88 Keys on the Road - Blog

by Sharon Planer, Pianist for Parties

As winter approaches it brings to mind the frightful blizzard of Dec. 11, 2010. Most events canceled that day...but not the wedding I was hired to play for in Shakopee. The bride, groom and bridal party were all tucked away in their nearby hotel not being terribly affected by the storm. They decided the wedding would go on!

After checking the nearby traffic cam at France and Hwy 62 and seeing a 'little bit' of visibility, I decided to make my attempt with my van. The drive was a nail biter and my hands were clenched onto the steering wheel as I passed dozens of cars stuck in the snow. Visibility turned out to be almost nonexistent., but somehow I arrived at my destination, shaking, but in one piece!

Unfortunately, the officiant was totally snowed in and there was no way for him to access any of the city streets near his home. The groom solved the problem...one of the wedding guests owned a pickup with an attached snowplow. He was sent off with his snowplow to fetch the officiant (as well as many other guests)!  Only the brave made it to the ceremony, but the ceremony went on complete with live music and the officiant's blessing! As the evening wore on and roads started getting cleared, more and more guests arrived to enjoy dinner and dancing. 

After that experience, I have since purchased another vehicle with 4 wheel drive. Now I am ready for winter!!

I was delighted to receive a phone call from a woman who wanted to give the gift of live music for her niece's wedding ceremony and cocktail time. What a thoughtful aunt!  I had the pleasure of contacting the bride to tell her that my piano music was a gift to her.  She was very excited!  Tomorrow is the 'Big Day' and I can't wait to share my gift of music for this special couple!

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.