Collage Music for Weddings and Events
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The Booking Process

Book EARLY!

Ok, now that we've said that, here's how it works:

1. Save the date by signing our contract and paying a deposit. You will need to decide which ensemble you want, and we'll need the timeframe of your event. We can do this step in person or via phone/email/mail.

2. Forget about us until we contact you. We'll call you, email you, text message you - whatever your preference - about 5 weeks before the wedding in order to nail out the final details. This is a good time to finalize your music selections for the ceremony as well.

3. Relax and enjoy your wedding!
If that's not a good idea, we don't know what is.

 

 


Photo: © 2007 Charles Fine Art Portraits
 

Here's a copy of our contract, if you'd like to glance over it. These are .pdf files. If you are downloading and printing the contract for use in booking with us, make sure you get the fine print too:
Collage Music Engagement Contract FrontBack (fine print)

Now for a few nuts and bolts...

Cancellation Policy: In the unfortunate event that a booking must be cancelled by you, we will refund any payments including the deposit amount up to 60 days prior to the date of the engagement. After that point, the deposit amount is not refundable. If a contracted musician is ill or otherwise cannot play, we will employ a highly competent substitute from our preferred roster.

Method of Payment: we accept checks and cash; in very special circumstances where a check or cash is not possible, we can accept credit card payments through PayPal.

Our Basic Requirements

1. We require one armless chair per musician.

2. We require one 10-minute break per hour of service (when we are playing for a ceremony and cocktail hour, this means we'll take a short break after the recessionals and an appropriate amount of post-lude music, and then we'll start our cocktail hour set).

3. We need adequate shelter. We cannot play in direct sun nor rain. Many of us play extremely old and/or valuable instruments, and the elements can damage them irreversibly in a matter of minutes. Most wedding venues and event rental services can provide a canopy or umbrella.

4. We require final payment no later than the date of performance. We prefer that it is mailed at least a week in advance, if possible.

5. If we are providing amplification for ourselves, we'll need access to an electrical outlet.

Contact Susan at 503.317.5825 for booking, or to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to determine if we are the right group for you!

 

 
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How Much Time Do You Need?

The first thing to consider is the ceremony itself. Most last 20-30 minutes. A one-hour booking will cover 15 to 30 minutes of prelude music as your guests are arriving and seating themselves, the ceremony itself, and 10 minutes or so of celebratory post-recessional music as guests are leaving the ceremony site.

Find out how long your actual ceremony will take (from the beginning of the processionals to the introduction of the newlyweds by the officiant). If it's longer than 30 minutes, you may want to book us for at least an hour and a half.

The Cocktail Hour

This is a perfect time for guests to chat, sip drinks, and nibble hors d'oeuvres while the wedding party is busy being photographed. Music should be festive but anticipatory; the crowd isn't ready to really let loose and dance yet. While our repertoire includes hours of beautiful and upbeat classical music, jazz standards and swing can also work wonderfully here. The music is infectious, but not aggressive. Most of the tunes are about love or romance or marriage, and they're upbeat and enjoyable to members of any generation.

Some of our classical ceremony groups are flexible enough that the same players can easily transition from classical to standards & swing, or we can add another musician (for example, you may love the simplicity and elegance of a flute and guitar duo for ceremony, and for the cocktail hour you can have our flutist add saxophone and bring in our bassist to complete the sound for a classy cocktail jazz trio).