Orthodox Ceremony Harpist, St George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Cicero

The big chandelier goes on when the bride is
starting her procession!

This was such an honor! Frequently, musicians aren't allowed for orthodox weddings, so I was thrilled when I got the last minute call saying that the celebrating priest had made an allowance! The groom made the initial arrangements, and later in the week I heard from the bride. She had looked at my YouTube channel and decided on "Can't Help Falling in Love" for her processional! As long as you work from my repertoire lists or YouTube channel, lots and lots of last minute arrangements are possible!!

All set to go!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Ceremony Harpist, Goose Island Barrel House, Chicago

So much character in this room!

 Goose Island Barrel House is a really distinctive venue, but they don't have a huge internet presence at this point (meaning, I should have taken lots more pictures for this post!). The ceremony space is small, but so lovely. There isn't a lot of room in the front, so the wedding party made the wise decision to have people process up, and then sit down. It worked beautifully! All the hard surfaces made the harp sound terrific, and I brought my bluetooth amp so I could have sound in the front and the back of the long room!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Wedding Dinner Harpist, Swift and Sons, Chicago

This beautiful room at Swift and Sons Fulton Market was perfect for the celebration the couple planned! Large enough to hold their nearest and dearest, yet intimate enough to allow them to spend real quality time with all of their guests. They set themselves up in the round booth you see at the center back of the photo, and frequently had their nieces and nephews come and join for a snuggle or a laugh. It was just the loveliest of wedding celebrations!

Knockout flowers from Oliver Dogwood

I played a lot of Beatles requests, which
was super fun!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Ceremony Harpist, Odyssey Venue, Tinley Park

The nearest covered spot
(you can't even see the ceremony site)

Where I ventured out to (once the rain stopped)

This was actually a really hard wedding. I've been to The Odyssey Venue many times, but I just wasn't prepared for the possibility that the client would decide to go ahead with an outdoor ceremony when it was actively raining. Unfortunately, with a wooden instrument, rain is just not something I can withstand. I spent my onsite hour before the wedding desperately trying to figure something out. The venue doesn't have any sort of shelter, and I had only brought a tarp to protect the harp from wet grass below. I was under a staircase for a while, but that was still so far away. During a lull in the rain, I came out to the start of the walkway, put my bluetooth amp as far from me as I could, and used the DJ's mic to go into his system. The DJ was Mathew from Mattrix Music and Entertainment, and he was so much help. It wasn't optimal, and I felt awful that I couldn't supply the music in the way that we had planned, but it was all that was possible. I have a new contract rider in the works for outdoor events, just so that everything will be clear, and hopefully it will be easier to plan for the inevitable challenges that an outdoor wedding presents💙

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Ceremony Harpist, Private Home, Lake Villa

 The setting for this wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and only steps from the backdoor of the family's house. The couple chose "Golden Hour" for their attendants to walk in, and it certainly matched the mood perfectly! I travel with a battery powered amp, and it is super useful in situations like these when you want to bump the sound up just a bit, but there isn't an outlet in sight. Just a little bit of amplification, and my harp can handle a large open area like this really beautifully!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Bollywood Harpist, Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, Schaumburg

I love working with my clients directly, but sometimes it is so much fun to just step into the world of a really accomplished wedding planner, and be part of that vision. Today, I was playing for Victoria Schultz of DVS Events, and the amazing wedding was at the Renaissance Schaumburg. I played 15 minutes of prelude, music for the entrance of the wedding party, and then for the first few minutes of the ceremony. It was glorious!

You can see my Bollywood repertoire at www.Harp123.com

Ceremony and Cocktails Harpist (and Violinist!), Armour House, Lake Forest

I have been to the Armour House quite a few times over the years, and it is a really lovely venue. This wedding was no exception, but what was different is that I forgot to take pictures! Luckily, another vendor took this short video of Jacob Murphy and I warming up for the processional. The selection is "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey, and it was used for the entrance of the bride.

Violin is a wonderful addition to any wedding or cocktail hour, and Jacob is a fantastic player! Enjoy!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Ceremony Harpist, Humboldt Park Boathouse, Chicago

Just waitin' for the wedding!

One of the best part of my job is all the different sorts of weddings that I get to play - I sincerely love them all. This was a last minute add-in to my schedule, and it came on a Monday of all things! As is often the case, I didn't have too many details, I just knew that the bride and groom were going to be rolling up in a bus with all their guests, and I had a playlist from the groom. You can imagine my delight when they showed up in a bus that looked something like this:

And thanks to the groom, I had "Ripple" by the Grateful Dead all ready to go! Some Mondays are just good like that!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Ceremony Harpist, Stonebridge Country Club, Aurora

Stonebridge's outdoor area is really stunning

 This was my first outdoor event of the year, and although it was a little chilly, it was so beautiful! The area they have for weddings at Stonebridge Country Club feels nicely out of the way of the normal club business - no golf carts were buzzing by or anything like that. Their website also states that they do accept non member weddings. 

The bride chose "Storybook Love" from "The Princess Bride" for her processional, and I really love that selection. I always feel like you hear a collective sigh of recognition when I begin that piece!

My repertoire lists can help you find your perfect processional, too. They are located near the bottom of the page on my website, in drop down menus. Happy planning!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Cocktail Harpist, The Drake, Chicago

The French Room at The Drake

Sometimes, the larger part of the job is just getting the harp into position, especially at historic properties like The Drake! I'm happy to do it, though, especially when the room is as gorgeous as the French Room! 

Today's move involved 1 long loading dock ramp up:

And another longer, steeper ramp down into the basement to find my elevator:

Once I was there, all was easy. An hour of cocktails, and the wedding guests were off to the Gold Coast Room for an epic night!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Wedding Shower Harpist, Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, Oak Brook

Cocktails were in this side room

I played for a wedding shower, and the harp music was a surprise for the bride from the mother of the groom!! It was held at the beautiful Perry's in Oakbrook Center, and the restaurant was closed except for the shower guests. It was a truly lovely situation, and harp music was perfect!
 

With my wireless amp, I can definitely provide music for
larger spaces!

Ceremony Harpist University Club, Chicago

This stunning space is the 12th floor gallery. It faces out over Millennium Park and the lake, so the views are really unmatched.  The University Club has lots of wonderful spaces that you can preview here. I had played for the couple before, so I knew I needed to bring Star Wars themes and 90's rock. The bride actually process to "Across the Stars" from "Attack of the Clones"! It was a really wonderful day!!

Ceremony and Reception Harpist, Adolfo & Co, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago

The gorgeous room as it was set up for the reception

I've been to Adolfo & Co. in the Bridgeport Art Center several times, and it is really a charming place for a smaller wedding. The room is so lovely, and Adolfo is the perfect host and officiant! The way the room is set up, there is plenty of room for a processional, which I think really adds to the occasion!

I set up on the back wall, and you can see the 
bar being set up behind me!

Here you can see some of the chairs set up for the ceremony

Cocktail Harpist, 32 E Bellevue Place, Chicago

The start to my 2025 wedding season was a cocktail hour in this gorgeous northside mansion! It was a small wedding, but they wanted to be sure to slow down and enjoy it, and live music can definitely help with that. I arrived directly at 5 pm, when they knew the ceremony would be finished, and I played cocktail music for 2 hours, as the caterer was finishing preparations for the beautiful dinner. Then, for reasons I could never explain, I managed to play the bride's favorite song as my last selection. She had not shared the favorite with me, I just got lucky! The song was "(What a) Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke, and I was beyond thrilled!

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Harpist in Chicago?

In Chicago in 2025, the short answer is $450-$800, with most professional harpists clustered in the $500-$600 range, but it can seem much more confusing than that. Read on if you would like the more complete break down of these prices!

First, it will depend on what type of job you are trying to hire for. If you are looking for background music for a specific time period, the harpists you contact will likely have a set fee for either a 1 or 2 hour time period (generally called a “minimum”), and an additional fee per hour or half hour if you need more music. You will find that the first time period (the minimum) is the highest priced, by far. This is because it covers the cost and effort of getting the harp to your venue. You may find that there are additional fees if parking isn’t available, if you need the harpist to learn new music for your event, or if there is some aspect to the venue that makes it particularly difficult to bring a harp.

If you are shopping for a wedding ceremony, you will likely find a flat fee, with possible additional fees for parking or new music, and with add on hourly options for reception music. The flat fee for a wedding ceremony will be in the same $450-$800 range as background music, but oddly will not be based as much on time played. So, if you’re planning a full Catholic Mass that may run over an hour, you will likely pay the same price as someone who is planning a 10 minute civil ceremony in a park. Seems strange, I know, but it is because planning wedding music with someone ends up being about the same amount of work for a long ceremony as it does for a short ceremony, and the harp moving logistics would be similar, too. If a couple is truly going to have the simplest of ceremonies, I will sometimes fold it into a background music quote that just happens to contain a wedding processional and short ceremony, so perhaps other harpists do this as well?

Of course, price is a very important component of finding the right harpist, but playing style is equally, if not more important. Any harpist you are considering should have ample playing samples online. If possible, listen to several different harpists, and make sure you love what you’re hearing!

Regarding My Specific Fees

My pricing is transparent, so you can visit either of my websites to see it (currently, I have a $500 minimum for 2 hours of music, and a wedding ceremony is $550). On my wedding website, fees are the first entry under FAQ's, in a drop down format. 

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

On my general site, the price list is near the top, under the picture of the Art Institute lion.

www.Harp123.com