Picture a wedding ceremony. What do you see? Most people would say a Church, a priest, the bride in white and the groom in black, live music from a string quartet or other classical music, beautiful flowers… This wedding had many of those elements but it was truly something special, as it included mead swords, and oathing stones! It was like an ancient Celtic ceremony, which was very exciting for us, as this was truly a ceremony designed by the bride and groom to reflect their own tastes and preferences. Musicially, we performed the following repertoire:

Bridesmaids Processional: Bach Air
Bridal Processional: Charpentier: Prelude from Te Deum
Signing: Time to Say Goodbye (Por Ti Volare)
Recessional: Handel: Hornpipe I from the Watermusik

Wedding Vendors:
Ensemble: Duo d’Amore-Violin and Cello duo

Like many clients, I first spoke with Kathryn and Anthony 8 months ago, in chilly October, which seems so far away from the warn sunny weather on their wedding day. During our conversations, we spoke about our different ensembles (they chose the violin and cello duo), options regarding the ceremony music, and also confirmed many details throughout the booking process all to make sure their day was spectacular, which it was. As they were getting married in a Catholic Church, they chose a typically Catholic grouping of songs that is traditional, and timeless:

Music selections:
Bridesmaids Processional: Bach Air
Bridal Processional: Pachelbel Canon
Signing: Bach-Gounod Ave Maria
Communion: Bach: Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
Recessional: Handel: La Rejouissance from he Royal Fireworks

In other blog posts I have written about certain music selections and why they work well in the context of a ceremony, or in this case a Catholic Mass, Bach Air is a particularly good example and fits a variety of situations. This is the reason we have suggested it for the Bridesmaids processional on our Guide to Wedding Ceremony Music Selections and Sample Programs. For Anthony and Kathryn’s wedding, Bach Air makes perfect sense as it is warm and welcoming; it is also very interesting music, and it is one of the longer selections, which is a very smart choice when you have a large bridal party, which this couple did (they had 5 bridesmaids). Conversely Bach Air also works well for smaller bridal parties, as it can be shortened without losing any of its character.

Wedding Vendors:
Ensemble: Duo d’Amore-Violin and Cello duo

We often perform in the Distillery district for wedding and private events, and the Thompson Landry Gallery is a popular venue for both.

During the planning process I had the pleasure of speaking with Melanie, and she was so pleasant and nice to work with. In one of our first emails she commented that Our “website and samples are great!!!, which is always nice to hear.

There ceremony was beautiful, and the music selections reflected classical aesthetic: Very well chosen!

Processional: Bach Air on the G string
Signing: Bach Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
Cord and Veil: Bach-Gounod Ave Maria
Recessional: Mendelsohn: Wedding March

Wedding Vendors:
Ensemble: Duo d’Amore-Violin and Cello duo

June 8th was the day for string trios—our musicians performed as a trio for a number of events, and we enjoy performing in this format. The client actually hired us as a duo but decided that they would like to have a trio perform instead, and as always we were happy to add another player and made the change effortless for the client as we took care of all the details.

As this Church is Catholic, the clients chose a wonderful selection of songs during the wedding ceremony:

Bridesmaids Processional: Canon in D
Bride Processional: Wagner Bridal Chorus
Signing: Schubert: Ave Maria
Communion: Bach Air on the G-string
Recessional: Mouret: Rondeau

Ensemble: Duo d’Amore-string trio

As a string ensemble we perform at many Catholic Churches, either for a full mass or partial mass, depending on what the clients and Church are interested in. This wedding, was a very traditional full Catholic mass, and our string trio were honored to be a part of the big day my provided wonderful music.

One of our favorite songs in the program was music that we performed during the signing, the Schubert Ave Maria. Quite often clients request the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria, so it was a nice change for us to perform the other (and just as beautiful) version.

Bridesmaids Processional: Canon in D
Bride Processional: Wagner Bridal Chorus
Signing: Schubert: Ave Maria
Communion: Bach Air on the G-string
Recessional: Mouret: Rondeau

Videographer: MPSG INC

Wedding ceremony and cocktail reception music: Duo d’Amore-string duos, trios and quartets