Some wedding venues seem tailor-made for live harp music, and the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake is certainly one of them! With its historic interiors, ornate details, and intimate wedding spaces, the hotel has a character that suits the harp beautifully.
Hampton Court, where I played for Namazzi and Tedi’s ceremony, is one of the hotel’s dedicated ceremony spaces, while the Victoria & Albert Ballroom and its foyer provide an elegant setting for the celebration to continue afterward.
For this Niagara-on-the-Lake wedding, I provided harp music for both the ceremony and cocktail hour, creating a continuous musical thread from the first notes of prelude through the beginning of the reception.
Harp Music for a Hampton Court Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony took place in the Hampton Court room at the Prince of Wales Hotel. Rather than choosing an entirely traditional wedding program, Namazzi and Tedi incorporated several songs that gave different moments of the ceremony their own personality.
For the flower girl and Tedi’s entrance with his mother, I played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. It was a lovely way to begin the processional, with a melody that is immediately familiar and translates especially beautifully to the harp.
Namazzi chose Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” for her grand entrance. I love when couples choose a song because of what it means to them rather than feeling that a wedding processional has to come from a particular style or era! On the harp, “Love Story” takes on a romantic, flowing quality while still being unmistakably the song everyone knows.
The Taylor Swift connection continued during the registry signing with “Today Was a Fairytale.” For the recessional, the couple chose the French classic “La Vie en Rose,” giving the end of the ceremony an entirely different musical character.
I continued playing postlude music as guests exited Hampton Court, so the music did not simply stop once the recessional was over.
From the Ceremony to Cocktail Hour
I kept the music going until every guest had exited Hampton Court, then relocated the harp to the lobby of the Victoria & Albert Ballroom for cocktail hour.
The change in setting also provided an opportunity to shift the repertoire. While the ceremony music had been selected specifically for Namazzi and Tedi’s key moments, cocktail hour featured a broader mix of classical repertoire and popular songs from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Playing for both parts of the wedding allowed the music to continue from the ceremony into the reception while giving each portion of the day its own character.
Choosing Music for a Niagara-on-the-Lake Wedding
Namazzi and Tedi’s wedding is a great example of how varied a harp program can be. Their ceremony moved from “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Taylor Swift to “La Vie en Rose,” followed by an entirely different selection of classical and popular music during cocktails.
That flexibility is particularly well suited to Niagara-on-the-Lake weddings, where celebrations range from historic hotels and elegant ballrooms to wineries, estates, gardens, and venues throughout Niagara wine country.
As a harpist in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, I provide live music for weddings and celebrations on both the Canadian and American sides of the border. Ceremony music, cocktail hour, dinner, and reception music can all be personalized around you, your setting, and the way you envision the day unfolding.
If you are looking for a musician for events at the Prince of Wales Hotel or another venue in Southern Ontario or Western New York, contact me to check availability and begin planning your music. I would love to help create a program that feels distinctly yours, from the first music your guests hear through the celebration that follows!
