by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

The musical performance of a talented family member or friend can make your wedding music extra special.  

If you are asking a family member or friend to perform for your wedding, here are some questions to ask yourself to assure your music will have the quality you are looking for.

Do they want to perform for your wedding?

If they are a gifted musician and eager to make your wedding special with their music, you are on the right track to follow up with them. Ask if they are comfortable performing in front of guests. I was present at a wedding where the bride's aunt insisted on having her two adult daughters sing a duet. The daughters made is very clear that they did not want to perform, but their mother insisted. The day of the wedding the daughters refused to use a microphone and they barely whispered their music. Only the guests in the first row could hear them. If you invite someone to sing or provide music, you want them to be comfortable doing so. Do not push someone into performing if they don't want to.

Make sure to hear them perform.

If your only experience hearing a singer is a karaoke performance, ask to hear them perform outside of that setting...unless, of course, you want them to perform karaoke at your wedding.

Can they perform the style of music you want?

Can they perform the songs that you want? If they do not know your songs, do they have the talent to learn the music up to performance level? If they need accompaniment, can the accompanist and performer work together to provide a professional performance? A bride that hired me asked me to accompany her singer who happened to be a co-worker of hers. When we met to practice, the singer was very fine on two of the songs, but the third song completely threw her. It was a country song and she didn't sing country. After trying and trying, she refused to perform that song. I recommended to the bride a talented vocalist that I knew would be able to perform the song beautifully. Luckily, the bride allowed my vocalist to perform the country song. The day of the wedding, the co-worker performed her two songs beautifully and my vocalist aced the country song, twang and all! Everyone was happy!

Just last week I met to practice with a vocalist who is sister of the bride.  I can see why the bride asked her to sing.  She has beautiful voice and has performed for other weddings. Since the accompaniment she was used to hearing were band versions, I offered to record my piano accompaniment part for her to practice with on her own so she can feel comfortable with the piano part.

Hiring professional musicians will assure that your wedding music will performed by talented experienced musicians.

Hiring professional musicians that work together and have a repertoire together, will provide even greater assurance that your music will be as wonderful as it can be. Throughout my experience as pianist for hundreds of weddings, I have developed relationships and repertoires with other musicians. When I am asked to find a singer, harpist, violinist, etc. I have a 'go to' list of professionals that I love to perform with.

If you decide to have your friend or family member perform for your wedding, ask them to provide you with their backup plan if they are not able to perform for your wedding due to illness or an emergency.  You don't want to be left empty handed on your wedding day!  A professional musician will provide you with a written contract spelling out just such terms.

Your wedding is a personal and meaningful expression of your love and commitment.  When your musicians have talent and experience they can add a lot to making your wedding truly special!

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

It is so helpful to have BOTH the bride and groom attend the meeting when I met with them to plan their wedding piano music.

They each get a chance to express their feelings about the music and are sometimes surprised at what they find out about each other and their music assumptions!

The life of a bride and groom can be incredibly hectic and overrun with hundreds of details and decision making. Sharon's music planning meeting gives the bride and groom a relaxed hour or so to listen to my beautiful music and a chance for them to talk about their ideas and bring each other and me 'up to date' on their thoughts.

Wedding #1.  The wedding ceremony and reception that I played for last weekend was greatly enhanced due to the fact that both the bride and groom had attended our music planning meeting. At the meeting the bride had great music suggestions and felt strongly about the music she requested. The groom liked country music but knew his bride disliked it and that the bride did not want any country performed. I asked the groom to tell me the titles of a few of his favorite songs and encouraged the bride to 'hear' the music out as I played it on the piano. She was amazed that hearing those songs on the piano were actually lovely and not the 'country' feel that she disliked. The groom and I were delighted that she approved those specific songs to be played during the reception. The groom had a Latin heritage, so I asked if they would enjoy me performing some Latin songs during the cocktail and dinner time. It hadn't crossed their minds. I played some samples and they both loved it!  Latin jazz is so much fun to play! It added an upbeat atmosphere to their cocktail celebration. I included several beautiful Latin love songs during dinner. It made me very happy that both the bride and groom were able to experience music that each of them enjoyed!

Wedding #2. This evening I met another bride and groom to plan their music.  They are getting married in a couple months. It was great fun learning their 'story' and hearing their aspirations for their ceremony music. I was glad that both of them were present. The groom has been the person communicating with me by email up until this point and he had expressed the desire to have all of the music be classical. So at our meeting they selected a number of classical pieces for processional, recessional, prelude, and postlude. But as we talked on, I learned that the bride had a Kenny G song that she absolutely loved and wanted it highlighted as a stand alone piece during the ceremony. She has a relative that is a talented alto sax player that will join me on the song. Having the saxophone carrying the melody will sound awesome! I can't wait! The bride also wants a Josh Groban song performed with my violinist. This will complement their unity ceremony nicely. The bride was hoping that I would include a few elegant love songs during the prelude music as well as the classical music. The groom approved. I felt really good that the music choices reflected the wishes of both the bride and groom.

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Being invited to share my live piano music for events in people's lives is such an honor.  The relationship with a client can start as far out as a year away or as short as a few days.

As I start down the music planning path with each person, I love to discover how their unique personalities and interests will shape the repertoire I will design for their event.  Weddings, receptions, funerals, milestone celebrations . . . each event becomes a meaningful and beautiful musical journey!