Category Archives: Chris Sarlas Orchestra

Chicago Corporate Entertainment, Chicago Wedding Band, Chris Sarlas Orchestra

Chicago Greek-American Band Performed for Hellenic League Debutante Cotillion & Crystal Ball 2017

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December 23, 2017
Chicago Hilton & Towers

Our Chicago Greek-American Band was thrilled to be invited back again to provide the live entertainment for the Hellenic League’s Debutante Cotillion and Crystal Ball in 2017. We can’t imagine a better way to kick off the Christmas holiday weekend!

Five hundred guests began their night enjoying cocktails and visiting together while listening to our pianist perform on the Hilton’s beautiful grand piano at the top of the staircase outside of the Normandie Lounge. From there, guests were chimed into the historic Grand Ballroom, incredibly transformed into a winter wonderland by Tom Manikas of Manikas Designs.

An Honor Guard of Post Debs and Escorts entered to begin the evening, followed by the 2017 Presentation of Debutantes by their fathers. Our Nutcracker theme lit up the night, with the debutantes and fathers dancing to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers. Moms were presented with roses and serenaded by the gorgeous (and seasonally appropriate) Once Upon A December from the film Anastasia. This all culminated as the debutantes danced to a traditional Kalamatiano ‘Thalassaki’ featuring Chicago bouzouki artist and vocalist Costa Politis.

When it was time for the escort’s entrance into ballroom, the majestic Grand March from Aida set the perfect mood. Their featured choreographed American dance number with the debutantes, Uptown Funk/Bruno Mars, set the tone for a killer evening of dancing!

The show culminated with vocalist Nick Lambrinatos’ electric performance of ‘Metro Antistrofa’ (5,4,3,2,1) for the final Greek Dance number. We added a reprise at the end which included the Post Debs and Escorts – FANTASTIC!

A scrumptious four course dinner prepared by the Hilton’s impeccable chefs was enjoyed before the dance floor filled up again with American and Greek dancing to The Chris Sarlas Orchestra until midnight! Ok, maybe we played an encore or two 🙂

Thank you for inviting us back again this year for Chicago Hellenic League’s Debutante Cotillion – we hope to see you again soon!

No evening is complete without a selfie, so here’s Nick, Carol & Chris 🙂

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Chicago Wedding Band, Chris Sarlas Orchestra

Chicago Wedding Band Performed for Anastasia & Bobby’s Wedding at the Chicago Hilton & Towers

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September 30, 2017
Chicago Hilton & Towers

Our Chicago wedding band had a ball celebrating with Anastasia and Bobby in the stunning Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton & Towers. It was such an elegant wedding, and we were blown away by our flower wall backdrop. Very, very cool!

It’s always an extra special experience to look out on the dance floor and see people dancing that have celebrated with us at other Chicago weddings! Check this out: we played for Anastasia’s cousin Caidi’s wedding just over a year ago. We loved that Bobby (a guest that night) sat in with the band on a few tunes. He’s an incredible trumpet player and music educator, and we’re always thrilled when couples want to personalize their wedding reception with unique details like this.

When Anastasia and Bobby came over to talk about their need for a Chicago wedding band, we were so honored to be included and couldn’t wait for their party in September at The Hilton and Towers!

Horn-based tunes played a big role in their requests for the night. From their first dance, Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, the dance floor was packed with guests of all ages. Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Pharrell, Rihanna, J-Lo, JT, you name it. This party was one crowd-pleasing request after another!

And of course, we had to include Sweet Home Alabama in honor of Anastasia’s birthplace. 🙂

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Thank you, Anastasia, for these kind words on Wedding Wire!

Using the Chris Sarlas Orchestra has become one of our family’s BEST wedding traditions! From my cousins’ weddings to my own, this group ROCKS it from Stevie Wonder to Lady Gaga (and of course, the Greek dance music is amazing). We had compliments all night (and still get them now) on how fun they were and how amazing they sounded (coming from a wedding full of musicians, that’s a big deal!). Thank you Chris & Carol for being so fantastic to work with and helping with special song requests. I’m sure we’ll be dancing with you again at future family weddings!

Artistrings, Chicago Pop String Quartet, Chicago String Quartet, Chicago Wedding Band, Chris Sarlas Orchestra

Chicago Wedding Band Performed for Melli & Steve’s Wedding at Union League Club of Chicago

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September 9, 2017
Union League of Chicago

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Our Chicago wedding band was thrilled to join Melli & Steve for their wedding reception at the Union League Club of Chicago. We always LOVE performing at the ULC! From cocktails on the 2nd floor with the Artistrings pop string quartet, to dancing between courses with Chris’ 14 piece Chicago wedding band, Melli & Steve’s wedding was one to remember.

Question: What’s the best way to guarantee an exceptional Chicago wedding reception?
Answer: A team of rockstar vendors working together! Ken Severin and his entire staff pay close attention to every detail of the evening, making the Union League one of Chicago’s most popular and respected venues. Add Stephanie Cook’s team of Creative Planners led by Michelle Alex to the mix, and you’ve gathered the key ingredients for a killer celebration.

Cocktails were held on the second floor, where 250 guests were thrilled by the Artistrings Pop Quartet as they visited and relaxed after the beautiful ceremony at St. Demetrios Church.

Melli and Steve wanted a New York style reception with continuous music all night long, which is this Chicago wedding band’s very favorite type of reception to play! Their first dance: This Magic Moment/The Drifters established the perfect mood to transition into a short dance set to get the evening started. We loved looking out on the packed dance floor and seeing so many happy guests, some of which had never been to an East Coast style dance party. Their jubilant reactions told us that they approved, in a very big way!

Music requests during dinner included several authentic big band Frank Sinatra arrangements, including Young At Heart for the evening’s father/daughter dance. When entree service began, we pared things down to an ‘Unplugged’ set. Featuring our incomparable vocal team of Jae, Dayna, Tim and Andy, along with acoustic guitar and cajon, guests were treated to hip arrangements of popular songs that were also conversation friendly 🙂

From there, it’s was all about Melli and Steve’s vision of continuous dance music for the rest of the night!

Here are some fun clips of the evening:

Check out the surprise during Sweet Caroline. One of the guests heard the intro, and walked onto the stage with laser focus…to perform the song with Andy! Andy took it all in stride and literally, did not miss a beat.

Oh what a night, Melli and Steve!

Chicago Wedding Band, Chris Sarlas Orchestra, Unplugged Vocal Quartet - Dinner Music

Chicago Wedding Band Performed for Kate & Brett’s Rustic Farm Wedding

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August 26, 2017
Seymour, IL

The day that Kate & Brett got engaged in Washington, D.C., they prioritized their band and the location for their wedding celebration. Within two weeks, the decision was made to host the celebration at Kate’s family farm in Seymour, IL, and that Chris’ Chicago wedding band would be making the trip down to keep everyone dancing. The one sure thing they told us right away was this: “it’s not going to be a black tie affair, we can tell you that much!” “Think country chic, Chris.” We love it!

When our Chicago wedding band performed for Kate & Brett’s rustic farm wedding, their machine shed was repurposed into housing the best country-chic evening celebration you can possibly imagine. Of course, this also meant that we could drive our van right in and unload. This, my friends, was the easiest load-in of our 18 year career….so far. (Can you hear the sound crew applauding?) What a refreshing change from the congestion of the city. You feel peaceful just looking at these next two pictures, right?

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Andy sounded fantastic on All The Way/David Nail for Kate & Brett’s first dance. Their Goldendoodle, Lincoln, was the sweetest first dance bomber we’ve ever seen. This video makes us smile, every single time.

Guests enjoyed our unique “Unplugged” option for dinner service:

And then, we danced the night away!

Brett’s words on Wedding Wire mean the world:

We found Chris and Carol on WeddingWire and immediately found Chris’ responsiveness and attention to detail very comforting. He took the time to get to know us as a couple and what we wanted from our wedding band. They crushed it! Guests of all ages were dancing for hours. We also appreciated the band’s willingness to learn a new song for our first dance. Also – the acoustic dinner music was incredible and something we’d highly recommend to anyone else. We gave Chris and Carol five stars all around – we had a blast and our guests are raving about the music at our wedding. Thanks to Chris, Carol, and the band for everything!

Kate & Brett, your party was a blast, and we were thrilled to celebrate with you both!

Artistrings, Chicago Pop String Quartet, Chicago String Quartet, Chicago Wedding Band, Chris Sarlas Orchestra, Unplugged Vocal Quartet - Dinner Music

Chicago Wedding Band Performed for Molly & Angelo’s Wedding at Drake Chicago

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July 15, 2017
The Drake Hotel

Molly & Angelo met while working together at NBC in South Bend, IN, and they chose one of our very favorite ballrooms for their Chicago wedding day, the Gold Coast Room at the Drake.

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From our first conversation together, we knew that this party merging Irish, German, and Sicilian traditions was going to be off the charts! Our Chicago wedding band performed for Molly & Angelo’s wedding at the Drake Chicago, and there were so many special moments to remember: Artistrings pop string quartet kicked things off for cocktail hour, family friend and tenor Tony Milioto brought down the house with O Sole Mio and Nessun Dorma during dinner, dancing featured an extended tarantella for all guests to enjoy, and we learned Allentown/Billy Joel in honor of Angelo’s home town.

Check out Angelo and his dad singing a special Italian song together – one of the sweetest moments ever!

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Molly & Angelo wanted to celebrate with an East-Coast style (New York style) wedding, so once we entered the Gold Coast Room for dinner service, we got everyone up to dance for a few minutes. We love how a NY style wedding gets the energy of the wedding up from the minute the reception starts, it’s so much fun! Here’s an uncut video clip of part of this dance set, so you can see how we transition between tunes to keep everyone on the floor.

We featured this smaller 8 piece Chicago wedding band for dancing between courses, and then our Unplugged vocal quartet with acoustic guitar and cajon during dinner service. For dancing after dinner, we expanded to the full 11 piece band (with horn section) for all of their requested favorites including Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind and Fire, James Brown and Bruno Mars. One of the best moments of the night was watching the dancers tear up the dance floor with another special request: Mambo Italiano!

There’s more video coming up soon, and our most sincere thanks to Nicole Zenner and her team from LK Events for making everything so easy 🙂