Ceremony and Cocktails Harpist, Chicago Athletic Association, Chicago

I loved this micro wedding at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel. This is actually a corner of the lobby, so you are in a public space, but the little alcove gives a nice sense of separation, and the music really helps, too! The bride kept things simple with a few requests from my regular repertoire list for prelude, and Canon in D for her entrance. After the ceremony, we headed across the lobby to the library area, and I played for cocktails. It was festive and perfect!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

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