CARA MIA REAL WEDDING- Li and Susan

Susan and Li Wang

Susan and Li were such a fun couple to work with.  They were great at making their wedding intimate, fun, elegant, and full of personality.  They got married at the Morris Arboretum, in Philadelphia, PA (near Chestnut Hill), an absolutely beautiful space maintained by the University of Pennsylvania, which is exclusively catered by Bruno's Restaurant. 

The entire wedding was full of whimsical and personal touches, from the butterfly cupcakes at the reception, to the mini-cheeseburgers and fries during cocktails, to the small and intimate circle of chairs in which Susan and Li stood in the middle to say their vows during the ceremony.  And how could I not mention- their main entrée? Philadelphia Cheesesteaks.  Represent! 

From a musical perspective, they were the perfect example of how Cara Mia can compliment some of the previously existing musical elements for your wedding. Susan and Li had already bravely opted to play their own i-pod through a PA system for their reception music- a choice that I think turned out well for everyone, although I don't recommend it! They also asked their dear friend to play a guitar solo and sing "Do You Remember" by Jack Johnson during their ceremony, which was beautiful.  Cara Mia provided a solo violinist to fill in the gaps- prelude music as their guests arrived, the processional for the beautiful bride and her bridal party, and the recessional music.  

Here are the special requests that they selected: 

Processional:

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, by J. S. Bach 

Ceremony music: 

Do You remember, by Jack Johnson 

(performed on guitar and vocals by a family friend) 

Recessional:Wedding March, by Mendelssohn, followed by

Concerto for violin, by F. Seitz 

The most memorable thing I took from that day was the beautiful love Susan and Li had for each other, and how well they used the details in their wedding to display not only their love, but their individual personalities.

Best of luck to you both, Susan and Li! 

Music Monday Week 4

Want a unique special request?

Don't worry about looking at song-lists. Not with us. We have created many custom arrangements for our clients.  Often times a bride or groom will request a song for string ensemble, and no sheet music exists for this song.  As long as you have a recording of the music, we will be able to listen to it and transpose the song into a score.  You can then keep a copy of this score for yourself as a keepsake after your wedding!




Just a few of the custom arrangements we have done...
-Incubus, I Miss You
-Incubus, Aqueous Transmission
-Jay-Z/Beyonce, Bonnie and Clyde
-Jens Lekman, Your Arms Around Me
-Sarah Bareilles, Love Song
-Taylor Swift, Love Story
-Rainbow Connection (Kermit the Frog)
...and many, many more.

In fact, we are in the process of adding many more songs to our repertoire!  You can see the list of our newest songs (just a FEW of all the MANY that we have) on our post CTO Rock Strings.

CARA MIA REAL WEDDING- Matthew and Katie

One of my favorite parts of my job as director of Cara Mia Wedding and Event Music (www.yourcaramia.com) is meeting with my clients to discuss their special requests. 

Some people want strictly traditional music.  Others want music that sounds traditional but isn't.  Many want contemporary music, or a mix of traditional and contemporary.  But some of my favorite clients are the ones who have a special story to tell through their music, like Matthew and Katie. 

Over the past few years working as a music consultant for weddings and events, and as a violinist myself, I have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderfully diverse clients.  I love to sit with them and really get to know their style, and then design the music around their love story.

For example, Matthew and Katie are having a Catholic and Jewish wedding ceremony at the Lowes Hotel in Philadelphia, and hired a string trio through Cara Mia to play for their ceremony and cocktail hour. They heard about us through their friend Krissie, who hired us for her wedding last year.  Matthew, Katie and I had coffee together and got to know each other- and I got to meet their adorable little girl. 

Through our conversation, I learned that they wanted traditional music for the prelude and ceremony, and more contemporary music for the recessional and cocktail hour.  We used my laptop to look up different song choices and listen to them on the spot, and then built a totally unique program of music for their wedding! 

They aren't getting married until August 2011, so there is still some time to change these special requests if they want to.  But here is what we have decided on so far....

SPECIAL REQUESTS

• Prelude- Classical, Catholic, and Jewish songs, including Ave Maria
• Bridal Party Processional- Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Catholic)
• Bride's Entrance- Erev Shel Shoshanim (Jewish Wedding Processional)
• Recessional- Bittersweet Symphony (Contemporary)
• Cocktail hour- Contemporary/rock/pop music, including All You Need is Love by The Beatles and Eye of the Tiger from the movie Rocky.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Jewish Wedding processional, here is a video of Erev Shel Shoshanim-

Note: these are not Cara Mia musicians- just an example of 

what the song would sound like on stringed instruments

Since there is still some time before their wedding date, Matthew and Katie are also considering adding a djembe (african hand-drum) player to the string trio for the recessional only, and for the entire cocktail hour.  This will bring a more modern feel, adding the beat to the music, and has been a popular option for couples who want something different! 

Djembe Drum

Matthew and Katie, I wish you both the best happiness in the world.  And I'm very excited about finalizing the details of your wedding with you!  I think it will be a beautiful marriage of two people, and their two worlds.


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Music Monday Week 3

Many of the brides I speak with like to keep things pretty traditional for the ceremony- maybe get a little funky later!- but stick to mostly Classical music during the ceremony itself.

But I often get asked for song suggestions that sound traditional, but are still different.  "Anything but Canon in D", they may say, or, "Anything but the Wedding March!"

Here is one song I might suggest for the bride's entrance, for just this situation.  

Camille Saint-Saëns - The Swan 

I love the poetic comparison of a graceful swan to the bride's sacred descent down the aisle.  This song has such a beautiful, melancholy air about it, I'm surprised it is not used more often in weddings.  If you are looking for something a bit different, but still Classical/Traditional, I might suggest this as one option. 

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Music Monday Week 2

The most traditional song for a bride's entrance is not Wagner's Wedding March ("Here Comes the Bride..."), but is actually Pachelbel's Canon in D. But feel free to request a non-traditional song as well for your special day.

 

Listen to Pachebel's Canon in D played by all the combinations of instruments we have available for strings, with our trademarked Build Your Own Ensemble feature!  Click here: Build Your Own Ensemble

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CTO Rock Strings

My name is Mary Giannone, and I'm the director of Cara Mia Wedding and Event Music (www.yourcaramia.com).  I also have a few projects I manage on the side.  The above video is my newest project, "CTO Rock Strings."

Cara Mia has recently partnered with CTO Artists (www.cto.com) to promote this newest group- an ALL ELECTRIC string quartet, playing pop and rock songs with a drummer! This is not your grandma's string quartet.  Although I know a few grandmas who would totally get down with it... including my friend Shauna's 86 year old grandma who came out to hear us play at Macy's in Center City and loved it!  It was her birthday that day too- happy birthday Shauna's Grandma!

Since this group is BRAND NEW we did a few promo gigs this December to get the word out.  The video above was taken at Neiman Marcus in King of Prussia.  The first violinist and the violist's son, Andrei, took the video- I bet you couldn't tell a 10 year old boy did that!


CTO Rock Strings will be visiting Europe for both music and pleasure over the next month, and when they return we will have ALL NEW REPERTOIRE! These are not store-bought arrangements, people.  But rather, we are CUSTOM ARRANGING these for electric rock strings.  (Shout-out to Ben!) Kind of like the difference between store-bought cookies and homemade... oh no! I mentioned cookies and now I've lost you in your cookie-filled day-dreams.  COME BACK TO ME!  Here's the list:

-Michael Jackson Medley- Billie Jean, Annie Are you OK, ABC
-Sublime- What I Got
-Black Eyed Peas- Let’s Get Retarded (Let’s Get It Started) with Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night
-Journey - Don't Stop Believing
-Alicia Keys - Fallin'
-Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You into When a Man Loves a Woman
-Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
-Extreme - More Than Words
-Maroon 5 - This Love
-Eagles- Hotel California
-White Stripes- Seven Nation Army
-The Killers- Medley Mr. Brightside into Somebody Told Me
-Smash Mouth- I’m a Believer
-Papa Roach- Forever or Scars
-Red Hot Chili Peppers- Californication
-Pearl Jam- Even Flow
-Smashing Pumpkins- Today
-Elton John- She’s Always a Woman into Candle in the Wind
-Chumbawumba- I Get Knocked Down
-Lady Gaga- Poker Face (or Gaga medley?)
-The Rolling Stones- Wild Horses
-Chuck Berry- Johnny Be Good
-Bruno Mars- Just the Way You Are
-Usher/Pitbull- DJ's Got Us Fallin' In Love Again
-One Republic- Secrets
-Ke$ha- We R Who We R
-Rhianna- Only Girl in the World

Plus, my business partner Carmen chose these five to add to the repertoire as well:
-Live & Let Die
-Cashmere
-I Don't Like Mondays
-It's a Livin' Thing (ELO)
-Africa (Toto)


(I made sure to call him an old-head because three of those five songs I had to look up...)

To see the list of repertoire we already have, check out www.cto.com/rock-strings.html.

This January we will also be FILMING A NEW PROMO VIDEO! And re-doing our website.  Any suggestions for this new, amazing group, please let me know!

I'm so excited to be working with these talented musicians.  Shout out to my boy Mugu, the lead violinist in the video who has been amazing to work with, and who has been working on this project since it's conception almost a year ago.

I'll keep you posted next time we play!

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Music Monday Week 1

A popular song choice for recessional/exit music is "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles. It was also featured in one of the best Christmas Movies of all time- "Love, Actually". For an added touch of class, hire a string quartet to perform the song at your wedding or event.

Here is the video: 

 

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