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For some reason (that I will never fully understand), when I asked Mr. Peep about a ceremony musician, he instantly said he wanted a cellist. I didn’t have strong feelings on the subject, but I said that I would think about it. Right about that time, The Secret Life of Bees came out, and lo and behold, Alicia Keys was playing the cello—solo. It sounded beautiful!! I made my decision while watching the movie.
I found two great resources in the Bay Area for cellos to hire: the music department at UC Berkeley, and the San Francisco Conservancy of Music. Yet, I immediately hit a road block: both only book about three months in advance. I think it has to do with the fact that both programs offer students for hire, and the students don’t know their schedules that far in advance.
So, I patiently waited. When the three month mark hit, I immediately booked a cellist for two hours through the SF Music To Go program. The prices are really reasonable, and the program itself has great ratings on Project Wedding!
After talking to our fabulous cellist about classical versus contemporary, I did some research and put together a mixed list that we are actually really excited about.
Mr. Peep and the rest of the bridal party will be walking out to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun.
Here’s a video of the Beatles hit.
For my song, I surprisingly went traditional. I spent all weekend watching Pride and Prejudice (a movie that is totally in my top five) and throughout the movie, they kept playing the same song on the piano. I loved it, and surprise, surprise, it’s the song that our cellist recommended: Bach Cello Suite No. 1. Here’s Yo Yo Ma playing it beautifully:
And for the recessional… I think you may have heard this one before:
I think it’s a mix of fun and tradition, and our cellist actual thinks that our selections are pretty cool!! I’d highly recommend looking into local music schools for your ceremony music.
What are you walking up and down the aisle to?
my FI is a TOTAL Kingdom Hearts fan, so we’ll be using the Dearly Beloved mp3. I was so surprised at how lovely it is, considering it’s from a video game for cripes sake! It’s modern, yet classic at the same time and I’m totally smitten by it.
I’m going to be walking down the aisle to Here Comes the Sun! It has special meaning to me because it reminds me of my father, who passed away last year and won’t be able to walk me down the aisle. It’s an excellent choice, I must say!
If I weren’t marrying Mr. Rye Bread, I’d totally want yo-yo ma’s babies. that bach suite no 1 is timeless.
I love your music selections. I definitely don’t want the ‘traditional traditional’ and love your mix of both!
You guys are very specific, just like us.
We’ve also chosen very specific music for our wedding.
We both love film scores, so we went with that, even though our wedding doesn’t reflect any of that.
The processional is made up of film scores from romantic movies we love - Shakespeare in Love - The Rehearsal, Princess Bride - Storybook Love, Pride and Prejudice (we also love that movie) - Mrs. Darcy, Love Actually - Prime Minister’s Love Theme, Wall-E - Define Dancing, The Notebook - Our Love Can Do Miracles and You’ve Got Mail - If Only.
My entire bridal party will be walking down the aisle to the Forrest Gump Suite. The feather theme will be for the groom and his groomsman followed by my bridesmaids, there is a childish tune in there that is going to be used for the flower girls and the ring bearer, and then there is a big triumphant section that I’m using for my entrance.
For the unity candle, we are using part of the Suite from Pleasantville
For the recessional, we are deciding between Flying from Peter Pan (for those that are Disney buffs like us, it’s the theme they use on the commercials when the kids find out they get to go to Disney) or I Feel Good by James Brown.
Very specific choices can be really nice, but we doubt we can get a group of college kids to learn all of this, so we’ll probably hook an iPod up instead.
Great choices!
All of those are awesome! Yo-Yo Ma is one of FI’s favorites and I’ve also been throwing around the idea of a cellist. 
Love your music choices!
We were umm…. very British in our picks!
The wedding party walked out to the Beatles’ version of “All You Need is Love”
I walked out to “PM’s Love Theme” from Love Actually.
Our recessional was Coldplay’s “Lovers in Japan”. Which we absolutely loved because our officiant and DJ timed it perfectly so that our officiant said his closing speech to the opening chords of the song in the background and then proclaimed, ‘for the first time anywhere, Mr. and Mrs. J and J M’ and the music rises up kicks in at the fun and happy part of the song.
Oooo, I played cello in high school — it’s, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful-sounding instruments! And I loved, loved, loved the Bach cello suites, so great choice there!
ooh, i didn’t know about them. good to know that it’s there and they’re affordable.
I really wanted the cello, but Mr. Taffy really wanted piano. Since he is in charge of all of our music, he won that one. 
I love your song choices, they will sound amazing on the cello!!!
AHHH!!! Those are my dream songs Miss Peep Toe! You know what they say about great minds…
And that being said, Natasha, you are my hero.
We are having Bach’s Cello Suite #1 as well! We hired a professor from a local college and are thrilled with her…we hired a trio to play a mixture of modern instrumentals (like coldplay), classical pieces that aren’t TOO weddingy (like Bach’s cello suite) and some sound tracks that are epic and classic.
Love it!!
would you mind sharing some of your play list?i just discovered the beauty of a cellist recently too. i didn’t know how beautiful they sound! thank you.
I adore the sound of a cello…so elegant! (I’m biased as a violinist, so I won’t say it is the BEST instrument, hehehe!) But that will be such a rich sound for you to walk down the aisle to! How exciting!
That sequence from Love Actually has to be my absolute FAVORITE part of the movie. How fun would that be?? Seriously!
LOVE your choices. The bridal party is walking down to the ever-popular Canon in D (it makes me cry everytime I hear it!) and I am walking down to an instrumental version of Con Te Partiro (aka “time to say goodbye”) by Andrea Bocelli.
We are walking back to all you need it love!!!
I love the music from P&P! Great choice on all three of the songs!
I played the cello from elementary through college, and I think it has such a warm, soulful sound that works perfectly with a wedding. Trivia- the cello and the saxophone are the two instruments that have the same range as the human voice. Maybe that’s part of it
Check out Vitamin String Quartet for some other pop classics played by strings.
With the current Euro crisis, paying for your wedding could be traumatic. Are you having sleepless nights over financing your big day? Is the economic crisis impinging on your wedding plans? Live music such as a String Quartet could make all the difference. Costs mount, the stately venue often being the major part.
If you reduce your costs, will it detract from your special day? It doesn’t have to. One way of adding something extra special to your wedding day, is to have a String Quartet. The venue and meal can cost thousands of pounds, but a string quartet is measured in hundreds. You can save yourself anywhere between a thousand and several thousand pounds by going for a lower cost venue, but add some real class with a string quartet.
Most String Quartets have a wide repertoire, spanning classical to jazz and even some pop music. Often, but not always, classical music is chosen for the ceremony, and or the drinks reception light music, jazz and a few pop numbers.
Even if you are lucky and money is not tight, your day will be all the richer for a String Quartet. If you need to save on your budget, that doesn’t matter, some of the most intimate and delightful weddings we’ve played for have been have taken place in small marquees. A real string quartet will add hugely to your experience.
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Mrs. Peep Toe, San Francisco Age and Occupation: 29, Policy Analyst Fiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production Manager Engagement Date: December 16, 2007 Wedding Date: May, 2009 Blogging Since: November 26, 2008 Venue: Hotel Vitale About Me: I am a west coast lady who loves the San Francisco Bay Area. I love living with Mr. Peep and our animals: Huck the Dog and Ferris the Cat. I work to save the environment in San Francisco, while Mr. Peep makes ridiculously delicious Olive Oil. On any day you can find me reading the latest book I have gotten my hands on, eating Swedish Fish, and perusing wedding blogs! We are both champagne drinking foodies on a Bud Light budget. We are planning an eco-chic, intimate, and interfaith San Francisco City wedding.
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