Readers at Minnesota Bride Magazine voted for the wedding professionals they believe provide the best in wedding services.  

Minnesota Bride finalists were announced and Sharon Planer was delighted to have been voted one of three finalists for 'Best of 2020' Ceremony music category!

The Winner of Best Ceremony Music was the Loring String Quartet. The excellent LSQ musicians are well deserving of the award! Congratulations!

There are many wonderful wedding musicians in the Twin Cities. I felt honored to be selected as a finalist along with the Lake Minnetonka String Quartet.

Remember to pick up a copy of MInnesota Bride Magazine at your local newsstand for great planning tips and real wedding stories.

The shutdown from COVID-19 is presenting unique challenges to couples planning a wedding!

Weddings have been postponed. Couples are scrambling to determine when it might be safe to reschedule their weddings following ‘shelter in place’ orders from government officials. Newly engaged couples are faced with not being able to visit venues or meet in person with their wedding vendors to plan their special day. Such stress to engaged couples can seem overwhelming.

Are you affected economically from the shutdown and wonder how you can adapt your wedding plans to a reduced budget? Are you wondering when to decide if you need to postpone your wedding? Are you unsure how to become legally married when the licensing departments are closed? These questions and more are addressed by Ashley Hawks Forever Bride and a panel of local Twin Cities wedding professionals.

Wedding Advice for Couples Planning a Wedding during COVID-19

I enjoyed hearing Rev. Susan describe her “Nano” and “Micro” weddings during the podcast above. If you want to reach out to any of the podcast participants for further help, here they are. Ari Reynolds with Complete Weddings + Events, Jenna Culley with Jenna Culley Events, Michelle Tverberg with Delight Photography, Brenda Thrower with American Swedish Institute, and Susan Lee-Wright with Perfect Day Ceremonies and Affordable Idos

Are you facing the challenge of planning your wedding or event music during the shutdown? Let’s do a web chat and get your plans moving! Send an email to me at sharon@pianistforparties.com

Things have quieted down with many of my piano events being rescheduled to a later date this year and next year. I recently had a fun web chat audition with an engaged couple. During our web chat I played some songs for them and was delighted that they hired me to be their wedding pianist next year! They requested a song that was unfamiliar to me. I found the song online and arranged it into a piano solo. The couple loved my arrangement. This made me very happy!

Even though my performance schedule is light right now, I am busy helping my existing wedding couples and corporate event planners with their rescheduling plans. I am enjoying working with newly engaged couples as they plan their music. A lot can be accomplished during a shutdown!

If you are planning an event, I invite you to consider adding a sparkle to your event with live piano music. I look forward to hearing from you!

The logistics of planning a wedding can be complicated.

A recent article in the Star Tribune described a move away from traditional weddings with the idea of trying to reduce stress. You can view the entire article, “Weddings a Less Religious Affair”.

The article says that there has been a shift from ceremonies in religious institutions to venues that can host the ceremony and reception in one location. I have experienced this shift as well. Upon reviewing the weddings I have been playing for and will be playing for this year, about 70% of my weddings are at venues that host everything on site from start to finish. It makes it easy for the guests to be able stay in one location throughout the evening often with overnight accommodations.

All in one location venues can offer unique settings.

Here is a recent example. One of my wedding couples held their celebration at The Millennium Hotel on the south end of the Nicollet Mall. The Glass Dome and Ballrooms on the top floor of the hotel offered stunning views of Downtown and the city. The guests moved seamlessly from the Ceremony in the Glass Dome, to the Ballroom for Cocktails, to Dinner in another Ballroom, and back to the Glass Dome for Dancing under the stars!

Even though the hotel did not have a piano in the Glass Dome, this was not a problem for live ceremony music. There was a perfect location for me to set up my portable piano and amplification.

The benefit of one location for this wedding couple was that the hotel staff were able to coordinate the timing of moving guests from area to area as well as planning the timing of the dinner. A number of guests had traveled from abroad with some being their first time in the USA. They appreciated staying in one location. The wedding details ran especially smoothly due to Dana from Keyed Up Events. Dana worked with the hotel staff and the vendors on streamlining all of the wedding logistics. Even though the ceremony was not held in a religious institution, their bishop was able to bless their ceremony with his beautiful presentation.

Although there is a shift away from weddings in a religious venue, a wedding in one’s house of worship can be a beautiful way for couples to be married in a setting that reflects their religious values.