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Twin Cities wedding and event pianist, Sharon Planer, loves the adventure of bringing events to life with her live piano music!

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Parties,Technology
Minneapolis Central Library to the Rescue
October 18, 2016

The Birthday Lady's favorite music was from the Threepenny Opera. 

The family member that hired me to play piano music for this special 90th Birthday Party asked me to be sure and include the music from the Threepenny Opera as well as more opera music and also songs of George Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael.

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Well, the Gershwin and Carmichael music was easy enough to put together and I was able to add some other opera music into the mix, but I needed help finding piano music from the Threepenny Opera. "Mack the Knife' was the only song I had in my piano repertoire.

So I headed to my favorite resource, the Minneapolis Central Library-3rd floor Music Department!

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When I visit the library looking for something in particular, I often come away with a lot more than I anticipated! I found a lovely publication of the music of Kurt Weill which included a number of his songs from the Threepenny Opera. I knew the Birthday Lady was going to love this! Then I found a fantastic book with songs of Hoagy Carmichael including quite a few new songs that I could add to my repertoire. I went home that afternoon very happy with my 'finds'!

The Birthday Lady loved my music and so did the guests! I went home from the party happy knowing that I had helped make the party special with my piano music.

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Parties, Musicians, Piano Music
birthday party, celebrations, event music, live music
Technology Tools to keep Planning a Wedding organized
April 13, 2015

When meeting with couples to plan their wedding music I also enjoy hearing how their wedding planning experience is going.  

Often one of the couples will come with their notebook organizer or phone organizer with access to details of their wedding at their fingertips.  This makes the planning go much easier for them.  

There are times when couples seem to be overwhelmed and not well organized. I am able to walk them through the music planning and break it down into an easy process.  If I sense they could benefit from outside help with organizing the rest of their wedding, I happily direct them to the event professionals that I know and trust. But now I can also direct them to some technology tools.

I found the article posted in Mpls. St. Paul Weddings by Emily Howald Sefton to be an excellent overview. There are many technology options available, but Emily highlights the 5 best tools out there...and they are easy and fun!

Read Emily's 'Helpful Tech Tools to Stay Sane'.

Emily Howald Sefton is the Deputy Features Editor and Weddings Editor at the Mpls. St. Paul Magazine.

So if you are recently engaged to be married, don't panic over the many tasks before you. Follow Emily's tech tool tips and the road map to your wedding will go a lot smoother!

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Weddings, Wedding Planning, Technology
Event planning
How to get the most of out Wedding and Event Fairs
January 03, 2015

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Are you planning a Wedding? Are you planning a special event such as a birthday party or anniversary?

Chances are you will want to attend a Wedding or Event Fair to get ideas for your event. 

Here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your Wedding and Event Fair experience.

Before you attend the event, think about your top priorities for your event. Ask yourself, 'What are the two or three most important aspects of my wedding day or special occasion?'

Floral arrangements / your wedding dress / live music / price / writing the perfect wedding vows / having someone else be responsible for the pressure of your planning and day-of festivities / photography / videography / venue location / decor / food .. . . the list goes on.  

I have worked with hundreds of couples planning their weddings and people planning parties.  Their priorities vary immensely. When planning your event, it is helpful to determine what items you think are most important.  From there you can direct your focus. Use a mobile device or notebook to draft some questions surrounding your priorities. List the categories where you need help planning. Educate yourself in those areas that are most important to you. By doing this, you will develop more questions.

On the day of the Event Fair here are some items to bring.

  • Your list of questions.
  • Your list of categories where you need help planning.
  • Camera or mobile device to take photos.
  • Your appointment calendar.

On the day of the Wedding or Event Fair approach the event professionals that are top on your list. Be direct and tell them that their area of expertise is especially important to you.

  • Take photos of items of interest. After you have photographed the items you like, snap a photo of their poster or business card to remember their name.
  • Ask your questions. Don't shy away from asking hard questions. 
  • If you feel good rapport with the professional, set up a private meeting to further discuss your questions in detail.
  • For the remaining Categories where you need event planning help, gather what information you can from those event professionals and record which companies you might like to do business with.
  • For the professionals that you are interested in, find your Categories list and record their business name. Take notes that will help you remember what made them stand apart from the others. This will be very helpful when you return home with a pile of brochures because you will be able to identify the companies that you want to follow up with.
  • Sign up for the giveaways and prizes.

After the Wedding or Event Fair is over. Contact the professionals that you liked and go from there!

There are many great Wedding and Event Fairs in the Twin Cities as well as greater Minnesota. I personally think the smaller shows give you have a better opportunity of connecting on a personal level with the event professionals. But the larger shows are great for gathering a lot of information from many different sources.

For a list of shows where I will be performing, check out my web site at http://pianistforparties.com/events

I would love to meet and play samples of music just for you!

Perfect Wedding Show
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Music Planning, Corporate Events, Parties
Wedding Fair, Event Fair, Bridal Show, Event planning