by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

Here is a tip to put your guests in a festive mood...Hire 'live' music!

I love arriving at a venue before the party begins so that I can greet the guests with my piano music when they arrive.

At the start of a party live music is a great ice breaker and brings smiles to the faces of the guests.

As guests arrive, get their beverage, and settle into conversation, I keep my piano music light and easy going. The music creates a pleasant atmosphere without being distracting. Guests sometimes stop by the piano to request a favorite song or even want to sing along. Children seem especially attracted to songs with a lively beat...for their dancing feet! If the event is a cocktail reception, upbeat jazzy holiday tunes create the perfect musical setting. If a sit down dinner is part of the event, I play quiet elegant holiday piano music while the guests are dining.

Guests often love to gather around the piano to sing their favorite Christmas carols. I have my songbooks ready to hand out for just that occasion!

Activities that involve music are a great form of entertainment.

'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. If some of the guests have a dramatic flair, selecting 12 people to act out 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' while the rest of the guests sing the song can really get the action going. Providing appropriate props can add to the fun or you can encourage your 12 participants to use their imagination in acting out their part of the song. You might be surprised by the crazy and creative ideas they come up with!

'Frosty the Snowman' .  This activity involves TP (yes, toilet paper...clean, please!). This can be done as several teams or as one activity. Each team selects one participant that will be their 'Frosty'.  When the song begins, each team will 'decorate' their Frosty with toilet paper and whatever items they can find to make their 'Frosty' look the most clever or original. The 'decorating' ends when the music stops. Guests vote on the winner. Have a prize for the team that wins....a bag of candy is an easy prize.

Musical Dice Game. Ask each guest to bring an inexpensive wrapped gift. Everyone sits in a circle, with all the wrapped presents on the floor in the middle. Players take turns rolling two dice on a pie plate. If your group is large you can use several pie plates each with a pair of dice. Start the plates going different directions. Have your musician play some lively holiday music.

If a player rolls a double, that person gets to pick a gift from the middle. The dice continue around the circle until all the gifts have been taken. At this time everyone that has a gift opens it. Going around the circle, those with gifts hold up the gift and explain what it is. They set their gift on the floor in front of them so everyone can see what they have. Set the timer to the length of time you want (10-15 minutes is decent). Ask your musician play some lively holiday music until the timer goes off. Send the dice around the circle as long as the music is playing. If a player rolls a double, he gets to steal a gift. Keep the dice going until timer goes off and the music stops. Anyone with more than one gift keeps only one gift and puts the rest in the middle. Those without a gift move their chairs in to make a smaller circle and continue the dice rolling (with music!) until each of them has won a gift.

Planning a 'Winter Party' is a good alternative if you wish to avoid religious connotations of a Christmas Party. 

Some clients, especially corporate clients, are sensitive about hosting a holiday party that reflects religious views. In order to make all guests feel included and comfortable, the client may want to keep the music and party plans secular in nature.  Hosting a party with a 'Winter' theme is a good approach. I always ask the event planner to let me know what music I am allowed to play. Some clients ask me to only play secular holiday music and avoid Christmas carols. A few clients have even asked me to avoid songs that reference St. Nick. Even though this limits my repertoire, I am respectful of such requests. If the event is longer than an hour, I will ask if I can include some non holiday music.

The enthusiasm and joyous spirit of the guests makes Christmas parties great fun to play for!  You can listen to several samples of my holiday piano music on my 'Listen' page.

'Tis the Season to Make Music!

Have you enjoyed some fun holiday party activities that involve music? Share your ideas in the comment box below.  

Newlywed brides shared their insights with members of the Central Minnesota Wedding Association.

The Crown Room of Rogers was filled with professionals from the Central Minnesota Wedding Association who were eager to hear what the newlyweds had to say about their recent wedding experiences.

Moderator, Adam Welz of Prime Time DJ's, asked the brides the following question.

If there was one thing you could have changed about your wedding, what would it have been?

Here are some of their answers.

• "I wish I would have hired a videographer."

• "I wish my photographer would have given me more information ahead of time on determining what photos were to be taken of various family members."

This bride said it would have been helpful if the photographer has posted real photos of various family poses on the web site. In retrospect she realized there were some family members who were not included in photos that she wished had been included.

• "I wish I had hired a day-of coordinator."

This bride was pretty certain some problems would have been avoided had there been a coordinator overseeing that everything ran smoothly. In particular, the sound tech who was supposed to play recorded music for their Recessional, never played the song. At the end of the ceremony when everyone was clapping and the bride and groom were supposed to exit the ceremony to lively music...they had to walk out in silence. Ouch!

Adam then asked the brides the following question.

What was one thing you absolutely loved about a wedding professional that you hired?

Here are some of their answers.

• "Hiring two photographers was the best thing I did!"

This couple hired a husband and wife team, both were equally experienced. Some of their favorite photos are from the pre-ceremony activities of getting ready. A huge smile came across this bride's face as she described some of the incredibly fun-loving photos that were captured while the guys were getting ready and the gals too. Having the husband wife team made those photos possible.

• "The staff at our venue treated us like we were the most important client in the world. Even though this venue had many other clients, they always knew us by name and knew exactly who we were when we called on the phone. They took good care of us all the way through."

This couple did not have the opportunity to see their reception hall ahead of time on the day of their wedding, so when they walked through the door to their reception hall, it took their breath away. Everything was more beautiful and perfect than they had ever imagined!

• "I knew the exact wedding dress and dress designer that I wanted. As soon as I was engaged, I went out to buy the dress, only to learn that it had been discontinued a month prior. All the shops I went to did not have it.  I called shops all over the state and got the same response....except for one. This small shop decided to help me. She reached out to all her resources and finally found the dress!"

I enjoyed hearing everything the brides had to say but was hoping to hear about their music. As a pianist, I especially wanted to learn their impressions of their wedding music. So I submitted a question asking if they had hired live music for their ceremony or reception.

Most had live music for their ceremonies and DJ's for their receptions. One bride had a whole family of professional musicians and her music was outstanding. Some of the others found their musicians by word-of-mouth through friends or family. It made me realize just how important the advice of family and friends can be. If someone has had a good experience with a musician, they are usually happy to share their advice. From my point of view, it is a great honor when a couple recommends my piano music to someone they know. Very often the couple that recommended me will be in the wedding party or will be guests at the coming wedding and I have the joy of reconnecting with them!

When the newlyweds were asked, 'What top tip would you give to couples planning their weddings?', their answer was unanimous ...

"On the day of your wedding, ENJOY the day, it goes by so quickly!"

A word about the Central Minnesota Wedding Association.

The Central Minnesota Wedding Association has been a valuable part of my life as a wedding pianist.  The members live by a professional Code of Ethics. We are always striving to learn more about providing the best wedding services possible to couples engaged to be married. Last night's 'Bride Panel' was just such an example. Who better to tell us than the newlyweds themselves!

Let's hear from YOU!  If you are recently married, do you have a story to share or advice to give about planning your wedding?  Just click on the 'comment' link below and we will all benefit from your experiences!

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

From the moment this couple walked into my office, their enthusiasm and excitement was contagious. As we talked about their vision for their wedding day and as I played samples of piano wedding music, certain songs and artists surfaced that they really loved. We came up with a great play list for the pre ceremony, ceremony and post ceremony music. It was an elegant mix of some older romantic standards with contemporary songs. I was glad they wanted a wedding pianist for their ceremony music. They were a delightful couple to get to know!

Rev. Leslie Johnson gave a heartfelt and intimate message which brought tears and laughter. 

From my place at the grand piano I was not able to view the Handfasting Ceremony. The photo below shows the brides' mothers and Rev. Leslie as they braided the three strands of ribbon. The brides clasped their hands together and Rev. Leslie fastened their hands with the braided ribbon symbolizing their unity and oneness.

The Semple Mansion was a magical setting for this beautiful wedding. This couple wanted to find the perfect venue for their wedding day. It was fun to hear Rev. Leslie's story on how they knew the moment they entered the mansion that this was where they wanted to be married! Intimate, classy and beautiful...just like the brides!

I loved the song they requested for their recessional...'Walking on Sunshine". It was great fun to perform and it was obvious they had fun recessing!

Their wedding was one of the most joyous ceremonies I have experienced. I was glad I arrived early at the mansion so I could experience the exuberant joy that was taking place.  There were happy voices and much laughter as the brides and their wedding party traversed through the mansion and outdoors for photos. It was not uncommon for cheering to break out!  Even though they had to endure the chilly outdoors temps, you could tell by their smiles, that this was a joyous wedding indeed!