Ceremony Harpist, Century Memorial Chapel, Naperville

Set up to the left of the altar area.

Century Memorial Chapel is a well known wedding venue in Naperville, and I have been there quite a few times over the years. It is truly one of the best run facilities, as it comes with its own wedding coordinator who will keep you (and more importantly, everyone else) on schedule and organized! My only caveat is that it is a fairly dark space, and this is not at all represented on their publicity materials. On the website, it looks sun drenched and light colored. I feel the photos I took this day are fairly representative of the real look of the place. It is absolutely fine, but you will want to visit to make sure it is what you are expecting!

I ended up moving back just a bit to accommodate the wedding party!!

The lovely bride brought together love songs from many generations, including "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley, "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie, and "Marry Me" by Train. When it was time for the processional, she kept to tradition with Canon in D and Wagner's Bridal Chorus. One of the best aspects of Century Memorial Chapel is that you walk out of your wedding ceremony (to Mendelssohn's Wedding March, in this case) and into one of the most beautiful park like settings imaginable!  

The aisle at Century Memorial Chapel

Please visit my "Song Lists" page if you would like to see all of the repertoire possibilities for your wedding!

Prelude and Cocktail Harpist, Stan Mansion, Chicago

I was set up to welcome guests as they entered the street level lobby.

The Stan Mansion was a new venue for me, and it is quite an unusual layout! I think calling this a mansion might miss the point just a little bit.....It was actually built in 1923 as a building to house a fraternal organization (Knights Templar first, and then the Masons). Because of its original purpose, it has an enormous and glorious meeting room!

The meeting room, with side galleries, is really amazing!

The groom wanted his guests to be greeted with music while they signed the guest book, and he requested all R and B music. I took advantage of the opportunity to add some wonderful new arrangements to my book, and you can expect to see some of them popping up on my YouTube channel soon!

The basement or "Lower Level Ballroom"

Although I loved the venue, there are two aspects that I think need careful consideration. First of all, it is not handicap accessible, or at least there was no one there to explain how I could manage more easily, so you'll want to check. Secondly, you'll want to see the "Lower Level Ballroom" early on in your planning process if you will need that space. It was clean, to be sure, but doesn't seem like it was originally a public space, and isn't the same level of amazing as the rest of the facility.

Ceremony Harpist, Saint Gertrude's, Chicago

The amazing St. Gertrude's on Chicago's north side!

This was my first time to this lovely church, and it was a really rewarding experience. Catholic churches frequently have wonderful musicians already in place, so my job is to come in, blend in, and try to be helpful. On this day, that meant coordinating with their pianist, and switching over from a few of my regular arrangement to arrangements that she had. It is important for everyone to be playing from the same music, and she had to coordinate with the violinist as well! The pianist did a beautiful job getting me everything that I needed, and we even had time to run a few things when I arrived.

The sound of the piano, harp, and violin in the huge church was absolutely stunning, and the pianist made good use of the extra musicians throughout the mass. Thanks to wonderful leadership on the part of Saint Gertrude's pianist, the bride had really exceptional, one of a kind music for her wedding!

Set up for the processional up front.

If you are thinking of having harp, you do not need to only have harp! I am always delighted to work with other musicians!
www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

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!