Music Selections

Want a great tip on selecting music that will be great when played by a string quartet? Best tip is to listen to the piece you have in mind and ask yourself if it has a theme that you can hum or sing and is still recognizable. Many piano pieces, especially Chopin and Beethoven, are beautiful on piano, but will be disappointing by a string group. The piano style that makes it special will be lost. Instead, listen to recordings of string music. There are sooo many pieces for strings! If you are in love with a lot of solo piano pieces, find a great pianist. There are many out there. Our aim is to give you what you will be happy with, and that works best when we are playing music that was written for our intstruments.

Who will play for my wedding?

Ah! Smart question! So you choose a group from a website, and then the big day comes and the musicians that you "hired" are not the musicians that you saw or heard on the website. OUCH! Especially if the folks who showed up seem to be students, or not the same caliber as what you thought you were booking. Word to the wise.....ask specifically if you are getting the same people you saw on the website ad, or if there are subs. If there are subs, then ask if they are playing with the manager or owner of the group. In the case of Georgia String Ensemble, and with any other group, the owner/manager will not play with a student or amateur, as it will lower their standard as well as ruin the chance for a great rating and referral from a bride. Just make sure and ask. Better safe than sorry!

What size group do I need?

Time to plan the big day musically....have the budget all set...contact musicians and now the big question..."What size group do I NEED?" Forget the budget for a second, you just want to know that no matter what you spend, you get the music you really wanted. How disappointing to save $100 and have music that you can't hear, or that sounds "thin". How much better to have spent the extra dollars and had what you wanted. But how does one know just what size group they need? Hard to answer that question without knowing the exact venue, but here are some guidelines.
1 If you are not having many people, and the venue is small, a duo may be fine. Forget Pachelbel's Canon, though, because it won't be a canon (which means a "round" like Row, Row Your Boat) without a quartet.

2 If you are having lots of guests (150+) and the venue is outdoors and you are walking down a decently long path to the front, you need a quartet.

3 If you are somewhere in between these two sizes, a trio might work.

4 A soloist if fine if the wedding is a small outdoors one, or if the venue is a church (where the sound is easier to control due to lack of traffic noise and the fact that sound evaporates in unlimited air).

What is the real answer here? Simple. Ask your person that is booking your group. They want to do a good job, and know that budgets are an issue, so if you talk to them they can get the specifics and let you know exactly what you need. Listen to what they say, and remember that if they really feel that an extra musician is needed, you are better off listening and paying the small difference in fees rather than being disappointed in the sound. This is a one time event, and there are no "do overs."

Unexpected Musical Bliss

I just had the coolest experience at a wedding that me and a cellist did last weekend. We had done the ceremony and most of the reception and were taking a quick dinner break....as we sat outside eating we heard piano inside and assumed it was a recording. When we went back inside we found the bride's cousin seated at the piano playing his heart out. I took a chance and asked him if I could play violin with him. He said "yes" and the cellist sat out. Wow! I had the most fun you can imagine playing with this guy. It turned out to be so much fun that we had folks gathered around the piano clapping.

What is the moral of this story? Sometimes the best laid plans can be changed on a whim, and the changes might actually be more than you could have ever hoped or planned for. I learned that night to take chances and go with my gut instinct. We could not have planned a better way to end the reception if we had tried....and we included a member of the family to boot!

What surprises do you think could be waiting for you at your wedding?

Fall Weddings

Ahhhh...Fall is in the air! Now is the time for brides to be thinking of those beautiful fall colors and an enchanting evening wedding outdoors in the North Georgia Mountains. Just think of the hard cider you can serve at the reception, and the beautiful yellow mums you can carry down the aisle. Now think about your music...how about a string quartet playing music from the Firework Music written by Handel for the King's cruice down the Thames River in London. How about Trumpet Voluntary to herald in the bride in the crisp autumn air? Inspired yet? I hope so. Weddings in autumn can be beautiful, and September and October now eclipse June in popularity. Popularity also means you have to think ahead and go ahead and book your musicians now; don't wait until the last minute.

Got any great tunes you have used and would like to share with the other readers? Please do!!

Smooth Transitions from the Ceremony to the Reception

The ceremony was beautiful! You floated down the aisle to the strains of Pachelbel's Canon, and said "I Do" to your gorgeous groom. Now you need to take photos, the guests are ready to party, but you would like to transition them smoothly from the elegant ceremony to the "rock the house" reception you have planned. But you would rather them wait on the house rocking until you and the groom can arrive and start the party with the first dance. Come to think of it, the guests would really like to talk and mingle and make comments to one another about how lovely everything was and how long it has been since they have seen one another. This may be a little hard to do once the DJ has the sound system at full volume. So now what?

This is where the "cocktail hour" comes into play. While the bride and groom and family are taking photos, they can entertain the guests by having upscale, elegant, easy-listening type music played by a string quartet or small ensemble. A little Sinatra style, a few Italian love-songs, a few Broadway classics from Cats or Phantom of the Opera will fit the bill nicely here. The guests can easily talk over the music of a string quartet, yet the mood will be transitioning from traditional classical to more contemporary, and the stage will be set fot the DJ or band to take over when you are done with photos and ready to be introduced for the first dance.

Talk about romantic!!

Fall Weddings

Summer is wrapping up now, and Fall is right around the corner. Time to think about heading to the mountains to say "I Do." How beautiful! Fall leaves in full color, crisp mountain air, the smell of apple cider, gorgeous bridesmaids in full Fall colors.....wow! Now is the best time to secure those venues in North Georgia if you haven't already. Try Brasstown Valley Resort. Last time I played there it was beautiful, and they can accomodate more that one wedding at a time! Check out Glen Ella in Clarkesville also. I am personally in love with the covered balcony at Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega. The view from the balcony while you say your vows was outstanding.

Take a drive to the mountains this weekend and take a peek at these venues. You can find them all listed on www.atlantabridal.com. Just pack a cooler of wine and take your fiancee and have a weekend get-away to find the perfect place to make those vows. You won't be sorry!!!