The Club at Grandezza

It’s hard to believe April is almost over. We are still in the busy wedding season here in Naples FL and on this Saturday in late April, we traveled to The Club at Grandezza for the Wedding of Courtney and Kurtis. The Seaside String Trio provided the wedding ceremony music for this local couple. They chose to have the wedding under the porte-cochere.  It was a lovely day with a nice breeze, we were in the shade and the acoustics were terrific in this spot. It was great to work with Amanda again, the coordinator at Grandezza.

The couple chose all popular music for us to play. Courtney asked for Frank Sinatra and Andrea Bocelli songs as people were arriving so I put together this list for her: The Way You Look Tonight; Con te Partiro; Come Fly With Me; Fly Me to the Moon; The Prayer; Besame Mucho; It Had to Be You; Sway; That’s Amore. We also added Somewhere in Time to the prelude list when changes were made to the Processional songs.

The Forest Gump Feather Theme was the music for the Wedding Party. The Officiate Dave Ridge entered first. The Groom escorted his Mother down the aisle  followed by the Seating of the Mother of the Bride. The Groomsmen escorted the Bridesmaids and the Flower Girl entered next. Courtney chose A Thousand Years for her Entrance music. It was a beautiful ceremony with lots of laughter and we played Just the Way You Are Amazing as the Recessional. While the guests moved inside for the reception, we played I’m Yours.

 

It was an honor to be a part of this special day! Best wishes to the newlyweds!

The Club at Grandezza

March is the start of our busy wedding season and the weather could not have been more perfect on this second Saturday of March in Southwest Florida. The Seaside String Quartet was chosen to provide the wedding ceremony music for Amanda and Brian at the Club at Grandezza. I am joined by colleagues Joan Stewart, Susan Sikuta and Diane Coffman to perform the live music.

When I arrived, I was greeted by wedding planner Courtney Gabelbauer of Fabulously Chic Weddings.  We had played for her wedding at this same venue in January. However, instead of being in the front garden the ceremony site was under the porte-cochere. Everything looked gorgeous!

Amanda and Brian chose to have a mix of music for their prelude and ceremony. They chose 5  popular songs and I chose lively classical pieces for the prelude. Their requests were Forest Gump Feather Theme, Marry Me, Phantom of the Opera, Marry You and Stand By Me.

When I got the signal they were ready, we began to play Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring for the Seating of the Grandparents and the Mothers. During this, the mothers also came to the front to light the unity candles. Pastor Doug Pratt led Brian and his Groomsmen down the aisle as we played the Pachelbel Canon in D. The 3 Bridesmaids followed. Once they were in place, we began to play A Thousand Years for the entrance of Amanda.

It was an emotional ceremony. Amanda and Brian wrote their own vows and spoke them to each other tearfully. When it came time to light the unity candle, we played The Prayer. As Pastor Pratt introduced the couple, big cheers came from the guests and the confetti filled the air as we played Viva la Vida for the Recessional. As the guests  moved inside for the reception and the wedding party gathered for the pictures, we played Just the Way You Are Amazing.

We hope Amanda and Brian have a wonderful life together!

Thank you so much to Tiffany and Cody of Hunter Ryan Photo for these pictures of us.

The Club at Grandezza

I can’t think of a bigger honor than to have been asked by a wedding planner to play for HER own wedding!! Courtney of  Fabulously Chic Weddings chose the Seaside String Trio to perform at her wedding ceremony at  The Club at Grandezza.  She and Jim chose such a beautiful setting and strings in the garden was the perfect combination!

It was simply a perfect day. We were happy to share in the event with the following vendors:  Tori Weatherford ( coordinator at Casa Ybel Resort) served as day-of-planner;  Trenholm Photo;  iheART Films;  Libby’s Flowers;  Niche Event Rentals;  Christina Phelps Bowman of Beautiful Florida Weddings, Officiant.

Courtney was so easy to work with, of course. She chose the music for the ceremony itself and left it up to me to choose the prelude music. I decided lively classical was best. She chose Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring for the Entrance of the Officiate and the Groom and Groomsmen and the Seating of the Grandparents and the Mothers; Trumpet Tune for the Entrance of the 4 Bridesmaids and Ring Bearer and Flower Girl and Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary for the Entrance of the Bride. For the Recessional, we played All You Need is Love. As the guests departed into the clubhouse for the cocktail hour, we played Just the Way You Are Amazing.  I have to say the timing worked perfectly for everything!

I had earlier checked out the reception area and it was breathtaking! The smell of the roses was awesome. Courtney planned every detail to perfection!

Best wishes to the newlyweds!