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3.3
out of 5.035 reviews
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Found them on the knot WORST MISTAKE
Hi my name is Alissa Elves and I had booked your services for my wedding Dec 7th. Unfortunately I broke my phone a few days before my wedding and am unable to access the email account I was using to communicate with you. I’m not typically someone who complains and I honestly needed time to process but I would like to speak to someone about the violinist at my wedding. When I first reached out the main question I had was if the violinist could play video games by Lana del Rey for my aisle song, I was assured they could. Not only was that not what she played but she played something so slow and awkward it messed up my walk down the aisle. In addition she played the wrong other bride entrance and our exit after the ceremony,only and for both played something completely random. I had confirmed those song choices a week before the wedding. The only correct song that was played was the bridesmaids walking to slipping through my fingers by abba. Now when I think of my entrance I honestly get so frustrated and sad that I paid all that money for essentially nothing. I would have chosen to walk down to a speaker as walking to that song was the most important thing to me other than marrying my partner. I had clear instructions for my officiant to speak to the violinist prior to the ceremony to discuss when she would stop playing as it’s a small venue and there were no mic’s. I can confirm my officiant spoke to her and yet she played loudly THE ENTIRE TIME ignoring the officiant clearly signaling to stop. I couldn’t hear my wife’s vows. This was so frustrating. After she played the wrong exit song she played random Disney songs that were not requested, if she had played the other songs right I wouldn’t have been so frustrated by that but it addition it was comical. I had so many guests come up to me to say the ceremony was beautiful but that they couldn’t hear because of the violin, I also had people giggling to me over the random Disney songs she played during pictures. She also wouldn’t move and we literally had to close the door on her to take pictures. If it wasn’t my wedding I wouldn’t be so frustrated but I put so much effort in it and I feel like the ceremony was ruined. I’m honestly not sure what I want done about this because nothing will be able to make up for what was lost but I would like an apology and a refund at minimum. Please reach out when you can. She was lovely and polite and the 1 right song she played was beautiful but this is just not what I payed for.
Alissa
Violinist left my wedding early and did not stay for the contracted amount. I tried to contact the owner Jeff 3 different times about getting a partial refund with an explanation as to why the violinist left and no one ever got back to me. I did my due diligence in researching reviews of this company before booking, but unfortunately, there was no negative reviews at the time. I felt it was my duty to warn other brides not to book this company. I also have noticed there’s been many negative reviews lately, so clearly I’m not the only one that’s had a bad experience with them. Super unfortunate for something like this to happen on the biggest day of our lives!
Jeff runs events in lots of cities that he does not live in and finds musicians on the word of strangers without vetting them. Speaking anonymously as a musician who has done a fair number of gigs for him, all of them were much below the standard of other contractors.
He always booked at us at the last min. and often had musicians not show up because of the flaky caliber. The music arrangements were the worst I have ever been given - often asking a solo performer to play from parts meant for other instrument groups or very basic "google searchable" arrangements. There was often a lack of important information gathered from the client - once a friend of mine took a gig from him that was supposed to be background music and it ended up they were expecting them to play a concert for them on a small stage - the music selections were not even close to appropriate not to mention the artist's surprise and discomfort! Another time the half the quartet did not even show up and I had to frantically call in a friend to at least cover one more part - worst was that the other guy who did show up did not even play cello as his main instrument (normally bass) and got lost in every piece! Also never provides sufficient music for the amount of time and tells us to just repeat things - making for very painfully drawn out experiences trying to stretch already boring arrangements for hours! Please consider finding a contractor that lives in the city they are hiring musicians from so they can vet for a quality experience and will be invested in more than making a buck off freelancers in other cities!
Do not work with this company. The owner Jeff is a snake oil salesman. His violinist brought a baby to a no-kids wedding, and the baby cried during the ceremony. When concerns were raised to Jeff, zero communication. He is only great at communicating until he receives the payment. After that, good riddance. Do not hire this company and look elsewhere if you want quality and professionalism.
HORRIBLE COMPANY TO WORK WITH. I don’t even know why they exist. Jeff was great at communication prior to my wedding up until I complained about all the issues we had during our wedding. After reading all these reviews, doesn’t seem like it’s surprise that he will no longer back to you.
I am now on a mission to ruin their reputation and get my money back for service that was paid for during my wedding that was not delivered.
The violist arrived with her baby and her husband. The violist did not play for 2 hours we booked her for. She refused to play the music we requested and on top of that, her baby cried during our ceremony when there were no kids allowed? She played for probably an hour and at that, still asked for a break and refused to play when that was her job?
I will be disputing this payment through my CC company if I do not hear back from Jeff.
I also will be leaving reviews anywhere I can.
Serenade Events ruined our wedding. We hired them to provide a violinist for 2 hours – before, during and after our wedding ceremony. The violinist they sent was horrible – I think he was a violin student performing in his first event. He was screeching and missing notes all over. Also the equipment that he brought was awful. It created an awful buzzing sound when hooked up to the speakers. We had to have him unplug and play a capella. During our ceremony he did not follow our instructions and he just sat there during the recessional and didn’t play any music like we had instructed him to. It was so bad that after the ceremony we just sent him home early and had the DJ play music instead. Probably the worst part about the whole experience was that the company was completely unresponsive when I sent in this feedback after the event. I reached out to them 4 different times and they completely ignored every one of them. They were completely unprofessional and took no accountability. I can’t believe companies like this exist these days. Do not use Serenade Events. I wish I had read the reviews here before hiring them as it seems like many others have had similar experiences.
We booked with serenade events after we had our cellist ghost us one month before our wedding. Booking was an easy process but there was poor communication between the company and the cellist that showed up. Even though we communicated they would be playing outdoors, the cellist was not under this impression when she showed up so she did not have an amp and the music was very hard to hear. Overall, I was very disappointed in the overall quality of the performance (she kept taking breaks and ended early for our cocktail hour), although I put more blame on the company than the performer.
Beautiful! Easy!
SCAM ALERT - As the other reviews said do not book. We were going to book serenade events but after reading the reviews we decided to cancel. We have emailed Jeff four times since September 4th requesting our deposit back since our wedding isn’t until April 2025. In addition, the “contract” doesn’t state the deposit isn’t refundable. We also texted him, and left voicemails. The business is unprofessional in not responding to our requests. This vendor should be removed from the knot.
SCAM. DO NOT USE. We realized that we were unable to use this company for our ceremony. Jeff Strand stated that he would refund us. He ghosted me for 6 months and still no refund. I email once a week and text the number on the website. No response. Now I unfortunately have to write a review to get their attention.
WOW! What a scam! They ruined our wedding day please do not use these people. After not showing up they have not refunded me. Jeff you need to address this.
DO NOT BOOK! Serenade Events is a fraudulent company. I hired a violinist through them for the cocktail hour of my wedding, and the experience was beyond disappointing. Despite confirming multiple times that he would bring an amp and play the violin over background music, he failed to do so. Consequently, not a single person could hear him playing, even when standing just a few feet away. This was particularly disheartening as my husband and I had spent hours curating a playlist of our favorite songs for him. To make matters worse, he inexplicably started playing a ukulele at one point. This was extremely frustrating and embarrassing and a complete waste of money. We would have been better off playing the radio.
To make matters worse, he was extremely rude and just decided to leave 30 minutes early. My planner informed him that he was supposed to play for another 30 minutes, but he simply walked away without saying anything. The lack of professionalism was astounding.
The company itself is a complete fraud. They were very responsive up until I paid the deposit and signed the contract. After that, they went completely silent. I called, emailed, and texted multiple times in the weeks leading up to the wedding, frantically trying to confirm details, but I didn’t hear anything until the last minute when my planner finally reached out to them.
Overall, I am beyond disappointed with both the musician and the company. I strongly advise anyone considering their services to look elsewhere. This experience was a major letdown on what should have been a perfect day.
A SCAM! FRADULENT! DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM. My sister contacted Serenade Events for her small wedding ceremony in Austin, TX June 2024. Initially, Jeff communicated well and was attentive. He sent a full list of the repertoire songs along with videos of the violinists. One of the videos was of a phenomenal female violinist. My sister requested this particular violinist be sent to her event and paid them. She tried to get in touch with him before her event but he did not respond. She was so busy with wedding planning and was hoping he was just busy hence the lack of response. The day of the event a TERRIBLE violinist showed up who was not the violinist on the video. This girl was disheveled, I'm talking about her completely unprofessional appearance, dirty oily hair and no makeup, zero friendliness. She did not play throughout the ceremony as my sister had requested and she was a terrible violinist. She was a novice and missed notes, did not play loud enough, and was offbeat. We could not tell what songs she was playing. It was a horrible experience. Please DO NOT BOOK THEM! FRADULENT!
The music for our wedding went off without a hitch! The musicians and Jeff Strand were absolutely amazing with communication, the music selection, and the ease of payment. They made our wedding day so much more special and the guests loved the music. We would definitely hire them again for an event. Note (for those who said communication was lacking): after you have hired Serenade Events, make sure to communicate with Serenade Events via email instead of through the Knot. If you do, you will get quick responses.
I made a reservation with Serenade Events and paid in advance. However, when I tried to contact Jeff through text/email, I noticed he was not responsive, which was quite frustrating. After coming across negative reviews on various platforms mentioning Jeff's lack of responsiveness and the subpar quality of the musicians, with one even arriving with a broken music stand, I became very concerned. It also came to my attention that Jeff outsources his musicians and recruits them through Facebook, resulting in a lack of regular collaboration and familiarity with each other's musical styles. As a result of these issues, I decided to cancel my reservation two and a half weeks before the event and opted for a different, more reputable service. Despite reaching out to Jeff for a refund, I received no response to my messages, leading us to dispute the charge with our credit card company. Jeff did not provide an invoice and simply took my payment upfront, exemplifying unprofessional conduct. I strongly advise against booking with this service.
We had high hopes for the violinist we hired from Serenade events for a small intimate wedding ceremony but we were gravely disappointed. At first, everything seemed great when we started talking to them and they were very responsive. But after we paid the deposit, things started to go very badly. Serenade events became unresponsive for 2 weeks as we desperately tried to contact them to organize logistics for the wedding. Only after threatening to dispute with the credit card companies did they finally respond. When we asked about what the violinist would need for the wedding, they said only a chair (which turned out be a lie). They also would not tell us the full name of the violinist either.
When the day of the event came, things didn’t go well. First, as it turns out the violinist had an electric violin which required a power source. We were not notified of this before. We had to scramble to find long extension cords to power the violin. When he started playing, it was clear that the violinist was not experienced at all. He kept looking up the notes for the song he was playing and the quality of his playing was very poor. There were a lot of gaps in between the songs and when we moved inside for dinner, the music was incredibly loud and we could barely hear the violin. Then after he was done playing and we were at dinner, the violinist was supposed to leave but he was waiting by the exit for almost an hour. Turns out he didn’t even have a car! He literally Ubered 100 miles from LA to Palm Springs and was struggling to find an Uber back to the city. We felt so bad for him my father gave him $100 and drove him somewhere more convenient to get picked up. This put a sour end to an otherwise beautiful wedding.
We were all buzzing from the beautiful ceremony Also, the violinist indicated that he had no point of contact upon arrival and he had difficulty finding the venue, this is after we provided the main coordinator to Serenade Events. We do not blame the violinist but Serenade Events, the company that hired him. PS I had a terrible feeling bout them from the beginning but gave them a chance because they seemed so responsive in the beginning.
We hired Serenade Events to play for our guest arrival, ceremony, and for the social hour. Their string quartet was beautiful, they made a request for me they didn't have in their music, and they played a bunch of our favorite songs during the social hour. We absolutely would recommend them, the whole thing was very easy and beautiful.
Really fun to have a live violin at our wedding. They played so beautifully and Jeff and Jessica made everything easy for us. Thank you!
I booked Serenade events back in September for my March wedding. We hired one violinist for our small wedding. Communication was great in the beginning but there was absolutely no communication aside from payments unless I initiated it. At the beginning of February I reached out for a list of music they claim to provide so we could finalize our music. I received a response in the middle of February with the list and a form to fill out regarding our event info and song selection. Once this was submitted, I never received further communication. As a bride, I would highly recommend skipping this vendor. The violinist was the only thing I was worried about not showing up the day of my wedding just because there was no communication. We requested a couple songs that weren't on their provided list and were never told if they would be possible. The violinist showed up with a broken music stand and asked if we had another one or something else she could use - totally not prepared. As I walked down the aisle, I heard multiple squawks and missed notes - these were songs that were on their provided list. We are able to laugh about it now, but honestly it was so disappointing for the price and the stress it caused.
Serenade Events was so easy and the strings were amazing! They definitely had the easiest vendor process we had, we got to fill out a form for all our songs and music and their music list had SO many songs.
really easy to work with and played so beautifully. we just had to fill out one form and give them our music, probably our easiest vendor!
Awesome! One of our favorite vendors for sure
Really beautiful. They were so professional and easy to work with, the music is BEAUTIFUL
Serenade Events was a beautiful part of my daughters wedding. They played all her requests and kept playing during the reception and before the ceremony too. They were probably the easiest vendor to work with and just did everything we asked. Loved it!
Amazing! We had a piano and violin come out and play for our wedding and as guests entered, it was so beautiful! We made a list for them to play from, I was amazed at how many songs they had, and they even played a requests for us. Really awesome addition!
We had such a wonderful experience with Serenade Events! Their musicians played beautifully and they took all our requests, they played early for us when our guests were coming in and the ceremony.
Jeff at Serenade Events is professional and easy to communicate with. We were looking for a string quartet for our destination wedding in Las Vegas (We're a couple from CA). They had a large repertoire of songs to choose from and we knew that we had to book them! They showed up on time, played our requested songs, and really set the vibe for our guests during our ceremony and cocktail hour. We really enjoyed having them there at our wedding. I highly recommend Serenade Events to anyone who is looking for live musicians for their event!
What a beautiful addition to our special day! The string trio from Serenade Events played so beautiful and played all my requests for no extra ❤️. They were one of our easiest vendors throughout the lead up and were so helpful. Can't recommend them enough!
Working with Serenade Events was so seamless. Our violinist was professional, so talented, and made our wedding so special. The team had no problem playing the songs we requested and adjusted on short notice to a time change. The performance added so much to the ambience. Highly recommend!
I hired a string trio for the hour of guest arrival and ceremony. I was tucked away in the bridal suite for most of that time, so I didn't get to enjoy the music, but I heard from guests that they were lovely. On my walk down the aisle, I was much too distracted to even notice the music, but I was very pleased to hear them playing the requested "Simply the Best" on our recessional.
Communication with Jeff was always prompt and simple. This was the most low-maintenance vendor that I hired for my wedding. Something that you'll really appreciate during the last two weeks leading up to the wedding. ;-)
Amazing!!! The best musicians ever!
We hired Serenade Events for our Wedding in Santa Monica and we can't say enough about how much we loved them! They made the day by far, their String Quartet was amazing and so professional. Their music book is HUGE, they played every song we wanted, even a request for my entrance. Jeff was super helpful and always got back to us right away. Definitely hire Serenade Events for your special day
We loved having Serenade Events at our wedding!! Their string players were so amazing. They got back to us so quick for everything and they played all our requests. I'd recommend them to everyone I know.
Serenade Events provided our ceremony music for our wedding in Fallbrook, CA on May 30th, 2022. The musicians were outstanding and provided the perfect accompaniment to our elegant outdoor wedding. They were very easy to work with and we loved them so much. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for music for their event.
We had a great experience with Serenade Events! The violin player was amazing and so beautiful in our ceremony. Jeff was a big help getting everything organized and they added such a beautiful background to our wedding. Thank you again!!
Thank you for helping make our wedding day so special!! The string quartet played for our ceremony and cocktail hour. Everyone was so professional and easy to work with, and they sounded amazing! Definitely recommend them.
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no, AZ
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