Ceremony Harpist, Brookdale, Vernon Hills

Set up along Little Bear Lake behind the facility

If the venue is one you are not familiar with, that is because it is a retirement community!! The mother of one of the grooms lives here, and they wanted to make it as easy as possible for her to attend the wedding. Of course, it was an extra bonus that the facility has such a lovely patio with a stunning view! My impression from working with them was that having their ceremony in a non traditional setting allowed it to fall together really quickly, and it certainly turned out exceptionally beautifully!

Since one of the grooms plays guitar, the music was super important. He wanted to make sure that the choices for the processional were not truncated to the point of being unrecognizable, so we worked hard to get all of the timing worked out. When the big day came, everything went according to plan, and the extended family seemed to enjoy the event all the more for the ease it provided their matriarch. I could not recommend a retirement home setting for a wedding more; this was a creative solution that really worked for all concerned!!!

Looking back into the shady patio area, you can just make out my harp!

Are you planning a wedding in an unusual venue?  Let me help!! Renee (312) 860-4997.

Cocktail Harpist, The Meadows Club, Rolling Meadows

Set up outside the banquet room.

I have been to The Meadows Club several times now, and it is always so much fun! When I first saw their cocktail space (see below), I was worried that it wouldn't work well for harp, but I was wrong! The weddings I have played here have all been East Asian weddings, so I have played Bollywood selections interspersed with American pop tunes. The long reception area creates sort of a gallery where guests get a drink and then stroll along stopping to visit and listen. My unusual mix of tunes seems to amuse everyone, and I have had some of the most positive comments from guests at this venue!

This gives you some idea of the size, but there is still more space
in the other direction!

I currently have 40 minutes of Bollywood music, and I try to add something new each season. You can hear how this translates to harp at my YouTube channel. Look for the "Bollywood Songs" playlist!

Ceremony and Cocktail Harpist, Cog Hill, Lemont

The patio at Cog Hill

I have been to Cog Hill many times, but always in December, so this was a treat! Our weather was perfect, and the set up on the patio includes a wonderful long aisle for the wedding party to process down.

The wedding party looked fantastic here!

This bride was a delight to work with; she wanted to combine classical music and some popular selections (which is a really common approach these days) but she was a little afraid that she would get it "wrong." The nice thing is, there really isn't a wrong way to do it! I encourage my clients to listen to my YouTube channel recordings, and try listing the music they think they want. Nine times out of ten, it is just fine as is! If there is a selection they feel unsure about, we usually talk about it further and make sure that we address their concerns. If I see something that I think is not going to work, I mention it for sure. A good example is a song that is too fast for the processional (perhaps "Marry Me" by Bruno Mars) or too slow for the recessional. Sometimes the brides agree with my concerns, and sometimes we do it their way, because they have a vision and I am here to make that happen! This lovely bride found that the process was easier than she thought, and we took her list verbatim!

As soon as the ceremony was over, I moved to a more central location on the patio, and continued to play for the cocktail hour. Eventually, the wedding guests had this stunning room to look forward to!

This is the only banquet space at Cog Hill, so you will never
have to compete with another wedding!

Remember, in addition to my YouTube channel, I have a list of songs that I play. No recordings, true, but you still might find it helpful!

Ceremony Harpist, Deep River Park, Hobart, Indiana

The day was gray, but the plantings and gazebo already looked fantastic!

This was a thread the needle type of day for sure. I have been to Deep River County Park several times over the years, and it is truly beautiful, but on this day it looked like it was just going to rain and rain. In the end, it rained right up to a half an hour before their ceremony, then knocked off for about an hour or so, and then started up again! Whew!

Harpist's view of the sand ceremony table and the chairs.

Luckily, that was as much tense drama as there was. The bride chose "Endless Love" for the bridal party, and "Here Comes the Bride" for herself. For the sand ceremony, she had a lovely little melody from the "Romanza" movement of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", and we ended with the traditional Wedding March by Mendelssohn. For postlude, she requested "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, and that brought the music to a close with an upbeat feel. Who even notices the storm clouds when the wedding is beautiful and the music is cheerful?

The path the wedding party use!

Interested in any of the songs mentioned in this post? They are all recorded on my YouTube channel, along with many other options!

Ceremony and Cocktail Harpist, Tree Studios, Chicago

The congregation sits in those chairs, and quite a few more you can't see!

This was a surprising day at the stunning Tree Studios. As I was waiting to be buzzed into the building just outside this courtyard, there was a young man waiting with me, and he was carrying a trumpet case. I am a generally suspicious person, so I chatted him up a little and found out that he was a friend of the bridal couple's and he figured he would play for their ceremony. He was very nice, really, but the whole idea of last minute changes can be sort of dicey, and super time consuming. I was early enough (as was he), so we set about trying to work things out to the general satisfaction of the bridal couple. 

A better look at the plantings along the path.

Thank goodness, in addition to being very nice, the young man played really well. We tried a couple of things, and decided that he would play for the bride's entrance. I thought the results were quite nice, but I would not have hesitated to tell him no if I thought it was going to make a shambles of the bride's wedding plans. We were lucky that we were able to run it by the family and wedding planner in the time we had, and everyone seemed delighted with the idea. 

The indoor spaces are very elegant and refined.

So, I am not sure what the moral is here.... maybe.....If you need someone who is suspicious of wedding guests with instrument cases, but who also knows "Trumpet Voluntary," call me! Sure, that sounds about right!!! Renee Wilson (312) 860.4997

Wedding Ceremony and Reception Harpist, NoMi, Chicago

The first of the three private rooms has a really warm feel.....

And an amazing view!

NoMi was one of the venues that I played in twice this year! The restaurant, located in the Park Hyatt Hotel on Chicago's Gold Coast, is a succession of intimate rooms, ending with three that they use for private events. For this wedding, we started in the first room with prelude and the ceremony and then, while the wedding party was taking photos on the terrace, I moved into the second room.

A slightly larger, brighter room that this family
used for dancing!

I was a surprise for the bride (planned by her mother), and they wanted to be sure to have music for dancing. They planned 3 special songs (My Wish, Marry You, and Daughters) and found a very talented singer to sing to my harp accompaniment. It worked out wonderfully well, and indeed they danced!

Here is a picture of how the two rooms connect.

Write me if you have an idea of how I can help you define the important moments of your wedding! reneewilsonharp@gmail.com

Engagement Party Harpist, Prestwick Country Club, Frankfort

Aren't the decorations lovely?

I live quite far South, but I didn't even know that this club existed. The website for Prestwick Country Club says that they host members and non members for special events, but there wasn't a lot of other information available.  What I can tell you from experience, though, is that the club looked incredibly beautiful with its Christmas decorations, and that the table settings and indeed the plates coming out of the kitchen all looked absolutely beautiful, too. This club may be a little out of the way even by my South Side standards, but it is definitely worth consideration.  I always think that anyone who plans a December or early January event gets extra wonderful decorations just by default, and how amazingly smart is that?

Engagement parties are so much fun to play!  I swept through many of my favorite wedding and love themed music, with lots of Christmas music thrown in.  I have been lucky enough to play for this lovely family before, and they are of Italian heritage, so they also get some opera arias, and a particular Christmas tune that I love, but that only musicians and Italians ever seem to know. What can I tell you? Everyone had a good time, myself included!

If you would like to include Christmas music at your event, you can see all of my holiday songs listed here!

The "room" is actually two rooms joined by an archway. Cocktails were
in this section with the cool high ceiling.