It’s always exciting to return to a venue we’ve previously played and loved. That was the case last month when we headed back up to Casterton Grange (Casterton Grange) for the wedding of Megan and Tony. Located close to Kirkby Lonsdale (situated in a beautiful area of the country between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales), this is a stunning country house estate set in over 50 acres of gardens, woodland and parkland. Although the venue accommodates larger marquee weddings, Megan and Tony’s was a more intimate affair, taking place entirely in the main country house.
We took this booking back in March 2025 (the majority of our wedding bookings are often taken one or two years in advance) and don’t mind admitting we were both quite giddy at the prospect of returning! The hugely talented violinist Gaynor Sutcliffe (Gaynor Sutcliff Facebook) played a gorgeous mix of classical and contemporary music during the ceremony, before we played our first set of the day during the drinks reception. Thankfully, Mother Nature was incredibly kind to Megan and Tony. Despite a number of showers during the morning, the sun broke through with perfect timing ahead of the ceremony and the weather was truly glorious as the wedding party headed out to the stunning outdoor area of the venue for champagne and canapes. At times like these, we’re always really pleased to have a minimal set-up which still delivers high-end sound quality. Following a quick set-up, songs such as Three Little Birds, Isn’t She Lovely, Wonderwall, Stand By Me, All You Need Is Love, Unwritten, and I’m A Believer had the guests singing along and really set the scene for the rest of the day. We also experienced a Lux Bay first as we’ve never seen a cute little duckling stroll out from underneath Mick’s guitar stand before! Yet another reason why we love Casterton Grange so much.
After a swift change of location ahead of our wedding breakfast / meal set, we took the opportunity to watch the speeches. This is a part of the wedding day which we both love to see (we always say it makes us feel as though we’re in the middle of a classic rom-com movie) and it is wonderful to share the joy of the day, even when we’re not playing. As the guests dined, we played a selection of love songs from across the decades and genres, including a few Live Lounge-esque covers where we put our own spin on some classic tunes. During these sets, our primary aim is to not be too intrusive, providing gorgeous background music at a relatively gentle volume, finding that delicate balance where everyone can hear us but we’re not too overpowering.
Following this set, there was a break of an hour or so before our final set of the day. Unbeknownst to us, Megan and Tony had arranged the same main meal for us as the rest of the guests. This was an incredibly kind gesture and we have to say the food, from the hugely talented Foray Catering (@foray_catering), was absolutely stunning. We ate with the photography / videography team and the four of us just sat there and purred our way through the meal! Whilst we’re mentioning them, we’d love to give a big shout out to Red on Blonde Wedding Photography. Hannah and Toby are a married couple who are absolutely brilliant at what they do. The loveliest people, they have an incredible knack of putting everyone at ease and capturing amazing memories throughout the entire day. We can’t recommend them enough.
We then got ready for our final set of the day. The latest set we usually play is what we badge as our ‘early evening’ set – essentially a series of up-tempo acoustic covers to bridge the gap between the more formal daytime set-up and the evening party. This set is compiled specifically to get people singing along and in the party mood ahead of the later festivities. However, in this instance, Megan and Tony believed this set would be perfect for their mid-evening period, so we were happy to oblige. And what a set it was – we had an absolute blast! Pretty much all of Megan and Tony’s wedding party were dancing and singing with us from the first song to the last. Opening with Marry You (Bruno Mars), it was a wonderful feeling to see every song we played hitting home with everyone. We can’t go wrong when performing classics such as A Little Respect, Young Hearts Run Free, Brown Eyed Girl, Tainted Love, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and Sweet Caroline, but it was lovely to see newer songs in our set, such as Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, also landing really well with everyone. The youngest member of the party, Drew, was a ray of pure sunshine throughout the entire day, and it was a genuine pleasure to sing Pink Pony Club especially for her (and her dad!). Our final two songs, Perfect (Fairground Attraction) and Don’t Look Back In Anger nearly took the Casterton Grange roof off and we even rolled out a classic we haven’t played for years (We Are Family) as an encore number – with the whole room chanting for one more song, we couldn’t really refuse!
All in all, this was one of our favourite gigs from the 13-years we’ve been performing as Lux Bay. Megan and Tony are a genuinely lovely couple and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of their special day. Their guests were all a delight too – the compliments we received were incredibly kind and heartwarming. The suppliers we’ve mentioned were all brilliant (and an additional mention / huge recommendation for the wonderful Seed and Wild Wedding Florist – Chelsea did an amazing job in making the venue look absolutely stunning), whilst the staff at Casterton Grange always look after us and make playing there such a pleasant experience, including the wonderful Anneka (Anneka @ Casterton Grange (@anniesestate)). The whole estate just looked absolutely stunning – the beautiful blossom trees made it a picture-perfect venue for a spring wedding and the relaxed & calm feel throughout our entire time there was hugely appreciated.
If you’re planning your wedding and would like live music that provides the perfect accompaniment to every moment of your special day, please do take a look at all our content and get in touch if you’d like a genuinely no-obligation chat about what Lux Bay can do for you. We love what we do, we’re happy to tailor our packages to meet the exact needs of clients, and, whilst we must admit to being slightly biased, we firmly believe live music adds so much to a wedding.
Thanks for reading and best wishes.
Becci and Mick