A wedding on New Year’s Eve calls for doing things big! Mikaela and Caleb brought together their friends and family for an epic celebration at Hamilton’s 110 Northeast in Jacksonville. Their ceremony took place in the Fireside Room, with the reception following in the South Ballroom.
For the ceremony music, they opted to have a large ensemble – a quintet with harp, two violins, viola, and a cello. I have played for many weddings with harp and violin duets or harp, violin, and cello trios, but harp plus a full string quartet really makes an impact, both acoustically and visually!
There aren’t very many published arrangements for this ensemble, so some were newly created just for this wedding, or adapted from piano quintet versions. The prelude music included “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni, “Carol of the Bells,” “Carrickfergus,” and “You are the Reason” by Calum Scott. We included songs that ranged from classical to contemporary, all put together to feature this unique ensemble.
They chose “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen for the seating of parents, followed by “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach for the wedding party processional. The bride’s entrance music was Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.”
The ceremony concluded, the newly-married couple exited to the traditional Mendelssohn “Wedding March.” We followed this with “Trumpet Voluntary,” a song the bride’s parents had played at their wedding.
For the cocktail hour, harp solo music entertained the crowd. I played popular love songs, light classics, and jazz standards. Some of the selections included “You are So Beautiful,” “As Time Goes By,” “You Raise Me Up,” and “Say You Won’t Let Go.”
I offer harp solo performances, as well as any ensemble you may choose for your wedding! Some options are harp/flute duets, two-harp duets, harp & steel pan duets, harp/violin/cello trios, harp & brass quintet, and more!
If you have a theme or type of music you would like featured at your wedding, I can help you put together the perfect ensemble. Visit my website ~ Wedding Music Ensembles ~ to contact me and start planning!
