Talk about a beautiful location to have a wedding! We performed today at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort, right on their lawn overlooking the San Diego Bay and downtown San Diego. It was really beautiful, a small and intimate ceremony with our favorite officiant, Bethel Nathan! We started performing for prelude while guests arrived and took their seats, about thirty minutes of music with accompanying laughter of small children running around the lawns and playing with each other. Honestly it was a small concert for us, and the guests really enjoyed the music! We performed Rainbow Connection from the Muppets, a few pieces from Beauty and the Beast, When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio, Storybook Love from the Princess Bride, Sound of Music, and more. 

We had an amazing opportunity to perform for a really unique wedding ceremony at a new venue for us, the Mingei Museum in the heart of Balboa Park! This was really a cool opportunity, completely thought out by our couple who are also musicians and wanted something totally different!

We started off the afternoon by performing while guests arrived, and it was a great variety of fun music to set the mood for the wedding ceremony. The "Married Life" theme from the movie Up, Anything Goes from Indiana Jones, Puttin' on the Ritz, and Clarinet Marmalade made their appearances while guests were finding seats.  

Once given the cue, we started our wedding ceremony with a custom arrangement of the Downton Abbey theme. Really a perfect piece of music for this beautiful space. 

The wedding ceremony was set up as a story book, with the officiant reading about the lives of our couple, how they met, dates they went on, favorite things. Each small story segment was intertwined with a live music performance from us! So, for one of their date nights, they went to see Rhapsody in Blue, and LCQ immediately burst into the beautiful opening clarinet solo of the Gershwin piece. Further along, as part of their love for opera, we performed the famous passage to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. There were around seven different segments of music intertwined in the ceremony, where the couple, officiant, and audience got to sit back and listen to the quintet perform music that accompanied their life story up to this point. 

​We capped off the ceremony with a lively version of Hevenu Shalom Alechem, a traditional Yiddush dance performed often at Jewish wedding ceremonies. The guests were all clapping along and it was the start of an evening of celebration. 

Of course we had to take an opportunity to get a picture with the artwork of the Mingei, and this sculpture was perfect! Really looking forward to future events and weddings at this beautiful museum!

The quintet was delighted to play for a wedding ceremony at the historic and pink La Valencia Hotel this past weekend, and we had a blast. From custom arrangements of Israeli pop music to beautiful classical interludes, as well as a sprinkling of movie soundtrack magic, we elevated the atmosphere and put a smile on our bride, groom, and the guests!

One of the best things we can hear from people after we finish playing is how much they loved the performance. In this case, it was quite warm outside, so the guests sitting in the sun while we played prelude were sweating in their suits and dresses but still had a great time. We had people coming up, to chat between songs, lots of toe-tapping, and some really special music selections. 

La Valencia is a gorgeous location. Located right above the Pacific Ocean in the downtown village area of La Jolla, it's known as the Pink Lady for obvious reasons - it's exterior stucco color and it's charm. The hotel boasts scenic views all over the property, whether you're enjoying the restaurant, you're down in the garden, at the pool, or in the Veranda Room for cocktail hour, there are lots of places to explore. Our couple had their wedding ceremony in the Garden, or El Jardin, and you can see the setup in the above pics. A beautiful flower arch was built on the front of the Chuppah, a traditional Jewish wedding structure with a tallit hanging above that the couple gets married under. 

The quintet did a prelude selection of movie music from films like Cinema Paradiso, An American Tail, and Fiddler on the Roof, as well as pop covers of the Beatles & the Beach Boys. We hit some classical notes with Debussy's Petite Suite, and some Israeli/Jewish music including Yerushalyim Shel Zahav and Erev Shel Shoshanim, both beautiful melodies that set the tone for the day as one of wonder, beauty, and excitement. 

If you're reading our blog and searching for wedding inspiration, I hope you check out La Valencia and the La Jolla area, there is so much to do and no one needs a car. Lots of parks, museums, stores, amazing restaurants, and of course the views of the Pacific during sunset, all make for a great event weekend for family and friends! 

We had the opportunity to attend the fall open house at the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island, and meet with clients and other wedding professionals who are regulars at ceremonies here. First off, the weather couldn't have been better - scattered clouds with clear skies, a fantastic view of downtown, and a magical sunset.

Our group had an opportunity to play for Kareem & Paige's wedding ceremony at Milagro Winery, our first time at this gorgeous Ramona venue. The rolling hills, oak trees, and vineyards really bring out a Central Coast vibe, just going to show that you really can find any style of wedding venue or location right here in San Diego County.

San Diego and Southern California provides such a wonderful and diverse amount of different locations and feels for wedding ceremonies and celebrations. From the beaches and luxury high rise hotels of the city, a short drive up to Temecula provides beautiful wine country rustic wedding ceremony venues, like Ponte Winery where we played earlier this month.