2nd Annual Wedding Faire and Fashion Show

Planning a wedding at Lake Tahoe or Northern Nevada? Meet and audition me at the 2nd Annual Wedding Faire and Fashion Show at Reno’s premiere special event center, The Grove--one of the first green special event centers in the country! Enjoy butler-passed appetizers and a full non-hosted bar as you listen to me perform on my Celtic harp. Email me with your request and I’ll play it for you. Admission is free!

Event details: 
October 3, 2010 at  11am-3pm

Location and information:
The Grove at South Creek
96 Foothill Rd.
Reno,  Nevada
(775)324-7684

3 Reasons for Hiring a Musician for your Wedding

My new book, "The Bride's Guide to Musicians: Live Wedding Music Made Easy and Affordable" is now available for pre-sale on Amazon.com. My book is filled with information for hiring wedding musicians rather than using iPod stereo or pre-recorded music.
Need more reasons? Blog author Amanda Williams offers several reasons:

1. Live bands are great for getting guests to interact with each other.

2. They are more likely to remember the band that played at the wedding than any sort of prerecorded music.

3. You will get the most for your money if you are willing to hire a band. This is especially true if you are choosing a band that plays requests or follows a set playlist.

She also says, "After you have experienced a live band performing at your event, you may never want to have prerecorded music played at another event afterward." Read more at Merchant Solutions IQ.

And if you need tips on how to hire a harpist, string trio or quartet, check out Lianne McCombs blog.

Music for Your Wedding

Got wedding questions? Need some music suggestions for your wedding? You'll find answers to many questions, such as what to songs to choose for your wedding march. You can also type in your own questions and receive answers.
WeddingQuestions.net also contains answers for many other wedding questions you may have. It's a sort of "Dear Abbey" for wedding how-to questions and wedding etiquette questions. Check it out. Ask some questions. Get some answers. Have a wonderful wedding day!

When Your Client Isn’t the Bride-Part 3

This is the last in a 3-part series on the ups and downs with working with a client that is not the bride.

When Your Client is the Mother of the Bride, the Groom, or Other Family and Friends of the Bride

These people, the bride’s loved ones, are emotionally connected to the wedding details, unlike booking agents or wedding coordinators.

Most of the musicians I interviewed had no problems or issues working with the mothers of brides, or any of her family and friends, for that matter. They typically do not hover about musicians on the wedding day, because they are part of the wedding party and busy tending to other activities. As long as they are speaking for the best interests of the bride and groom, family members are a pleasure to work with.

The trouble arises when a loved one, typically the mother of the bride or the mother of the groom, makes decisions about your services without consulting with the bride and groom first. Then she is no longer working for the wedding couple’s best interests.

It’s rare when a conflict of interest arises between the wedding couple and the person who actually hired me. When it does, I try to be as diplomatic as possible. I listen to the bride’s concerns and then explain my situation: Her mother signed my contract, and therefore, I must follow her instructions. Then I ask the bride if she can discuss the issue with her mother and come to a mutual agreement.

The person who signs my contract has “veto power.” That’s the way it is, legally. So, I take the time to explain this to the bride and groom if differences of opinion come up. Open communication is the key.

I’ve barely touched the surface of the problems that can arise at weddings and how to solve them.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

When Your Client Isn’t the Bride-Part 1

I am dedicating these next few blog postings to musicians with tips for when your client isn't the bride. This will be a weekly series, so stay tuned......

WHEN YOUR CLIENT IS A BOOKING AGENT

“My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a producer.”—Cole Porter

Good booking agents have a handle on their musicians’ talents, so that they can make decisions about who to hire at a moment’s notice. There are some booking agents who receive a commission from you to find you work.

Waiting for the phone to ring from a booking agent who hires talent for weddings may be a long wait. They work for the bride, not for you.

The booking agent is hired and paid by the bride. They’ll phone, fax, or email you with a job order, simply asking you if you are available. Then they’ll supply you with the time, date, location, and all the particulars in order for you to respond quickly with your price and availability. “Quickly” is the operative word here. A bride will hire a booking agent for the following reasons:
1. She hasn’t the time or energy to search for live entertainers on her own.
2. She has a lot of money to spare and is happy to pay someone to take care of hiring entertainment for her wedding.
3. She has looked for entertainers on her own, but has exhausted all the possibilities she knows of.
4. She needs to hire a musician fast!

Whatever the reason may be, the booking agent will need a response from you pronto.

The longer it takes for them to get back to the bride with your quote, the greater the chance that they will phone someone else and assume you are not interested. You stand a better chance of landing the the gig if you give them a small discount, because the bride is more likely to book you with a smaller mark-up. Also, a booking agent may be more likely to recommend your services if they know you’ll give them a discount.

If a booking agent contacts you about a wedding gig and you have never worked with them before, do some research. Phone other musicians in your area and see if they have had any experience working with the agent. You’ll want to find out if they were sent good wedding jobs and if they were paid in a timely manner.

When a booking agent hires you to play for a wedding, ask them to sign your contract, just as you would with all other clients. They may have their own contract for you to sign, as well.

The booking agent will tell you what to play, when to play it, and how to dress. They’ll give you directions to the wedding location and describe exactly where you’ll set up. They’ll even let you know if you will be served a meal at the wedding or not. They are your sole contact for the wedding. You will not be working with the bride.

This can be wonderful if the booking agent is truly on top of all the details and communicates them to you. It is not so wonderful when the agent drops the ball and leaves out some important pieces of information that you’ll need to know to do your job properly. After being booked for just one wedding job through a booking agent, you’ll know if you’ll ever want to work with them again.

If you decide to build a good, solid relationship with them, they will continue to think of you when a bride is seeking just your kind of talent. Get in touch with the booking agent right after the wedding job, thank them, and report to them how things went.

There is one thing you must never do when a booking agent sends you on a wedding gig: Never give out your business cards or brochures to a wedding guest when you are hired by a booking agent to perform. Instead, give the guests your booking agent’s card. This is the best way to say “Thank you!” to the booking agent who sent you out on that job.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Bridal Show Shocker!

Today, I received in my inbox some startling news from my friend Becca Carter, wedding insurance agent over at the Wedding Protector Plan®. The first quarter of the year is when some of the largest bridal shows happen, so I wanted to pass this information along...

Boston police say thousands of brides-to-be and wedding vendors have been scammed by a web site advertising a fake Boston bridal show. More than 6,000 individuals and vendors have paid and signed up with the web site, promising all that a large, elegant wedding show provides. Vendors discovered it was a scam after they tried to contact the convention center, asking when they could set up their exhibits for the show. The FBI is now involved and the web site has been taken down. Read more about this tragedy from The Boston Globe.

How can you make sure that a bridal show is legitimate?

Tips for Musicians:
Never sign up to exhibit at a bridal show without talking with the producers on the phone. Ask them the following questions:

1. Have they produced any other wedding shows or is this one of their first events? Get statistics of how many brides have attended past shows so that you’ll know how many bookings may be possible for you.

2. Where is the show located? Exhibit at shows in areas where you’ll want to travel to perform.

3. What are the dimensions of the booth? Can you fit your entire ensemble into that booth?

4. What’s in the contract? Yes, you need a contract! Find out what the promoter will guarantee to you, in writing.

5. Use your gut feelings to decide if you want to work with a particular bridal fair producer. If they come off like a slimy used car salesman with a hard-sell attitude, run in the other direction.

6. What is the total fee that the producer will charge to you? Take into account all the extras that might not be included in the standard booth fee: electricity, linen rental, extra chairs or tables, etc.

My book, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides”, contains an entire chapter about getting the most out of bridal shows. It’s available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, and of course, at my website at Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

Tips for Brides, Mothers-of-Brides, Event Planners, And Anyone Attending Bridal Fairs:

In my upcoming book, “The Bride’s Guide to Musicians: Live Wedding Music Made Easy and Affordable”, I’ll be devoting an entire section to successfully navigating around bridal shows.

To avoid spending money pre-registering for a bridal fair that is a scam, make sure that the show is well advertised. If a promoter is spending good money advertising the show in your local paper, on billboards, on radio, and even on TV, the show is certainly legitimate. A con artist is not going to spend money that they stole from people to advertise a fake bridal fair.

You can also contact the venue where the show is to take place. They can verify that the show will indeed go on as planned.

And if something still doesn’t feel right and you are in doubt about the legitimacy of a bridal fair, don’t register online. Simply show up at the appointed time of the show. All bridal shows allow you to pay admission at the door if you have not pre-registered online.

Bridal shows are great places to find all your wedding vendors in one shopping trip. Don’t let this one horrible incident prevent you from attending bridal shows in your local area.

Please stay in touch, write and comment. I’m looking forward to reading your stories and feedback.

Anne :-)

The Wonderful World of Interactive Gigs

I started the New Year off performing for Edie’s 70th birthday party. What a blast. Her husband, Jack, invited me to play for the birthday dinner at a popular Chinese restaurant in old town Folsom, California. Jack made all the musical selections with me beforehand, and he asked many questions about the tunes. I just thought he was interested, but he made a game of it at the birthday party.

Once everyone was seated, Jack announced to all guests the instructions to the game: They would hear one tune played on the harp that was the love song from the movie “Ghost”, and another tune that was made popular in the movie “Ordinary People”. As soon as someone hears the song, they need to raise their hand and shout out the answer. That person would get a prize (a free sandwich coupon at a local eatery).

Not only did the guests become attentive to the music between their courses of egg rolls and chow mien, it struck up all kinds of conversations about music. And Edie, the guest of honor, was having a great time, as everyone sang “Happy Birthday” accompanied by me on the harp.

My next gig this year was performing for a corporate dinner party at the lovely Edgewood Country Club here at Lake Tahoe. A meeting planner booked me for the performance, and she didn’t know the age group that would be attending the party. So I brought along a wide assortment of sheet music, just in case guests would have requests. Turns out they began requesting music from the moment I began playing Sting’s “Field’s of Gold” and the Beatle’s “I Will”.

In the middle of the festivities, the host announced me by name and said I’d be playing something unusual on the harp for everyone. I selected “Stairway to Heaven”, which was met with “Woot! Woot!” from the crowd. Then, they held up their cell phones, lighters, and candle centerpieces to show their appreciation. I received a big round of applause, quite unexpectedly.

When a gig becomes interactive, it’s great fun for the musicians and the guests. It’s the reason to have live music at an event—getting the guests involved in music that is organically created at any moment.

Tips for Brides, Event Planners, And Anyone Hiring Performers

Invent ways to have your guests interact with the musician. You could include a musical guessing game, allow your guests to throw out requests to willing musicians, do live karaoke with your musicians, pair up songs to announce different events at your party, and more. The music can become the party game or centerpiece of your event, and people will long remember the music afterwards.

Tips for Musicians

Extend your repertoire. Be willing to take requests, accompany others, or simply show off a tune that people won’t expect. Learn to read the crowd by their age ranges and trust your instincts to play what you know they’ll enjoy. It’s a lot of fun to be flexible and surprise your audience.

I have a friend who leads a string quartet, and to this day, one of the most surprisingly popular tunes his ensemble plays is the theme from the Flintstone’s cartoon. Blows the socks off of anyone who may think they are a stuffy string quartet. And I can’t tell you how many people crave hearing “Stairway to Heaven”, “Free Bird” and perhaps a Nirvana or Metallica tune on the Celtic harp. You become a popular commodity when you can think outside the box and provide some unexpected entertainment for your guests. Word gets around about your abilities and you’ll get more bookings.

Have a wonderful New Year and make sure to check out more tips for musicians in my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” (which also contains great marketing ideas for all gigs) available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com , and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9
I’m looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and feedback.

Anne :-)

Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

(And contact me at anne@celticharpmusic.com for personal consultation and mentoring—Make a living while gigging)

3 Money Saving Tips for Audio and Video Demos

When a potential client is intrigued by the services you have to offer for their wedding (perhaps because of your wonderful business cards and brochures), the very question they are likely to ask is, “Do you have a demo?”

If your answer is "no", read on for 3 money saving tips:

1. Incorporate video clips of your live performances at weddings into your demo tapes. As long as the film quality is apparent, you can save a bundle in shooting costs. You’ll need to get permission from the bride to use the video as a demo. As a gesture of goodwill, you will also need to credit the videographer in the film.
2. Record the video demo first, and then use its soundtrack for your audio demo.
3. Extract stills from your video demo to use as promotional photos.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Four Print Advertising Vehicles to Promote your Wedding Services

1. The Yellow Pages of your local phone book.
Old-fashionedas it seems in this Internet age, this is one form of advertising you should not pass up. If you do not invest in any other print advertisement, you should invest in this one. The Yellow Pagesis the best-distributed print vehicle that you’ll find. They aren’t just found hanging from metal cords in phone booths (which are becoming obsolete with the high use of cell phones). TheYellow Pages are dropped off at the door of all local residents and businesses for free. They are inside hotel and motel rooms, and most businesses have one stashed somewhere. It reaches many, many people within a specific geographical area, and it exposes people to your ad for at least a year. (Some Yellow Pages are reprinted more frequently than others, so the length of exposure depends upon region).

2. Newspapers.
With newspaper advertising, you have some control over how long you want your ad to run. And like theYellow Pages, you can select a local regional newspaper to reach local brides. Newspapers are also like the Yellow Pages, because you reach a large, general population of readers who are not necessarily brides.

3. Magazines.
They are not published as frequently as newspapers, so the exposure your ad gets depends upon whether the reader hangs on to the magazine issue, passes it along to friends, or just throws it away.

4. Radio and Television.
Radio and television advertising is very cost-prohibitive, and commercials only work when they are run frequently when your target audience of brides are listening. Leave this advertising to bridal fair promoters, restaurants, and receptions halls that book weddings.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

How to Package and Price Your Services

Design three basic performance packages.

Why three? Read below:

The Highest Cost Package—
This contains your most performance time available for a wedding and all extra services you’re willing to provide. Because it’s your premium package, you’ll want to price it as such.

The Lowest Cost Package—
This enables brides who have very small weddings or very small budgets to afford your services. This package is your minimum—your minimum of how much time you will perform and the minimum of what the bride can afford to pay you. This package is the answer to the bride’s question of, “What is your minimum?”

The Best Value Package—
This package is in the middle of your price range. When a cost-conscious bride finds out that there isn’t that much included in your lowest cost package, she’ll be willing to pay a little more to receive more value.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

3 Easy Steps for Creating and Updating Your Wedding Music Repertoire

Step 1. Take out a few peices of paper, and some colore pencils, too. On one page scribble down the kinds of music that you play right now, making a list of your present repertoire. Be as detailed as possible. Don't stop to analyze whether your music is approppriate for weddings. Just write down the titles of every tune you know how to play comfortably, music that you know you can perform in front of an audience without stumbling or breaking into a cold sweat.

If you play different genres of music, say you can play jazz guitar and know some bluegrass tunes, use different colored pencils to differentiate between the types of music you play. Maybe use one color for up-tempo tunes and another for slow ballads. You can also separate the types of music you play by ethnicity or whether they are secular (religious) or non-secular. Take time to go through your sheet music books and include everything in your list. Take as long as you like to complete this page.

Step 2. Review this list and place things in an order that makes sense to you, an order that you could perhaps share with a potential client, a bride. Place all the pre-ceremony music together, the reception music together, the possible bridal entrance tunes together, and so on. You'll want to be prepared to offer the bride several choices for each wedding activity. Remember: Not every bride wants to enter to "Here Comes the Bride."

Step 3. Start on a new page. Make a wish list of all the kinds of music you'd like to learn to play. Write down specific titles. These may include tunes you are still working on, tunes that you're not ready to perform in front of an audience quite yet. This list will help you to determine if you should continue working on these tunes or abandon them for other music that will give you a better chance of landing you wedding gigs.

When you're done with the list , compare it with the first list of songs you know. Do the songs you want to learn fit in with the types of songs appropriate for weddings? For instance, if you play for receptions, are they danceable? Put these tunes in order, with you first choices at the top of he page.

If you are in a band or ensemble, do this entire brainstorming exercise with your band members. They may have tunes in their personal repertoires that could be worth adding to your group's song list. This exercise will also help to confirm that all the members of your group have the same goals. If they aren't interested in performing at weddings and receptions, then the truth will certialny come out through this brainstorming activity. The key to this exercise is to make sure that each member of your group is on the same collective track. Musicians who share the same goals tend to get along well together and have longevity as a group.

Brides love menus of information. When they aks you, "What do you play?" you'll now be prepared to share your repertoire list with them.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Do What You Do Best---Create a Repertoire

Do what you do best, and you'll love what you do. The music you play that resonates within you carries your own fingerprints. Even if other musicians can play the same songs as you do, what you bring to these sonsg is uniquely your own.

To land lucrative wedding gigs, you need to find your niche among the competition. This is know as "positioning" in marketing lingo. It means researching what makes you different from the rest of the musicians and capitalizing on these differences. Compiling your wedding repertoire is the first step to making you stand out.

"You are more attractive when you break bread with a competitor."-from Attracting Perfect Customers by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniea of Perfect Consulting Unlimited.

How do you find out what your competition plays? There is no better time than now to enlist some allies. Make friends with other successful musicians in your geographical area and hear them perform. Get together and jam. Check out their websites. If some musicians give you the cold shoulder when you approach them in friendship, they may be viewing you as a threat, and that's their problem. Your competition can be your friends.


Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

10 Tips on What it Takes to Play at Weddings

Here are ten general tips that will help you to be a successful wedding musician. Master these, and you'll start receiving a steady flow of referrals, inquiries, and bookings:

1. Be content with taking directrions from the bride and those she appoints to oversee her wedding, no matter how stange you think her expectations of you may be. Follow instructions with a kind smile and a nod, without being argumentative. Aim to please.

2. Educate the bride about the services you have to offer. Keep the lines of communication open so that there is absoulutey no doubt in the bride's mind that she can count on you.

3. Politely stand your own ground when necessary. Be firm regarding such issues as requesting pay, seeing that you are provided with your performance requirements, and squelching impossible demands.

4. Possess a willingness to offer helpful suggestions about how to select weddings or reception music, without actually making up the bride's mind for her. In other words, if you disagree with the bride's musical taste, or you don't like playing the songs she has chosen, let her know why. If she insists, play what she wants to hear anyway. Understand that she is creating her own personal memories with the music she chsooses.

5. Accept the fact that you will be performing background music while people are talking and mingling. You are not a "diva"-You don't have to be the center of attention.

6. Perform smoothly and with confidence. Understand that if you dispaly a lack of confidence, the bride and the other wedding professionals on your team will have a lack of confidence in you too.

7. Look food, No, look GREAT! Smile. Look like you are having fun when you play, Take good care of yourself and the clothes that you wear. Take good care of your equipment, too.

8. Realize thsat you can learn from other experiences.

9. Know that a positive attitude makes you a magnet for enjoyable, high-paying wedding gigs. You'll be viewed as a calm professional. Brides will appreciate that your feathers don't get fuffled too easily. Better yet, other wedding vendors will see that you can handle
situations that come up at a wedding with ease, and they will want to work with you again. They'll refer you over and over.

10. Love what you do and success will come. Show you love of what your do with gratitiude. Thank the bride, your clients and other wedding vendors, and everyone who crosses your path.

These tips are designed to help your set parameters for what you are and to help guarantee success at future wedding gigs.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com,
Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

When the Unthinkable Happens

It is the one thing that musicians and performers dread. We’re all human, and it can happen. I am referring to double-booking. (Yikes!). Maybe two contracts got stuck together in your files and you didn’t realize you had booked that second wedding on the same day. Or perhaps you transferred the time of the gig from the contract to your calendar incorrectly. Or maybe a fellow band member booked a gig and didn’t tell the other members. However it happened, it can be a real jam.

Beyond double- and triple-checking your availability when a client calls, if you get stuck with two jobs that are just too close together, here is what you can do:

Arrive at the second job earlier that day and drop off equipment (instruments, amps, etc.). Set up as much as possible. Then, go off to your first job with another set of equipment. When you are done at the first job, you will be able to cut down on set-up time when you arrive at the second job because you won’t have to load in. Doing this really helped me when I was in this pickle very recently, and neither of my clients were suspect of anything amiss. (Caution: Of course, make sure you can leave equipment at the first gig in a secure location.)

Certainly, if you can only do the two jobs by cloning yourself and your band members, then you’ve got to give up one of the jobs. Select the job that will be easier to refer to someone else. Find a replacement before you phone your client to give them the bad news. Give your potential replacement all the details about the gig, including your client’s music choices, so that when the client phones them, you will have done all the legwork for them. If you cannot find comparable substitute musicians for the gig, contact your favorite booking agent or wedding coordinator and explain the situation to them.

When you speak with your client, tell them that you have found another musician or band for them. Talk up the other band’s great attributes, give your client their number, and tell them, “Let me know what you would like to do after you speak with them.” Or, refer them to a reputable booking agent or wedding coordinator. One referral is enough—The point is to save your client from needing to contact a bunch of different referrals.

Next, put everything in writing: Your conversation with your client, their decision about whether to have money refunded or sent to the alternative act, and your sincerest apologies. Follow the rules that you established in your performance agreement regarding cancellations, and cite these guidelines verbatim in your letter. Mail this letter to your client (keeping a copy for your records), along with any money owed to them. Then, breathe a sigh of relief.

Even if your client decides they don’t want to book the other performers you recommended, they will appreciate the effort on your part and there is a better chance they will react in a rational way to your news. By the way, handle any gig that you have to cancel for any reason in this manner, even if you didn’t double-book.

Tips for Brides, Event Planners, And Anyone Hiring Performers

Musicians are human. We make mistakes. Life gets in the way and sometimes we need to cancel a performance for rational reasons: family events, surgery, pregnancy, and all kinds of other things, including accidentally double-booking. We’ll try our best to find you a replacement act when these things happen, but if we don’t, please ask us to help you. We may know great booking agents or wedding coordinators who can also help. And we’ll happily return your deposit or send it along to the replacement act you select. We are truly sorry when we need to cancel.

Tips for Musicians:

Understand how your client feels when you need to cancel. Be honest with them. Then, help them as much as possible, even if they get irate. I’d be upset, too, if I suddenly couldn’t have my favorite band play at my event. A little sincere compassion goes a long way.
Many more tips are available from my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com , amazon.com, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9

I’m looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and feedback.
Anne :-)

Anne RoosCeltic Harp Music by Anne Roos
(And contact me at anne@celticharpmusic.com for personal consultation and mentoring—Make a living while gigging)

Painting is by Edvard Munch and is called "The Scream"

Six Tips for Seeking Musicians Through the Internet

The Internet is now the substitute for the Yellow Pages phone book when it comes to looking for talent for your wedding day. But is it truly better? Depends on how you use it. Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of your online musician search:

1. Search engines-Make sure you are searching within the location where your wedding or event will be held. What happens if you fall in love with a band that is 300 miles away from your wedding site? Will you shell out the money to pay for their travel, food, and accommodations? Look for wedding directories in the geographical location where you are getting married by typing something like "Weddings in Tahoe" in the search engine field. Then, look within those directories for the kind of instrumentation you are seeking.

2. Online booking agencies-These websites charge a fee to musicians for their listings. Some of these, such as gigsalad.com, are fantastic. They have a multitude of musicians listed, and you can do your homework from there to get more information. Beware of online booking agencies that charge you a fee to receive information. They should not be charging you to shop on their site (although they may want you to create a username and password so that you can save your searches when you return to their site).

3. Directories that rate musicians who are listed-How did the musicians receive those ratings? Did they pay the site owner an extra fee to receive a five star rating on their listing? And do you really want to hire a musician with less than a perfect rating? If you are looking at directories that rate musicians appearing in their listings, know exactly how they received those ratings before shopping.

4. Online booking agencies that require musicians to send bids to you-Avoid these sites, because there are usually hidden fees that are charged to the musician, and the musician may pass those fees along to you. You may save money if you phone individual musicians, after visiting their web sites, rather than going through a third party to receive bids.

5. Wedding websites-Some of the best places to find musicians online. You will find a musician who has wedding experience and will not end up hiring a band who has no idea how to behave at a wedding.

6. Booking agents online-Many are listed online. Booking agents are particularly useful if you are looking at the last minute, if you want someone else to be the point person with the musicians, or if you simply don't know where to find experienced musicians. Look for booking agents within your geographic area, then give them a call and chat. Expect to pay a commission to a booking agent, a sort of a "finder's fee", for helping you land the perfect musicians for your occasion.

A final word: Beware of comments left on blogs and directories about specific musicians. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Find out if your church, banquet manager, minister, event coordinator, and others at your event also recommend the musicians you are considering.

Cathy is Late to the Altar

Cathy and her mother met me at a February bridal fair. Cathy decided right then and there that she wanted to have me perform for her wedding. Her mother paid my deposit, and I thought, “These folks are getting everything in line.”

But an interesting thing can happen as the wedding day approaches: Nervousness and overwhelm can lead to disorganization.

About a month before the wedding day, I spoke with Cathy about her music selections. In that conversation, she frantically mentioned to me that her minister would be going on vacation on her wedding day and suddenly didn’t have anyone to perform the ceremony for her. (Argh! Without a celebrant, there is no wedding!). So, I recommended she speak with Reverend David Beronio, as I knew that he traveled to Genoa, Nevada to officiate ceremonies.

She booked Reverend Dave after about a week of deciding. He confirmed this fact with me by phone, telling me, “Yes, I’ll be doing Cathy’s 3:30 pm ceremony.” Uh oh. My contract said the ceremony started a half hour later at 4 pm. I phoned Cathy to find out that she had indeed changed the ceremony time to fit into her photographer’s tight schedule. Cathy forgot to tell me. (Argh! I would have shown up with no time to set up before the ceremony began!).

Finally, things seemed to be on the right track. Cathy sent me her music list in time. These were her music choices (for more information on these songs, check out my repertoire list:

Pre-Ceremony Seating Music:
Celtic and Classical Selections
Mother’s Seating Music Plus Processional Music for 3 Bridesmaids and 2 Flower Girls:
“Canon in D”
Bride’s Entrance:
“Here Comes the Bride”
Music played softly behind Ceremony:
“All the Way” (popularized by Frank Sinatra)
Recessional:
“Angelical Hymn”
Post-Ceremony Music Played During Photo Session:
1. “Glory of Love”
2. “Moon River”
3. “Grow Old With Me”
4. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”
5. “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”

I arrived at the wedding site on schedule, at the beautiful outside lawn at the Genoa Lakes Golf Club in Genoa, Nevada . I checked in with Marie, the wedding coordinator at the Golf Club, after I had set up. She was inside Antoci’s Restaurant , busy setting up for the reception and told me that no one had arrived yet.

So, I waited and waited outside. Reverend Dave arrived and reviewed his cues with me. Still no one appeared outside, and it was 3:15, my scheduled time to start playing for the seating of the guests. So, I followed Rev. Dave inside to find out when guests would be seated and whether the ceremony was on time. I discovered that the bride was still absent, so the guests were instructed to wait inside so that they would not have to wait in the hot sun.

Soon it was 3:30, then 3:45, and still no guests outside. Finally, the bride arrived at 4 pm, a full 30 minutes late, causing the following potential problems:

1. The minister had another wedding to perform elsewhere at 5 pm.
2. The photographer had another group to photograph at 5 pm.
3. I was booked to perform until 4:15, otherwise, I’d need to ask for overtime pay (I also travel with a “roadie” or an assistant, who was on the clock as well. I’d need to pay him for his overtime, too).

Reverend Dave got things underway quickly. The ceremony ended at 4:25 pm, and Marie quietly warned the bridal party that I might be owed overtime pay. I approached the bride and groom to congratulate them. Cathy apologized profusely for her tardiness and her mother asked me how much extra money she owed. I explained that she didn’t owe me anything, but if she wanted me to play during the photo session, as I was originally planning to do, she would need to pay me for overtime. Cathy and her mother decided to forego that music due to the extra cost.

Unfortunately, the only music Cathy heard was her entrance music, the music during the ceremony, and the recessional tune.

Tips for Brides:

The number one way to insure that your wedding goes smoothly is to be on time—not just being on time for your arrival at your ceremony site, but also being on time with all your pre-wedding plans.

As you hire your wedding vendors, they will tell you when they will need specific information. Write down these due dates and tasks in a wedding calendar and refer to it on a regular basis as your wedding day approaches. Here are examples of information to include in your calendar:

1. Due dates and amounts of final payments for each of your wedding services.
2. Wedding license particulars
3. Final date to get your music list to your musicians (so they’ll have time to practice).
4. Date to have all RSVPs back from guests (so that you’ll have a final guest count)
5. Date to get your final guest count to the banquet manager (so that they will know how much food to prepare)

And there are more dates and tasks to include, depending upon what services you have hired for your wedding.

Keep a record of the email addresses and phone numbers for all your wedding vendors. This way, if you need to change your wedding date or time, or if your ceremony location has suddenly changed due to unexpected weather, you won’t leave anyone out. (I once performed at a wedding where the bride decided to have the ceremony time start a full hour earlier. She informed everyone of this fact except the minister! Needless to say, the ceremony did not start earlier, as she had planned).

On your wedding day, avoid being “fashionably late” to your ceremony. I am speaking about not planning to be on time. I’m not talking about true emergencies that are certainly unplanned, such as a flat tire on the way to the ceremony—These are excuses usually forgiven by guests and vendors.

A ceremony that begins late or runs much longer than you anticipated can have great repercussions for the rest of your wedding:

1. Your fiancé can have second thoughts about tying the knot and it’s not the best way to start your relationship with his family.
2. Guests may be unhappy that they were made to sit in the hot sun or freezing temperatures before the ceremony began.
3. Your wedding vendors may have other commitments after their contracted time to perform their services for you. Your celebrant, your musicians, your photographer, and your videographer may need to leave for another wedding and cannot work overtime for you.
4. If your wedding vendors can stay and do not have other commitments to be elsewhere, you will likely owe them overtime pay (and this can be quite expensive, when you multiply this by all the vendors involved).
5. If your ceremony ends late, this can also adversely affect your reception--Your food may be cold or overcooked, and you may owe your reception vendors overtime pay as well.

Being organized and on time with your wedding details, and being on time to your wedding, will keep your budget intact.

If you prefer to hand these details over to someone else, look into hiring your own wedding coordinator. In the long run, they can save you time and money, allowing you to relax on and before your big day. Check out the Association of Bridal Consultants.

Tips for Musicians:

Brides have a lot on their minds. Understandably, balancing their own dreams for their wedding day with the wishes of the their family members and future in-laws make some brides feel nervous and overwhelmed. And sometimes, the demands of a job or schoolwork make it difficult to keep up with wedding agendas.

There is one sure-fire way to make sure you have all the information you need prior to the wedding:
Phone the bride one week before her wedding day and review all your contracted details with her, including the date, time, location, song selections, details about set-up, parking permits, loading zones, and more. The most important bit of info to review is when final payment is due, if you are still owed a balance. And if you are contracted to perform for another wedding after the bride’s wedding, inform her that her wedding cannot run late because you cannot offer overtime.

I would estimate that for me, about 20% of the time, the bride neglects to tell me some important bit of information until this conversation. That important bit has included anything from a time or location change to having 130 guests arriving instead of 30 (suddenly necessitating amplification from me).

Yes, some plans change on the day of the wedding. If the wedding is outdoors and the weather is inclement, you’ll want to be in touch with someone in the wedding party to determine if the location has moved. Of course, checking in with the celebrant, the wedding coordinator, and the banquet manager upon arrival will keep you informed of any changes that might have been decided during the wedding rehearsal.

And if the bride arrives late, you may go into overtime (or sometimes, it’s the celebrant or a close family member who is late). If you are due overtime pay according to your contract, then ask for it. Asking for overtime pay is a bummer, because you are putting a damper on the couple’s happy day, but you have every right to ask for it. Your hired roadies and other ensemble members will be expecting the extra pay for the extra time, too. If you don’t mention your overtime rate in your performance contract, then it’s time to add it.

Many more tips are available from my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, Amazon.com, and of course, at my website at www.celticharpmusic.com.

I’m looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and feedback.

Anne :-)

How to Respond to Incompetent Colleagues

When I arrive at a wedding to perform, I do a little research. I speak to the wedding coordinator and the celebrant (the minister, priest, rabbi, pastor, etc.) prior to the ceremony to get my cues and to learn of any nuances before I start playing. My job goes smoothly when I learn about updates to the ceremony agenda prior to my performance. Questioning the wedding coordinator and celebrant about particulars can make my playing seamless during a ceremony.

But what if the wedding coordinator doesn't care about my needs
and doesn't even want to take the time to talk with me? What if
the coordinator does talk to me but ignores our discussion? This
happened to me at a recent wedding, where there were more than
300 guests at a big church and more than 13 attendants walking
down the aisle before the bride's entrance. I went over all my
cues needed and the church wedding coordinator ignored me. She
mentioned she would close the doors to the room and then re-open
them to signal when the processional would begin, but the doors
remained open at all times. The flower girls were to walk in
last, which was my signal to be ready to play the bridal march.
Instead, the coordinator sent them down the aisle first, and I
was left needing to count the 11 bridesmaids before the bride was
to enter.

I was completely confused, didn't get to play the song selected
for the mother's candle lighting and seating, and it took me
until the appearance of the 2nd bridesmaid to determine that I
needed to skip to the processional music.

Things like this will happen, when other wedding vendors will
simply ignore my needs or not know what they are doing in the
first place. I've known ministers who have refused to talk with
me before the wedding to go over the details, actually admitting
that they didn't know what they were going to do anyway. I was
left to watch for a subtle nod of the head to assume that it was
time to play behind a prayer. Professional photographers and
videographers have stood right in front of me when I needed to
see the processional and bride walk down the aisle. I have played
at weddings where the reception band or DJ was within earshot,
testing their sound systems during the ceremony and drowning out
the exchange of vows. I have performed at corporate functions
when sound systems were promised and not provided, or the sound
tech showed up three minutes before I was to begin playing.

What should we do when we're doing our best job and others
muck it up for us? Here are five tried-and-true pointers:

1. Absolutely do not let on to the bride or your client that
anything is wrong! Do not tell the bride, "Oooops. I couldn't
play the seating music for the mothers because the wedding
coordinator didn't give me my cue." Don't tell her, "The sound
guy didn't show up on time so I couldn't begin playing when your
guests arrived." Do the best you can, smile, and behave as if
absolutely everything is going perfectly. (If the bride or client
complains after the event, be careful about dissing other service
providers. If that idiot service provider hears about it, they'll
make your life miserable. Be gracious and simply apologize.)

2. If something needs to be fixed right away, quietly tell the
offending service vendor about your needs. Have your roadie whisper

into the ear of the photographer, "Please move so that our string
quartet can see when the bride is entering." If the photographer
barks back, everyone within earshot will know that the
photographer is a dolt.

3. If you have a bone to pick with a wedding coordinator or other
wedding vendor, and you assume you will cross paths with this
person again, wait until after the ceremony and quietly tell them
what went wrong, as constructive criticism. Don't ever pick a
fight with them in front of your client and their guests.

4. Forget about it if you predict that you'll never be working
with that person again. For instance, I once performed at a
wedding where my amp was misbehaving, crackling and sputtering.
Instead of quietly informing me that my mic or amp needed
adjustment, the owner of the estate where the wedding was held
yelled at me in front of all the guests seated: "The harp sounds
terrible! All we hear is sh_t". I left that wedding venue having
decided that I would never take another job to perform there
again. Thus, there was no point for me to speak to the owner
about her rude behavior.

5. Your best retaliation is to never recommend an incompetent
service provider to anyone. And if a bride or client asks you
about that person, simply say that you have other businesses that
you prefer to recommend. Don't go into detail. Don't bad-mouth
unprofessional businesses. Instead, compliment competent service
providers with referrals. They will return the favor.

These tips, and many more, are available in my book "The
Musician's Guide to Brides". This book is written primarily for
wedding musicians, but it's also filled with savvy information
about marketing, advertising, and promoting your business as a
working musician. It's available wherever Hal Leonard Books are
sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers
including sheetmusicplus.com, Amazon.com, and of course, at my
website at www.celticharpmusic.com.

How have you dealt with unprofessional colleagues? Please share
your comments and insights.

Cheers,
Anne :-)

Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
(And contact me at anne@celticharpmusic.com for personal
consultation and mentoring-Make a living while gigging)

St. Patrick’s Day Tip to Musicians

Do you have a St. Paddy's Day gig? Arrive sober and leave sober. Everyone knows when you've already had one or two drinks when they meet you. It isn't just your behavior--they can smell it on your breath. Don't start off with a bad first impression. At a pub or concert gig, well-meaning guests may buy you a pint while you are performing. A word of caution if you decide to imbibe--sloppy playing and stupid behavior will not get you booked again for next year. Best to wait until after the gig to party (and of course, choose a designated driver).

If you have a private corporate party or a March wedding gig coming up, avoid alcohol altogether. If your co-workers (banquet captain, wedding minister, event coordinator, etc.) see you drinking, they may spread the word that you were drinking while on the job, putting your reputation in the toilet. Learn more about performing at weddings (with useful info about performing at all sorts of gigs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, Amazon.com, and of course, at my website at www.celticharpmusic.com

NEW! Consulting and Mentoring Available:
Anne Roos' Guidance to Making a Living by Gigging

You've certainly heard the phrase, "Don't quit your day job". But in this economy, many are choosing to leave their day job to do exactly what they want in life, and to make a living doing it. Whether you are a gigging musician, or a gigging freelancer in another field, I can help you to make a living doing just what you want to do, to find your own happy niche in the marketplace. Contact me anne@celticharpmusic.com to get started today.

Bridal Fair Madness!

Once or twice a year, I purchase a booth and exhibit at a bridal fair. I do my homework. I make sure that the bridal fair has had high attendance in past shows, I interview other exhibitors from past shows to find out if they had a good experience, and I make sure my booth will be far away from the booths of other musicians, entertainers, and DJs.

I exhibited at the 21st Annual Fantasy Wedding Faire in Reno,
Nevada, produced by the American Heart Association, perhaps
against my better judgment. Why? Because I broke my own
cardinal rule: Never exhibit in the same room as a fashion show. I
signed up for this show because several other wedding service
colleagues had participated in previous years and successfully
booked a number of weddings from the brides who attended.

The event was held in the Silver State Pavilion at the huge Grand
Sierra Resort. Very spacious and comfortable--the room was well
suited for a bridal fair. Set up was a breeze, with easy load-in, but I
didn't count on walking into DJ Bill McClain's loading cart when I
was setting up. Scraped up my foot! Ouch! Maybe it was a bad
omen?

My booth was located on the opposite wall from the fashion show,
as far away from the fashion show as I could possibly be. But once
the doors opened and the brides entered, I discovered my booth
was beneath five PA speakers in the ceiling. These speakers
belched constant announcements for raffle ticket prizes,
descriptions of dresses and models in the fashion show, and
annoying fashion show music at an astounding volume. Anyone
approaching my booth had to yell to converse with me. And of
course, no one could hear my poor little harp-my amp was no
match against those giant speakers. It was no way to introduce
my services to brides.

I commonly book weddings at bridal fairs, because I always offer a
10% discount to brides who decide to hire me at the fair. But this
show was quite the exception, when people could barely converse
with me. Or perhaps, it was a sign of our economy that a larger
discount needed to be offered for landing bookings at bridal fairs? I
may never know.

At least I do know that many brides were interested in my services,
because they waited in line to talk with me, even though they had
to shout over the din. More than 100 brochures left my table that
day. And I'll be in touch with those who entered my drawing for a
free wedding CD, too.

The networking opportunities were endless. Two very generous
florists donated flower displays for my booth: Hattie Reed from Art
in Bloom and another floral arrangement from Floral Expressions &
Events. I met Kathleen from the Harbor House at Sand Harbor
Beach, Lake Tahoe, and learned about their wonderful wedding
facilities. Maybe she'll start recommending me to brides getting
married there. Kristy Hawke who produces the Nevada Women's
Expo also introduced herself to me. Adjacent to my booth was
Andy and Jennifer from The Pampered Chef and along with my
friends Rolf and Eileen from Starling Video , helped watch my booth
when I had to take a break.

So, even if a bridal fair may look like a total washout on the surface,
the connections between the brides and the exhibitors can make it
well worth attending!

Tips for Brides:

Bridal fairs aren't just about checking out the bridal fashions,
sampling cakes, and winning door prizes. Go there with the idea to
hire your wedding vendors at the show. Here's why: most wedding
services offer budget-saving discounts if you decide to book them
right then and there. Bring your checkbook or credit card, an
envelope for your receipts, and your fiancé, mom, and others to
help you make decisions. If they cannot attend, bring along a cell
phone so that you can call them from the show and help you
decide.

Don't want to make quick decisions at the fair? Then bring
something to take notes. Don't be caught without any way to write
down quotes from a potential ceremony site, florist, or musician.

Also prepare a sheet of address labels, and write your email
address and phone number onto those labels before you attend the
fair. At each booth, you may find a drawing for a prize like a free
honeymoon, free flowers, dinner for two at a restaurant, or a
substantial discount off of particular services. Instead of wasting
your time filling out forms for each drawing, just affix the address
stickers to each entry form you encounter and move along to the
next booth.

Follow up with those you meet after the bridal fair while their
wedding services are still fresh in your mind. The more generous
wedding vendors may extend their bridal fair discounts a few days
beyond the fair, especially if you hit it off well with them. But if you
wait weeks or months, not only will you be paying full price, you
may also find that they are no longer available on your wedding
date.

Tips for Musicians:

Exhibiting at bridal fairs is a huge monetary and time commitment.
The booth price alone is not the only monetary factor-having
brochures and promotional materials pre-printed, electricity for your
booth, and other booth amenities will add to that cost. And you
must plan to perform in your booth. The only way brides will fall in
love with the idea of hiring you for their wedding or reception is to
see you in action, as if they would see you at their wedding. You
may need to put in some extra rehearsal time with your ensemble
before the day of the bridal show.

When choosing to buy booth space at a local bridal fair, you can
ask all the right questions of the fair promoter, hear that the fair was
successful previous years from other wedding vendors, and the
event can still stink. All it takes is for the fair to be poorly attended
(perhaps due to lack of advertising or bad weather), or even
something like being placed under a string of loud speakers, as in
the above example. But there are always other wedding colleagues
to meet, and they could be in the position to send you a lot of work
in the future-the silver lining to participating in a bridal fair.

If a wedding fair was truly a washout for you, look at it rationally and
decide what you could have done differently to make it a better
experience. That's what I'm doing about my experience at this last
wedding fair. Should I be involved with another bridal fair that has a
fashion show in the same building? Should I offer a larger discount
to brides who consider booking my services at the wedding fair,
because of this down economy? Should I make a formal complaint
to the fair producers about being placed under the PA speakers or
should I not bother at all? These are some questions I'm
pondering.

I've only touched on a few of the intricacies of participating in a bridal fair
in this blog. I devote an entire chapter to this subject (including
negotiating booth prices, setting up your booth, etc.) in my book
"The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard
Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers
including sheetmusicplus.com, Amazon.com, and of course, at my
website at Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos.

I'm looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and
feedback. And if you have something new to add about your bridal
fair experiences, I'd love to hear them.

Sending my best, Anne :-)

Going With the Flow

Alex started planning her wedding almost a year in advance. She
met me at the Dream Wedding Show a popular Sacramento area
bridal fair, and decided right then and there to book my services.

She planned to have me perform for the wedding ceremony and
cocktail service at the reception. When Alex booked me, she
informed me that it was all at the Lions Gate Hotel.

When I spoke with Alex a week before her wedding to confirm her
wedding details, she told me that the Chapel was not next to the
reception ballroom, and I would need to load my equipment and
drive to the reception after the ceremony. She said, "I'll email you a
map."

Well, the map never came to me, but I figured it was a hotel, and all
I needed to do was to go to the registration desk and ask where the
chapel was located. Even the website for the hotel showed the
chapel and the hotel on the same grounds.

I was wrong. I had no idea where the chapel was, and I phoned the
bridal party while I was en route to the ceremony. The bride's cell
phone was handed off to her uncle, who met me at the entrance to
the Lions Gate complex, and I followed him in his big pickup truck to
the chapel.

I was still there in plenty of time, and with my roadie Ben's help, I
got settled quickly and was ready to play. Pastor Tom gave me all
my cues upon my arrival, and the DJ, Terry Stewart , even volunteered
to patch my harp microphone into his speaker system.

Alex loves the sound of the Celtic Harp and wanted to weave a
mixture of holiday music, Renaissance music, and Irish and
Scottish favorites into her ceremony. Here's what I played (for more
information on these songs, check out my repertoire list.

Pre-Ceremony Seating Music:
1. "What Child Is This"
2. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
3. "Rorate" (Scottish Christmas Carol)
4. "Pastorale" from Corelli's "Christmas Concerto"
5. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel""
6. "Pie Jesu"
7. "All Through the Night" (traditional Welsh)
8. "O Holy Night"
9. "Heart's Cry" from "Riverdance"
10. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"
11. "The Holly and the Ivy"

Seating of bride and groom's parents:
"Kelvin Grove" (traditional Scottish)
Wedding Party of 4 Bridesmaids and 1 Flower girl:
"Simple Gifts"
Bride's Entrance:
Pachelbel's "Canon in D"

There was no music played during the ceremony, and the bride's
cousin played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on the chapel organ for the
recessional.

As soon as the wedding party had walked back up the aisle and
was outside the chapel for photos, Ben helped me pack up and I
was off to the reception. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to
post signs so that we could find the ballroom, or I'd probably have
to pick up the phone and call Alex's Uncle again!

Terry had recorded music playing in the ballroom as guests began
to arrive, allowing me time to set up. When I was tuned up, he
turned down his music, and I started to play a variety of rousing
Celtic tunes, as Alex had instructed.

After Alex and her new husband, Rob, entered the room under a
sword arch, Terry announced that guests at certain tables could
proceed to the buffet line. This wasn't his only announcement. I
would play for five or ten minutes, then Terry would give me the
signal to stop, and he'd make another table announcement, then I'd
resume playing. There were more than 150 guests in attendance,
so he made these announcements a number of times. It was a
delicate balance of respecting Terry's cues and his respecting that I
was on the clock to continue performing.

This arrangement was fine with me. Terry was easy to work with,
and we were both there to please the bride and groom. This was
exactly how Alex wanted things to flow, so who was I to have an
ego about it all?

When my time was up, I thanked and congratulated Alex and Rob
and said my good-byes to Terry. Alex's uncle stopped me as I was
leaving. He beamed, "I will have a wonderful story to share for
years about escorting the harpist to Alex's wedding!"

Tips for Brides:

With all the planning in the world, little things can be left forgotten
just days before your wedding day. In the above example, it was
the map for the harpist. I ran under the assumption that the map wasn't
so necessary and I would find the location, but not even a GPS
would have helped me, as the chapel didn't have a separate
address.

How do you remember all these wedding details? Write them down
and follow through with everything you plan to provide for your
wedding vendors. Delegate when it becomes too burdensome.
Give other people tasks, like making maps to the ceremony and
reception sites. Or simply hire a wedding coordinator to help you
out--It's money well spent if you and your wedding party want to be
completely free of overseeing all the nitty gritty wedding details.

Tips for Musicians:

Make that call to your clients one week before the gig. Go through
all the wedding details-location, arrival time, and balance due,
everything on your performance agreement. You'll be amazed, but
every once in a while, a necessary piece of information will come
up in that conversation that you never heard before. For instance,
the time of the ceremony may have changed and the bride
completely forgot to inform you.

Keep in mind that things can still go awry, even if you have had this
pre-date conversation. Something can even change at the wedding
rehearsal. This is the reason why you also need to check in with
the officiant and wedding coordinator as soon as you arrive.

Just go with the flow if things unfold differently than what you
expected. Being escorted by a man in a big pickup truck to a wedding
site is certainly not what I expected. Nor did I think that the DJ at
the reception would periodically interrupt me. I didn't panic. Really,
it was all fun.

Many more tips are available from my book "The Musician's Guide
to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and
bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com,
Amazon.com, and of course, at my website at www.celticharpmusic.com

I'm looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and
feedback. Have a very prosperous, Happy New Year!

Sending Warm Wishes,
Anne :-)

Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos