Choosing your wedding music can be an overwhelming task.  In addition to all of the beautiful classical music that’s already been written for string quartets, we can condense almost any pop tune to be playable on strings, making the options for your wedding day practically limitless.  Read on to learn how wedding industry professionals Adam and Jessica decided on the music that would make their day most meaningful to them.

Adam Kirby and Jessica Dickman both work in the wedding industry: he works with Ilios Lighting, and she’s an event planner with Clink Events. When ILIOS Lighting and CLINK Events had a joint happy hour, a fellow co-worker introduced Adam and Jessica; they hit it off and went on their first date.

Five years later, it was their wedding day.

They chose the elegant backdrop of Ma Maison in Dripping Springs for their ceremony. This classic, 23-acre wedding venue in Texas wine country calls for the beauty of string instruments to...

Happy New Year Everybody!  We apologize for not staying in touch as often as we would have liked.  We had an exciting and fun filled 2017, with a bunch of new requests from people just like you!  Check out some of our latest new additions to our contemporary music list.  A very special thank you to all of our wonderful clients who help us keep up with the latest trends.  We love you guys!

Amanda Estrada and Nate Beita met online on Match.com in 2014. Amanda was keeping an open mind about finding that special someone when she set up a date with Nate for the Monday after Valentine's Day. On that first date, as they shared good conversation together, they only had to spend 3 hours together until they realized that this was the beginning of something special.

After dating for a little over a year, Amanda and Nate got engaged in 2015 and began planning their wedding under the guidance of Johnell Huebner of Clearly Classy Events.  Finding the right venue was their favorite part of the wedding planning.  At first, they were considering a downtown vibe, but they found that to be too fast paced for their taste.  As they searched for accessible elegance outside the city, Amanda and Nate found Ian’s Chapel at Camp Lucy to be the perfect solution.  Choosing their venue helped them to bring all the rest of their ideas together, including...

One of our favorite things about being a part of people’s special day is being able to customize their music to fit their sense of style and taste.  Kelsey and Jimmy were a wonderful union of classic rock and indie music that helped create a memorable musical experience!

Kelsey and Jimmy met while attending The University of Texas at Austin.  They were in the same co ed organization and met at a retreat.  Kelsey needed someone to throw a football with and Jimmy hapilly volunteered.   4 years later, Jimmy proposed at the same spot and surprised Kelsey with a celebration that evening with their closest family and friends.   Their wedding took place on November 6 at Barr Mansion, on their 5 year dating anniversary.

They did an incredible job fusing their musical tastes together to create a playlist that flowed well together and that was very entertaining for their guests (and enjoyable for us to play).

The Ceremony

Seating of the...

Whenever we prepare to play music for a wedding, we begin by getting to know a couple, their family, their story, and their personal taste. Mallory and Scott recently had a great wedding story, and gave us the honor of participating in a family tradition.

As we got to know them better, we discovered that they Mallory came from a family familar with wedding music. Her Grandmother, Fran Slack, was a pianist. She played Wedding Bells by Dudley Peele as part of wedding prelude music at numerous weddings for more than 40 years, always dedicating the song to her husband Jack.  She also played it in church the Sunday before their wedding anniversary those same years and as recently as July 2015 for their 65th wedding anniversary. 

Mallory and Scott met as Freshmen at Texas A & M through mutual friends that were in a freshman leadership organization. Even though they were young—Mallory was only 18—they knew they were a great match.

They dated for six years. Scott...

Your music should be a reflection of who you are and we want you to be yourself!  Check out the latest awesome tracks we have added to our library and Thank You for your help in creating this list!

There are a lot of reasons we love playing music for weddings. But if we had to choose a favorite, it might be participating in so many the great stories.

Recently, we got to help a pair of high school sweethearts tie the knot at a Masquerade!

Ashley and Patrick have known each other for a long time. They met when they were just in hight school, taking classes in computer science.

When it came time to head off to college, they went their separate ways, Patrick to UT and Ashley to UTSA. But that bond forged over pixels and keyboards remained strong, and they officially became a couple their sophomore year.

Ashley and Patrick love to travel, and it was during a trip to Italy that everything changed. After seeing the classical art in Florence, they headed the canals of Venice to take in Carnivale. They watched a delightful costume contest and then spent some time wandering around on a bridge where they could get a lovely view of the City of Masks.

It was there on the bridge that...

Part of why we really love taking a very personable approach to helping people plan their wedding music is we get to be inspired by their story.  Kenda and Clai's is one that it teaches us about how love and commitment can withstand the test of time and distance.  We hope their story is inspiring for you!

Kenda and Clai met on their high school debate team in South East Texas.  They pursued their love of debate through college, competing nationally.  After college and law school in North Carolina, Clai moved to Dallas to pursue his career, while Kenda moved to DC to pursue her masters at Georgetown University and begin her career in international development.  Eventually, Clai's career took him to London.  Coincidentally, Kenda passed through London for a book launch, after writing a few chapters in a book. They met up again and started dating within 24 hours.  

"If it's meant to be, it is possible."

...

We absolutely love working with families who are wedding planning together.  It is truly one of the most special times in a mom’s life to help her daughter plan her wedding, and can sometimes feel more special than when she planned her own wedding.  Planning a wedding together should be some great mother/daughter bonding time.  Treat yourselves to a nice lunch, glass of wine, or day at the spa to make this a fun and memorable time.

Here are 5 helpful tips to help plan your music together as a family

1.  Brides, talk about the ambiance that you are envisioning for your ceremony, especially about aspects that are very important for you. 

2.  Moms, help support your bride to be in selecting music that fits well within the ambiance she is envisioning.

3.  Moms, share some stories from your wedding with your bride to be.  Possibly make a list of some of the songs that you really enjoyed at your wedding.

4.  Brides, it...

Having the right music played at your ceremony is just as important to the ambiance of your wedding as the decorations and setup of your venue.  It is our job to help get your ideas and set them to music.  Check out our previous article "How Should I Choose my Prelude Music" for details about choosing your prelude music.   

Here are some of our favorite selections to help you.  

Classical
Air- J.S. Bach
Brandenburg Concerti
Arioso- J.S. Bach
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Meditation from Thais
Rondeau- Purcell
Clair De Lune- Debussy
Trumpet Voluntary- Clarke
Sheep May Safely Graze- Bach
Eine Kline Nachtmusik

Contemporary/Soothing
 Paradise- Coldplay
Somewhere Only We Know- Keane
Young and Beautiful- Lana Del Rey
Viva La Vida- Coldplay
Halo- Beyonce
Secrets- One Republic
All of Me- John Legend
Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol
Hoppipola- Sigur Ros
Home- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Contemporary/Formal
 La Vie En Rose- Piaf
...

Shanna and Thomas Hunter are dear friends of Terra Vista Strings. Their story is an inspiration for why we do what we do!

It Began With a Wink

Thomas was a professional chef was working at Arro, a modern French restaurant in Austin when he decided to go in a different direction.  He hatched a plan with a friend to move from Austin to North Carolina to start a restaurant of their own.

Although he had other plans, a friend convinced him to move his going away party to the Parish, a music venue on 6th St. in Austin, TX.  It was a good thing he did!

Although it is normally a packed club, the Parish was quiet that night. As Thomas walked past a group of friends sitting by the bar, he was caught off guard when a cute brunette winked at him. That brunette was Shanna.

Sitting nearby was a mutual friend. Thomas got a quick introduction, and they spent the next three hours immersed in conversation.

The following morning, Shanna asked, “Why do you have to move...

Are you planning your wedding by yourself? 

There are certainly a lot of things to think about.  Getting everyone lined up for your wedding can be very easy!

Our first article “These 5 key elements will guarantee a perfect wedding soundtrack” talked about the different sections of your wedding ceremony and some ideas on how to get started choosing your music.  The next question is, “How will our musicians know when to change the music at the appropriate time?”

Some of the elements that have really helped many of the weddings we have done have extremely successful transitions are:

1.  Have your officiant line up with all of your entire wedding party (families, bridesmaids and groomsmen, kids, and of course the bride).

2.  When everyone is ready to proceed down the aisle, have your officiant proceed to the front of your venue and make a short announcement asking people to "turn their cell phones off".  This will...

You have dreamed about your perfect walk down the aisle and want everything to be perfect. 

The sunny day, the beautiful flowers, cute kids, and of course your exquisite wedding dress; all of which, when set to the right music can make you feel like a movie star in your own romantic film. 

So how do you time the music with your walk down the aisle?

Have clear communication between you, your coordinator, and your musicians to make sure that this is as easy as possible, so you can walk as slow or as fast as you’d like, and when you reach the front of the aisle, the music will fade out within about 5 seconds in a place that is appropriate and musically pleasing.  We highly recommend this method as it makes things very easy for you.

“I have been imagining a certain spot of a song to enter to (that is not the beginning).  How can we make this happen?”  

We can also make this very easy and fun for you.  If you have a specific...

   Do you like great music?  Do you like free stuff?   Great!! So do we! 

That is why we offer our monthly free music contest on Facebook!

If you have a specific song that you don't see in our library, simply like us on Facebook, post your song request on our wall, then have your friends like your song request to vote for it.  The song that gets the most likes at the end of each month will get written and learned free of charge! 

Click Here to Start Playing Today!!

Over the years of helping many people plan their perfect wedding ceremony music at Terra Vista Strings, we have found that one question that has arisen with many of our clients:

 "How many songs should I choose to fill the 20-30 minutes of time before my ceremony?"

Not to worry, we have helped guide many people through this question and we hope this article will shed some light on the subject.

The music that is played during prelude is music that should be geared towards rewarding your guests who arrive early with great music, while you are putting the finishing touches on looking amazing for your walk down the aisle. That being said, we don't necessarily recommend to put a number on the amount of songs that are played, as the length of each song certainly varies.  Rather, we advise to choose a genre or a group of 4-5 songs that would perhaps reflect your personality or the taste of music that you think your family and friends will enjoy. 

 ...

Part of why we love our work at Terra Vista Strings is that we get to play a small part in so many beautiful love stories!

A recent favorite is McKenna Robinson and Landon Rowlett.

McKenna and Landon met at Texas Tech University in 2011 through the Wesley Foundation, a Methodist outreach program that teaches leadership and ministry. McKenna grew up in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville and Landon grew up in Sweetwater, TX.

They had been dating for a short time when they visited Landon’s family ranch. Staring up at the stars in the big Texas sky, they realized they were meant for each other. It was May 2014 on another star-filled night, this time at McDonald Observatory, that Landon asked McKenna to marry him.

Choosing Great Wedding Music

As they were starting to think about their wedding, they attended a friend’s wedding ceremony on Lake Travis. There was a small ensemble playing contemporary music chosen specifically for the wedding. The guests seemed excited and...

The ceremony is over and now it's time to have some fun!  What is the best compliment to a perfect martini and savory Hors d'oeuvres?  A side of music of course!  Cocktail hours are some of the best parts of our day and we enjoy playing the top hits of today as much as you like listening to them.  Here are our top 10 picks of music that is sure to liven up the party and have your guests entertained and be a perfect compliment to the scrumptious food and drinks.

10.  Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

9.  Gangsta's Paradise-  Coolio

8.  Wake Me Up - Avicii

7.  Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

6.  La Camisa Negra - Juanes

5.  Viva La Vida-  Coldplay

4.  Dynamite- Taio Cruz

3.  Paparazzi- Lady GaGa

2.  Crazy in Love- Beyonce

1.  Sweet Child O’ Mine- Guns N’ Roses

Walking down the aisle on your wedding day is arguably one of the most special and most exhilarating moments of your life.   Your dress, flowers, venue choice, and time of day are all very important factors, but setting this special moment to the right music is one of the best ways to make the moment feel truly spectacular.  Some brides may choose music based on tradition, a specific song that is special to them, and popularity or non popularity of the song.  To help you narrow your decision down, we did a survey of The Top Ten Songs our brides in the summer of 2015 chose, combining both traditional and contemporary choices into the following list:

10.  Just the Way You Are-  Bruno Mars

9.  Home- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

8.  Hallelujah- Cohen

7.  Can't Help Falling in Love- Elvis Presley

6.  Largo From Winter-  Antonio Vivaldi

5.  Prelude to Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello- J.S. Bach

4.  A Thousand Years-...

You have big hopes and dreams for your wedding.

Maybe you’ve been planning it since you were a kid.  You have visions of the perfect dress, tux, and venue.  But once you start planning it, you can get a little overwhelmed.

Which color do you want the dress?  Which cake tastes the best?  Where will everyone sit?

You can’t hide from these questions, but you can take a break and focus on something fun: The Perfect Wedding Soundtrack!

This process should always be positive and never stressful for you. For once in your life, you get to make choices that reflect who you are and what you love!

Still overwhelmed?

Don’t worry: You don’t have to do it alone. In fact, helping you find music is one of our favorite parts of what we do at Terra Vista Strings!

We have the privilege of helping you bring your wedding dreams to life. It is our job to help you craft the perfect soundtrack for your special day. Your wedding soundtrack should sound...