Wedding Proposal Harpist, Private Home, Burr Ridge

So the groom put some effort in. It was lovely!

Okay, so "private home" is probably not quite right. You should definitely look up 6501S. County Line Road, Burr Ridge, because it has a pretty interesting history; part grand mansion, part real estate over-reach. At this writing, it is available to rent for events, and that's where I came in. The very sweet prospective groom was planning a wonderful evening around his proposal, and he knew the bride had seen and enjoyed my YouTube channel. Some quick thinking on his part resulting in my arrangement of a new favorite of her's (Somewhere Only We Know), and we had ourselves a plan!

Pretty hard to get the scope of this place in a camera phone shot!

The repertoire page on my website is a great place to start any plan! www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Pleasant Home, Oak Park

The living room at Pleasant Home, Oak Park

I hadn't been here in years, and it was fabulous to see this wonderful site again!  The 1897 Prairie style mansion is situated just South of downtown Oak Park, and sits next to, or I guess actually inside a lovely park.  They host wedding ceremonies in several locations, including the wide and completely covered porch (which seats 100!), the living area (which seats 70), and the lawn.  The price strikes me as quite fair, too. For $200 you can have the first floor for your ceremony, and use of their chairs.  They will even set up the chairs for you!  They have a wonderful page detailing all of this which you can find here.

When I arrived, the family and wedding party were already visiting and taking photos around the house and grounds.  We had arranged ahead of time that I would be accompanying the bride's two nieces while they played flute, so the girls and I got ourselves organized and had a little rehearsal on "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."  It is such a pleasure to accompany family members, and it never fails to make the ceremony feel really special and super personalized. Naturally, the girls played really well (at 13 and 14 years old, they had some experience and skills!), and it was one of the highlights of the ceremony for sure! 

The bride decided to go super traditional with "Canon in D" for her wedding party and "Here Comes the Bride" for her walk down the aisle. The recessional was left to me, so I did Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" and then went directly into some upbeat popular tunes so the guests could start transitioning to party mode!  The guests enjoyed the porch and the park, and the bride and groom finished their pictures. Altogether, it was a beautiful and relaxed start to their life together, and I could not recommend Pleasant Home more highly!

The harpist's view.

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)!

Reception Harpist, Glessner House, Chicago

Glessner House Courtyard.
There's a stairway just to the right of the open door.

First of all, I should tell you that I was not here for a wedding (sigh).  It was a corporate event, and it was lovely, but I kept thinking about how fabulous this venue would be for a wedding!  

If you are not familiar with this historic mansion, it is located on the near South side of Chicago, very convenient to downtown and the expressways.  The neighborhood is really very polished and lovely, and it sounds like there are parking options as well. The staff at the house were super helpful, and they have a wonderful website with lots and lots of options detailed, and prices!! 

The guests I played for had their dinner in the proper dining room, but the courtyard is certainly large enough to set up tables or even a tent.  If you're looking for a distinctive, historic venue, this seems worth checking into for sure!

The formal dining room easily accommodated 50 people.

If you're looking for just the right music to set your perfect mood, please visit www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com.

Armour House Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Lake Forest

The harpist's view of the proceedings at the Armour House!

On my third and final trip to Armour House I was still gathering great ideas for making the long walk for the bridal party seem cohesive and lovely.  Luckily, the bride sent me a list of music that she liked, so we had some great options!  I ended up using two different songs for the bridal party: Trumpet Voluntary and Rondeau.  I started with the Trumpet Voluntary, then moved to the Rondeau, and ended back with the Trumpet Voluntary.  It is a very long aisle, and I am sure the congregation appreciated the variety as the large wedding party made their way down the aisle!  The bride walked to Pachelbel's Canon in D, which is a delightfully long piece that can easily be brought to a close the very moment the bride arrives at her groom's side.

The couple also had a really gorgeous flower arrangement done with petals on the grass.  It marked the spot where the bridal couple stood as they took their vows.  It was so huge that I couldn't quite get it with my camera!

The bridal couple processed to the inside of this flower petal heart!

If you are interested in music for your outdoor wedding, please visit my website at:
www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Armour House Wedding Ceremony and Cocktail Harpist, Lake Forest

Set up to the left of the pagoda

My second trip to the spectacular Armour House in Lake Forest found me on the left side of the pagoda.  It was workable, certainly, but I felt farther from the congregation, and I had to turn at an awkward angle to see the wedding party.  Everyone was viewing the harp from the front, which is probably not the most attractive angle on a harp, but I think I am perhaps a little too worried about such things!  Back in reality, it was another gorgeous day, and the beautiful bride choose Pachelbel's Canon in D for her wedding party's walk.  It worked wonderfully.  It is a very long song, and that is a fantastic attribute at the Armour House!  I had plenty of music without making any repeats, and everyone was happy!

This bride also wanted me to play for her cocktail hour on the veranda, and I was delighted to do so.  Guests sipped their champagne and watched the sunset while I played selections from the Great American Songbook by giants like Gershwin and Cole Porter.  Just another beautiful evening at the Armour House!

The bridal couple's view of the harp!

If you need music for your North Shore wedding, please visit:
www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Armour House Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Lake Forest

Set up to the right of the pagoda in the Armour House gardens.

This Summer I was lucky enough to play at the wonderful Armour House in Lake Forest three separate times!  The house is part of Lake Forest Academy, and they are experts at beautiful wedding ceremonies. Here, on my first trip, I am set up to the right of the congregation, and that was my favorite position.  My camera always has trouble with light and dark, so I look like I am sitting in descending gloom, but that is not how it seemed on site at all!  In this position, I had my best view of the house, and consequently the approaching wedding party.  

The most complicated part of any wedding at the Armour House is the processional.  It is an extremely long walk from the house to the front of the congregation.  If you have even a medium sized wedding party, your processional music could easily clock in at 8 minutes, no problem. Additionally, there is no easy way for the wedding coordinator to communicate with me once we are set up and ready to go.  With good professionals at the helm, though, the long walk can definitely be turned into an advantage!  On this day, the bride chose an Irish air entitled, "The Gentle Maiden".  It is not the longest tune ever written, so I found two different versions and combined them.  Presto!  Enough variation to keep things fresh.  The wedding coordinator (whose name I sadly forgot to collect) had the best solution for keeping me informed about the processional... she sent her assistant down to say, "we're ready to start."  It was low tech, but perfect.  The wedding was as smooth as can be!

A view back towards the house.  Kind of a long walk, right?

If you would like help choosing the perfect music for your walk down the aisle, please visit my website:
www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Piper Hall Mansion on the Lake in Chicago

Piper Hall as seen from Sheridan Road

This one is definitely worth considering.  You may have already seen it if you ever make the drive from Chicago to Evanston along Sheridan Road.  The mansion sits at a bend in the road, and right on the lake.  It has been renovated to host events, and it has some wonderful features. No need to go into all of them here (as the Loyola website is really quite good, prices included!), but it seems a shame to leave all of it to another website, so.........  You are right on the lake here.  Surprisingly, right on the lake is not that easy to accomplish in a Chicago wedding venue. There is a large veranda off the side of the house that would be beautiful in fine weather. 

There is a staircase on the left, if the bride wants a dramatic entrance!

The day I was there, it was a bit cold, so we were inside the mansion. Inside is pretty gorgeous, too.  Tiffany windows, gilded ceilings, paneled walls;  really, really lovely.  The couple was married inside, then went outdoors to take pictures among the beautiful gardens.  The guests lingered in the mansion listening to harp music, and then walked a block to retrieve their cars from the Loyola University Welcome Center parking.  For a city venue, it was really very convenient.

We were warm and comfortable inside!

The bride was British, so I got to play the Beatles classic "Here, There and Everywhere" for the unity candle, and "Here Comes the Sun" for the recessional.  The bridal party stood in the sunroom, which you can see just a bit of in the above photo, and the guests looked on from the paneled rooms.  It was a beautiful, late fall wedding.

Considering harp music?  Please visit www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com