Ceremony Harpist, Cathedral of St Raymond of Nonnatus, Joliet

The Cathedral is just magnificent

 I have played at quite a few Catholic Churches, but I was completely bowled over by St Raymond of Nonnatus! When I am a guest at a church, my job is to try and understand how they do things, and blend in as seamlessly as possible. I have my own set of Gather Comprehensive hymnals, which helps quite a bit. On this day, we used the Mass of Creation, and also the Ave Maria for the flowers to Mary. It was so beautiful, and it was an honor to be in this amazing church!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Joliet Ballroom, Joliet

The Grand Ballroom in downtown Joliet is the perfect venue for live harp music! The ceremony space is located in the old ticketing area of the train station, and it features a fantastic staircase for the processional. The space is all hard surfaces, though, and really benefits from the way live music, and particularly harp music, can warm up a room. The couple chose a classical piece (Air from Water Music by Handel) for the wedding party, and then the bride processed to Young and Beautiful. It was stunning!

If you are planning a wedding at the Joliet Ballroom, I would love to help you find your perfect music! Learn more at www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

All set up with a view to the staircase!

Ceremony Harpist, The Haley Mansion, Joliet

The Haley Mansion is one of my absolute favorite venues, because it really delivers a comfortable and beautiful setting for guests and wedding party. We had perfect weather this day, as you can see, and it was an epic wedding. The coordinator was Malia of Wild Flower Weddings, and she was extremely capable and lovely to work with!

The bride chose "River Flows in You" for her wedding party, and "One Summer's Day" for her procession, and it was magic! Those links will take you directly to recordings on my YouTube channel that I made onsite that day 😊

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Patrick Haley Mansion, Joliet

 

Even the indoor site delivers an outdoor feel!

On this particular day at the Patrick Haley Mansion in Joliet, rain was threatening. Lucky for the bridal couple, everything was moved indoors without issue! The indoor area is so full of windows and light (even on a gray day) that it is a total joy! I had my amp, but the couple arranged for me to go through the DJ's system instead, and this is becoming more and more common. Whenever you mic a harp, you get that amplified sound, but you also still have the acoustic sound of the instrument. It is a really nice mix!

The bride chose the "Flower Duet" and "Air on a G String" for her relatives and bridal party to process to, and "Storybook Love" for her own entrance. Not a dry eye in the house!

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Reception Harpist, Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet

The cocktail space is in the balcony lobby, 
overlooking the main floor.

I have played on the stage of the Rialto Theatre before but, like most musicians, it never occurred to me to go out to the public spaces. You can imagine how delighted I was to discover that they are a treasure! The bride was a fan of all things Disney, so I worked plenty of those selections in amongst other classic American love songs. It was a magical night in a magical space. Truly nothing else like this venue in our area!

Always feel free to let me know what music is special to you and your family. Part of hiring a harpist is getting a personalized playlist that is exactly right for your wedding. My website makes a great starting point: www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Eventually, I turned the harp around to play down to
the reception. The harp makes quite an impression
even from a distance!

 

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, The Grand Ballroom (Events by Mistwood Golf Club), Joliet

 

The old ticketing area

Whew. Long title, but super cool venue. The ceremony was downstairs in what used to be the ticketing area, and it comes with some real advantages: a dramatic entrance for the bride, and an insular space that just glows when lit with candles. Also, the acoustics for music are absolutely terrific - I had my amp with me, but it wasn't even necessary. The couple chose to mix popular and classical, as many of my clients do. The bridal party walked to "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, and the bride entered to Canon in D. The event was managed by Mistwood Golf Club, which explains why everything went so smoothly! I didn't play for the reception, but I stopped by before I started so you could get a look at this amazing space. There is also a terrific website with some great video (www.JolietUnionStation.com).

The bride enters using this staircase

A really grand space!!

Please visit my website at www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com for repertoire lists so you can find your own perfect music choices!

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Patrick Haley Mansion, Joliet

This is such a lovely venue that I feature a photo of it on the home page of my wedding website!  I was intrigued, because I had never done a mid-April outdoor wedding before.  Everything turned out beautifully, and I can definitely recommend this venue for early Spring weddings. The site faces full on West, so it gets really lovely afternoon sun, and with the building close by, you are fairly well protected from the wind. Later on in the Summer, they will have quite a few mature plantings, but this early in the Spring, things still looked neat and clean, and the flowers were left to the florist (Blythe Flowers in Ottawa)!

Bird Haven Greenhouse (Pilcher Park) Wedding Ceremony Harpist

The Bird Haven Greenhouse in Pilcher Park is always hopping with weddings, and I seldom go a Summer without at least one trip to their beautiful gardens.  

Oddly enough, the wedding site is a gazebo set across from the greenhouse, but the site is always referred to as the "Bird Haven Greenhouse".  Most of the time I have played for guests seated around the gazebo, but they also hold weddinga in the grove of trees just to the West of the gazebo, and I can attest that the grove is a lovely, shaded option!

On this day, the bride's family set up adorable little pinwheels in the bride's colors!

To hear other music that will sound great at your outdoor wedding, please visit www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com.