With Autumn Leaves bringing us into April, we’ve got some beautiful solo cello music for local Chicago micro weddings. For couples who have to postpone their large scale celebration but still want to get married now, a micro wedding is the perfect solution to an unprecedented pandemic situation. One musician creates the atmosphere for an elegant and intimate celebration. Matthew is back with a beautiful standard. Be safe, be well!
Category Archives: Artistrings
Chicago Micro Wedding Music and Sheltering In Place
Stay home, stay safe, friends! Looking for some background tunes while perfecting the newest cocktail trend, the quarantini? Or, how about some solo tunes for your Chicago micro wedding? This fun spin on two classic Jobim bossas are just the ticket. Have a seat and enjoy Matthew Agnew from Artistrings. Be well!
Christy & John Got Married Under Quarantine and Micro Wedding Music
Two years of planning now become three – amazing header photo from Melanie Kane Photography
A pandemic. COVID-19 is making its way around the globe and we’re sheltered in place here in Chicago. We’ve been planning with Christy & John for almost two years, and they made the extremely difficult choice to postpone their wedding to 2021. Check out this super sweet micro-wedding ceremony at their home. We cannot wait to celebrate in big numbers with you two next year!
Working together to flatten that curve, Artistrings cellist Matthew Agnew is using this quarantine time to record some solo videos. Folks, this is perfect music for the micro weddings that will be happening soon. We’re hoping to bring a little joy into everyone’s day with this favorite Beatles tune!
Chicago Wedding Band and Classical Strings Performed for Alexa & Aaron’s Wedding at Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel
May 26, 2019
From the minute we met with Alexa and Aaron as they planned their Chicago Wedding, it was so evident that this Memorial Day Weekend Celebration was going to be EPIC! Loews Chicago O’Hare was the location of choice for their ceremony and reception, with 350 friends and family geared up for an incredible evening with our Chicago wedding band!
Mary Ann Kenmotsu from Loews is one of the most efficient and respected catering managers in the Chicagoland area. And believe us, it shows!
The stage was set with a beautiful huppah awaiting their ceremony arrival, accented by the Artistrings trio of violin, cello and keyboard performing their family’s favorite classical selections. Family members and wedding party made their entrance to the lilting waltz of Canon in F, while Alexa followed to the iconic Canon in D/Pachelbel. When the ceremony concluded with the traditional breaking of the glass, everyone clapped and cheered along with Simon Tov Mazel Tov, as the guests of honor made their way over to cocktails.
After a jubilant cocktail hour, the ballroom opened for their New York style reception, with the full Chris Sarlas Orchestra – and this party was READY TO DANCE! Guests flocked to the dance floor immediately, and it was clear that they were there to celebrate. The new Mr. and Mrs. soon made their entrance, with guests mobbing them for the next 20 minute dance set! (Want proof? Check out the video). Ending this opening set was their first dance, Perfect/Ed Sheeran + Beyonce. Perfect, it was 🙂
We love it when our couples choose songs that have special meaning for their mother/son and father/daughter dances. For example, there were two tables filled with Alexa and Aaron’s friends from summer camp. Apparently, one of the songs that campers sing together is House on Pooh Corner/Kenny Loggins. So, when they chose this song for dancing with parents, their friends stood at their tables, joined arms, swayed back and forth and sang along with us! It was an amazingly sweet moment.
Changing up the mood, our Unplugged vocal quartet with acoustic guitar and cajon added the perfect conversation-friendly texture they wanted during dinner service.
After dessert was served, it was time for an extended Hora as the families united at this incredible mitzvah! Here’s a super quick sample of the hora (and check out our Instagram if you want to see Alexa & Aaron up on chairs):
Added bonus: Alexa’s dad is a seasoned drummer in Chicago’s percussion community, and we were delighted that he and two of his band mates joined us for an impromptu jam session to further solidify the event’s epic status! We followed that up with a few more tunes with Andy singing. If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know that Andy reveals a bit of his goofball side as the party approaches late night, and we couldn’t love him more. Here’s a little taste:
Alexa and Aaron produced an absolutely incredible evening from start to finish with so many extra special personal touches through music! We were so happy to celebrate with them, and were thrilled to see this terrific Wedding Wire review:
The Sarlas Rockstars
“Chris and Carol Sarlas were an absolute delight to work with! From start to finish, they were detailed, organized, and passionate about making our wedding out of this world. They truly cared about ensuring we had every song we wanted and even let one of our dads play the drums with his band. It was a packed dance floor all night, a true testament to the band for keeping the party going. We are so thankful for them and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a Chicago-area wedding band!”
Chicago Wedding Band Performed for Kristina & Kevin’s Wedding at Rockwell on the River
From day one, Kristina & Kevin’s infectious energy was such a joy to us. We loved their choice of the new venue Rockwell on the River, and our Chicago wedding band couldn’t wait to fill those walls with music!
Beautiful weather allowed us an outdoor ceremony on the river, with the Artistrings quartet setting an elegant romantic mood. Expert coordination and many thanks to Dana from Clementine Custom Events. Here we are, set up and ready to go, before the guests arrived. See? Gorgeous.
The grandparents, parents, and bridesmaids made their entrance to The Swan/Saint-Saens, while Kristina & her dad floated down the aisle to Debussy’s Clair De Lune. Their music choices were a breath of fresh air on a lovely day. The end of the ceremony introduced the married couple to Higher & Higher/Jackie Wilson, which definitely set the tone for the rest of the night.
While everyone was enjoying cocktails in one segment of the room, the band was ready to go behind the curtain. Hi all!
And the tables? Gorgeous, again 🙂
Starting out, here’s some instrumental jazz to draw guests in from cocktails:
Kristina & Kevin chose to have a New York style reception, which means that they danced a bit between courses. When we opened for dinner, we started the evening off high energy with the full Carol Sarlas Orchestra, which was SO much fun! The bride & groom were introduced to Footloose, which is Kevin’s signature song, and everyone knew it! We all danced to a couple of tunes, and then everyone gathered around for their first dance, Hey Jude. We really can’t imagine a more perfect beginning to this celebration:
Once dinner service began, we played a lot of conversation-friendly music with different segments of the band. Our vocalists took turns singing ballads during dinner service. We love hearing Thair sing this one:
And, there’s a time and a place for groovy instrumental tunes too 🙂
Dancing later in the night was the absolute best.
Kristina & Kevin, your words on Wedding Wire mean the world to us. Hugs all around!
“Sarlas Music exceeded all expectations!
Working with Sarlas Music was one of my favorite experiences from the entire wedding planning process. From our very first meeting, we were confident we made the right decision. It was important for us to maintain a dance party from beginning to end, which is exactly what we had. Chris and Carol listened to all of our ideas and requests, and provided wonderful suggestions, too – proving that they’re truly experts at what they do. We received numerous compliments from our guests, and kept the dance floor packed all night long. Best. Band. Ever!”