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.
 Everyone makes mistakes, so be honest and help find an exceptional replacement if you double-book.
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 celticharpmusic.com.
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)
 This tip is a simple one, and I am reminded of it every time I perform–Gratitude.
In these tough economic times, I try to turn my mind to being grateful for what I am doing instead of getting nervous about how my calendar is filling up. And when a gig doesn’t seem to go just as planned, I don’t let it get to me. Instead, I think about how wonderful it is to be providing music for someone’s special day or special event. Truly, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.
Performing is never boring. Every wedding, every gig is different. Especially when I’m playing for a wedding, I think about the great honor it is to provide music for a very special day in someone’s life. I love being part of the celebration!
Musicians whom I interviewed for my book, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” had this to say about playing for weddings:
“…It’s my job, and I love it and love weddings. People are usually happy and a bit excited, the locations are usually beautiful, and music makes a meaningful contribution to the atmosphere of a significant event in people’s lives.”–Gwyneth Evans, Concert and Celtic Harpist
“Making a living playing music at wedding is to move, touch, and inspire others.”–Seán Cummings, eighth generation bagpiper
“You play for people who might not have heard live music in years. And when things go right (and they usually do) the room is filled with joyful tears and heartfelt laughter. What’s not to like?”–Tim Goldsmith, Red Davidson Trio
“I found it to be a very immediate gratification for music. People come up to you right away and thank you and compliment you vs. the symphony where the people are distant and clap politely for 15 seconds and leave!”–Van Vinikow, The Supreme Being of “The String Beings” string trio/quartet
“I love music!”–Destiny, Harpist from the Hood
What about you? What are you grateful for in your gigging experience? Does a feeling of contentment get you through the rough spots when a wedding gets crazy? Do share your thoughts by adding your comments below.
The attitude of gratitude and hundreds of other tips are included 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.
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)
Anne’s Gig Salad PromoKit: gigsalad.com/anne
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 fore go 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 excuses are 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 for more information).
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 :-)
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)
Visit Anne’s Gig Salad PromoKit
With the present economy, e-mail scams are rampant, and wedding businesses, particularly musicians, are often the target.
Most brides and potential clients will include the question “How much?” in their initial email inquiries. They will include your name in the email greeting and may include some additional info about the time, date, and location of the gig. These are all good signs that the bride is genuinely interested in learning about your availability and talents.
However, on rare occasions, you will receive questionable inquiries. Actually, they are not inquiries at all—they are from scammers. As Steve Tetrault of GigSalad.com explains, “Their ultimate goal is to get you to receive a deposit check for an amount that is greater than what it should be, then ask you for the difference. Their check turns out to be fraudulent and they walk away with a few thousand bucks from you.”
Pretty scary stuff, but true.
Here are seven warning signs that you’ve received a fake email inquiry:
1. The email message is not addressed to anyone in particular. It will start off with “Hello”, or “Greetings”, instead of “Dear Anne”. This means that it was probably a mass mailing. Another test: Look at the “To:” field and the “Reply To:” field or the “From:” field in the header of the email. If these are all the same email addresses, the email was a mass mailing, not intended just for your eyes only.
2. The inquiry is riddled with exceptionally poor spellings, grammar, and punctuation. Yes, some brides can’t spell worth beans, but if you try to read the sentences out loud and find the urge to change the order of nouns and verbs, you don’t have an inquiry. You have s*pam.
3. The email makes requests that do not apply to the services you offer. If you are a string quartet, and the email is asking for a wedding DJ, it is too big a mistake to take seriously.
4. The email is giving you bogus information. I once received an email that said the ceremony and reception would last from 11 am until 7 pm and that my services would be needed for that length of time. Really????
5. The scammer gives you a lot of extraneous info, such as a mailing address and phone number, only to say to contact them by email. They’re trying to convince you that they’re for real. Don’t fall for it. If an address is provided, go to MapQuest.com or YahooMaps or another map site and see if the address is a fake. You can also try calling a given phone number to see if it actually works.
6. Any email messages from overseas, claiming that they are willing to pay for your travel expenses and accommodations to perform in a foreign country. Weddings are local events, and brides, event coordinators, and booking agents are most interested in booking local talent. It’s pretty unlikely that a client who is not an established fan of yours (already on your email list) will pay you thousands of dollars, put you up in a hotel, provide your meals, and take care of your expenses to travel any distance to perform.
7. Any email from a client or event planner who is itching to pay you upfront, without any previous correspondence or conversations with you. People aren’t that eager to part with their money for any musician, and they like to do a bit of shopping around, asking questions, before they commit to spending money.
If you receive one of these wedding scam emails:
1. Don’t reply. Once you reply, the scammer thinks he has you hooked, and now that he knows he has a legit email address, he may pass your address along to all his scammer friends, too.
2. Report it as s*pam. If you received the email through an online wedding or music directory, alert them. They’ll want to put a halt to it and report it to the correct authorities. Don’t blame these online directories, because they are victims as much as you are.
3. Depending upon what is contained in the body of the email, take things a step further. You can report it to the online FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov), SpamCop.net, your own Internet Service Provider, and a host of other online agencies that exist to eradicate s*pam.
The above tips, and many more, are found 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 at my website at www.celticharpmusic.com.
How have you dealt with con artists? Please share your comments and insights below to help others avoid these pitfalls, too.
Cheers,
Anne :-)
—
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
http://www.celticharpmusic.com
I received a call from Monica from the Tuxtown tuxedo rental shop. Excitedly, she told me that she would be launching a full-service wedding boutique in a few weeks and wanted me to perform at the grand opening! The date was Valentine’s Day, a day she hoped to attract many couples that are headed to the altar.
Monica’s new store, the Wedding Emporium, is located in the Carson Mall in Carson City, Nevada. I was looking forward to performing inside her new one-stop shop for tuxedos, bridal gowns, and photography. But when I arrived, Monica said, “There’s a stage set up in the middle of the shopping mall. I think it would be much better for you to perform there, where everyone will see you, instead of inside my shop.”
It wasn’t what I expected–A lone harpist on a big stage inside of a mall? That was okay for the jazz band, which was packing up when I approached the stage, but wouldn’t I get lost up there? Would anyone see or hear the harp? Would anyone be paying attention?
As it turned out, the shopping mall was fairly quiet, even with complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries handed out to patrons who roamed about on this Valentine’s Day. For a harpist, quiet is a good thing. The harp music reverberated throughout the mall, and people gathered to take seats in front of the stage as I played a mix of Celtic music and modern popular love songs.
Shoppers approached the edge of the stage and asked for requests, and I sold CDs that they wanted autographed. Even Monica could hear me performing as the harp music wafted into her store. When I finished playing, she bought CDs to sell to her own customers and took a large stack of brochures to pass on to brides-to-be.
Originally, I had an odd picture in my head of being ignored on a big stage in the middle of a mall, for I am a solo musician, not a band. Happily, I was wrong.
Tips for Retail Store Owners:
These are hard economic times, and that means you may need to be a bit creative about getting shoppers into your store. Many shop owners attract customers by discounting prices on selected items by 50% or more. Instead, what if you invested in a musician to draw a crowd?
In the above story, Monica didn’t slash prices at all, but even on a quiet shopping day, brides were parading into her store. Of course, she sent a press release to the local paper. She also handed out fliers to other colleagues in her wedding networking group, Weddings of the West. She cooperated with other stores in the mall, too, and they all got the word out.
You could host your own musical events. I have seen a Hawaiian luau band playing in Trader Joe’s grocery stores, pianists performing in music stores, string quartets in hotel lobbies, and jazz trios playing inside mall food courts. Take a cue from the folks at Disneyland—they have live music at all their eateries and even outside of shops where people are milling about. Music serves to make patrons linger, and if they linger, they are more apt to buy.
Tips for Musicians:
Don’t be afraid to take on a different gig than you’re used to playing. If you have never played in a department store, in a shopping mall, in a music store, in a bridal shop, or even inside a grocery store, maybe it’s time to give it a try.
Sure, you may need to offer a discount off of your regular performance fees to land these gigs, but if you have CDs to sell, you will make it up in sales. Plus, you just never know who may pick up your business card and give you a call later for a much more lucrative gig. At the very least, you’ll get some free promotion.
Go where you are apt to meet future clients. If you primarily play at weddings, approach bridal salons, jewelry stores, cake shops, etc., and see about performing in these retail outlets to gain exposure to brides who may want to hire you. If you primarily teach music lessons, approach full-service music stores to demonstrate how wonderful their sale instruments can sound with proper practice (you might even win yourself a spot teaching in that store, too). If you have your CDs commercially available, you can also perform in bookstores that are willing to stock your CDs. Actually, performing anywhere that people can sit down and take a listen to you can attract new fans, customers, and clients.
Many more tips are available from my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides”. This book is written primarily for wedding musicians, but it’s also filled with advice 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.
I’m looking forward to reading your feedback about performing in retail stores.
Cheers,
Anne :-)
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
Anne’s Gig Salad PromoKit
(And contact me at anne@celticharpmusic.com for personal consultation and mentoring—Make a living while gigging)
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 www.celticharpmusic.com.
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 :-)
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
www.celticharpmusic.com
GigSalad.com/anne
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 that 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
www.celticharpmusic.com
Karen had everything lined up months in advance for her destination wedding at the historic Cal-Neva Resort at the north end of Lake Tahoe. Karen scheduled a lovely November wedding inside the Lakeview Chapel. The alpine views were gorgeous.
Karen was precise about every detail for her wedding. The autumn bouquets and the rust-and-gold color scheme matched perfectly. But there was one thing that was out of her control—Reverend Dan thought the ceremony was to start at 4 pm, not 3:30. He arrived 30 minutes late to the ceremony!
Karen was cool about it and happily walked down the aisle without taking notice at all (I think she was too happy to worry about the time on her wedding day!).
Fortunately, I always book ceremonies with a cushion of extra time, just in case the ceremony starts late or runs longer than expected. So, the 90-minutes I scheduled worked out just fine. The newlyweds were whisked off to their reception immediately following the ceremony, and I did not go beyond the time I booked for my performance.
Although the ceremony took place in a chapel instead of a church, Karen wanted Christian hymns intertwined with modern popular selections for her ceremony music. So, she requested to have every other song as a hymn for the seating of the guests. Here’s what I played (for more information on these songs, check out my repertoire list).
Pre-ceremony seating music:
1. “Wind Beneath My Wings”
2. “Amazing Grace”
3. “Imagine”
4. “Morning Has Broken”
5. “From This Moment On”
6. “Be Thou My Vision”
7. “You Raise Me Up”
8. “We Gather Together, A Prayer of Thanksgiving”
9. “Hero”
10. “Blest Are They”
11. “Once Upon A Dream”
12. “Here I Am, Lord”
Mother’s Lighting the Unity Candle: “Ave Maria” by Schubert
Wedding Party of 6 Bridesmaids, 1 Flower Girl, and 1 Ring Bearer: “Canon in D”
Bride’s Entrance: “Here Comes the Bride”
Recessional: Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”
Karen still had a ceremony full of live music–A ceremony that starts late does not need to ruin the bride’s entire wedding day.
Tips for Brides:
Having a timetable for your wedding day agenda is important, but realize that there can be a delay in your ceremony or reception events. You may have absolutely no control over these mishaps—a bridesmaid may rip her pantyhose before she walks down the aisle, the ring may have been left back at the hotel room, or the minister may arrive late (as in the above example). Don’t let these things get under your skin.
Plan for an extra cushion of time by hiring your wedding and reception services for longer periods than you think may be necessary. You’ll avoid the possibility of paying costly overtime fees. Reserve the ceremony and reception sites for more time, too.
Why feel rushed if some things don’t start exactly on time?
Tips for Musicians:
Always book your wedding gigs with more time than anyone thinks is needed. Anything can happen to delay the start of the ceremony, and the ceremony may run longer than anyone anticipated.
This goes for reception musicians, too, because if the ceremony starts late or runs long, the reception may start late, too. And what if the meal is late being served?
Keep in mind that the larger the guest list, the longer it takes to move the crowd—Seating will take longer, and so will exiting. Therefore, book extra time for larger groups of attendees, too.
When you are generous with the time you quote for weddings, you won’t need to ask for overtime pay. Overtime pay may be a great boon for your bank account, but it is a major bummer to have to request it from the bride.
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. Check back here again for the next story. Have a very Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Anne :-)
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
www.celticharpmusic.com
Not many people plan November weddings, but Jerry and Angel went about it right. It’s off-season for weddings, and that means the wedding services they chose were immediately available. They may have even received a discount for some of their wedding services—A good move in this economy.
Here at Lake Tahoe located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, it’s chilly fall and the outside temps are not the most comfortable for either the guests or my Celtic harp. So, Jerry and Angel held their wedding indoors, where they and their 30 guests could have a lovely view of Lake Tahoe at Lakefront Wedding Chapel.
Getting married in a chapel does not mean that you are resigned to use their minister. Angel and Jerry brought in Pastor Alan, a Baptist minister, to officiate the ceremony. Everything from the lighting of a Unity Candle to Communion was included in a ceremony that lasted less than one hour!
Pastor Alan personalized the ceremony by including a very sweet story about how Angel and Jerry met online eleven years ago and were finally tying the knot. This moved their guests to both laughter and tears. Angel’s father, with tears in his eyes, started off the ceremony with a prayer. The mark of a great minister is one who will welcome adding material to a wedding ceremony to make it personal to the bride and groom.
Jerry was in charge of music selection, and he decided to mix modern popular love songs with traditional wedding music and Christian hymns. Here’s what I played (for more information on these songs, check out my repertoire list.
Pre-ceremony seating music:
1. “Everything I Do I Do It For You”
2. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
3. “Unchained Melody”
4. “When I Fall In Love”
5. “Take My Breath Away”
6. “When You Believe”
Mother’s Lighting the Unity Candle: “Blest Are They”
Wedding Party of 1 Bridesmaid, 1 Flower Girl, and 1 Ring Bearer: “Canon in D”
Bride’s Entrance: “Here Comes the Bride”
After Angel’s father’s prayer: “Here I Am Lord”
Played softly behind vows: “All I Ask of You”
While Angel and Jerry light their Unity Candle: Kenny G’s “Wedding Song”
During Communion: “The Love I Found in You”
Recessional: Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”
Post ceremony music, while people exited for photos outside:
1. “I Will Always Love You”
2. “From This Moment On”
The look was classic, with Angel’s color selection of silver, light blue, and black (I wore silver silk and black velvet to match the wedding party).
A lovely, one-hour chapel ceremony can be beautiful, affordable, and personalized, right down to the choice of music, vows, and colors.
Tip to Brides:
June is the most popular wedding month, and in many locations, summer is the biggest wedding season. Save money by choosing an off-season wedding date. Even consider a weekday over a weekend date. You’ll have an open choice of available wedding vendors, and you might even receive discounts.
Tip to Musicians:
Only the Pre-Ceremony and Post-Ceremony tunes listed above were played in their entirety. The others were shortened. I needed to watch when the mothers were lighting the candles and wind down “Blest Are They” when they went to their seats. I needed to see when the last attendant in the wedding party arrived at the altar so that I knew when to wind down “Canon in D” and start playing “Here Comes the Bride”. Using your eyes, as well as your ears, is an important skill to develop when performing at weddings. Look up from your sheet music from time to time so that you don’t miss all the action.
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.
Jump in and add your comments. Please share your stories and feedback…I’ll continue this blog with another event story next week.
Cheers,
Anne
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
Gig Salad member Deborah Smith Ford was written up recently in the Fort Myers edition of Florida Weekly magazine. See below for an excerpt, or see the full article.
Fort Myers actress embraces Matrix look-alike role
BY EVAN WILLIAMS
Deborah Smith Ford is always waiting for her next role to begin. She has performed in more than 30 films — six in the last 2½ years — plus commercials, television programs, modeling spots and infomercials.
Still, her acting life is “feast or famine,” Mrs. Ford said. “Actors really need to know how to invest and save.”
After “The Matrix” came out, people told her she looked like Carrie-Anne Moss’ character, Trinity, so she expanded her repertoire to include a look-alike Trinity. That opened a door into a larger world of look-alike characters.
Mrs. Ford flourished there, making friends in the look-alike community and winning a shelf-full of awards for Trinity. At the Celebrity Impersonator Convention in Las Vegas in 2007, she was honored among hundreds, like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Donald Trump and Tom Cruise, snagging the Reel Award for Best Actress.
Visit Deborah’s Trinity/Matrix PromoKit
Visit Deborah Smith’s PromoKit
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