Noelia and Amato's Wedding Ceremony at Aria Chapel

Last weekend, our string quartet had the pleasure of performing in one of my favorite wedding ceremony spots in all of Connecticut: the Aria chapel (at Aria Wedding and Banquet Facility in Prospect, CT). The Aria chapel's acoustics added such warmth and beauty to our quartet's performance. Even though there were only four of us, it felt like a full symphony orchestra was playing.

Noelia had requested a really fun variety of songs for prelude music (What's Prelude? Find out here!) I went to task to make sure the songs really flowed well, from one genre to the other, and the guests loved it. She asked for (not listed in the order of actual performance, because that's part of our secret recipe!)

Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love With You

The Beatles - All My Loving

The Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love

Ben E. King - Stand By Me

from Disney's Aladdin - A Whole New World

from Disney's The Lion King - Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Frank Sinatra - The Way You Look Tonight

Frankie Valli - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E

Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl

Tina Turner - Simply the Best

Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You

Harry Styles - As It Was

Noelia chose traditional wedding ceremony music, with a twist. The wedding party walked down the aisle to Canon in D (What's Pachelbel's Canon?), but she chose Mendelssohn's Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream for her grand entrance. (Typically, this piece is played as a recessional, but I LOVED the grandiose twist!) For her recessional, Frankie Valli and the Four Season's "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" filled the church amongst their cheering friends and family.

The best part? Noelia absolutely loved her experience and wrote us the kindest thank you note and 5-star review on Zola.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Noelia through our planning meetings and am overjoyed to hear that we made her and her guests so so happy.

Many thanks to Annandale Photography, for sharing their beautiful work with us!

Credit: Annandale Photography

Vendor team:

Photographer & videographer: Annandale Photography

Florist: The Flower Nook

DJ: TWK Entertainment

Venue: Aria Wedding and Banquets

An Enchanting Evening Wedding at Hartford City Hall

Our first wedding of 2024, Emma and Tyler's evening wedding at Hartford City Hall, was nothing short of magical. With a gorgeous full moon overhead and the city lights twinkling, our violin duet took their place in the balcony, ready to set the stage and bring Emma’s wedding music vision to life.

During our planning together, Emma shared how meaningful every detail of her wedding was: The wedding date was especially fortuitous (For you numerologists out there, it was 2.24.24), there was a perfect full moon, and it was 10 years since Emma and Tyler’s very first date. I think the stars are definitely on their side!

Emma and Tyler celebrating under the stars at The Delamar Hotel, West Hartford

Every detail was meticulously planned to perfection: With custom chairs, candles and florals lining the aisle, it was the most beautiful Hartford City Hall wedding ceremony that I’ve ever seen.

Emma crafted her music as the ultimate personal touch. Emma and Tyler’s song, "Ring Pop”, by Jax, became their wedding anthem. The couple had our violin and viola duet perform a modern pop string version of Ring Pop for their grand entrance and for their recessional, infusing the whole occasion with their unique style and personality. We kept things fresh and added variety, so the song had a different feel for each moment: more romantic and ballad-like for the walk down the aisle, then more upbeat and celebratory for the recessional.

To really do their song justice, I created a bespoke, flexible duet for their wedding. On paper, we said it was a violin duet, but I had one of my musicians bring their viola as well! That gave her the ability to swap back and forth to give a totally different tone to each song. In the symphony world, we call this doubling. It’s really special to have the ability to play both instruments seamlessly! Our musicians are such talented professionals at the top of their game - Meet them all here.

I’d performed for many weddings at Hartford City Hall and decided to try something new for Emma and Tyler’s wedding. We set up behind the couple up on the balcony! The balcony location not only provided an excellent vantage point for us, logistically, but also allowed our music to float gracefully over the guests, warming up the sound of the strings with natural reverb from the grand space. The aesthetic was simply stunning, creating an unforgettable backdrop for Emma and Tyler's special day.

As guests arrived and took their seats, they were treated to a romantic pop prelude, featuring a carefully curated selection of songs that set the tone for the evening. (What’s prelude music? Find out here!) We played:

Christina Perri - “A Thousand Years”

Dolly Parton - "I Will Always Love You"

Ed Sheeran - “Thinking Out Loud”

Elton John - "Your Song"

Elvis Presley - "Can't Help Falling in Love" (arranged by yours truly)

Etta James - "At Last"

John Legend - “All of Me”

Jason Mraz - “I'm Yours”

Leonard Cohen - “Hallelujah” (in the style of Rufus Wainwright)

Taylor Swift - "Love Story"

The Beatles - "All You Need is Love"

The Beatles - "Here Comes the Sun"

The Verve - "Bittersweet Symphony"

from Breakfast at Tiffany's - "Moon River"

Thank goodness for Mary Karnes, their day-of wedding planner, who ensured that everything ran smoothly, allowing the couple to truly relax and enjoy their special day. Mary's kindly shared this video of our performance and really captured the essence of the ceremony - check it out:

Are you planning a wedding at Hartford City Hall? Want ideas and advice? Comment below!

Vendor Team:

Wedding Planner - Mary Karnes

Photographer - Anthony Tomassi

Venue - Hartford City Hall (Looking to rent Hartford City Hall for your wedding? Click here!)

How Our Bride's Surprise Song Stole The Groom's Heart

As plan your wedding, have you ever stopped to think about how much those little details matter? It's easy to get swept up in the grandeur of the occasion, focusing on the big moments, but it's the personalized touches that truly make your wedding day uniquely yours.

Picture this – a gentle breeze rustling through the vineyard and the laughter of your loved ones filling the air, accompanied by a string trio performing your favorite modern pop string covers.

Take Meghan and Thomas, who just tied the knot at Saltwater Farm Vineyard. Their celebration was every bit them and showcased the power of infusing every moment with personal touches.

When we talk about the details, we often think of florals on cocktail tables, the

custom crafted welcome signs, or the perfect choice of linens (which, I'll never be able to figure out but that's another story!) However, let's not overlook the profound impact that music can have on your big day. It's the soundtrack to your love story!

Meghan surprised Thomas by having our string trio perform the theme from Top Gun, his favorite movie. It was a gesture that transformed a simple moment into a memory that, they told us, they will cherish forever. It's these unexpected and personalized details that level up a wedding.

Whether it's the song that accompanies your walk down the aisle or your first dance, live music plays a pivotal role in shaping the atmosphere. Imagine the joy of seeing your partner's eyes light up as they recognize the special song you chose as a surprise.

There are endless was you can enliven your wedding music. Our couple, TerryAnn and Mike, decided to shake things up with their prelude music (a.k.a. welcome music) for their Wadsworth Mansion wedding. They surprised their guests by including The Thong Song (Yes, THE Thong Song), which was performed by our string quartet. It was so much fun!

Our bride, Amanda, surprised her groom with "Across the Stars" from Star Wars - Episode II for her Aria chapel wedding ceremony. She said it was "the greatest surprise that will forever remain an amazing memory of our wedding day." Here's what she wrote us:

"I can not say enough about the amazing performance from Ariana and her team. The moment I got engaged, I came up with the idea of walking down the aisle to ‘Across the Stars’ from Star Wars- Episode II, to surprise my husband who is a huge Star Wars fan and wanted to subtly incorporate it into our day. I reached out to Ariana with this request, as it was not in the string quartet library and she was delighted to honor my request. Through the whole process, Ariana was so kind and helpful and reached out with questions and concerns to make sure everything was perfect for our wedding day. On the day of my wedding, they surpassed all my expectations. The song was played beautifully and it was the greatest surprise to my husband. It will forever remain such an amazing memory of our wedding day and for that, I can not thank Ariana Strings enough. She truly is incredible at what she does!"

- Amanda, Aria Bride

So, as you navigate the, let's face it, often rocky sea of wedding planning, remember to have fun with the little details – the ones that reflect your personalities, shared experiences, and the unique journey that led you to this day.

So, brides-to-be (and grooms-to-be!), how will you personalize your wedding day?

Vendor team from Meghan & Thomas' beautiful Saltwater Farm Vineyard wedding

Photography: Love Sunday Photo

Venue: Saltwater Farm Vineyard

Coordination, Cake + Catering: A Thyme to Coo

Florals: Hana Floral

DJ + Lighting: Dawnson Entertainment

Hair + Makeup: Upstyle.Co

Bride + Bridesmaids: Anthropologie

Groom + Groomsmen: Generation Tux

String trio: Ariana Strings