Wedding Music 411
Booking Musicians
We often
book 6-9 months in advance, though if youÕre planning your event earlier or
later, do call! We have last
minute spots open sometimes. Even if you donÕt have all your music picked out, book
the musicians! We sign our
contracts long before we write our playlist!
Fees
Our fees
are in the neighborhood of $200-700, depending on the size group you want and
the length of the event. A solo
player will cost less; a whole quartet more. We usually play as a trio – for a ceremony, plus some
time before and perhaps a little time afterwards, weÕll charge $500. WeÕll ask you to chip in for mileage if
we have to drive more than 45 minutes from Ithaca.
Comparison ÒShoppingÓ
Many
clients call a number of groups to comparison shop. However, be wary of simply going with the lowest price; not
all groups are alike! Ask
questions about the age and experience of the group – do you want a young
vibrant group of conservatory students, or an older group of symphony
musicians? The vibe will be very
different, though the musicians in either case are sure to be great!
Remember
that with classical musicians, youÕre not just paying them for the hour theyÕre
there; youÕre also paying for practice and rehearsal time, maintenance of
expensive instruments, and decades of education and experience.
Special Requests
While the
classics are ÒclassicsÓ for a reason, many couples like to choose a special
song that holds special meaning for them, or hear a song somewhere (a friendÕs
wedding, a concertÉ) that they would dearly love to have as part of their
ceremony.
As gig
musicians, we spend almost every weekend between April 30th and
October 15th playing between 1 and 4 wedding. Special requests are part of what keeps
this work interesting, so I, personally, am happy to oblige!
How does
that work, you ask?
First, call
me and ask if I have it in my library already.
If not, the
best is if you can get me a copy of the sheet music (www.hickeys.com is a
great, local Ithaca music shop I frequent; they have online service and lovely
telephone help. If you go in, ask
for Bill Hurley and tell him I sent you.)
If you can do that, thereÕs no problem.
If you
canÕt find the sheet music, send me a recording. If I can find the sheet music, weÕre
golden. If not, IÕll do my very
best to arrange it, at a fee of about $100. (Usually, I can find some sort of sheet music, so thereÕs no
fee. IÕll give you a heads-up
before I start arranging so you can decide whether or not to proceed.)
If there
are a large number of special requests, or special requests requiring singers
(say Aunt Tiffany is singing Uncle TimÕs arrangement of ÒI Could Have DancedÓ),
weÕll negotiate the $60/hr/player extra fee for rehearsals.