What to do and not to do while Planning your wedding music....

One of the critical steps during wedding music planning is to decide the type of music to be played and who will perform it.

These are the most popular instruments and ensembles you will find performing at weddings
-String Quartet
-Organist
-Pianist
-Guitarist
-Singer
-Flutist
-Violinist
-Cellist
-String Trio
-String Duo
-Chamber orchestra

Regardless of what instrumentalist you will choose, your goal is
to hire the right person(s) for the job to liven up your wedding
On the one hand, you want to have
competent and skilled professionals, but on the other
hand you don't want to pay more than necessary.

Here are the top three tips you should keep in mind
before hiring a performer for your big day.

-Talk to them directly, over the phone or even in person if you feel necessary
-Tell them exactly what you have in mind from your first email request: the atmosphere you want to create or and special request that you may have.
-Have them send you a personalized contract

It's ideal if you are able to hear a demo CD or even better an online selection of audio samples freshly recorded.

The best way to guarantee success in the live ceremony music is to have musicians with several years of experience
You may be able to find music students of good musical level that will completely ruin your wedding because their lack of experience in pacing all the musical selection with the various processionals.
I have played in more than 300 weddings and I can tell you that what distinguishes good to poor wedding music performance is the flexibility of the musicians.

Good wedding musicians will have the ability to:
-Be familiar with all aspects of the Ceremony and help you trough your music choices by suggesting appropriate selection.
-Start any music selection on demand according to who is walking down the aisle.
-Extend a musical selection on the spot without stopping if the procession asks for more music.
-Switch from one selection to another in a timely and professional manner.
-Finishing a musical selection at any given time without stopping abruptly and improvise a “cadenza” (the end of a piece) on the spot.
-Starting some selections in the middle of a piece because we know you want to hear only the beautiful theme when you walk down the ailse.
-Adjusting the tempo to your request (I have add clients asking me to play the Cannon in D faster because they just like it that way).
The list goes on and on…..

How can you be sure?
-Check their experience online; see if you can find some reviews.
-Check if they are listed on other websites (if they are, that’s a good sign, that mean other people trust them)
-If you are still not sure, ask them for the referrals and check with their past clients.

Deposit/Contract
Before making your final decision, remember that time is critical. The “Best” performer are booking event very early.
I have seen hundreds of clients asking me if their date was available more than 8 months before the wedding day;
Only to take a final decision 4 months later. Don't be too late!

If you know your favorite string quartet is available, then go for it, book them just for YOU
Some string quartet requires just 30% of the total price to reserve a date and if you are lucky, some group even have a 100% refund policy with no question asked if you decide otherwise. You have nothing to lose.


I wish you the best of luck in your wedding planning

Pascal Innocenti
Violinist and founder of InnocentiQuartet.com