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!

Marco Beach Ocean Resort

New Year’s Eve 2013 brought the Seaside String Quartet to the Marco Beach Ocean Resort for the wedding of Kristen and Ryan.  It was a warm sunny day on Marco Island so a perfect day for this couple from Ohio. We were honored to provide the wedding ceremony and cocktail reception music. The ceremony was held in the garden pool area and the reception was on the terrace.

We met our fellow vendors when we arrived and knew it was going to be a very special evening with this great bunch of people: Steven and AnnMarie of iheART Films; Nanette and Karl from Luminaire Foto; Dr. Dan Lamey, Officiate and Courtney Shaw of Fabulously Chic Weddings and Dominick of Mobile Sound Entertainment. Corrin, coordinator at the resort was on hand also and  she and her staff made sure everything looked gorgeous.

Kristen was very organized and obviously took great care in choosing the music. She chose all popular music for us to perform. We began prelude at 4:00 with I’m Yours, Try a Little Tenderness,  It Had to Be You, One Fine Day, God Only Knows, All You Need is Love,  and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.

As Dr. Dan Lamey led Ryan and his Groomsmen out, we quickly switched to play  There is Love ( The Wedding Song), which we continued for the seating of the Grandparents and 2 Mothers. The music chosen for the Junior Bridesmaids, Maid of Honor and 7 Bridesmaids was Sweetest Thing. Kristen chose Just Like Heaven for her entrance. Once the ceremony concluded , we played Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours for the exit of the wedding party. As the guests exited the area onto the elevators to move to the reception, we played At Last and My Best Friend.

For the cocktail hour, the music chosen was Rhiannon, With a Little Help from My Friends, Young at Heart, Blackbird, When a Man Loves a Woman, Stand By Me, Don’t Stop Beleivin’, Lucky, Carolina in My Mind, Motown Medley, Love and Marriage and concluded with her special request, You Make it Real.

Kristen’s  mom was so gracious to come over and thank us for being there! She said she wished she could have been there as guest rather than Mother of the Bride so she could have enjoyed it even more. We were thrilled to hear she was so pleased!

For Kristen and Ryan, we would like to second the words of Dr. Dan Lamey. ” May you grow old together and have a blast doing it!”

What a wonderful way to finish the year 2013!