Wedding Harpist in Chicago ~ Ceremony Music in Long Grove

The exclusive Royal Melbourne Country Club in Long Grove, Illinois, was the setting for Mary Grace & Steve's June 16th wedding.  It was a little warm (this is getting to be the theme of the summer!), but the ceremony was able to take place as scheduled outside the club overlooking the golf course.

With her florals, the bride opted to go for an elegant rustic look.  The harp she chose, the BlevinSong lever harp, was the perfect complement!  The music ran from rather traditional...to pieces you'd probably not expect to hear on a harp!  As the bridal party made their way down the aisle, I played "Sweet Child O' Mine."  This transitioned to Pachelbel's "Canon in D" for the bride's big entrance.  This is a great choice for a bride who wants something recognizable and classical for her processional, but not the traditional "Here Comes the Bride." 

During the unity sand ceremony, Mary Grace left the music choice up to me.  As this doesn't take very long, and no one wants to stand around waiting for a song to end, I played just a chorus of "Grow Old Along with Me" and was able to time it to match the ceremony exactly.  This was followed up by another Lennon & McCartney song for the recessional:  "Eight Days a Week."  I continued to play as guests exited the ceremony and made their way inside for the reception.

If you are planning a wedding in the Chicago area, and are looking for a harpist, please contact me!  You can also find more information on my website ~ Chicago Wedding Harpist.

Corporate Gigs

Although weddings are the "bread & butter" of my business, I occasionally make the foray into the corporate entertainment world. I have had two such gigs in the past couple of weeks, so I thought it was about time to cover them here!

On September 15th, I trekked to downtown Chicago to play for a party. Actually, I had no idea what kind of event it was, just knew that I was supposed to play all Celtic music. Turned out that it was an 80th birthday party for a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals! The Republican candidates for Governor and Attorney General were there, as well as justices from the Illinois Supreme Court. The gig was lots of fun, and held in a law firm's office overlooking the Chicago River - right on Wacker Drive. It's not often that I get to break out my Celtic music binder, but the planners wanted to honor the Irish heritage of the judge. He commented several times how much he enjoyed the music, and how he recognized most of the tunes I played. Of course moving all of the harp equipment up from an underground parking garage, through a lobby with tight security, and onto the 28th floor of a highrise wasn't the easiest set-up I've done. Fortunately, I got there early (as always...I read lots of books waiting for events to begin) and had everything set up and ready to go before guests started to arrive. Driving downtown with a harp in the back of the car is never exactly stress-free, but the harp, car & I arrived safely back in South Bend late that night.

Yesterday, I was back near Chicago in the northern suburb of Long Grove, IL. I was hired by a country club there to provide harp music for their ladies' fall tea. They modeled the event after the High Tea at the Drake Hotel - so I got to pretend be one of the fancy harpists they have on staff there! (If you are ever looking for a wonderful way to relax after shopping downtown, head to the Drake any afternoon for tea & harp music - it can't be beat!) I had been at the country club once before for their Mother's Day brunch last May, and this was a much smaller and intimate group. They had the fireplace going (not next to the harp of course!) and served finger sandwiches, salads, scones & pastries. Several of the ladies commented that a tea would make a lovely alternative to the traditional bridesmaids' luncheon or bridal shower.