Event Performance

We were overall pleased to have musicians set the mood and atmosphere for our wedding. Maria (the manager) was helpful and tried to be accommodating. She tried to work with us to stay within our budget. Maria was also able to coordinate a couple songs from our favorite movies to be played, which we and the guests absolutely loved. Communication was at times spotty. We found out only a few weeks before our wedding that we would have to add on to our initial cost because she could not get us the harp for the price quoted (and already paid). Being last minute, we paid the extra cost for the harp and it turned out to be one of the best choices we made as everyone had compliments regarding the harpist at the reception. Unfortunately, while the harpist received many glowing remarks, the violinist that was hired for the ceremony and reception did not perform as expected. Even our non-musically inclined guests noted the "pitchy-ness" of her playing, or lack thereof when she missed notes/stopped playing during parts of the melody. At times, it seemed as if she was sight reading the music. However, most of this could be overlooked if the ceremony music had been in time with the procession. The major issue we had was the timing of the pieces not being organized with the procession, therefore lacking a smooth transition between pieces. Prior to the ceremony, the musicians were given a schedule outlining who was walking down the aisle to which piece, and how many people were to be expected for each section. Sadly, the musicians did not seem to pay attention to the progression of the procession. As the bride, I ended up walking half way up the aisle to silence before they started playing the bridal processional. Needless to say, I was very upset over the whole ordeal at the time, and it therefore translated to showing in the photos that were taken of my father walking me up the aisle. I am very sad that the photos of me walking down the aisle express my distaste at the ceremony music. In summary, incorporating the musicians for the ceremony was not smooth. If you plan to use these musicians, we strongly recommend you ensure that they or Maria attend the rehearsal to prevent timing issues. Aside from the harpist, I feel we did not get what we paid for. I expected the musicians to be of professional quality for the cost. In retrospect, hiring musicians from a college or university would have been comparable to the quality. We contacted them after the wedding and received a response regarding our concerns. The response was largely defensive and assured us that the musicians were professionals, but failed to address the core issues of our complaint.