 The Quintet with the Couple of Honor at a beautiful Downtown San Diego wedding. The quintet had the absolute pleasure to perform for a good friends wedding at El Cortez, a historic hotel turned condo complex in the heart of downtown. With beautiful skyscraper views, passing airplanes, and an absolutely gorgeous reception space, El Cortez is a perfect spot for a beautiful urban downtown wedding. The touches brought in by many of the vendors made it both regal and down-home. Check out some of the pictures below to see what I mean!
Vendor Team: Planning & Coordination: The Love Brewery Venue: El Cortez, Don Room & Terrace Photography: Red Tie Photography DJ: DJ Rude1 Productions Catering: Continental Catering Bar: SoleLuna Cafe Florist: TessFresh Flowers Desserts: San Diego's Finest Donuts & Bakery Hair: JDM Salon Makeup: Vanessa Garlough
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If you've ever imagined a beautiful building on the edge of the water, with amazing indoor and outdoor spaces all focused on an incredible bayfront and skyline view, then Tom Ham's Lighthouse is probably what you were thinking of. At the end of Harbor Island rises this gorgeous site, and from both it's lower event spaces to its upper restaurant, the views of downtown San Diego and of San Diego Bay are just phenomenal.  Tom Ham's Lighthouse Front Entrance The Left Coast Quintet has had a number of opportunities to perform here, both for weddings and corporate conferences, and we always love coming back. Sure their location is impressive, but it's the people that work there that make Tom Ham's Lighthouse just the best place as a performer. Their staff, from management down to service workers, are incredibly nice people whose main goal is to make sure their clients are taken care of and happy. They are even so thoughtful as to continually ensure that our group has what we need, whether it is chairs or equipment, or just snacks and water. We don't see that in most places, but it is so generous and a reason we love performing here. Tom Ham's is perfect for those seeking a nautical themed wedding or special event. They have more boating history than some museums, with artifacts from ships, waterway maps, models, and other really fun items. You won't need much additional decoration to make guests feel like you're getting married on the open seas! If you are searching for a beautiful, well appointed space to host your wedding, corporate event, or holiday party, be sure to check out Tom Ham's Lighthouse, and of course let us know how we can bring some excellent music to the event!
It seems like historically, couples have chosen very traditional wedding music for musicians to perform at their wedding. You know the songs I'm talking about:
Honestly, those are beautiful and timeless pieces of music, but that's not what we are going to discuss today! Unique couples call for unique music, and we all know that cute duo out there that absolutely loves Star Wars, Game of Thrones, or Harry Potter - this information is for you! Over the past few years, more and more of our couples have chosen to hire our group because we play music that is non-traditional. We've had grooms walk down the aisle to the Imperial March, also known as Darth Vader's theme, from the Star Wars universe. Disney has been a big hit too, and every princess wants to hear Tale as Old as Time from Beauty and the Beast as they enter their wedding ceremony. These songs bring up so many emotions that many people might not even consider, but they are so incredibly important for setting the mood of your wedding and conveying a feeling of whimsy, wonder, or comedy into what otherwise could be a very starchy and serious occasion.  Here are some ideas for wedding prelude, processional, and recessional music that have worked well at many weddings that we've been honored to perform at, and that might give some inspiration while working on your wedding playlist: Wedding Prelude, from Monsters Inc to Infinity, and Beyond!Disney and Pixar music are absolutely wonderful inclusions in your wedding day, and what better way to welcome guests to the ceremony while they are seated than by hearing some of their favorite tunes from these iconic movies, like: -You've Got a Friend in Me, Toy Story -Can You Feel the Love Tonight, The Lion King -For the First Time in Forever, Frozen -The Muppet Show, main theme Ceremony Processional, Triumph and BeautyThe processional is the first introduction of the wedding party, and allows for some pretty spectacular grand entrances. Whether you are thinking of heralding grandeur or beautiful melodies, movie and TV theme music is perfect for setting the scene. Here are some of our favorite exciting and heroic theme choices for your processional: -Indiana Jones, main theme -Back to the Future, main theme -Game of Thrones, main theme -Hook, The Flight to Neverland ...if you're a sucker for the "sweep me off my feet" romantic feel, these songs are sure to be right up your alley: -Tale as Old as Time, Beauty & the Beast -Only Us, Dear Evan Hansen -A Whole New World, Aladdin -Part of Your World, The Little Mermaid -Married Life, Up -The Planetarium, La La Land ...and sometimes, you want to be that evil mastermind or cunning double agent, and these songs are perfect to set that mood: -Imperial March, Star Wars -James Bond, main theme -The Incredibles, main theme -Superman, main theme Finale and the Grand RecessionalThe end credits to your wedding ceremony comes at the recessional, once all of the official business of vows and inside jokes have been shared, and you are ready to ride off into the sunset together! Some of the best music for this comes from movie themes like:
-Star Wars, Throne Room march -Harry Potter, Hogwarts March -Pirates of the Caribbean, He's a Pirate -Jurassic Park, main theme -How to Train Your Dragon, Flying Theme -Olympic Fanfare, John Williams We get it, weddings can be costly! From venue rentals, decor, invitations, photography, and hiring your favorite musicians, it is understandable that trying to find places to save some money might be high on your importance list. Take our word for it though, from experience at hundreds of weddings, you want to make sure you have a wedding planner or at least a day-of coordinator.
Wedding planners are pros, and there is a reason they charge what they do. They've been in the industry, they know the "behind the scenes" scene at venues, they know which vendors are best and how to get them set up, and they know how to organize your wedding day as well as the week and month prior to it. Honestly, they know how to handle emergency situations and make them work as well - really they can be event savers in some situations. We've been at a number of weddings without a planner/coordinator, and here are some things we've seen happen:
Well, the answer and solution to all of these problems would have been to have a wedding planner list out all of the details, times of arrival, order of the ceremony, and everything else. Not be wedding planners ourselves, we can see the amount of work that goes into their daily schedules, it is really imperative to know in advance how your day will go. There are of course many options to wedding planning. Most couples do some type of hybrid, a planner who will start working with them about a month before the ceremony to get all of the venue details and vendors in order, plan the day, and work the event. If you happen to be a very organized and detail oriented person who has free time, you could instead just hire a day of coordinator to run everything for your wedding day smoothly. If on the other hand you don't have time or the desire to plan anything, hiring a planner that can run things starting a year out, including venue tours and vendor contracts, might be more beneficial. One last point to remember - venues typically provide a venue coordinator for their site, a person who is an event manager specifically for the venue. They are there to ensure the venue is open, clean, and that staff and vendors show up and set up in the right places, but typically they are not your day of coordinator. Unless you've worked something out with a venue who has onsite coordination staff to help you out, don't assume that an event manager will be there to help with your day of timing. If you have other questions and want to speak to us about experiences or learn about some of the amazing San Diego wedding planners we've been honored to work with, drop us a line or leave a comment below! If you're a musician or not, there are terms specific to weddings that we event musicians are accustomed to, and we wanted to provide a glossary of terms that we use often. We might ask you about certain planning aspects related to these, so if you want to get a head start on some questions, here is some good information to review! Of course, just like us, we don't really take stuff too seriously so we threw in some fun to the dictionary! Wedding Ceremony Terms:
Music Group Types:
We had the opportunity to perform at the Crossings in Carlsbad for the first time last weekend, and were blown away with the property!  From a gorgeously manicured golf course, to buildings in the style of the Italian countryside, this place has it all. Their outdoor ceremony site, pictured above, looks over Carlsbad out to the ocean. We were there on a somewhat overcast day, but it was still really stunning.
 Found a great NYT article about wedding ceremony music trends and history. Check it out and give us your thoughts - what are you planning for your ceremony?
NYT Article Our continuing series of music on our play lists recently that you might enjoy too!  The Canadian Brass have been around for a long time, and many of the best players in the world have performed with them or wanted to! What makes them so good? Well, they are phenomenal musicians of course. But like us, they also have an incredible library of unique arrangements of music that are engaging, fun to listen to, and help bring in new audiences.
One of the most beautiful pieces of music they've recorded (in my opinion) is Make Our Garden Grow, from Candide, written by Leonard Bernstein. On brass instruments, this piece sounds amazing, give it a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37d7eVlrHYY  Our string trio had the chance to perform at The Thursday Club for their wedding open house on April 10th, 2019. It was such a good time! We got to schmooze with engaged couples, catch up with some of our favorite wedding pros, and enjoy really awesome dinner and dessert samples by some of San Diego's best catering companies!
In our new segment, we are going to post about some amazing music that we love listening to and/or playing, in hopes that it brightens your day! Today, the masterful soundtrack to How To Train Your Dragon 2, by John Powell. In fact, the soundtrack to all three movies in the series is phenomenal, but we hadn't listened to the second one in a while so, here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSoyuQHPuOg&list=PLtyKXtrk46WDR0wFTtNacuPii4HjO19Ov  We can spend hours just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful and exciting melodies that make up this soundtrack, and you probably guessed by now, yes we do have it in our music library to play at events! If you are like us and fall in love with this music, let us know in the comments below and feel free to suggest other movie tunes to listen in on!  Did you ever wonder how the music to your favorite movies was created? After the composer meets with the director and producers and comes up with their musical concepts, a full symphony orchestra gathers in recording studios located all over the world to fill out the magic that is movie music. From brassy chords to soaring strings, the recording studio orchestra is a fun place to be a fly on the wall, and these masterful pros bring it all together to get up on the big screen.
A little rant in this blog post - the individual musicians are some of the only people in movie credits who aren't listed! You'll see some people like drivers or caterers get credit at the end of films, but the hard working and talented musicians for some reason don't. Hoping that changes sometime- the movies absolutely wouldn't be the same without the music! Bringing your unique music styles to your wedding ceremony! Historically, most wedding ceremonies followed the same traditional pattern. Classical background music while guests were seated, a Handel or Vivaldi piece while the bridal party entered, Wagner's wedding march for the bride, and Mendelssohn's march for the recessional. These time tested music pieces are still hits with so many couples - there is a reason they are so popular - they work well and are recognizable to almost everyone that we are having a wedding here!
More often now, we are finding younger couples that want something a little different, more styled to their tastes in music or something that brings up a happy memory for them. What is great about our ensembles is that we are able to deliver on that request, and have acquired a large list of music that will transport you to your favorite band, a special concert, or a movie that gives you all the feels! With a pop library that spans back to the 1960s, we've included hits from some amazing musicians, like the Jackson 5, the Beatles, Elton John, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Queen, and so many others. Our musical abilities also include so many different movie soundtracks including Disney and Pixar favorites as well. You have a special song in mind that we don't already have in our library - no problem, we can arrange it just for you! We checked recently, and here is a list of the top modern/pop songs requested by our brides for wedding entrances: 1: A Thousand Years, Christina Perri, as covered by the Piano Guys 2: All You Need is Love, the Beatles 3: Tale as Old as Time, Beauty & The Beast, Alan Menken 4: Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen 5: I'm Yours, Jason Mraz 6: A Whole New World, Disney's Aladdin, Alan Menken 7: Moonlight Serenade, Glenn Miller 8: Imagine, John Lennon 9: It Had to Be You, Gus Kahn 10: You've Got a Friend in Me, Toy Story, Randy Newman  Bayside View on the Patio We had the opportunity to attend the fall open house at the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island, and meet with clients and other wedding professionals who are regulars at ceremonies here. First off, the weather couldn't have been better - scattered clouds with clear skies, a fantastic view of downtown, and a magical sunset.
Kona Kai is the perfect place for events and weddings in San Diego! I had the opportunity to take a site tour of the newly renovated Kona Kai resort, located on Shelter Island in San Diego. The place is breathtaking, inside and out. It reminded me of a Greek village overlooking the water, and the views were stunning. Keep in mind, I'm a musician, not a professional photographer, but hopefully you can get the gist of the place and see what a special feeling it has.  Main Lobby - Kona Kai Resort  The secluded wedding gazebo at Shadowridge Golf Club It was a hot day up in Vista at Shadowridge Golf Club, but that didn't stop the guests and the wedding party from dressing to the 10's! Everyone looked fabulous, and the surroundings were beautiful. Shadowridge has an excellent staff of friendly people who know what they are doing when it comes to coordinating weddings, coupled with a secluded private ceremony location and onsite clubhouse, it is a great all-encompassing location for weddings in North County San Diego.
 Our musicians set up at the ceremony site at Milagro Winery. Our group had an opportunity to play for Kareem & Paige's wedding ceremony at Milagro Winery, our first time at this gorgeous Ramona venue. The rolling hills, oak trees, and vineyards really bring out a Central Coast vibe, just going to show that you really can find any style of wedding venue or location right here in San Diego County.
 LOVE is in the air at a wedding ceremony at Ponte Winery San Diego and Southern California provides such a wonderful and diverse amount of different locations and feels for wedding ceremonies and celebrations. From the beaches and luxury high rise hotels of the city, a short drive up to Temecula provides beautiful wine country rustic wedding ceremony venues, like Ponte Winery where we played earlier this month.  Beautiful blue skies and rolling hills provide an amazing backdrop for this Temecula wedding ceremony. Wedding Ceremony Music Options
Our string & harp trio headed to Mission Bay to play for a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Paradise Point Resort yesterday. The weather was perfect, overcast but still bright out, not hot but not cold, and all of the guests were happy to be there (so were we!) Our day started off checking out the reception site where we played after the ceremony, and setting up our string trio for the processional. The clients requested a harp/violin/cello trio, which is a beautiful option and provides many options for wedding ceremony music.  Wedding Ceremony site setup complete!  The Trio is Ready to Go! This past weekend was beautiful for outdoor occasions, with cool breezes, mild coastal weather, and clear blue ocean water. The Martin Johnson House, part of UCSD and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, sits atop the beautiful cliffs of La Jolla and looks south toward the Cove and La Jolla Village. The views are perfect for San Diego outdoor weddings, and the grounds are reminiscent of a small cabin in the woods, with really endless possibilities of decorating.  Our couple hired our string duet, which is a great ensemble for this intimate location. The strings are easily heard over a gathering of 50 family and friends, and provided pre-ceremony and processional & recessional music for the bride and her new groom.
We had the opportunity to return to the beautiful Morgan Run Club and Resort over the weekend, and are always impressed by this Rancho Santa Fe / Del Mar area wedding venue. Beyond the views and welcoming spaces, the staff at Morgan Run are incredibly friendly, outgoing, and helpful- so you really feel like you're part of the family here and that is why it is such a special place.  Morgan Run is, primarily, a golf and tennis club- and they have the facilities to prove it! Gorgeous greens go on for miles, and the courts are top notch. On site, their aquatic and gym facilities leave nothing behind either, and they even offer a kids day camp for wedding parties which is quite reasonable!
When people picture La Jolla, it is typically the quaint downtown with boutique shops, waterfront parks, and gorgeous historic buildings. The Estancia Hotel fits in perfectly with the ideals and natural beauty of the area, but is an absolutely unique property that should be considered on anyone's list of wedding venues in the La Jolla area.
The history of the hotel and gardens is a unique story unto itself. Originally a horse stable, the property has been developed into an urban oasis, filled with stunning succulents and open spaces, and a small campus of historic buildings with rooms of varying sizes for any number of events.  I am by no means a wedding photographer! That being said, I had the opportunity to tour the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay with a group of other great wedding professionals on a gorgeous January afternoon, and wanted to share my experience with soon-to-be brides and grooms or others looking for an amazing space for an all-encompassing event with true San Diego bayside class.  Secluded garden perfect for cocktail hour or other meetings. The Hyatt Regency in Mission Bay is a distinct landmark, with a tall tower of hotel rooms and a sprawling front row seat to the bay. But the hotel resort has many hidden gems that might not be obvious just by driving by.  The Hyatt Regency hotel tower, with boat dock in the foreground.  Wedding Set-up at the San Diego Botanic Gardens Weddings in the Botanic Gardens of Encinitas: The San Diego Botanic Gardens are an oasis in the middle of Encinitas, a cute coastal town about 15 minutes north of San Diego. The gardens have a rich history, having been developed since the early 1900s on land overlooking the Pacific Ocean and incorporating a wide variety of different spaces. While you could consider this a museum for plant species, the gardens have evolved and become a spectacular event space, perfect for weddings, parties, engagements, photo shoots, and other happenings.  The Left Coast Trio under some shade providing acoustic ambiance. When you live in San Diego, the outdoors provides year round beautiful wedding settings. This was the case this past Friday in Chula Vista, at the Otay Lakes area in a park called Mountain Hawk. Rolling hills, a pristine lake, and a beautiful outdoor amphitheater made this December wedding one to write about. There aren't many places in the US that you can do an outdoor wedding like this at the end of the year.  Left Coast String Trio at Mountain Hawk Park Live Music at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar Many people might not know about the hidden gem in Del Mar called the Fairmont Grand. It's somewhat secluded, not on any major roadway, but the resort is an absolutely spectacular site, perfect for weddings, holiday parties, and other events.  Main Entrance to the Fairmont Grand Our wind trio has had the opportunity to perform here a few times for different events, and we were just honored to play for a company holiday party in their Elizabeth Capella, a wood adorned chapel with amazing acoustics.
 Prince William and Princess Kate's Wedding Ceremony Bringing Royal Customs to Your San Diego Wedding With the recent announcement of the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, we thought it would be fun to focus on tips for making your wedding royal-inspired! British royal weddings have always caused quite a stir with brides from all over the world looking for inspiration on how they can bring a bit of the custom and class into their own ceremonies.
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