Community› Wedding Discussion Boards› Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions
Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions
New Discussion
Options

Ceremony music for hotel wedding

futuremrshpfuturemrshp member
First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
in Wedding Vows & Ceremony Discussions

Good morning ladies!

My FI and I are planning to have our wedding, both ceremony and reception, at the same hotel venue (we wanted to cut down on costs for driving throughout the DC area!).  I just came to the realization that the music portion of the ceremony probably isn't as simple as rolling in a piano or an organ (but I have to check... it just may be).  I really did want a 'live' version of music (piano, cello, etc) but not sure how that'd work out.  I was thinking of maybe hiring a kid in school who's majoring in music, but not sure about using the DJ for that.  Did any of you have this same experience?  How'd you plan for that for a non-church ceremony?

Report Reply to Post

Re: Ceremony music for hotel wedding

  • Options
    artbyallieartbyallie mod
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    The quickest way to answer this will be to call whoever your contact is at the hotel and ask about your options. They may even have a list of people to recommend. But a college student would also be a good choice. Call or visit local music departments. I know when I was in college the music department had a board where students and faculty could advertise their services for lessons and performing. A more portable instrument may be a better choice than piano/organ as well, such as a cello or string quartet or something else along those lines.
    image
    Report Reply
  • Options
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment

    Do google search of "music entertainment" for your area. Where I live there is a company that books, DJ's, musicians & ensembles of all types. Basically they help act as a booking agency. They provide a list of who they have available & the reviews for that person/group.

     

    Report Reply
  • Options
    amelishaamelisha member
    First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    The hotel may have a piano available, but if not, whatever you do, do not have a keyboard or digital piano no matter what they tell you about how it sounds. They sound terrible. Always. 

    If a real piano is not available at the hotel, a cello, violin, or guitar  (or combination of these) might be a better option as already mentioned. The music faculties in my area also have "job board" type places where students advertise services and the public can post for musicians wanted. A student is going to be considerably less expensive than a professional and will sound beautiful as long as you work with them appropriately. That means that if you have a specific song in mind, you must make certain that the student/s are comfortable with it and can find appropriate sheet music...alternately, you can ask them for suggestions as they are likely to have a lot of music already prepared. It is always preferable, no matter what, to choose something the musicians can play easily and confidently, so you need to be certain that they can locate the sheet music and that they have enough time to practice it if you have something specific in mind.

    Unless your venue is very large or the acoustics are terrible, you probably won't need any amplification. A single classical guitar or any violin/viola/cello or combination thereof is usually plenty loud to be comfortably heard by your guests during a processional and recessional. If the room IS very large or dead, though, you can always ask your DJ if he's got the equipment to mic the players appropriately. Many do, and if he doesn't the students themselves may have access to the right stuff, so it's worth asking.

    I've sung at a lot of weddings when I was still studying the classical thing, so this is all coming from the place of the musician, not the bride. Hopefully it's of some use though.


    Wedding Countdown Ticker
    image
    Report Reply
  • Options
    dcbride86dcbride86 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer

    I'm having a hotel wedding (in DC, actually!), and my hotel actually has pianos both upstairs where the ceremony is taking place, and downstairs where the cocktail hour will be held.  You should contact your venue and ask - they likely have a piano. 

    Also, my venue mentioned that if we wanted just a pianist during cocktails, they could provide me with the pianist who plays during some lunches at the venue, and they would just charge us what they usually pay him to play.

    <a href="Wedding Countdown Ticker'>http://www.theknot.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Free Wedding Vows">

    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards