About this vendor
Since 1999, New York Ceremony Music has specialized in crafting the musical narrative for weddings through a repertoire of over 200 custom arranged songs. Having performed and arranged music together for over two decades, founders Topu Lyo and Randy Bergida have the experience to navigate your day with ease—from the ceremony and cocktail hour to a sophisticated dinner set—giving us the versatility to make your celebration unique and, above all, seamless.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Our philosophy is simple: write great arrangements, pay attention to the details, and be fully present every step of the way. We look forward to hearing your story and helping you tell it through music.
CUSTOM ARRANGED SONGS
Our sound is built on over 25 years of reimagining any genre for our instrumentation. With a library of over 200 studio recordings—ranging from The Beatles and Radiohead to Fleet Foxes and Django Reinhardt—we can create a custom arrangement for any piece to ensure your day feels authentic to you.
CEREMONY SOUNDTRACKS
For couples seeking the highest form of personalization, we offer Ceremony Soundtracks through our NYCM Originals series. We compose a suite of original music for your ceremony and of your story—recorded in-studio, performed live, and cut to vinyl to last a lifetime.
NEW YORK CITY & DESTINATION EVENTS
Based in Brooklyn, we perform extensively from the Hamptons to the Hudson Valley and at destination events worldwide, including Los Angeles, Italy, and Mexico. We bring the technical mastery of 25 years of interplay to every celebration.
Details
Instruments
- Cello
- Guitar
Music Genres
- Classical
- Country
- Dance
- Folk
- Hip-Hop
- Jazz
Music Services
- Live Music
- Recorded Music
- Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Rehearsal Dinner
- Wedding
- After Party
- Ceremony
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Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.034 reviews
Absolutely incredible! We asked NY Ceremony Music to play during our cocktail hour and service, and they knocked it out of the park. They had so many incredible songs to choose fro...
m and they even put together a special arrangement of one our favorite songs upon request - we were blown away by how perfect and beautiful it was! If you're thinking about having music during your ceremony, hire these people!!
Randy and Topu are a class act! I knew I wanted a string duo for our ceremony music and listening to their samples online brought tears to my eyes. Randy was so easy to communicate...
with leading up to our wedding and I’m so grateful we worked with them!
Randy and Topu were fantastic to work with and did an amazing job performing during our ceremony and cocktail hour! They are talented musicians and have an extensive repertoire, in...
cluding Bossanova, which my husband really appreciated (he's Brazilian).
We just loved the cello + guitar combo. They created the perfect vibe for us - romantic, elegant, and modern. We highly recommend Randy and Topu!
We hired NY Ceremony Music to play during our ceremony and cocktail hour during our wedding on 10.16.21. I fell in love with the romantic music when I went to their website to prev...
iew their song selections. I had over 150 songs to chose from and just listening to them play brings happy tears! They did a fantastic job and we could not be happier! I would highly recommend them!
Randy and Topu were amazing! We hired them to play live music during the ceremony and cocktail hour and I could not have been happier. They were very easy to work with leading up ...
to the wedding and were very accomodating (I had to move my wedding from 2020 to 2021). And they play beautifully. I would definitely recommend hiring them!
We didn't plan on having live music at our wedding but after hearing Randy and Topu play at a friend's wedding, we knew we had to have them. Their repertoire had the perfect mix o...
f wedding classics, indie, and rock that we were looking for. They were super responsive and easy to work with in the planning process.
My favorite was when they were playing during family photos before the ceremony. It created an amazing ambiance in what otherwise would've felt like a crazy, hectic moment trying to gather people for photos. They also fulfilled my dream of walking down the aisle to the string version of "Such Great Heights" and brought me to tears. You will absolutely not regret hiring these guys. Worth every penny.
Randy and Topu were such a wonderful part of our wedding! They're incredibly talented and played the most beautiful music for our ceremony and cocktail hour. They worked with us to...
create a custom arrangement of "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel which our guests couldn't stop raving about. From the start, they were responsive, professional and an all around fantastic crew to work with.
They were absolutely wonderful! Did gorgeous arrangements of "Box of Rain" by Grateful Dead and "Being Around" by The Lemonheads, and their overall set was exactly what we were loo...
king for. The cello/guitar combination was perfect for us - a little different, but still elegant and classic. Check out their amazing recordings on their website. They were wonderful to work with, responsive, and true professionals. Highly recommend!
Randy and Topu were absolutely phenomenal. Their music is out of this world! We had them play for our ceremony and cocktail hour in October in Hudson, New York. Our family and frie...
nds have not stopped talking about how amazing the quality of their music is. When I asked my planner about live music for our ceremony, she didn’t hesitate to name NY Ceremony Music. After experiencing them in person, I could never dream of looking for another duo to make our wedding dreams come true. Their selection of songs is chock full of variety and sensational hits. Their ability to play with one another is truly magical – it was the perfect soundtrack for a fairytale experience. Both of them were beyond kind and hands down, a pleasure to work with. If you’re searching for an outrageous live performance during your ceremony and cocktail hour, look no further! We are so blessed to have had such a fantastic musical score there for our big day. Thank you so much Randy and Topu!
Topu and Randy were absolutely incredible. Having their music throughout our ceremony and cocktail hour was so special and wonderfully complemented our venue. The songs were such a...
wonderful mixture of traditional and modern, and so many of our guests approached us to tell us how wonderful they were. I was truly sad when it was time for them to leave after cocktail hour was over! Topu was incredibly professional and highly communicative, ensuring that we were all on the same page with regard to the specific songs and more general music that we wanted. We had complete faith in his intuition and he and Randy exceeded our expectations. We have certainly passed along their name to our friends and will definitely keep them in mind for future parties!
Randy and Topu are incredibly talented. They played at my recent wedding in October 2018 at Battery Gardens for both our ceremony and cocktail hour. Everyone loved their performa...
nce which set the mood for the entire night! During the planning stages, they were receptive to our suggestions, were always accessible, and very professional. Their website was also very helpful because they uploaded a vast selection of their performances to listen to. On the day of the wedding, we were late arriving to the venue and did not even have a chance to meet them prior to the ceremony. But they knew exactly what to do and performed without a hitch. They were worth every penny. I cannot recommend them enough!
Randy and Topu are incredible. They played at my recent wedding in April 2018 for both our ceremony and cocktail hour and everyone – myself included – had nothing but great things ...
to say about them. Leading up to the wedding, they were always SUPER communicative and timely in their communications. On the day of, they arrived early and played with such ease and grace. They were a last minute addition to our wedding but we are SO glad we made the decision to include them. They are incredibly talented musicians and created the perfect ambiance for our special day. I cannot recommend them enough!
Randy and Topu added so much to our wedding last April. I was so pleased with their repertoire and could not have asked for a better duo! They played during our ceremony and cockta...
il hour, and cannot thank them enough for their arrangement of “Wagon Wheel”.
Randy + Topu are just such a class act. From the initial reach out to the day of, they were extremely easy to work and communicate with. They created such a special feel to our cer...
emony and cocktail hour that will never be forgotten! They even created a special composition for us that killed it with our guests during our ceremony! They are just two guys, one with a guitar, the other a stand-up bass, and they make music that is just so incredibly beautiful! Highly, highly, highly recommend!
Randy and Topu were such a pleasure to work with and performed beautifully. We had a small wedding with a ceremony into a short cocktail and a four-course dinner. They were the p...
erfect addition to create the kind of environment we wanted for our guests. Don't hesitate to book them for your wedding!!
I can't say enough wonderful things about Randy and Topu. I had a very specific energy and vibe for my wedding in mind, and they were able to capture it completely. Not to mention ...
that they are just incredibly talented. I am still receiving messages from people telling me how incredible they were. I had Randy and Topu play for both my ceremony and the entire evening. They created this really wonderful, lively yet subdued atmosphere and it was exactly what I wanted. Everyone could hear each other, but could still get excited to dance the hora. It was a perfect balance i'm not sure I could have found with a DJ or large band. They were also incredibly easy to work with: responsive, and calm, and just overall really fantastic.
I felt like I struck gold when I came across NY Ceremony Music in my quest for the perfect 2 piece string band for our wedding. And that's exactly what Randy and Topu are. My onl...
y issue is that I didn't get to hear more of them! They are incredibly talented, professional, easy to work with, and have such a great presence about them. I heard from so many of my guests how incredible they were and I was so happy to have them at our ceremony and cocktail hour. Book them if you can!
Randy and Topu are both so incredibly talented and their musical stylings added so much to our big day. They exceeded all expectations my fiancé and I had and I get goosebumps jus...
t thinking about it! Rave reviews by all guests! My father especially, he has been a professional musician for over 30 years, so he's a hard critic. --(which explains my deepest utmost appreciation and ear I have for good music!!)-- He thought these two were out of this world. "Really did a beautiful job"--the song choices, transitioning, everything! He was especially teary when we danced to their wonderful rendition of 'God only knows' so job well done on that!! 😜
The combination of the cello and guitar added such an exciting and romantic element to the ceremony and reception that was almost bone-chilling and could not have been replaced or replicated by any other means! I hope you guys keep doing what you do for a very long time, as it was my favorite part of the wedding planning. Your songs have stamped my heart and left such a great impression on us and our favorite day we will treasure for a lifetime!
If you are looking for talented musicians for your wedding, look no further! Truly gifted individuals...they are masters of their craft and they will deliver!
Noelle & Adam
We had NY Ceremony Music for our August wedding at Tribeca Rooftop. They were incredible and all the guests loved their traditional sound but new (and not boring) approach to cerem...
ony music. I can't imagine walking down listening to anyone else.
Randy and Topu are incredible! They are amazingly talented musicians and did such a great job at our August 6, 2016 wedding. We hired them to do both the ceremony music and the c...
ocktail hour. It was great to have fun, live music during cocktail, and for the ceremony we loved that their repertoire included many beautifully arranged contemporary pieces. It was so easy working with them and they were professional and communicative. We also hired them to work with a friend who would sing a song for our ceremony. They were so accommodating and the piece was lovely. If you’re looking for ceremony musicians, look no further – Randy and Topu are outstanding and will add class and grace to your event.
Randy and Topu were phenomenal! Our guests got to enjoy them more than we did, as the played throughout the guests' arrival while were getting ready to walk down the aisle(!) That ...
said, the beautifully arranged the songs we requested for that walk, and included with the ceremony was an hour for our cocktail hour. We had guests come up and tell us that they thought Randy and Topu played some songs better than the originals! They are incredibly easy to work with and were such a wonderful part of our big day. Thank you so much!!
Randy and Topu are hands down the best! We booked them to play our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour, and we're so happy that we did. Their arrangements are beautiful, and Randy a...
nd Topu themselves are a pleasure to work with. They put together several custom arrangements for our ceremony, including one of my all time favorites, Here, There and Everywhere by the Beatles. Our guests loved the mix of modern and classic tunes they played, and have been raving about them ever since. I can't recommend them highly enough. Don't hesitate - book them immediately! You won't regret it.
We first heard NY Ceremony Music's work before we began seriously planning our wedding, but even then, we knew that we had found our musicians. Their seasoned professionalism and s...
traightforward demeanor made Randy and Topu easy to work with. Above all, the quality of their musicianship is unparalleled. We were so happy with our custom arrangement. We had so many compliments from guests on the beauty of music during our ceremony and cocktail hour. They set the right tone for the rest of a wonderful night. Thanks, Randy and Topu!
They came recommended by my wedding planner. I had a phone consultation with Topu. He was the best to work with! I love their version of Lovers in Japan and wanted it for me to wal...
k down the aisle, especially since I am big fan of Coldplay. On the wedding day, they showed up on time in professional attires. The music that they played were very beautiful. They worked seamlessly with my officiant on ques. During the cocktail hour, they played on the patio of the cocktail room and the amazing music just breezed into the room with the sunshine. I wish I were one of the guests to sit down and listen to their performance throughout the ceremony and cocktail hour. I would highly recommend them!!!
BOOK THESE GUYS FOR YOUR CEREMONY NOW!!!
Randy and Topu are two incredibly talented musicians, and two of the friendliest and most professional vendors we worked with. They were s...
uch a pleasure to work with leading up to the big day, and blew away all our wildest expectations at the wedding. Their sweet music during our ceremony and cocktail hour made our wedding truly magical...it was like a dream!! They are so talented and their music added such a special touch of elegance to our wedding. We and our guests were blown away. These guys are the real deal. You will not regret booking them for your big day!! Thank you Randy and Topu!!!!
We used Topu and Randy for our recent wedding and could not be happier with our selection. They were incredibly responsive and professional from the get-go, and took time to make u...
s a beautiful custom arrangement for the ceremony. All of our guests raved about their music and a couple of friends plan to use them for upcoming events. I highly recommend NY Ceremony Music to anyone looking to add a little personality to their event (while keeping it classy).
These guys are magical and truly the best at what they do. My husband and I got married on October 10th and our guests are still asking us and talking about our ceremony musicians....
They are so easy to work with, punctual and dependable. The environment that they created for our ceremony was so beautiful and romantic, it really took the moment to a whole different level. They played Hallelujah for our parents and bridal party and Falling Slowly for my walk down the aisle with my dad. It's funny how weeks later people could still tell you which two songs played at those points early in the ceremony. We also had them stay for the cocktail hour where the entertained our guests with awesome renditions of Man in the Mirror, etc. I would love to find an excuse to throw another party where I can have NY Ceremony Music play. If music setting the scene is important to you, Randy and Topu are EVERYTHING!
Randy and Topu were absolutely wonderful! We had a ton of compliments on their music, and from what we got to hear, since we missed most of the ceremony music, they were amazing. M...
ost of our guests were especially excited with their Beatles songs. They were extremely professional and made it through a crazy storm to be there promptly for us on our wedding day. We were able to decide on the songs with ease, but left most of the decision making up to them as to what would be played, and we couldn't have been happier with what they choose. Overall I would highly recommend them to anyone, they were an awesome addition to the day!
Randy and Topu are amazing.
I'll be honest...I did not want to have live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour but my mother insisted. My nightmare was that it would be just P...
achabel's Cannon in D or some lame jazz trio (the last bit was more my husband's worry than mine).
When I came across Randy and Topu's website, and saw all the Bob Dylan, and The Cure, and The Beatles, I knew that I had come across a perfect solution.
They were so sweet, cool, and talented and they made my day that much more amazing with their music.
Thank you guys. Your version of "Falling Slowly" that I walked down the aisle to left many of my guests in tears!
Randy and Topu are awesome! They were phenomenal during the wedding ceremony. Randy is super responsive during the planning phase. They were easy to work with, had a large inventor...
y of songs to choose from, and did a great job.
Topu and Randy were amazing. What lovely musicians! East to work with and reliable!
I heard their music on their website and I knew I had to have them! We communicated strictly through email and since I wasn't looking for anything more than the traditional ceremo...
ny music it all went off without a hitch. They sounded so beautiful as I was waiting to walk down the aisle! They also played during the cocktail hour and it was a perfect match for sunset at the Allegria. They are a great alternative to your standard string ensemble or harpist- nice job!!
Topu and Randy played beautifully at my ceremony and cocktail hour. The planning process was a bit difficult with them though. Despite initially being responsive via email, I found...
later that they were much slower and not terribly informative about how the whole process worked. While they played the music beautifully, they didn't play the part of the song I had requested for my processional (Canon in D). And I had specified that I wanted bossa nova played at the cocktail hour and they played some, but also a lot of other music. That being said, their arrangements are beautiful and they have a nice selection of modern music, which my guests really enjoyed. I would hire them again.
Topu & Randy played during our ceremony and cocktail party and were amazing! They have fun song list and the exact sound we were looking for. We only communicated with them v...
ia email during the planning process, but they arrived on time they day of the wedding without fail. They were so easy to work with, and all of our guests enjoyed their music. I would recommend them again in a second!
Contact
New York, Hamptons, Hudson Valley, LA
NY Ceremony Music's photos