Mara is a bride who knows her music so had plenty of input on all of the selections. She left the choice of prelude music up to me, asking only that we stick with classical and Jewish music. That was really easy as we have over 35 Jewish songs arranged for duos, trios and quartets.

The processionals were Bach “Air” and “Trumpet Voluntary”. The recessional was the 3rd movement from “Autumn”, The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Cocktail hour music was all classical including the Bach Double Violin Concerto.

The bridal couple showed quite a sense of humor in choosing “Mah-Na Mah-Na” for their recessional. It’s from one of the Muppet movies. There have been several requests to play it during cocktail hour since we added this cute and playful tune to our repertoire list.

It was such a treat to be part of this beautiful wedding high above Boston. The view of Boston from the State Room is absolutely spectacular! BTW, Photogapher Jill Person from the fabulous team at personkillian.com got some great shots at this wonderful wedding.

Carrie and Wayne had two processionals. The bridal party walked into Bach “Air” and the bride to “Canon in D”. Allegro “Spring” from The Four Seasons was the recessional.

Cocktail hour was on the deck overlooking the lawn. The weather was beautiful so the plastic side coverings were raised for a clear view of the very green countryside. Our violin/cello duo had fun playing a mix of light classical, tangos, rags and popular songs.

Gibbet Hill’s event coordinator, the very efficient Sara Zambuto, was a huge help with cues and seating.

We started with Bach, Mozart and Beethoven and ended with favorite opera arias and tangos. The couple and their two children walked down the aisle to “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. At the end of the ceremony, the family recessed to Allegro from “Spring”, The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.

Tom Welch officiated. We’ve worked with him on several weddings and really like his warm and intimate style. Penny Sullivan, the event coordinator at the winery, gave cues and was very helpful with everything else we needed.

There are several spots to locate the ceremony on the lawn behind the house. In my opinion, the best place is next to the trees, so we can have shade for our instruments. This also means no extra expense for a tent. When choosing a ceremony site, you might want to keep this in mind.

Julie and Frank chose “Fields Of Gold” for the bridal party entrance and “Marry Me” for Julie’s walk down the aisle. “Lucky”, by Jason Mraz, was the recessional. After the ceremony we moved to the covered porch to play for cocktail hour. We played a variety of Beatles songs, Cold Play, and other contemporary popular songs during cocktails. The bar was set up outside so everyone could hear the music.

The violinist and cellist had fun playing “Theme From Jurassic Park”, a favorite of Chris’s. “Viva La Vida” and Pachelbel “Canon” were the processionals. Rabbi Lev Baesh performed the ceremony. “P.M’s Love Theme” was the recessional.

The ceremony was held on the lawn overlooking a beautiful view of Narraganset Bay. There’s a permanent arch set up, usually decorated with flowers, for the officiant, bride and groom to stand under. I’ve seen it simply draped with fabric too, which is very pretty.

Since the city of Newport doesn’t allow this venue to have live music outdoors once the ceremony is over, we didn’t stay on for cocktail hour which was held outside on the patio. Night Shift set up indoors and provided dance music for the reception. I’ve heard them at other weddings and they’re terrific.

Cindy and Charley chose the Intermezzo from “Cavalleria Rusticana” for the bridal party entrance. “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, made famous by Elvis Presley, was Cindy’s entrance and “Viva La Vida” was the recessional. Old jazz standards and popular songs were played during cocktail hour. Wequassett’s super coordinator, Kalson Pang, kept things running smoothly and on time.

Good luck with your wedding plans.

Laura chose two processionals for our string trio to play. The bridal party entered to “Canon in D” by Pachelbel and she walked down the aisle to “Air” by Bach. La Rejouissance was selected for the recessional. We also played “Rondeau” by Mouret (Theme from Masterpiece Theatre) as guests exited after the ceremony.

Cocktail hour was held inside. We kept it light with popular songs.

We really enjoyed working with Linda Blackmore, the wedding coordinator at Granite Links.

Good luck with your wedding plans.

Our string trio (two violins & cello) played a variety of styles for prelude including classical, some Beatles tunes, and songs by Jason Mraz, and James Taylor.

The processionals were Handel “Air” and Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”. This was a Jewish ceremony so music was provided by the cantor. Cold Play’s “Viva La Vida” was the recessional.

Cocktail hour music was mostly classical but also included the bride and groom’s favorite songs: “Chasing Cars”, “Stand By Me”, “Fields of Gold”,
When I Fall In Love”, “Imagine”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, “I Only Have Eyes For You”, “Yellow”, “The Girl From Ipanema”, “Bittersweet Symphony” and “When I’m Sixty-Four”.

Be sure your musicians offer you a variety of music styles so that you can set the mood for each part of your special day.

This time we worked with the very talented pianist Donny Nolan. He’s also a composer and has written some wonderful arrangements of familiar church music. Singer Mary Bernardo completed the ensemble.

The entire wedding was planned by the mother of the bride via Mary Keneally Events, Palm Beach, Florida. I work with many brides, grooms and their families from great distances and find that email works great.

Our string quartet played 30 minutes of the prelude music while guests were being seated. Lauren and Casey chose Bach “Air”, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring and Butterfly Waltz for the processionals. The recessional was Allegro from “Spring”, the Four Seasons. We continued to play several pieces while guests exited the church.