Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Century Memorial Chapel, Naper Settlement, Naperville

Set up at dusk in Century Memorial Chapel

I was delighted to be back at Century Memorial Chapel on the Naper Settlement campus.  The church was built in 1864, and has been lovingly cared for and even moved to its present location!  Happily, it is completely handicap accessible, and sits in a beautiful park setting. The congregational area fits my idea of big enough without being too big.  A small party of 50 people would not feel overwhelmed here, but it can accommodate almost 200 hundred.

The bridal couple wanted to keep things sleek and simple, so I played "Canon in D" for everyone in the processional.  Parents and attendants all walked down to the slower part of the piece, and when I could see the bride was ready to start down the aisle I switched to the more exciting part, put in a special little intro, and the congregation all stood up - this is how I know I have done my job correctly!!

This particular couple knew that they wanted live music, but were not set on any particular pieces.  Once they answered my short list of questions (Classical or popular?  Any religious or ethnic  traditions that we should honor?) I was delighted to pick for them.  This is actually much more common than I think most people would guess.  I am always happy to choose for you if that would be helpful.  Music should be the least of your wedding day stress, and I am happy to help with that in any way possible!

Harpist's view into the congregational area.

Cocktail Reception Harpist, The Meadows Club, Rolling Meadows

Ready for cocktails at The Meadows Club

It was a Bollywood kind of week for me!  I am slowly building up my Bollywood repertoire (30 minutes so far), and I was glad to have such a nice venue to play them in!  

I knew that the wedding was to include over 500 guests, so I packed my amp, but I was still more than a little concerned that a single harp would not be up to the challenge.  It actually turned out much better than I could ever have hoped!  This venue features two prefunction areas, and I was stationed in the longer and more narrow of the two. As the guests approached the table to find their seat assignment, I was off to the right.  There were quite a few small children attending, and their parents enjoyed showing them the harp.  After listening for a little, the guests would stroll over to see the other entertainment (a magician and a photo booth).

The couple had selected songs from my standard list of American love songs, so I was able to intersperse the Bollywood songs with tunes like "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz and "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith.  It was fun for the guests and me, too!

The main room at The Meadows Club, still being set for the evening.

Wedding Reception Harpist, Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago

Set up for dinner in the Lakeshore Ballroom West

This hotel was new to me, and I thought it was in a terrific location. There is a real glut of hotels just West of Michigan Avenue, such that it is hard to drive down some of the streets, and frequently really difficult to get close enough to load in a harp.  This wonderful hotel is East of Michigan Avenue in a slightly quieter business and residential area, but still close to all of the things your guests would need and want.  

While the hotel is not huge, it had a lovely mid sized meeting room with lots of windows, a lovely city view, and a stylish prefunction area that the party used for their cocktail hour.  Once they came into the main room, I started to play my more modern love songs (think "Marry Me" and "One Thousand Years") interspersed with some quirkier titles ("Eternal Flame" by the Bangles is one of my current favorites).  The group began having everyone toast the newlywed couple, and I continued to provide very quiet background music, which I think helped some of the more nervous speakers!  After the first course, the couple decided to do a first dance, and they choose "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele.  I have a really terrific arrangement of that, and their dance was a super sweet moment, even for someone who had just met the happy couple mere minutes before!

A stylish cake with a wonderful, masculine topper!