March 5, 2011 - Vail Interfaith Chapel

Today we played for a wedding at the Vail Interfaith Chapel.

This was a very fun wedding for us to play as the couple asked if our trio could include a harpist.  We were able to meet a local harpist, and were very excited for the opportunity to include her in a trio - consisting of a violin, a cello, and the harp.

We began our prelude with a request by the couple for Bach/Gounod's 'Ave Maria', then played Bach's 'Air', and then Telemann's 'Presto'.

We began the ceremony music with Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' as the parents, groomsmen, and the officiator entered.

The bridesmaids entered to Pachelbel's 'Canon', followed by the bride's entrance to Clarke's 'Trumpet Voluntary'.

After the ceremony, we played Mendelssohn's 'Wedding March' as the wedding party exited back down the aisle, followed by Handel's 'La Rejouissance', Mouret's 'Rondeau', Schubert's 'Andante', and ended with Bach's 'Arioso'.

We enjoyed performing for this beautiful wedding, and are thrilled to have added a harpist to our ceremony musicians.

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.