Armour House, Lake Forest Wedding Ceremony Harpist

The harpist's view back to the house.

The Armour House is a fabulous venue, and it is always a pleasure to be there.  This particular couple planned to include a Japanese tea ceremony during their wedding, so it was extra fun.  They needed music for that, and chose the song "Sakura, Sakura".  The ceremony is fairly lengthy, though, so I brought a folio of Japanese folk songs with me so that I could cycle through a couple of different tunes to keep things feeling smooth.  It is always such a pleasure to help couples honor their family traditions.  Give me a call (773.881.0706), and we'll see what we can do to make your wedding reflect your heritage!

Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago Wedding Ceremony Harpist

Set up #1 on the bluestone patio!

Well, thanks to the weather, this wedding turned out to be kind of an odyssey!  On the bright side, I did see all of the Garfield Park Conservatory wedding sites on a single visit!!

Lovely, but no shelter whatsoever.

I began the afternoon on the patio, as you see here.  Then the storm clouds rolled in, the staff came and got me, and we traversed the entire conservatory to get to their indoor site, which is also lovely. Approximately twenty seconds after we got the harp under shelter, the heavens opened up and poured buckets and buckets of water for about 45 minutes!  We, however, were comfortable, and dry, and all set for a lovely wedding.

Here is the fountain they use as a focal point for the indoor weddings.

The bride's wedding song picks were really fun, and added to the playful spirit of the wedding.  The couple actually processed to the theme from the Pixar movie "Up", which is titled "Married Life".  I have a wonderful, upbeat version of the song, and it was perfect.  She mixed it with some traditional classical wedding selections, and had an eclectic mix of prelude music from Gershwin, Stevie Wonder, and the Beatles!

The wedding party processed in from the adjoining room.

My favorite sites continue to be the ones that work in any weather conditions, and Garfield Park Conservatory definitely fits that bill. Stay flexible, have a beautiful wedding no matter what, right?

Wedding Ceremony and Reception Harpist at Home in Glencoe; Also, Two Brides!!!

The beautiful Glencoe backyard setting

Okay, just fair warning, I was so excited about this wedding.  Granted, I am a huge wedding geek and get excited about all of them, but this one really was amazing.  For those of you who keep track of such things, marriage equality just arrived in Illinois this Spring, so that alone had me pretty excited.  I have been playing commitment ceremonies and domestic partnership ceremonies before now, but I do enjoy having an easy-to-use, one size fits all sort of arrangement.  Additionally, it has been super fun working with long time couples who didn't necessarily think a proper wedding was in their immediate future, but here we all are!  So now to the details of this particular wedding....

The brides chose mostly classical music for their service, with one very cool exception.  One of the brides recorded herself singing "Can't Help Falling in Love With You" a cappella (or without accompaniment). When it was time for the bridal couple to come down the aisle, they paused on the back porch of the home, and the recording was played as a surprise for the other bride.  I joined in and provided harp accompaniment for the last verse, and then transitioned into just a snippet of "Here Comes the Bride", before playing Canon in D.  After the ceremony, I stayed and played love songs while everyone had a glass of champagne before heading out for dinner.  It was truly a lovely celebration! 

Visit my website (www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com) for music ideas, or call me to see if we can work out something really special for your ceremony!

Cafe La Cave, Des Plaines Wedding Ceremony Harpist

Note the elegant stairway you can use to make your entrance!

I hadn't been to Cafe La Cave in quite a few years, so it was nice to have a chance to play there again and come out with such a positive impression.  This place is super close to the airport, so I had some fears about noise, which turned out to be completely unnecessary!  I don't know what kind of sound proofing they have done, but I was unaware of any noise what so ever!!  The room itself seems to have been recently renovated, and is bright and pleasant.  It looks like it serves as a private lobby to the banquet facility, but it also worked beautifully as a ceremony location!

Easily the best thing about the facility, though, is Randy.  This guy really knows how to run a wedding.  He kept me informed, gave great cues so that I could change music when necessary, and did it all looking super dapper in his tux!  I should probably admit that one of my pet peeves is support staff that look distractingly casual.  It was nice to see someone who fit in with the elegant wedding party, no problem.

The light just streams into this pleasant space!

There was even a little alcove so I could be out of the way but still easily heard!  

If you are looking for a surprisingly elegant venue near the airport, this is absolutely worth a trip.  

Crystal Light Banquets, Burbank Wedding Ceremony Harpist

Set up for the ceremony at Crystal Light Banquets

This was my first time at Crystal Light Banquets in Burbank, and I came away impressed.  The facility looks to have undergone a renovation in the very recent past, and it is quite lovely inside.  I really liked the fact that they are set up to host one wedding at a time, so you will not have to deal with a loud D.J. next door ruining your quiet ceremony time.

The bride wanted a fairly formal ceremony, and so decided to go with all classical music.  It can be daunting for many people when the time comes to sit down and make a list of the music for the ceremony, but she made use of my repertoire lists, and found that they were helpful. Many of the songs on my list are familiar to people, even if the names may not be.  The bride chose "Clair de Lune" for the combined unity candle and roses to the mothers, and that was an especially lovely moment!

I am always available to all of my clients to help sort out music possibilities.  If you have an idea for music that is not already on my list, I would love to hear it!  Your wedding music should reflect you and your fiancé, and I am delighted to help you find that special mix!

You may enjoy visiting my repertoire pages for ideas:

Classical repertoire
Popular repertoire