St. Michael's in Old Town Wedding Ceremony Harpist

St. Patrick's Day was a special treat for me this year, as I was able to spend it playing a beautiful Irish wedding at St. Michael's in Old Town. This gorgeous church has a fascinating history interwoven with the Chicago fire (which you can read about here), and sits just one block off of the busy North Avenue corridor.  Even though the church is near a thriving commercial area, you feel like you've stepped back in time as you approach the building.  As I rolled my harp towards the entrance, the tower bells (which were installed and dedicated in 1876) rang through the neighborhood.  What a beautiful way to call your guests to your wedding!

The lovely Irish bride made several wonderful decisions that truly made her wedding reflect her personality.  First, she included lots of Irish music.  She chose an Irish processional from a website featuring Celtic ceremony ideas, and encouraged me to fit other Irish choices in wherever I could.  I used a lovely little song called "The Lark in the Clear Air" for the unity candle, and I thought it worked so well that I plan to put it on my website just as soon as possible.  Additionally, the bride choose to have me play for the bridesmaids, and have the organist play for her entrance.  I was seated to the right of the main altar (in front of the St. Joseph Altar, see below), and I was able to easily play for the mass parts and the presentation to Mary from that location.  I wish St. Patrick's Day fell on Saturday every year; what an inspirational day for a wedding!

To start thinking about your perfect wedding music, visit www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com.

Portiuncula Chapel (Oak Brook) Wedding Ceremony Harpist

The Portiuncula Chapel (on the Peabody Estate in Oak Brook) is one of the most distinctive venues in all of Chicago.  The chapel was built in 1926, and is a replica of a chapel in Assisi, Italy.  The chapel is a National Historic Landmark, and has a fascinating history which you can read about here. If you are looking for an intimate venue in a secluded setting, this should definitely be on your short list!

On the day I played there, the weather was really cooperative!  Snow has been in short supply here in Chicago this winter, but there was enough that day to make the landscape look absolutely beautiful without blocking any of the paths I needed to use for my harp!  

In some venues I need all of my harp's resonance to fill the room, but that is definitely not the case in this little gem of a building.  With its diminutive size and hard surfaces, I was more concerned that I not blast the guests with harp music!

The Mayslake/Peabody Estate website states the capacity of the chapel at 62 seats.  On the day I played, the chapel was set for 40 guests, and that felt comfortable with plenty of room for everyone to move around. I have seen the chapel with the doors thrown open to accommodate guest seating on the surrounding walkways, and that is a lovely option when the weather allows.  The Mayslake website has lots of wonderful information (including pricing).  If you need harp music, too, you can find all of my information at www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com.

A New Wedding Season and a New Blog

Welcome to my new blog.  My name is Renee Wilson, and I am a freelance harpist working in the greater Chicago area.  The picture above was taken in my living room in the Morgan Park neighborhood of Chicago, and shows four of my (gulp!) five harps.  The harp second from the right is my largest, and generally the harp that I play on all of my jobs.  It stands 6'3'' tall, and has a beautiful, rich tone.  You'll be seeing, and hopefully hearing, much more of this harp!


I play quite a variety of jobs including concerts with orchestras, church services, and parties, but the jobs that send me home with stories to tell are usually the weddings.  Over the past 20 years here in Chicago (gulp again!) I have moved my harp into lots of gorgeous wedding venues, and been privileged to see some really imaginative wedding ideas beautifully done.  I thought you might like to see them too, so I'm packing my camera!  Luckily, harpists generally arrive WAY before everyone else, so I'll be able to snap a few photos without bothering my clients, or compromising their privacy. I'll also be discussing wedding music ideas, and ideas for smoothing out your planning process. It'll be all weddings, all the time, and who doesn't love that?