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

Royal Melbourne Country Club; Long Grove Wedding Ceremony Harpist

Threatening skies.

I think one of the hardest decisions for any wedding couple is when to switch their outdoor wedding to an indoor location.  Many times, I have seen people agonizing about dicey weather and wondering how long it will take to move their ceremony set up, should that become necessary. At Melbourne Country Club in Long Grove, they really have the resources to smooth over these problems.

We were originally scheduled to be out on the lawn, but then we were moved to this lovely terrace.  Still outdoors, and perhaps with an even lovelier view, but less soggy (it had rained overnight).  From there, the extremely capable staff could have moved us completely indoors in just a few moments.  As it turned out, that wasn't necessary, and the bridal couple was able to have their outdoor wedding after all!

All set up and waiting to see!

If you're looking for harp music for your indoor or outdoor wedding ceremony, please visit my website:

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Manteno Wedding Ceremony Harpist

"The Bowl" at Camp Shaw.  

If you are looking for a stunning natural setting, you may want to consider Camp Shaw in Manteno, Illinois.  The camp is just 7 miles off of Interstate 57, and it sits alongside the beautiful Rock Creek. Weddings are held at "The Bowl" which is accessible by the long staircase shown above, or golf carts that carry people down an access drive.  This is a naturalistic setting and does not feature manicured gardens, but it is so lovely!  The area allowed for a large group of chairs, and the bride and groom stood under an arbor that was put up after I had already started playing.  Probably the best part was the abundant shade which, along with the creek, lowered temperatures about 10 degrees from what the rest of the world was experiencing!

Plenty of room, all with a view of the creek!

Afterwards, guests headed up to the mess hall on the top of the hill for dinner, and then across the footbridge for dancing at yet another pavilion.  Camp Shaw certainly has plenty of room to roam!

Rock Creek from the footbridge.

A long view of the footbridge.

St. Alexander's in Palos Heights

The altar area at St. Alexander in Palos Heights

If you need an experienced keyboard player who can both sing and play for your mass, Andy Perz is a wonderful choice.  Andy has his own church to play for in Glenwood, but he is frequently available for other services as well.  He sings beautifully, and is such a pleasure to have around.  On this occasion, Andy and I played with a fine Irish violinist who was a friend of the family's, and provided a wide range of classical music for their mass.  The bride chose Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Canon in D for her processionals, and the sound was rich and full with three musicians on hand.  When the newly married couple was ready to process out, they were led by a bagpiper!

Hilton Chicago/Magnificent Mile Suites Wedding Ceremony Harpist

This photo was taken at the Hilton Chicago/Magnificent Mile Suites in the Streeterville neighborhood.  Ralph and I were there providing beautiful harp and violin music for the ceremony, but I was really taken by these lovely flower and candle arrangements lining both sides of the main aisle.  What a beautiful way to enhance the bride's entrance!

After the ceremony, Ralph and I headed down the hall to play for the cocktail hour. Additional live music is a lovely way to transition into your reception if it is in the same location as your ceremony.  One minute we were playing "Here Comes the Bride", and the next we were doing "I Get a Kick Out of You".  Harp and violin are terrific for covering the Great American Song Book and giving your cocktail hour a sophisticated sound.

Here is a link to some of the background reception music I frequently play (Ralph is playing on several selections, too):

Reception selections at www.Harp123.com

St. Michael's in Old Town Wedding Ceremony Harpist

The outdoor renovations are complete!

Well, the scaffolding is down at St. Michael's, and the church and square are looking better than ever!  I was here back in April (yep, behind on my blogging), so the trees aren't all quite out yet.  This church has it all: a convenient city location that feels secluded, and one of the most talented music directors you are likely to come across, Daniel Stucker. Daniel is a fantastic musician, and keeps the ceremony full of variation. Harp solo, harp with cantor, harp and piano, piano solo, we did it all! Daniel is a proponent of one of my favorite wedding practices: changing instrumentation when the bride comes in!  This time I played the processional for bridesmaids, and then Daniel started the Canon in D on piano, and I joined him part way through.  With that kind of variation, the music supported the entrance of the beautiful bride, and the moment was perfect!  

If you would like to talk about adding harp music to your wedding ceremony, call and we'll talk!  

www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

Grand Oaks Pavilion at the Hyatt Lodge Oakbrook

Just outside the Grand Oaks Pavilion

The website for the Hyatt Lodge calls the Grand Oaks Pavilion a "Fairy Tale Setting" and I would have to agree.  This is one of my favorite banquet halls in the entire Chicago area, and a truly one of a kind setting.  Outdoors, there is a lovely patio with towering oak trees above, and lovely plantings all around.  Inside, you no longer have perspective on the trees, as you are in and among them!  My pictures don't really do it justice, but this is definitely a site worth a special trip.  I was set up in the ante room to the banquet hall, which has a fireplace and a nice gathering area, but the light was tricky and I never got a good picture of the harp - sorry!  

Banquet hall as elegant tree house?