Wedding Ceremony Harpist, St. Rita, Chicago

Down front at St. Rita's

I have lived just two miles from here for over 20 years now, but this was my first time inside!  The church is actually part of the St. Rita College Prep School for Young Men, and it is a large, lovely space.  The bridal couple made lots of really smart decisions.  First of all, they had both piano and harp, which is unusual, but perfect for this space.  The wonderful Mike Carso of St. John Fisher Parish was on hand to play piano and keep everything running smoothly.  I took care of the prelude, Mike and I played for the bridesmaids (Canon in D), and then the bride came down the aisle to solo harp (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring).  When you have multiple instrumentalists, it really gives you the option to mix things up a bit, and I think that is wonderful for the congregation.  Mike took care of the mass parts, while I rolled some chords as ornamentation.   We both played on the recessional, and everything was wrapped up nice and neat!

If you would like to have lots of options, think about adding harp to the piano or organ that is already included in your ceremony plans! I have lots of music that works for two!

The large congregational area at St. Rita

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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

St. Barnabas (Chicago) Wedding Ceremony Harpist

It is always a pleasure to work in my own neighborhood, and St. Barnabas is a beautiful church just a few blocks from my house.  This wedding was extra special, because the bride and her mother are both accomplished musicians!  Because of their wonderful connections with other musicians, we had not only harp on the menu, but flute, violins, piano, organ, trumpet, and a huge choir!  I feel I can brag a little on the beautiful bride.  She had all of those options at her disposal, but she knew she wanted solo harp for her entrance, and she choose Pachelbel's Canon in D.  It is so easy to become overwhelmed when choosing your processional music especially, I think, if you have lots and lots of different options.  Start by defining how you want to feel as you are walking down the aisle, and then look for music to match.  Once you have a few ideas, go ahead and try walking to them!  It might sound silly, but you want music that is easy to move to, and the only way to know for sure is to try it out!  If you are lucky enough to have multiple musicians at your wedding, don't hesitate to have them play separately if you want to vary the sound.  The perfect setting for your wedding vows won't be far away!  Please visit my "Processionals" page for ideas!