Last Saturday I performed for Pauls 50th Birthday Party at Margaretting Village Hall in Ingatestone, Essex.
This was a local show in comparison to my last show when I travelled to Wales for Tristram and Sara’s wedding! It seemed literally round the corner this one!
I spoke to Paul and his wife Jan regarding songs they wanted me to perform. I do normally provide music inbetween my breaks but they chose to book a dj as well as myself, who was easy to work with on the night. Paul & Jan asked me to perform some songs they liked from my Repertoire list on my website which I was more than happy to do for them…..some they picked were my favourite to sing like Living on A Prayer – bon Jovi…the real belters haha!
Little did Jan know, Paul arranged a special surprise and asked me to perform a song just for her – Leann Rimes – How Do I Live Without You and he also had the courage to take the mic himself and perform a song especially for his wife too (Elvis Presley – The Wonder Of You) It was such a sweet moment and by the look of Jan’s face, Paul if you are reading this you did a fantastic job! And you both seem so in love and a very happy couple indeed. Happy wedding anniversary to you both. 🙂
In the break the couple did something very unique and ordered fish and chips from the local chippy for everyone, which definatly went down a storm!! Next time I host my own party I actually think I am going to steal their idea it was brilliant!
We all rocked it on the dancefloor, there were air guitars everywhere people jumping and going crazy, what a fab audience and I hope to see you all at another party soon!
I have been so busy and I guess my new testimonials prove how busy I have been. Hope you have all been well….
I was in Wales a couple of weeks ago for Tristram & Sara’s wedding day. I travelled down the day before, to meet with the Reverand at the church to have a run through of my songs inside the church. I then set up my equipment in the couple’s main venue which was at Lastra Farm Hotel, where I was going to be staying for the next two nights – http://www.lastra-hotel.com/
The hotel was gorgeous and the staff really welcoming and friendly, by the time I left I think id met them all and they really made me feel so welcome. If you are that neck of the woods do choose visit they will provide you with great food, stay and service.
But back to the wedding! I met the bride and groom the day before and set everything up and sound checked, which was fab because they booked me to perform in the church (their aisle song, three songs whilst signing the register & a song as they leave) as well as after dinner and speeches were made I performed an hours set of smooth songs and then to finish the night I provided complete entertainment of up beat party songs from my party set list, 2 hours worth of hits and by this point I must say the guests were definately ready for a good dance!!!
Infact, the main thing that stands out to me at this point was the groom and his uncle taking their shirts off and placing their ties round their heads to perform a well choreographed dance routine to ‘Im Bringing Sexy Back’ by Justin Timberlake….haha!! It was a unique creation of dance routine and sheer drunken body shaking and thrusting that really showed off their talent as a duo lol 🙂 Tristram if you are reading this I am certain you are laughing and cringing at the same time haha…it was a great night and everyone was on the dancefloor breaking some moves.
But all jokes aside, the church was absolutely stunning….here is a link to the church itself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Eleth’s_Church,_Amlwch beautiful decor inside and the bride and bridesmaids looked absolutely gorgeous, although I did not know the couple personally, by this point I had communicated so much with them leading up to their day that I felt like I actually knew them and the moment was so emotional and special that I found it hard to hold back a couple of tears! I am always a bag of nerves on the inside at this moment as it is their special day and I wanted to do my very best to make sure they were happy….and as you can see from my feedback they provided, I think it is safe to say I have bagged another happy customer. If only I had video footage of this moment to provide to you, there was a photographer who I am hopefully receiving some photographs from to show you all just how stunning the church was and myself performing of course. I performed their requested songs which were Faith Hill – There You’ll Be, Take That – A Million Love Songs, Eva Cassidy – Somewhere Over The Rainbow & Etta James – At Last. Inside the church my voice echoed and created such a beautiful atmosphere it was amazing….if I could do it all over again I really would.
My feedback from the couple: “Jenna, hope you had a safe journey home, myself and Sara Marie Lee could not have made a better choice for our entertainment for our big day yesterday, the church was fantastic, the afternoon was brilliant and the evening was amazing, the feed back I have had during the day and evening was exceptional, both Lastra farm hotel and the vicar made points to tell me how professional you were and how it… was a delight to have worked with you in making our day special. We will never forget out first dance you were perfect. I am absolutely convinced that yesterday will not be the last time we see you in our part of the world as I know for sure we wouldn’t hesitate to book you for any other event in the future!!!”
Reading this makes me smile 🙂 hard work pays off in the end. I love to sing and perform and sitting back and reading feedback like this makes what I do so worth while. Thank you to Tristram and Sara Lee for booking me and huge congratulations as you are now officially husband and wife 🙂
I had an absolute ball at Roxanne’s 30th last Saturday…there were so many kiddies and you should have seen them all dancing along to Gangnam Style whilst I was playing music throughout my breaks lol
Here is a photo of me and Amy up on stage, Amy helped me sing along to Katy Perry – Firework and I must say she sounded fab! Well done Amy you did it! Roxanne’s son Scott also wasn’t shying away from the stage and stood up infront of everybody to perform a Westlife hit and he went down a storm there was cheers and applauses filling the room by the end of his performance, huge well done to Scott. I dragged Roxanne up on stage to allow everyone to sing her happy birthday but for some reason she wasn’t so keen on singing lol 🙂 Huge happy birthday to you Roxanne, I hope I helped make you 30th a birthday to truly remember.
Roxanne has promised to send me some feedback to add to my website, so hopefully I can provide you with a new testimonial to read very soon.
Inside this blog I have included a clip of me singing A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Anybody who watches Twilight will have heard of this song and although I am personally not a Twilight fan I am officially a fan of the song!
I created this demo for a couple who have booked my gold package for their wedding in April – part of the package means they can compile a list of songs for me to sing at the church ceremony so that the music is entirely tailored to suit their day and A Thousand Years is the song they are having to walk down the aisle.
They kindly asked me to prepare a demo so they can hear in advance how I sound, which is totally understandable. This is one of the biggest and most special moments of their lives and I hope I can help towards making that moment even more special and unique for them.
And here it is for you all to listen to….I hope you enjoy it 🙂 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN -> 01 A Thousands Years
If only I had a Flu Bug gun and could shoot any germs that fly my way!!!
I am a walking germ, hot and cold flushes…I am sure at the moment if you aren’t ill yourself, that you know of someone who isn’t well! It seems everybody is struggling to avoid this horrible germ.
Tragically, it is impossible for me to completely avoid the germs and it is inevitable I will fall down with a cold at some point, which will have a knock on affect on my voice. This weekend is one of them weekends and thank the lord (thank you thank you thank you) I did not have any bookings this weekend and it has had no affect on any shows at all PHEW!!!! How lucky am i!!!
It is genuinely such a huge worry of mine and is something that I have had to think about a lot incase a situation occurs where I am ill and I am booked comes about – especially when it is someones wedding day…the LAST thing I would want to do is ruin a couples day….I am faced with two options. I could continue with the booking…sound terrible and look awful…or arrange a stand in for the day.
Whilst im cosied up in my baggies on the sofa I just wanted to share my thoughts with you that rest assured I would never do anything to jeopardise your event. I am too much of a worrier and hate letting people down, I haven’t yet! But if ever in a situation where I have no choice…I would have a stand in as back up so your day can continue with no upset or issue.
I am right about now looking forward to finishing my chesty cough medicine Covonia, it is the most disgusting thing in the world do avoid it like the plague.
We have a birthday party to celebrate very soon, it is Roxanne’s 30th!
This lovely lady and her partner contacted me through my website and asked if they could come and watch me perform at one of my shows before Roxanne decided if she wanted to book me. I was more than happy to invite her along and luckily they were singing and dancing along with the guests the whole night haha 🙂 what a lovely couple they were and it was just a few days later that I received another email confirming that they would like to book me to perform at her 30th birthday party. Thanks Roxanne I cannot wait!
‘Try before you buy’ is probably the best phrase to use for this booking! And I think it is well worth me pointing out that to anybody out there who is maybe a little hesitant or nervous, for what ever reason about booking me…maybe you use dj’s normally, maybe you want to make sure I can actually sing!!! (no offense taken hehe) then this is the PERFECT way to ‘try before you buy’.
Just contact me and ask and I am more than happy to provide you with a list of all the public shows I have coming up.
Yes I did start writing this blog at 6.50am and yes I am slightly crazy being up at this time typing away at my laptop! But I can’t help it I am an early riser! haha.
Well its a Sunday, and its MISERABLE outside! I am absolutely shattered from my show last night…I was singing my lungs and heart out and really gave it my all, especially to the song Sweet Child Of Mine, it was my last song of the night…people were on their knees pretending to play the guitar and really going for it too! It was great! Sometimes I forget about the time and forget the venue has to turn the music off at a certain point lol 🙂
I am warm and snug in my baggies with a huge cuppa tea right now and just reflecting back on my feelings from my show last night – I think you have to physically allow yourself to give as much as you can to a song and really feel the song at the same time…understanding the meaning behind all the lyrics and what the artist wanted to express in the original song itself. To be a good cover singer I have to feel the song, understand it and love to sing it and then the audience seems to somehow absorb my energy and join me in all the fun!…it really is amazing seeing people come together and you can feel the atmosphere change on dancefloors. To know this is because of the songs I am singing makes me feel so happy, I love to know I am doing something to help people enjoy themselves and that is why I do my job. I love every second of it.
On this miserable looking day…the sun is shining in my heart <3
“I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me – like food or water.” – Ray Charles
I have a back log of gigs throughout December that I have not written to you all about….shameful! I have not given the opportunity to wish you all a very happy christmas and new year so I would like to do that now…a very happy 2013 to you all!
I set the new year off with a HUGE blast…performing at The Cowper Arms in Hertfordshire. This bar/restaurant is stunning, a real log fire and all the decor to make you feel warm and welcome. I had everybody up in a circle singing Auld Lang Syne in no time and the night went so quickly! Any new years resolutions? Well mine is to gig more! And to perform through to the new year really summed up what my ambition truly is…to sing to as many people as I possibly can! 🙂
Throughout December I performed at a bar/restaurant in Clacton called Charnallies…this place almost reminds you of Frankie and Bennies! But I must say, if you ever go there….do try the bacon and brie sandwich with caremalised onion relish on the side, it is to die for! No Frankie and Bennies can compete with that tasty dish I tell you! Check it out – http://www.charnallies.co.uk/
Now this restaurant doesnt have much entertainment throughout the year but for christmas they treat their customers and give them entertainment every weekend and I took pleasure in making sure everybody had a fantastic evening down there last month. I pushed tables and chairs out the way and created a Charnallies dancefloor! Everybody was up dancing and partying away up til Christmas day….oh that rhymed! hehe…it is so hard to take decent photographs but I have a couple of people dancing for you to see, take a look at the venue its lovely!
Anyway, its 6.30am and I must be mad typing away but I can’t sleep I have a few ideas for new songs to get stuck into learning! Have a good day everybody…
Right…I have a bit of a back log of diary writing to do!!! This December has been a crazy month full of shows for me and I will get round to doing them one by one! First off, I just wanted to write about a fantastic charity do I performed at on behalf of Clowns In The Sky Charity to help raise money for such a fantastic cause.
Once a year, I always choose a charity to offer my services to for free to help towards raising money for a charity I feel strongly towards. Well, this year I didn’t find one, Clowns In The Sky found me! And asked me if I would be happy to perform at their first ever charity ball and I obviously said yes! The charity has been set up to help raise money for childrens units in hospitals to help provide toys and games for sick children, the one thing they rely on when they are stuck in their hospital bed and unable to go outside. The creators of the charity are extremely passionate people as they lost their daughter in battle to a brain tumour and are working hard for the rest of their lives to support the work in hospitals and to help make childrens lives happier. They are such inspiring people…I could go on and on and on but I think if you are passionate about lending your time or some money to a great cause then please do check out the charity website http://www.clownsinthesky.org/
I performed 30 minutes of slow songs whilst guests entered the ball and seated ready for dinner. One song I performed was ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ the Eva Cassidy version, which is a song used throughout the charity and obviously a song very close to the owners of the charity’s hearts. I did get choked up learning the song knowing the meaning behind it and how much it meant to them, but I just kept singing it and singing it and had to charge through it on the night and perform it for every one to hear. Definitely one of the most nerve racking experiences for me!! And I genuinely hope they were pleased with my performance, I just wanted them to be happy with it.
After dinner was eaten (and how lovely it was!) and after the raffle and hilarious auction, the compere was fantastic! The patron of the charity is ex footballer Tony Cottee, who the compere took kindly to having a few jokes on him! Tony happily took on the banter and had a good giggle as well, he was so funny I wish I filmed a clip for you to see, maybe next year! I then performed a few upbeat party songs to get everybody in the mood for a good dance.
There was a photographer there on the night who kindly took some shots of me performing my slow set, I will be adding these photos in my photo gallery soon but have attached some in here for you to see too. The photographer I must thank here as he kindly gave me these photographs for free 🙂 http://www.stevehobartphotography.co.uk/
I almost forgot to mention there was a magician and also a very unique up and coming boyband who performed called Class A, I would have posted a link to their website but I can’t seem to find one. They were fantastic! A mix of operatic vocals with wrap!! Search for them on utube to find clips of them performing because their harmonies and vocals in general were so tight and whoever wrote the songs are very talented!
Thank you for reading and any charities in the future that are looking for help to support them in some way, please do get in touch with me 🙂
Jenna x
p.s.
The lady in the last photo, her name is Donna Byrne. She runs the admin side of the charity solely and puts 100% effort into making the charity work. She is always out raising money for the charity so if you bump into her, say hello and tell her she is amazing at what she does and it couldn’t be done without her help x
Jenna is one of the UK´s premiere wedding and party vocalists
I think that you can learn a lot about people, when you listen to the songs that mean something to them…
