When a bride or groom asks us to surprise their spouse with a song the other isn’t expecting, it’s always a precious moment. When they BOTH surprise each other with songs…PRICELESS! Jason is a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan, and he wanted to walk in to Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis. Katy repeated told him ‘no’ during the planning phases for the evening, yet all the time she had been telling us ‘yes’ behind the scenes as a surprise! He was quite surprised, but Katy had the biggest surprise of all when she found out that we prepared a special request from her mom, Martina McBride’s In My Daughter’s Eyes. What a fabulous celebration!
Sometimes you get to a party, and you just know that it’s going to be a fantastic night. Monica and Ryan loved the modern string arrangements performed by the Artistrings String Quartet during dinner, and everyone was up and dancing as soon as the meal was finished. A “must-play” was Sam Cooke’s arrangement of Tennessee Waltz, in honor of their home state. And an added surprise bonus was Monica’s close friend Linsday Lawler, a professional singer from Nashville…check out her performance with us on Don’t Stop Believin’! And who is that guy dancing with Opal during Don’t Stop The Music?! Party Time at the Evanston Golf Club!
Monica was very kind to leave us a review online:
“To say that the Chris Sarlas Orchestra was absolutely amazing is an understatement! We all had the BEST time and having them there played a huge part in that. Our wedding reception was held at Evanston Golf Club on August 7, 2010 in Skokie, IL. Everyone in the band was so full of energy and truly seemed happy to be there to celebrate with us. I’m pretty sure that they had every single person on the dance floor! The song choices were fantastic and after going over the evening with everyone, the band was definitely the highlight!! I can not thank them enough for the wonderful energy they brought to our day and for being so amazing to work with. From the moment I met with Chris, I knew that the music was going to be very special, and they certainly did deliver!! I can not say enough about the Chris Sarlas Orchestra. It was an absolute pleasure working with them. Look no further for your wedding entertainment… they were truly unbelievable!”
Diane & Paul
Omni Interlocken Resort – Broomfield, CO
Airplanes, vans, cars, and lots of rain…we’ve just returned from the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield, CO performing for Diane & Paul’s magnificent wedding! All year long, there has been such a buzz in the Greek/American community about Diane and Paul’s wedding, our goal was to make it more than everyone expected! As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the honor we feel when chosen by the same family for multiple celebrations is humbling. We’ve played for Paul’s brother Tom’s wedding to Alison, his Cousin Elena’s wedding to Niko and more. A Vranas party is always, always a great time!
Lauren & Louie
Maple Bluff Country Club – Madison, WI
Lauren & Louie’s wedding was the first of two back to back ‘out of town’ weekends for the band. It was our first time performing at Maple Bluff Country Club in Madison, WI – what a beautiful location for a fantastic celebration! We had a wonderful evening of dancing for a great couple, ending with everyone waving a good night to the newlyweds at 11:30pm!
It’s always a pleasure to return to the Renaissance Room at The Hotel InterContinental Chicago! We were trusted to provide music for Gwen & Mikey’s entire celebration weekend, beginning with romantic harp music setting the mood for their rehearsal dinner at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Terzo Piano restaurant. On Saturday, their ceremony featured the Artistrings String Quartet with the addition of Operatic vocalist Greer Davis performing “L’amero Saro Costante,” from Mozart’s Il Re Pastore. The room was magically transformed from ceremony to reception, opening to the band performing for their first dance, “In My Life,” and after dinner, all of the guests danced the night away to the CSO!
