Blog
Notes from the Piano Bench
Practical advice on wedding and event music — processions, first dances, cocktail hours, and everything in between. One post a week.
Planning Music for an Outdoor Wedding Ceremony
An outdoor ceremony has a beauty indoor spaces cannot match, but it also asks more of the music. Here is what I think through before I set up a single speaker.
Read more →Choosing the Right Song for Your Cake Cutting
The cake cutting is a quick moment, but the right song can turn it into one of the sweetest beats of your reception rather than an afterthought squeezed between dinner and dancing.
Read more →Choosing Music for Unity Ceremony Moments
Unity moments give a ceremony some of its quietest, most personal minutes, and the right music can hold that stillness without pulling focus from what you're actually doing.
Read more →Choosing the Right Songs for Parent Dances
Parent dances carry a different kind of weight than the first dance, and choosing the right song for them deserves its own conversation.
Read more →Worship Music in Your Wedding Ceremony: A Practical Guide
If faith is part of your relationship, you may want that reflected in the music, not just the vows. Here is how worship music tends to work best inside a wedding ceremony.
Read more →How to Request a Custom Song for Your Wedding
If there is a song that means something to the two of you, it usually belongs somewhere in your day, and asking for it is simpler than most couples expect.
Read more →Live Music or a Playlist? What Actually Changes on Your Day
Couples ask me this more than almost anything else: will a playlist be fine, or does live music actually make a difference. Here is an honest answer from someone who does this for a living.
Read more →Venue Piano or Keyboard: Which Is Right for Your Day
One of the most practical questions I get from couples has nothing to do with song choice at all — it is whether to use the piano already sitting in the room or have me bring my own keyboard. The answer depends on more than convenience.
Read more →Choosing Cocktail Hour Music That Sets the Right Tone
Cocktail hour is a strange, wonderful in-between hour, and the music you choose for it does more work than most couples expect.
Read more →Choosing Processional and Recessional Wedding Music
Most couples spend hours on the first dance and almost no time on the music that opens and closes the ceremony itself, even though it sets the tone for everything that follows.
Read more →Should Your First Dance Be Sung Live?
A recorded first dance song is familiar and safe, but having it sung live in the room changes the feeling of the moment in ways worth thinking through before you decide.
Read more →How Long Should Prelude Music Play Before Your Ceremony?
Prelude music sets the tone before a single guest sits down, but most couples have never thought about how long it actually needs to run. Here is how I plan it for the ceremonies I play.
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