December 10, 2010 - Vail Interfaith Chapel wedding

We had the opportunity to play for a second wedding on December 10th - this one at the Vail Interfaith Chapel. The roads had iced over and there were many accidents and road closures... we counted ourselves lucky that we made it to the chapel!

While we play for many weddings and events, it is amazing how different each one is. Every now and then we hear part of a couple's romance story - this wedding was one of them.

As we worked together planning the music, the bride shared some of their story with us. This couple originally met in high school but later on went their separate ways. After many years their romance was rekindled, and their romance came to fruition last night as they were married.

When we began discussing the playlist with the bride, only one song mattered to her. She asked us to play whatever we would like to play for everything else. This was a complete shock to us, because we don't generally play what 'we' want, we play whatever our clients ask.

Apparently, the song 'Keeper of the Stars' by John Michael Montgomery had been this couple's song back in high school, and they wanted it to be part of their ceremony. So, we put together a custom strings arrangement of this piece and then put together a mix of classical and contemporary for their prelude music borrowing some of the pieces from the wedding we'd played for previously that day.

Our prelude consisted of Bach's 'My Heart Ever Faithful', Elvis' 'Can't Help Falling in Love With You', Silvestri's 'Feather Theme', Mozart's 'Menuetto' from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Delibes' 'Flower Song', Telemann's 'Presto', Horner's 'The Wedding', Puccini's 'O Mio Babbino Caro', and John Denver's 'Annie's Song'.

The wedding party entered to Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring', and the bride entered to the traditional Wagner's 'Bridal March'.

While we had discussed playing 'Keeper of the Stars' as part of the processional, the bride and groom really wanted to be able to hear and enjoy this piece. We decided to use this piece for the unity candle. After the candles were lit, they spent a few moments with each other just listening to this song which was so important to them.

As the ceremony ended, we played Handel's 'La Rejouissance' for the recessional as they headed back down the aisle, followed by Handel's 'Hornpipe'.

While we don't normally blog about the flowers and decor of our venues, we wanted to give a shout out to Sweet Pea Designs who did the floral work for this wedding. They created one of the most exquisite arches we've ever seen. At approximately 6 1/2 feet, it was made with pine garlands, red berries, white orchids, flowers, and bows, and laced with white lights. It was absolutely breathtaking.

October 23, 2010 - Vail Interfaith Chapel and The Lodge at Vail

We had the pleasure this afternoon and evening of playing for a wedding at the Vail Interfaith Chapel, and then for the reception at The Lodge at Vail.

We enjoyed working with this family as they have a great appreciation for classical music and the musical selections were very important to them.  They helped pick almost all of the music for the prelude and ceremony with just a few extra pieces added in for extra time/cushioning in case it was needed.

We began with Bach's "Air", Handel's "Allegro" from the Water Music,  Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro", Handel's "Largo", Vivaldi's "Autumn" from the Four Seasons, Schumann's "Traumerei", Bach's "Arioso", Lizt's "Liebstraum", Beethoven's "Pathetique", Schubert's "Andante", and we then finished up with Mozart's "Romanza".  


The wedding party entered to Handel's "Air" from the Water Music, and the bride entered to Vivaldi's "Winter" - a very appropriate piece as the mountains were just beginning to fill with snow outside.  


During the ceremony we were asked to play Franck's "Panis Angelicus", and Delibes' "Flower Music".


As the couple was presented to the audience, we played a new piece, Mendelssohn's "War march of the Priests" which despite the ominous title is a very stately and celebratory piece which worked great for the recessional.  We continued to play Handel's "La Rejouissance" from the Fireworks Music, and finally Tartini's "Cantabile".  

            

After the ceremony was finished, we headed to the Lodge at Vail to set up and play for the later reception.  Prior to dinner, we played as family members and guests greeted and mingled with each other over appetizers.    

 The reception and later dinner were held in the Cucina Rustica - one of the Lodge at Vail's onsite restaurants.      Contrasting with the purely classical genre of music played in the ceremony, the majority of the pieces we played for the reception were modern.

We began with Webber's "All I Ask of You" from the Phantom of the Opera, followed by Cohen's "Hallelujah:, and Iver's "Bygone Days".  We threw in Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze", and then once again Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" as the bride's mother hadn't been at the chapel for the prelude and had missed it and requested that we play it again.  We then played John Denver's "Annie's Song", The Beatles' "I want to Hold Your Hand", Enya's "Only Time", and "The Wedding" from Legends of the Fall.
We headed back into the classical genre to play Bach's "My Heart Ever Faithful", then Groban's "You Raise Me Up", The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony", and Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love".  As our time was nearing the end, we finished up with Telemann's "Presto" - a very fun jaunty little piece, and finally, Santori's "Con Te Partiro" - also known as "Time to Say Goodbye".

It was a beautiful ceremony and reception which we were honored to play for.  

October 10, 2009

Today marked our last summer wedding of the 2009 season. Our mountains are capped with snow, the golden leaves of the aspens are preparing to float away in the wind, and the air carries the definite nip of oncoming winter. Although it was beautiful outside today, we were grateful to be inside the Vail Interfaith Chapel and not battling the elements.(10/10/09 3:20 pm)

While we often play for destination weddings, today we played for a local couple's wedding. One of the exciting aspects of a local wedding lies in the knowledge that we may actually bump into our clients at some future point here in the valley.

We enjoyed this couple's musical selections as they not only chose their ceremony and processional music, but also their prelude and postlude pieces as well.

All of today's pieces were strictly classical and we began our prelude with Bach's Air, Handel's Air and Andante from Water Music, Corelli's Pastorale, Bach's Ave Verum Corpus, and Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze.

The wedding party entered to Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, and the bride entered to Handel's Largo - a gorgeous and not so commonly used processional piece.

The ceremony ended with a recessional from Handel's Allegro from The Water Music, and the wedding party and guests exited to Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons, and Handel's La Rejouissance and Hornpipe.

We were honored to play for this beautiful local's wedding as well as each wedding and event we've played for this summer.

Thank you to all of our clients - we've enjoyed working with each and every one of you, and are looking forward to the 2010 summer wedding season!

Vail Interfaith Chapel

This weekend we once again had an opportunity to play for a wedding at the Vail Interfaith Chapel.



When we arrived, a religious service was still underway and so the wedding was a bit delayed. Here are some of the flowers outside the chapel and some of the wedding party as they wait for the service to end.

(Photograph taken August 15, 2009 at 6:15 pm)

As we initially planned the music for this wedding, it became apparent that our clients wanted to use both classical and contemporary music. While there was some initial concern regarding the transition between the two genres, the pieces we used led into each other and transitioned very nicely.

Our prelude consisted of The Beatles' Yesterday, Ivers' Bygone Days, Cohen's Hallelujah, Webber's All I Ask of You, Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love, and Denver's Annie's Song.

For the processional, the family members entered to Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, the bridal party to Pachebel's Canon, and the bride to Wagner's traditional Wedding March . Finally Bach's Arioso was played for the lighting of the unity candle.

As the ceremony ended, we transitioned back to the contemporary genre as the couple exited the chapel to VivaLaVida by Coldplay, followed by Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles, Just Like Heaven by the Cure, Ungar's Ashokan Farewell by Ungar, and finally Enya's Only Time .

The planning and coordination of this wedding was done by a local business, Sassy Events, and they truly did an amazing job putting the chapel together in such a brief period of time.

It was an honor to play for such a beautiful wedding ~ Congratulations!

Vail Interfaith Chapel & The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

On the last weekend in June, we had the opportunity to play for two beautiful weddings.

The first was in the Vail Interfaith Chapel. Joanne Moore of Meadow and Mountains was the wedding coordinator. She amazingly transformed the chapel with the runners, flowers, and swaths of material which were draped along the pews.

For our part, the music was strictly classical and we started off the prelude with Bach's "Air". We continued with Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", "Sheep May Safely Graze", and "Arioso". We then went into some of Handel's Water music because it led into the processional music. The attendants entered to Handel's "Air", and the bride to Pachebel's "Canon".

During the lighting of the unity candle, we played Liszt's "Liebstraum", and Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as the recessional. We finished with several celebratory pieces including Hornpipe, La Rejouisannce, Trumpet, Tune and Trumpet Voluntary.


The second wedding was in Vail's Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. While afternoon rain was on the forecast, the skies were blue and it ended up gorgeous, and rain free.

 

While we played several classical pieces by Bach, Handel, and Mozart, the wedding party entered to Pachebel's "Canon". This piece was great as the parties crossed the footbridge, entered from the back, and also descended from the steps. As Canon's counterpoint wraps and layers itself, this piece is ideal for seamless repetition.
In a non-traditional fun twist, the bride came down the steps to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun". Also, instead of a unity candle, the parents came together and planted seeds to Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze". We played Purcell's "Trumpet Tune" for the recessional and also ended with several celebratory pieces.

We truly enjoy the individuality of every wedding we play for, and love to see the couples with whom we've worked with for several months as everything they've planned for finally comes together.

Congratulations to both of these couples - we enjoyed playing for them!

Vail's Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Despite recent wet weather, Vail is absolutely breathtaking right now. I spent some time this week at a couple of different sites where we often play, and thought I'd showcase a couple of them.

 

This is the wedding area of the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. Wedding parties often descend the stone steps (upper left) or cross the footbridge (to the center right), while their guests are seated on the patio. Surrounded by the fragrant garden flowers, we generally sit off to the far right, and along with trilling birds and the gently cascading waterfall, we whisk our clients and guests off to an enchanted, idyllic fairyland.

Following are additional garden photos

 

Footpath

 

Vail Interfaith Chapel

As an ensemble, we attend several weddings each year. That said, it is amazing how different every single wedding actually is. Each is a reflection of the particular couple, of their cultures, tastes, and ultimately, them.

After spending time with our clients discussing musical preferences, genres, and their musical selections, it is always exciting to see how each wedding comes together.

This past weekend we played for a wedding at the Vail Interfaith Chapel which had a very interesting, fun twist.

While the ceremony was very traditional, an underlying motif also emerged. The prelude consisted of Handel's Water Music interlaced with various Beatles tunes. The family and attendants entered to Pachebel's Canon, and the bride entered to Wagner's 'Wedding March.' While this is a traditional wedding piece, this may have been only the second bride we've worked with to use this piece.

Upholding tradition, as the unity candles were lit, we accompanied the groom's mother as she beautifully sang Schubert's 'Ave Maria.'

As the ceremony concluded, the bride and groom exited the church to 'All You Need Is Love,' and we continued to play Beatles tunes as the guests exited and greeted the couple after wards.

It was great to see everything fall into place. We enjoyed the novelty of playing some not so traditional wedding music for this beautiful wedding.

Vail Interfaith Chapel

This weekend we had the opportunity to play for a wedding at the Vail Interfaith Chapel. The weather lent itself to the occasion and it was a gorgeous Colorado day.


While the bride and groom had very different tastes, their musical selections nicely juxtaposed their differences and the end result was extremely complimentary.
As the groom had somewhat more traditional tastes, all of our prelude music was strictly classical, though not necessarily the typical wedding selections. We played several Mozart pieces, a short, brisk piece by Tartini named Cantible, Winter from the Four Seasons, Handel's Largo, Schubert's Andante, and one of our favorites, Pastorale by Corelli.

As the parents and wedding party entered, we played 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley. Continuing to drift away from the traditional/classical genre, we played 'Just Like Heaven,' by the Cure for the bridal processional.
The ceremony was light, laced with humor and a special musical number by a friend.

After the ceremony, as the bride and groom began their recessional exit we played the main theme to 'Star Wars,' which we understood was a special surprise for the groom. We continued with the contemporary genre as the wedding party exited to selections by Coldplay, Elvis, and the Beatles.