September 25, 2010 - Creekside Park in Beaver Creek

We had the opportunity to play for a lovely wedding this past weekend in the Creekside Park in Beaver Creek. It turned out to be a glorious fall day, and a fantastic venue. One of our very first performances as a quartet/trio was in this park many years ago. On that occasion however, it was pouring buckets of rain and our experience was markedly different.

This wedding was a little different than some of our previous weddings as all of the music we played was contemporary. The bride and groom had a couple of requests, and because they asked several months in advance, we were able to track down string versions of their requests for their ceremony.

We began our prelude with Iver's/Keane's 'Bygone Days', Webber's 'All I Ask of You', Ungar's 'Ashokan Farewell', Silvestri's 'Feather Theme', Denver's 'Annie's Song', Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida', and finished with The Beatles' 'Let it Be'.

We then began the processional music as the wedding party entered to an arrangement of 'Fix You' by Coldplay. The bride then entered to 'The Luckiest' by Ben Folds.

As the bride and groom were presented to the audience and began to recess, we played the Cure's 'Just Like Heaven', followed by Elvis' 'Can't Help Falling In Love', and finished up with Enya's 'Only Time'.

We had the pleasure of working again with CC Dick and her staff from the Colorado Wedding Company who really helped make the ceremony beautiful and flow flawlessly.

September 10, 2010 - Ten Mile Station, Breckenridge

 We had the opportunity last week to play at a new venue at the Ten Mile Station.  We traveled to Breckenridge, Colorado - a neighboring ski town for the mountaintop wedding.
The weather was beautiful and it was a great venue and ceremony - the staff was fantastic to work with, and they did a great job keeping everything running very smoothly.

Ceremony area

Our prelude consisted of  Bach's 'Sheep May Safely Graze', Delibes' 'Flower Song', Tartini's 'Cantabile', Handel's 'Andante & Allegro' from the Water Music, Handel's 'Largo', Telemann's 'Presto', and Schubert's 'Andante'.  

Guests visiting pre-ceremony

As the ceremony began, the groomsmen and officiant entered, followed by the mothers as we played Handel's 'Air' from the Water Music.  The bridesmaids, ring bearer, and flower girl entered to Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring', and the bride entered to Pachebel's timeless 'Canon in D'.  

During the ceremony, the officiant read a tender letter from the bride and groom to their parents.  We then played 'O Mio Babbino Caro' by Puccini as flowers were brought from the back, and the bride and groom presented the flowers to their parents. 

We played Clark's 'Trumpet Voluntary' for the recessional, and then Handel's 'La Rejouissance', and Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' as the guests began to exit and mingle and as photographs commenced.  

August 28, 2010 - The Westin Riverfront

 

This past weekend we played for a wedding at The Westin Riverfront in Avon.
As we arrived, we were thrilled that the musician tent had been moved to the terrace patio, giving us a better location for all our non-verbal communication, and also enhancing our line of vision.

As we traveled to the venue, some of our musicians drove through rain and we were worried about the weather, however it held out. We had cloudy skies, a couple of clashes of thunder, and even a rainbow at one point, but thankfully, no rain!

We performed for this wedding as a quartet, consisting of 2 violins, a viola, and a cello. We started off our prelude with Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", followed by "The Wedding" from Legends of the Fall, Bach's "Air", Tartini's "Cantabile", Bach's "Arisos", Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love", Delibes' "Flower Song", and Handel's "Largo".

As the processional began, the family members, flower girls, and maid of honor entered to Mouret's "Rondeau", and the bride entered to Pachebel's "Canon".

During the ceremony the pastor shared a meditation and prayer, and then we performed the traditional "Edelweiss" in memory of the bride's mother.

For the recessional, we played a piece that we've only played once before. While both the bride and groom knew beforehand what the recessional piece would be, their guests were very surprised as they realized that we were playing the theme from "Star Wars" as the bride and groom exited down the aisle.

Following the recessional we continued to play for the cocktail hour, mixing in several contemporary pieces in which included Denver's "Annie's Song", The Beatle's "Here Comes the Sun", The Cure's "Just Like Heaven", Enya's "Only Time", Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro", "Largo" from Vivalid's Winter, Groban's "You Raise Me Up", Handel's "La Rejouissance", Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", Handel's "Entrance of the Queen of Shba", Webber's "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera, Santori's "Time to Say Goodbye", Buckley/Cohen's "Hallelujah", Ivers/Keane's "Bygone Days", and finally Ungar's "Ashokan Farewell".

We find that we really enjoy playing for the cocktail hour after a ceremony as we love to have the interaction with the guests as they enjoy the music. One gentleman approached us and told us that "The Wedding" from Legends of the Fall was one of his favorite songs. He then asked us if we could possibly just loop playing that song for the rest of the evening. Another gentleman was chatting near us as we began to play "Viva La Vida". His eyes grew wide and he turned to us with a big smile and said, "Hey, this is Coldplay!".