way, ie slowed down/stripped back, we would play the song exactly like the original. A great first dance choice in my opinion is something with a great chorus that all your wedding guests will know and can sing along to. A tricky first dance for us would be a piano heavy song as we don’t have piano in the band, however we can play along to piano tracks in this case so it’s not ever an issue!

We’ll always try our best to learn a couple's first choice, however if it doesn’t work for us and we don’t feel like we can pull it off musically, we will be honest and tell you it’s not one we can do, and offer alternatives. We always play music during the buffet break so this is when we would play any of your requests that we don’t sing.

If your wedding is in a marquee or outside it’s good to know beforehand. It’s important we have a flat performance space big enough for all of our equipment. We also need ample power supply. Does your venue have a sound limiter? This is an important one to let us know. If your venue doesn’t allow the band to use their own equipment, please make us aware before you book, as this isn’t always feasible. Does your venue have available and accessible parking for us? If we need to load in and then move the vehicles please let us know beforehand as it adds to our setup time so we can plan ahead. Does your venue have a music curfew? If so please let us know.

Any communication between myself and the venue before the wedding would be over email usually. Occasionally the wedding planner will email me the running order for the day etc.

Our look is usually black and sparkly for Chelsea and black smart/casual for the guys! No cheesy outfits here.

We individually have our own group of deps that we use in these emergencies. They’re all professional musicians, typically from other weddings bands so we all do the same job. It’s a small pool of people and as we tend to use the same deps most of them have played with us many times over the years.

Not unless it’s necessary. If we needed any assistance with anything I would call the venue and speak to the coordinator.

Check out all our live footage on our social media first of all, but more importantly if you have any questions at all, please send me a message on our socials and we can have a chat about it all! We’re quite chill and relaxed as a band, we just love what we do and want to have just as much fun onstage as you and your guests!

We arrive, speak to the co ordinator, find out the best place to load in, and where they want us to set up our equipment. Once we’re set up we’ll have a soundcheck to make sure everything’s sounding great in the room, not all venue’s are the same so this is imperative. Ideally there would be no guests in the room while we soundcheck but if your venue doesn’t have a room turnaround, then your guests would be present during our soundcheck. I’ll then confirm the set times, buffet times, last orders at the bar and coach bus pickups with the staff before we start so that we can plan our set accordingly.

We typically arrive at about 6.45pm for a standard 8.00pm start. However if your venue has a difficult load-in (ie top floor/upstairs) we would plan for this and give ourselves extra time.

I introduce the band and have a quick chat with your guests, before I introduce you into the room and you have your grand entrance! Then it’s typically a cake cutting just before the first dance. We would orchestrate all of that and get all of your guests involved too. This would seamlessly go into your first dance from there, at which point I’d invite your wedding party to join you both. This would usually be after the first chorus but I confirm this with my couples beforehand. Some people prefer to dance their first dance alone, or may have a specific point in the song when they want everyone to join.

We like to cover a wide range of genres in our setlist so there’s something for everyone. We don’t follow a rigid setlist, and if we feel guests are liking a certain vibe/genre we would play more of that style or certainly save some for later on too. Certain songs work better at the start of the night and vice versa, so we would still have some structure in the set. For example our 90s dance section works better later on in the evening, as opposed to the start of the set.

We’re a high energy band for sure, but we might switch it up and throw in a slow dance here and there if we feel the crowd are enjoying it. Some people love to come up for a slow dance now and again and it’s a nice way to break up the set. We go on our break when the evening buffet is served at which point we play music which you can choose specifically. Then the set builds to the dance section which is a different sound entirely from the first set - which leaves the last hour for some party classics and songs everyone will enjoy!

People can request songs of course, if we don’t know them we can play them during our buffet break or DJ set.

Richard our drummer, calls the ceilidh and he and I also demonstrate the dances. We typically only do ceilidh if the couple requests it beforehand so usually there’s a good response on the night as guests are expecting it. If guests don’t want to get involved we would never be pushy about it but usually if the bride and groom are on the floor and getting involved, people will follow suit.

Yes we happily make announcements. I (Chelsea) do most of the chatting surprise surprise! I’ll introduce songs etc and get your guests involved. We love guests who wanna come up for a song too, so if you have any musicians in your crowd we’re always up for that! We like the guests to feel involved too!

Yes it’s a seamless transition from the band’s last song to the tunes. No awkward silences.

Some things can’t be avoided on the day unfortunately. We’ve played many remote venues and some unfortunately run into power issues, and a power cut at quarter to 12 is a nightmare. However our approach is to be calm, organised and prepared on our end as much as possible. During this instance we had to adapt in the moment, and keep the party going with the last 15 mins of the set completely a capella! It was a vibe and every guest sang along with us.

Lots of the venues we play have them, and we’ve never had a problem with sound limiters, we always know before our soundcheck so any issues should be eradicated at that point.

We finish on Loch Lomond, which is always a great ending to the night. Some bands play the song, we sing it live which is 100% better. You can’t match the live version. All of the guests are involved and singing it too, it’s the perfect ending. If couples don’t want to end with Loch Lomond of course they can choose another song and let us know beforehand.

We can feel it onstage 100%. We’re lucky that most weddings we play, guests, close family members or the couples themselves, come up afterwards and tell us how much they loved the music and how much fun they’ve had. Which is exactly what you want to hear! It makes us feel like we’re doing what we should be doing!

We performed at two weddings, for two sisters, which was really special to us. The way the family welcomed us back for the second time was really lovely and the crowd all remembered us which was just so nice to feel like we were a memorable part of people’s day!