Types of Ceremony Musicians in Orange County

What types of Ceremony Musicians in Orange County are there to choose from?

There are many types of Ceremony Musicians in Orange County to choose from…

When deciding on your Wedding Ceremony Music, there are two basic things to consider…the actual songs you want played and the instrumentation on which you want those songs played.  Today let’s consider the different types of instrumentation there are to choose from…

According to Essence Entertainment, the particular instrumentation you choose will create a certain ambiance and personality to your event.  There are many options to choose from – all of which are equally lovely.  The decision on what you pick is generally based on what you like, what your budget is, and the size of your event.  Here we discuss the traditional options.

Soloists are obviously the most cost-effective, and are appropriate for small to medium sized events.  Soloists to choose from are:

• Solo Harp
• Solo Guitar
• Solo Piano / Keyboards
• Solo Organ
• Bagpiper

It’s always nice to utilize a Piano or Organ if your Ceremony Site has one.  But it’s not mandatory if you prefer the sound of a Harp or a Guitar better.  A Solo Artist creates a more intimate atmosphere musically.  For all situations, be sure to pick an instrument that is appropriate for the setting – for instance, if your Ceremony is in the middle of the beach, don’t pick a Harp…it is not possible to get these large, expensive instruments across the sand.  Or if overall volume is a concern, pick a Guitar, as Guitarists generally bring an amplifier.

A Duo is generally one of the above Rhythm Instruments along with a Solo Instrument.  A few examples are:

• Harp / Flute Duo
• Harp / Violin Duo
• Harp / Cello Duo
• Guitar / Flute Duo
• Guitar / Violin Duo
• Guitar / Cello Duo
• Guitar / Sax Duo
• Piano / Violin Duo
• Piano / Trumpet Duo
• Organ / Trumpet Duo
• Any Rhythm Instrument with a Vocalist
• …etc.

Are you starting to see a pattern here?  There are many more similar combinations to consider.  Duos are appropriate for small to medium events.  Though be careful – if your Ceremony Musicians will also be playing for your Cocktail Hour, you want to make sure they won’t get overwhelmed with conversation noise…something to consider when deciding on your music.  For instance, a Solo Harp can get lost in an outdoor setting of 80 people or more.

The next configuration to consider is the Trio.  Now, here, you can have a Rhythm Instrument with Two Solo Instruments, or you can have Three Solo Instruments playing together.  Here are some examples:

• Harp / Cello / Flute Trio
• Harp / Cello / Violin Trio
• Guitar / Cello / Flute Trio
• Guitar / Cello / Violin Trio
• Guitar / Upright Bass / Flute&Sax Trio
• Keyboards / Cello / Flute Trio
• Organ / Trumpet / Vocal Trio
• Cello / Viola / Violin Trio
• Cello / Violin / Flute Trio
• …etc.

If you plan on having a Vocalist sing at your event, it is best to have a Rhythm Instrument in the mix – the Rhythm Instrument is much better suited to accompanying the Vocalist than an ensemble with Three Solo Instruments, i.e., a String Trio.

Next up is the Quartet – again, it can be with or without a Rhythm Instrument…

• Harp / Cello / Violin / Flute Quartet
• Harp / Cello / Viola / Violin Quartet
• Guitar / Cello / Violin / Flute Quartet
• Guitar / Cello / Viola / Violin Quartet
• Cello / Viola / Violin / Flute Quartet
• Cello / Viola / Violin / Violin Quartet
• …etc.

The proper titles for the above configurations are as follows:  Harp Quartet with Flute; Harp Quartet All Strings; Guitar Quartet with Flute; Guitar Quartet All Strings; String Quartet with Flute; All String Quartet…I’m sure you’re getting the hang of it by now.

The most popular Quintet configuration is the Brass Quintet.

Now – how do you decide on which Ensemble is best for you?   LISTEN to them!  An ensemble with a Flute has a different personality than an Ensemble with a Violin.  Harp is different from a Guitar both visually and auditorily.  A Duo sounds different from a Quartet.

Other factors are budget, the space you have available, the size of event / number of Guests you’re having, etc.  The larger ensembles are more appropriate for larger events.

Sound confusing?  Then you need to get some professional assistance by calling Essence Entertainment – their experienced Staff can help you decide which configuration is best for your situation.  However, you still need to LISTEN to the different options and decide which one(s) you like the best – only you know the answer to that!  A good resource is the Essence Entertainment YouTube Playlist – they have many of the options available to listen to.  If you need more options to listen to, work with Essence Entertainment – they can play additional samples for you.

 

 

 

Traditional Ceremony Music Still Popular

Our Wedding Ceremony clients always ask us about Ceremony Music options, and we often get the question, “Can I still use Traditional Ceremony music?”

Our answer is always a resounding YES!

If you are a Bride who wants something unique or contemporary…terrific!  Not a problem!

However, if you are a Bride who loves the traditional classical selections, please don’t hesitate to use them!  They are ‘traditional’ for a reason.  These musical selections evoke lots of emotion, they are ‘familiar’ and are therefore comforting and reassuring for you and your guests, many selections have family history attached to them (i.e., “My Mom used Pachelbel’s Canon in D at her wedding”), etc.

We still love, enjoy and recommend traditional wedding ceremony selections…

Here are a few short selections performed by our talented musicians (available for your event!):

For a more options, visit our Wedding Sampler YouTube Playlist!

Visit our Website for more ideas!

Pachelbel Canon in D   –   Solo Guitar

Vivaldi, Spring  –  Harp Quartet

Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring  –  All String Quartet

Bridal Chorus  –  Solo Harp

Trumpet Voluntary  –  Brass Quintet

Wedding March  –  Harp & Cello Duo

Related articles

• Wedding Trends and Tips for 2012 (essencetalent.wordpress.com)

Tips for Spring 2012 Wedding

Who’s having a Spring Wedding?  🙂

Here are some tips:

When it comes to music, there are a few options I like to suggest.  Here in sunny Southern California, Spring Wedding usually means ‘garden wedding ceremony’ or otherwise ‘outdoors’ (could be beach, park, patio, etc.).  To add to the ‘garden’ ambiance, I like to suggest a Harp ensemble (Harp Trio with Cello & Flute is lovely), or a Guitar ensemble (Guitar & Flute/Sax Duo gives you some nice flexibility if you’d like to incorporate Jazz/Pop repertoire).

Be sure to visit our YouTube Playlist for Wedding Music Samples.

Here’s a sample of a Harp Trio playing La Rejouissance.

Here are some additional tips from Mabelle Sese:

Saying Your “I Dos” This 2012?  Spring’s the Best Time and Here’s How to Start Planning

By Mabelle Sese

Saying yes to the marriage proposal and setting a date is basically the starting phase of planning a wedding. From the gown to the bridal hairstyle, the food to be served, the number of guests to invite – these are just some of the small and big details about the wedding that you need to decide on. As much as possible, give yourselves plenty of time to iron out all these details. Hire a wedding coordinator if you want, although you can also be a hands-on bride and coordinate with the suppliers yourself.

What if You’re Planning a Spring Wedding?

Setting a date for the big day means that you already know what season of the year, and probably the time of day when the ceremony and reception will be held. What if you’re planning a spring wedding? In terms of color and theme, there are plenty of pretty ideas that you can come up with.

Let’s start with a few tips on how you can have a beautiful ceremony and reception when saying your “I dos” during springtime:

Go for sweet pastel colors.

When thinking of a theme for your wedding, it always pays to go with the season of the year that the wedding will be held. Since spring is when flower bloom at their most beautiful, use sweet pastel colors as inspiration for your wedding. Pale pink is a classic pastel color which can be seen in most wedding receptions and venues. For 2012, an emerging trend is to use greenish blue as a theme. Complementing hues include teal and sunshine yellow. You can mix these all with tan or emerald green and you’ll have a beautiful rainbow of sweet pastel colors on your big day.

Be one with nature.

If the groom would not like something that’s too feminine for the wedding reception, go for rich, earth tones which also somewhat remind people of spring. Golden yellow, brown, green, burnt orange are some of the shades that you can play with.

Wedding Gown & Bridal Hairstyle Ideas for Spring Weddings

Now, when it comes to wedding gowns and bridal hairstyles, what are the hottest trends for the spring bride? Two-tier gowns are definitely hot for 2012, as well as gowns with illusion necklines. Instead of seeing too much skin, you can still feel sexy yet ultra-elegant wearing gowns which are made with illusion necklines that have embellishments. As for the hairstyles that brides and bridesmaids can have, the elegant updos and romantic down hairdos are still very much in style.

Spring Weddings: It’s All About the Flowers!

Finally, you can incorporate spring flowers in every aspect of your wedding. If you want, you can have the bridesmaids wear fresh spring flowers on their hair. The wedding cake is another thing which can be designed using spring flowers as a theme. The center tables in the wedding reception can be decorated with spring flowers, as well as the aisle that the bride will be walking through – be it a church or garden wedding.

As you can see, there are plenty of wedding planning aspects where you can incorporate spring colors and flowers as a theme, so have fun with it!

If you are looking for ideas on how the bridesmaids hairstyles, wedding reception, gown and all the other aspects of the wedding can be planned, always consider the time of the year when the wedding will be held. For springtime, pastel or earth colors and beautiful spring flowers can be easily incorporated in the theme while planning the details for your big day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mabelle_Sese

Popular Wedding Love Songs for 2012

As many of you are either in the beginning stages or are well ensconced in your planning process, one question that we get often is about what Love Songs are popular for Weddings this year, 2012.

We did some poking around, and here are a few ideas.

Thanks to YouTube, you can check all of these out at any time!

(For Wedding & Ceremony music suggestions for your listening pleasure, visit our Wedding Music Playlist on our YouTube Channel.)

Top 10 Suggestion List:

1. Can’t help falling in love with you (Elvis)

2. My heart will go on (Titanic Soundtrack)

3. You’re still the one (Shania Twain)

4. I will be right here waiting (Richard Marx)

5. I am ready (Bryan Adams)

6. She’s all I ever had (Ricky Martin)

7. Take my breath away (Top Gun Soundtrack)

8. Crazy in love (Beyonce)

9. With or without you (U2)

10. Unchained melody (Ghost Soundtrack)

Here’s a Top 5 List of First Dance Songs:

TOP 5 FIRST DANCE SONGS
1.    At Last – Etta James
2.    Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley
3.    Marry Me – Train
4.    You and Me – Dave Matthews Band
5.    All My Life – K-Ci & JoJo tied with Lucky – Jason Mraz, The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra and Then – Brad Paisley

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It’s interesting to me to see such a wide variety of the old classics along with the new contemporary selections.  Message?  That you can pick a song from any era or genre and you’re ‘in’ with the crowd!

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What are the newer, more contemporary love song favorites thus far this year?  Here are some ideas:

Lady Gaga – You and I
Devlin ft Labrinth – Let It Go
Taylor Swift – Back to December
Rihanna – What’s My Name?
Wynter Gordon – Dirty Talk
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
Nelly – Just A Dream
Serge Devant – Addicted
Shontelle – Impossible
Eminem – Recovery
Eminem – Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna
Kesha – Your Love Is My Drug
Justin Bieber – Baby ft. Ludacris
Lady Gaga – Alejandro
Trey Songz – For The Sake Of Love
Lloyd feat Trazz – Internet Love
Chris Brown – So Cold
Joey Notez – Invisible

Here’s another list of suggestions:

01-Adele –- Make you feel my Love
02-Alanis Morissette –- Head Over Feet
03-Alicia Keys -– Fallin’
04-Corrs –- All The Love In The World
05-Counting Crows -– Accidentally In Love
06-Dave Matthews Band -– You and Me
07-Delta Goodrem -– Out Of The Blue
08-Dido –- Thank You
09-Barenaked Ladies -– It’s All Been Done
10-Beyoncé –- At Last (Remake of Etta James)
11-Bruno Mars –- Just The Way You Are
12-Bruno Mars -– Marry You
13-Carrie Underwood -– Look At Me
14-Christina Aguilera -– Beautiful
15-Creed –- With Arms Wide Open
16-Colbie Caillat -– Bubbly
17-Ashlee Simpson –- Pieces Of Me
18-Avril Lavigne -– I’m With You
19-Howie Day -– Collide
20-Rascal Flats -– My Wish

What song(s) are you considering for your event?  Let us hear what you’re doing!

Related articles

• My Top Ten Somewhat Corny, Possibly Cheesy but Definitely Favorite Romantic Love Songs (beachgirlbywayofdelco.wordpress.com)

Needing a little motivation these days?

In these economic times, we’re all stressed, working harder for fewer returns, and finding ourselves tired and ‘burned out’.

May I make a suggestion?

Find a networking or training meeting to attend!

My story – I decided to research and attend a couple Toastmasters meetings (to enhance my trainer/keynote speaker career).  Well, since Monday I have attended three Toastmaster meetings with a fourth scheduled for tomorrow morning.  Out of these experiences I have met some wonderful, highly motivated people (who have injected me with motivation), have been invited to numerous additional gatherings (one of which I attended this morning – Women’s Business Connections, Irvine, CA – many more new people, connections and motivation), and have scheduled a few additional meetings and one coaching/training session with a gal I met this morning! (Oh – and on behalf of my husband, I visited an open house hosted by the City of Lake Forest on my way home Tuesday – I was on a roll, so it was easy to make the additional effort, chat with people, collect information, learn about available services,etc.  Got invited to attend a Chamber of Commerce meeting as a special guest!  I almost forgot – that’s tomorrow at lunch time!)

There’s nothing like the shot in the arm you get when you can move your social and/or business life forward!  I’m SO glad I made the effort to attend these meetings, not only for the networking opportunities, but also for my continued education – I’ve learned so much by listening to other speakers, by chatting with other speakers and business owners, and I’m so proud of myself for making this effort and achieving all of these positive results!

Motivation?  Got it!!

I encourage you to make any effort you can to attend a networking meeting, take a training course, ask friends and associates how you can help them further their success…anything to break the ‘same old’ schedule and expose you to new and exciting people and things.  (Many are completely free, or free the first time or first few times – the only commitment is your time.  The rewards for that time are HUGE!)

Don’t feel you have time to go to an event?  Then check out all of the motivational and educational FREE Podcasts on iTunes!  You can search by topic or by name of some one you find inspirational (T. Harv Eker, Les Brown, Sam Crowley, Mark Victor Hansen, John Assaraf, Cheri Huber…to name just a few…).  You can download to your iPod, or simply listen to them directly on your iPhone…while you’re driving to and from…wherever!  Many Podcasts are 7-15minutes in length – perfect for driving from point A to B.  Or, when you’re sitting at your desk, needing a little pick-me-up to get you through the rest of the day.  Interviews are generally longer, an hour or so – perfect for those long drives in commuter traffic or while you’re at the gym.

Podcasts are an easy, FREE source of inspiration , motivation and education – check ’em out!

Here’s hoping you find that motivation you’re needing right now.  Comment and let us know what works for you!

With joy,

Robin

 

NEW! -> “Wedding Sampler Essence” on YouTube

Newly uploaded to YouTube are numerous musical samples (most are samples of Essence Entertainment Soloists and Ensembles) of popular Wedding Ceremony music selections.

This clip is just one of the many helpful samples now readily available thanks to Essence Entertainment.

So, if you’re looking for some ideas for Ceremony Music, or you want to hear what a particular song sounds like or a particular instrument or ensemble sounds like, be sure to view the Ask Mike! videos about choosing Wedding Ceremony Music, then search “Wedding Sampler Essence” on YouTube and listen to lots of music samples!

Be the first to Like and Comment on these new samplers!

Be sure to comment on the Ask Mike! videos, too – especially those comments which are helpful for other Brides & Grooms!

Visit Essence Entertainment website for additional information and samples.

If you have a particular question about your Wedding Ceremony selection process, leave your question here or on Essence Entertainment Talent Agency’s Facebook Page – other Brides & Grooms may have the same question…and we’d love to help as many folks as we can!

** Hint – to help make Essence Entertainment more visible and thus able to assist more clients with helpful information, please watch videos all the way to the end, then Like and make a quick comment (must have a YouTube account – free and easy to do!).  Much appreciated!

How do I choose Ceremony Music?

Watch Ask Mike! episode that addresses this question!