Weddingbee Blog

Since we’re having our ceremony at the top of an Olive Hill, we will not be able to have a DJ play our wedding music - so we’ve decided to go with a string quartet. Last weekend we had the great pleasure of attending a free audition for the Mersonacta String Quartet. I was a bit skeptical because their prices were extremely reasonable compared to some of the other local vendors, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Image via Mersonacta String Quartet.

I’m not sure if it had anything to do with the heat (it was 109 degrees outside), but we were very lucky as for the first 45 minutes or so, we were the only ones there! It was like a personalized concert just for us - so much fun. In between each song, we were asked what we’d like to hear and what our musical tastes for our ceremony will be. Both FH and I prefer a non-traditional ceremony and really enjoyed hearing selections from their atypical song set.

Image via Mersonacta String Quartet

They are definitely seasoned professionals and have an extensive list of songs for both the traditional and non-traditional bride. We were able to hear about 19 songs including Canon in D, Wagner’s Bridal Chorus, Moon River, the Bangles’ Eternal Flame, and even a rockin’ version of the Tango from True Lies. You can find their repertoire listed here.

Image via Mersonacta String Quartet. (left to right, top to bottom) First Violin: Daniel Nguyen, Second Violin: Kit (Amy) Lau, Viola: Melody Mundy, Viola: Michael Maga, Cello: Anne-Marie Noble, Cello: Emily Wolfram.

Kit (Amy) Lau is a fantastic composer and has offered to translate any songs we’re interested in incorporating into our ceremony. I’m rather excited about this as we have a TON of ideas for songs we’d like to use at each event. I’ve already been able to find sheet music for the most of the pieces so far - but I’m struggling to find a string arrangement for “our song.” Here’s a list of the custom pieces we’d like to include:

Come to Me by Bjork - Processional for the Bride
Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung (also our first dance song) - Recessional for the Bride and Groom
Untitled #3 by Sigur Ros - Bridal Party

Originally we wanted to have the entire ceremony centered around Sigur Ros’ () album - as it’s AMAZING! In fact, one day - several weeks before we were engaged - FH turned to me and said, “I think we should play this song during our wedding.” Weird, no? Well, we’re so excited to have that come true! As for the Bjork song, this was one of the songs in my Top 50 and has so much meaning to me - I mean, read the lyrics, they’re practically perfect for a wedding ceremony! All in all I’m rather excited to be using Mersonacta. Their energy, talent and passion for their craft is what lured us in and their budget-friendly pricing is simply icing on the cake.

Have you been to any performances to help you decide on your wedding musicians?