Category Archives: Weddings

Weddings

A few frequently asked questions

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I was browsing online today, looking for more sheet music to add to my collection.  I’m always on the lookout for free sheet music, and that was the subject of today’s searches.  I ran across a website devoted to music for weddings, and I was reading the frequently asked questions to see what was said about hiring musicians for your ceremony.

One of the questions had to do with whether or not musicians came to the rehearsal.  As a rule, we do not attend rehearsals.   Why?  We don’t need to (and rarely do we have the time.)  All the musicians need to know is how many people are walking down the aisle to each song, and what words are being said right before we start a song.   If we have any questions regarding when to play, we will have a two to three minute discussion with the person in charge upon our arrival.  The only people at the wedding who might have seen more ceremonies than the musicians are the minister or officiant, and perhaps the wedding planner–meaning, don’t worry, no matter what happens, we’ve got it under control.  (And things do happen–rarely does a processional actually happen exactly the way we are told it will!)

Another frequently asked question is “Do you play the whole song or do you stop partway through?”  We rarely play the whole song (during a processional or the ceremony), unless specifically requested.  We are experts at coming to a stop in any song when the situation calls for it.  If we are playing three songs for the processional, chances are we will only play a tiny bit of each song.  We might not start at the beginning if we feel that there is a part later in the song that is more appropriate or beautiful.  If you ever have a specific part of the song that you love, do let us know so we can take that into account when deciding on cuts.

Another question on the website involved whether or not you should invite the wedding musicians to the reception or dinner.  If we are only playing at your ceremony, there is no reason to do so.  If we are playing for your dinner, we are always thrilled when we are offered food, as generally we don’t get to eat until after we leave, and sometimes the smell of the food is almost torturous!  However, we know that food can be expensive, so we do understand.  Water, however, is always welcome.

Those are just a few of my thoughts regarding a few frequently asked questions.  I’ll try to think of more questions to answer in the future!

Weddings

Beautiful outdoor wedding

I played at a wedding over the weekend, outdoor at a beautiful garden.  It was the perfect outdoor wedding!  I have to say, when the weather works out just right…it can be so beautiful!  It was about 75 degrees, partly cloudy–blue skies with big fluffy white clouds.  Such a welcome relief!  It was my third wedding this summer at this particular location–the first was ridiculously hot and humid (close to 100 degrees), the second was in the aftermath of a thunderstorm, not so much hot, but so humid and the rain was still dripping until about five minutes before the ceremony began.  So last Saturday was the first time I truly appreciated the beauty of the location, versus cursing it.

Let’s hope the luck holds through the next few weekends–we have been having unseasonably cool weather here in St. Louis, not cold, just lovely and in the 70’s and 80’s…

Teaching, Weddings

Hiring a professional

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Sometimes people tell me they can hire students for a cheaper price.  They say, oh this high school student can teach my child violin lessons for ten dollars a lesson, or, this group of college students can play my wedding for half that price.  I’m sure this is true, but I’m also sure you do lose a great deal of quality when you hire an amateur.

Granted, playing or teaching music isn’t quite like practicing medicine–no one is going to die from bad music or bad teaching!  However, if you hire an experienced teacher to teach yourself or your child, you will get someone who has taught many other students, has a degree in music, and  is able to play their instrument at a very high level. What does this mean for a beginning student?  It means that from the start we will be able to help you (or your child) get a proper foundation on the instrument.  It means we will know exactly what is important to learn at the beginning so that along the line (perhaps even ten or twenty years later) you won’t have to change things that are wrong.  I get many students who come to me after either learning on their own or learning from a less qualified teacher.  Sometimes I have to spend a couple of YEARS fixing the bad habits they have.  Imagine if those students had received the proper set up to begin with!

As for playing for your wedding or another event, what do you gain by hiring professionals?  Firstly, you gain a sense of professionalism in regards to contracting, timeliness, payment processing, and attire.  You also get a group who has played perhaps hundreds of weddings already, and knows how to react to things when they don’t go quite as expected (as happens in weddings!).  You get a group of people who are very adept at playing their instruments and have wonderful tone, musicality, rhythm, intonation, etc.   You will get a group of people that your guests will rave about! These are things that you may not get with a college or high school group.  Many times I have received a call from someone who booked a less professional group that backed out at the last minute!  It turns out that the savings they thought they were getting might have ended up getting them no live music at all.

Most importantly though, by hiring a professional musician, you will get someone who is dedicating their life to making music and as a result, will be very dedicated to making you enjoy your music as well!

Weddings

Thoughts about outdoor weddings

Hi!  Welcome to my blog about weddings and teaching.  If you are reading this, you are probably thinking about taking violin lessons, or you are considering hiring the Frantillo Strings for your wedding or other event.  How will this blog help?  Well, I’m hoping to let you in on a bit more of the day-to-day life of a musician so that you will be able to feel just a bit more connected to me, and know more what you are getting into.

As a musician, there are generally two phases to life:  wedding season, and non-wedding season.  Here in St. Louis, and in Cleveland (where I lived before), wedding season generally runs from May to October or so.  Non-wedding season is obviously the rest of the year, though generally it feels like wedding season all year round, as when you aren’t playing as many weddings, you are generally booking bunches of them to play.  Interestingly, I have a violinist friend in Phoenix, and their prime wedding season is when our non-wedding season is.  Just a bit of trivia for you!

Currently, I’m deep into wedding season–after all, it’s June.  I imagine many little girls dreaming of getting married barefoot in the grass, wearing a beautiful long white dress, and kissing an as-yet-unimagined Prince Charming.  And now those girls have grown into beautiful women…about to get married in a beautiful garden on a lovely summer day in June.  Now, honestly, who are they kidding?  Where are those lovely summer days?  I can count about two days that have happened so far that I would consider a beautiful day.   The rest are too hot, too cold, too rainy, or too windy.  Plus, don’t forget about the bugs…YUCK!

What am I saying to you, if you are considering an outdoor wedding?  Just keep in mind that the string quartet (or whatever size group you have) will need to be out of direct sunlight and cannot play if there is rain (even one drop…even one HINT of a drop).  Generally a tent cover is good, sometimes tree cover works for sun.  Why does this matter?  Stringed instruments are made of wood, glue and varnish.  Too much sun or any water will ruin them!  Plus, the kind of instruments professionals play tend to be very expensive–usually ranging from the cost of  a car to the cost of a house!  We just can’t risk it.  Another issue is if it is too cold (think 60 degrees or less).  From what you’ve already learned about instruments, they wouldn’t do well in the cold.  In addition to that, when we play our instruments, we use many muscles.  If we are too cold (particularly our fingers), we are unable to play very well, in fact, sometimes we can only play very badly.  So if you have an outdoor wedding and it ends up being unseasonably cold, you will need to get a heater for the musicians.