Wedding Ceremony & Reception Music Discussions

DJ or Strings for the Ceremony and Cocktail hour?

Hi All!
I'm having a dilemma about our ceremony and cocktail hour music. I really like the idea of a string duo (violin and cello) for the ceremony. The company I like is willing to include the cocktail hour in the fee they quoted. Yesterday my fiance seemed to have a change of heart, and is worried that having strings for the cocktail hour will be too mello. Can strings be more upbeat? Any ideas on which way to go, DJ or strings?

Re: DJ or Strings for the Ceremony and Cocktail hour?

  • edited December 2011
    i vote DJ for cocktail hour. i agree with your FI. but it really depends on the vibe you are going for.... do you guys like a lot of music? my FI and i are really into music....so we're using the cocktail hour and dinner to play songs we love...but arent really dance-able, you know?
  • sgeorge90sgeorge90 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I vote DJ also! Songs that you like but aren't necessarily a good 'dance song'
  • ceyringceyring member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I'm a cellist and I've played cocktail hours - it kind of depends on what kind of tone you want to set.  I've always done them with a string quartet.  If you're talking about maybe 50 or under guests in a small room, then a duo would be enough volume-wise. Otherwise, they may need amplification, especially if the room has a high ceiling.  I like to choose a variety of music for cocktail hours.  Beetles standards sound really good on string quartet.  I have also done show tunes and Disney favorites (at a couple's request).  You can talk to the musicians about repertoire.  Just realize that if you're going to ask them to make an arrangement of a song (in other words, they can't run out and buy an existing arrangement) it takes a very long time to do that.  The stuff I mentioned above all exists, at least for string quartet.  String quartet arrangements often work as duos, although the harmony might be sparse in places.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards