wedding harpist Archives » Harpist Angelina

Hazlewood Castle Wedding Harpist

11 November 2024 No Comments

The most recent wedding I had the pleasure of playing for was at Hazlewood Castle. I am a preferred supplier at this venue so it is always a treat to play here.

Weddings come in all shapes and sizes and this particular wedding was quite unusual. It was on a Thursday, and I have been noticing in recent years that weekday weddings are becoming more and more popular. It can be more affordable to get married on a weekday, so it is worth thinking about – if all your nearest and dearest can get the time off work of course.

Wedding Cake with flowers and cuddly toys

Not only was it on a Thursday, I was booked to play from 5:30pm until 7:30pm. This is much later than I normally play for a wedding. Usually by this time I’m back home ready for a peaceful evening with my husband and baby!

I was booked to play for the meal, and it was a lovely, intimate occasion. There was the couple, myself, and seven guests. Hazlewood Castle isn’t the most accessible venue for the harp. There were plenty of narrow corridors to navigate the harp through. But once I was all set up and settled in the Wedding Breakfast room, it looked really lovely.

With such a small group of people, the sound of the harp carried really well without being overpowering. I may be biased but I think the harp is the perfect instrument to set the atmosphere for occasions like this.

We are well and truly in the Autumn season now, and this was my last wedding for a little while. From now until Christmas it is definitely concert season, so I will look forward to sharing these occasions with you. If you’d like to subscribe to this blog and receive the posts straight into your inbox, pop your email in the box below.

If you would like to enquire about having me play the harp at your wedding, click here to contact me. Or you can have a look at my price list by clicking here.

Real Weddings

Everingham Park Wedding Venue

8 October 2024 No Comments

Last Saturday I played the harp for Sharon and Seng’s wedding at Everingham Park. It was about a forty-five minute drive from where I live in York, so a relatively local gig for me.

Everingham Park itself is an ideal wedding venue. It has an onsite Chapel for Wedding Ceremonies, then just a stone’s throw away is a building next to a large pond. This is where the Drinks Reception and Wedding Breakfast take place. Parking was easy and the venue is easy to find. I hadn’t played there before and it was really lovely.

On this occasion I was booked to play for the Drinks Reception and Wedding Breakfast. This was the room where the Wedding Breakfast was. I really liked the flowers and the pop of colour from the red napkins.

Large flower arrangement at Everingham Park

I always like to have a peep at the cake too, even though I attend a lot of weddings, I’m usually all finished and on my way home by the time the cake is being cut.

Considering the fact that this was an October wedding, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Guests were enjoying mingling outside for most of the afternoon.

My A string above middle C snapped just as I was ready to begin playing. Luckily I always keep my spare strings with me, so I was able to whip another string on and quickly tune it up before I started.

Lovely bride Sharon had requested that I play anything that I think would suit the occasion, so I played my usual mix of light classical, pop, Disney, and film/show tunes. A few of the guests were big Disney fans, so I made sure to include plenty of that. Another guest requested anything by Vivaldi or Bach, so I played an arrangement of Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Sheep May Safely Graze by J.S. Bach.

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If you’d like to send me an enquiry about harp music for your wedding, click this link.

Real Weddings

Stirk House Hotel | Lucy + Luke

29 August 2024 No Comments

Stirk House Hotel is a venue that I hadn’t played in until this last weekend. As I live in York it is quite a scenic drive over the A59 to Clitheroe, but on this occasion it was an absolutely beautiful drive. That being said, I did arrive in torrential rain.

Upon arrival I was greeted by lovely staff and Dave – Master of Ceremonies. Dave quickly became my favourite person as he showed me around the venue and talked through timings and the best route for getting the harp from the Ceremony room through to the Wedding Breakfast. Not only that, he brought me a cappuccino completely unprompted. We like Dave.

After unpacking my harp and popping the covers back in the car, it was time to change into my dress, tune, and warm up.

I learned quite a few songs especially for this wedding that weren’t on my list before, so I was keen to have a final play through. This is the song that Lucy walked down the aisle to, I didn’t know it before but it’s so lovely. I challenge you to listen without tearing up just a little bit:

The Wedding

The Ceremony was lovely and really personal to the couple. I love hearing all about how my couples meet and how their relationship has brought them to this moment. The Ceremony was taken by Pink and Ginger Ceremonies – who were completely fabulous as their name suggests.

After the Ceremony I moved my harp to the Wedding Breakfast room – which was a bit of a challenge in my floor-length dress on a windy day! Then there was about an hour and a half before I was needed again. I had brought some sandwiches and my book as well as the Saturday paper. I settled down in an armchair (by the fire – in August), had another cappuccino, and enjoyed some quiet time.

With a six-month-old at home I’m sure you can imagine I don’t often get the chance to sit for over an hour and just drink coffee and read. I was in heaven!

Soon enough, it was time for the Wedding Breakfast. I had a list from Lucy and Luke to work my way through, and it ended up being the perfect length to fill the time. A few guests came up to chat, which I always love. The gorgeous couple also gave me this cute little gift bag filled with chocolates and sweets to help me get through the day. I saved them until I got home and (somewhat reluctantly) shared them with my husband.

The Playlist at Stirk House Hotel

I learned a lot of songs especially for this beautiful couple, here are a few of my favourites:

Jurassic Park Main Theme
My Heart Will Go On from Titanic
How Far I’ll Go from Moana
Test Drive from How To Train Your Dragon
Star Wars Main Theme
Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith

These are now all added to my song list, ready to play at future weddings. If you’d like to enquire about booking me as your Wedding Harpist, click here.

Real Weddings

Bollywood Harpist

8 July 2024 No Comments

Today’s blog post is looking back at a recent wedding in Bradford. I have been getting a lot of last minute enquiries lately, which is exciting! This particular gig was an Indian wedding. My job was to play for the welcome drinks. The request was to make the playlist 50% Bollywood, and 50% a mix of classical, pop and Disney. So I was ready to be a Bollywood Harpist for the day.

a photo of harpist Angelina at an Indian Wedding in Bradford

Learning Bollywood Music on the harp

In all honesty I hadn’t played a lot of Bollywood before, so I spent plenty of time before the big day downloading the music and learning it. I found Bollypiano to be a really good resource of Bollywood arrangements. They had most of the songs I was looking for. I also like to hear the music I’m learning, so I made a playlist on Spotify and Youtube. This helped so much to give me a flavour of these tunes. Now I feel much more prepared just in case I’m asked to play Bollywood at future weddings. ‘Bollywood harpist’ seems like a good extra string to my bow if you’ll pardon the musical pun.

This was a much larger wedding than any I’ve played for recently – over 200 guests!

A photo of a harp ready to play for welcome drinks at a recent wedding.

The venue was the Walton View Hotel in Bradford and it was an absolutely stunning day, really warm and sunny.

One of the things I love about my job is how varied it is. I get to see all different sorts of weddings and I love feeling like I’m helping to set the atmosphere of a couple’s special day.

If you’d like to enquire about having me as your wedding harpist, click here. The couple for this wedding just wanted background music for the Drinks Reception, but I also have packages available for your Wedding Ceremony or Wedding Breakfast, click here to have a look at the different options.

One final thing: if you enjoy these blog posts, did you know that you can subscribe and get the posts straight to your inbox? Just pop your email address in the box on the top right of the page (next to where it says ‘subscribe’) to sign up.

Music

Wedding Harpist – behind the scenes

24 June 2024 No Comments

A wedding harpist does a whole lot more than just put on a pretty dress and play music for weddings on Saturdays. I thought I’d use this blog post to give you an insight into what has been going on recently.

I’m at a very unique place in my life at the moment. I have my gorgeous 4-month-old daughter to look after, which means I’m on maternity leave from my ‘day job’. I’ve been working in a field totally unrelated to music since the pandemic – just a few days a week. It was so scary losing all my income during Covid that I promised myself I would never be so vulnerable again.

Now that my baby is out of the newborn phase I’m able to focus more on building my business. I’m recovered from my Caesarean section and able to move my harp around again. If you’ve read my previous blog posts you’ll know that I’ve played a few gigs since having Sophie, and more enquiries are coming in all the time.

A Wedding Harpist Juggling Act

On Mondays and Tuesdays I have childcare (thanks Nana), so that is when I see my students. During the rest of the week it’s still a juggling act. I’m learning as much as I can about marketing, branding and business so I can try and reach more people. I’m finding pockets of time to practice and learn new music for my brides (thanks to my lovely husband and I working together to carve out time for the things we need to do). There are emails to answer and enquiries to respond to. I’m sending contracts and invoices and keeping my finances in order. Oh and there’s the small matter of staying on top of housework and cleaning too.

Once we get to the weekend I’ll either have a wedding, or if not, Tim and I will have some quality family time with Sophie. We’ll try and find some time to rest – not easy with a baby in the picture!

However, on some days, my baby requires my attention pretty much non-stop. I’m aware that I’ll never get this time back with her when she’s this little, so at the end of the day, she is my priority. Anything else that gets done is a bonus. I’m doing all of this so ultimately I’ll be able to be home with her more. She is my motivation.

Angelina cuddles her baby after getting home from a gig

If you’d like to send me an enquiry about being your wedding harpist, click here.

Music, Real Weddings

Woolas Barn Wedding – Lucy + Rob

17 June 2024 No Comments

For this beautiful wedding at Woolas Barn, Appleton Roebuck, I played for the Drinks Reception.

a harp at Woolas Barn ready to play for a wedding reception

Fortunately for me, I just live fifteen minutes from this venue, so I love it when I get to play here. I arrived just as the guests were heading into the Ceremony, and used that time to set up the harp, pop my harp covers back in the car, and then park. You wouldn’t believe it from looking at this photo, but it was actually a lovely sunny day.

Once the harp was all set up it was a waiting game until the Ceremony finished and the Drinks Reception began. I had a little look at the Wedding Breakfast set-up and the cake:

The Playlist for Woolas Barn

I played from my setlist that is very unimaginatively named ‘Background, no Christmas’. Time goes very quickly during these events, but I still had time to play plenty of music. I’ve added a few tunes by Ailie Robertson to my playlist and am really enjoying having something fresh and new on the setlist.

I intermingled these gorgeous pieces in amongst a mix of Disney, classical, and musical theatre. One gentleman approached me and said his grandmother used to sing Danny Boy to him as a child. He hadn’t heard the song since then, seventy years ago! I bet that brought back some memories.

As it was such a beautiful day, I ended up positioning the harp right in the doorway. This allowed the harp to be sheltered from the elements but also meant that the guests outside could still enjoy the music. It can be hard to know upon arrival exactly where the guests are going to mingle, but I can usually move the harp to where the crowd is, if necessary.

Huge congratulations to the happy couple. I snuck a photo of the dress from just before the ceremony. It was absolutely stunning. What a special moment, waiting to walk down the aisle.

bride and father of the bride waiting before the ceremony

If you’d like to enquire about hiring me as your wedding harpist, click here to contact me.

Music

Wedding Ceremony Songs – don’t bother with classical music

10 June 2024 No Comments

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I’m sure you are deep into wedding planning right now, and with that comes the important job of choosing your Wedding Ceremony songs. I’m here to help.

Yorkshire Wedding Harpist Angelina at Manchester Jazz Festival

My name is Angelina and I’ve been a wedding harpist for over ten years. I’ve played for hundreds of weddings, and each one has been unique. One of my favourite parts of my job is curating a playlist for the ceremony that you LOVE. A playlist that really means something to you is so special and you’ll always remember it.

I’m writing this blog post to say: if what you love isn’t classical music, have something else instead.

a photo of a wedding ceremony venue. A table with flowers is in front of a harp

Yes, I’m a harpist, and the harp is seen as a classical instrument. But I’ve also played lots of pop covers and film music at weddings, and it has worked so well. It works so well because it is personal to you both as a couple. I’ve even played music from video games! I would absolutely love it if a future couple requests the music from Tetris or Super Mario. Those were my favourites when I was younger!

Wedding Ceremony songs – make it personal

The more personal touches you can add to your wedding ceremony, the more memorable it is going to be for you and your guests. So choose something outside of the box if that’s your style!

A harp ready to play for a wedding ceremony

Conversely, if you love classical music and have pieces that are meaningful for you – absolutely have those as part of your ceremony. Just don’t feel bound by tradition or what you feel you ‘should’ have. Have a look at my previous blog posts for inspiration. I try to report back from weddings that I play for and include their Wedding Ceremony songs. It might just give you some ideas.

If you are planning your wedding and looking for a Yorkshire Wedding Harpist – click the link to get in touch. I’ll email you my repertoire list, and if the song would like isn’t on there – I’ll do my best to learn it for you. To see a list of my packages and prices, head over here.

Music, Real Weddings

Lazaat Cottingham – Paige + Anupam

3 June 2024 No Comments

Earlier this month I received a DM on instagram. Would I be able to play for a wedding that very weekend at Lazaat Cottingham? Usually, weddings are in the diary for a year or more so this was quite a surprise!

As it happened, I was available. I had ear-marked this time in my diary as maternity leave, but as I’m feeling able to move my harp around, I said yes. It just goes to show that, even if you are planning a last-minute wedding, it’s worth checking to see if the suppliers you want are available. You just never know.

a picture of a harp and some flowers at St. Mary's Church, Cottingham

Ceremony Playlist

It was a beautiful day in Cottingham, East Yorkshire. Firstly, I was booked to play for the Ceremony at St. Mary’s Church. Paige chose some really lovely song choices:

Bridal Entrance: Here comes the sun – The Beatles

Signing of the Register: Moonriver from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Edelweiss from The Sound of Music

Exit Music: Tale as old as time from Beauty and the Beast

As part of my package for Wedding Ceremonies I always provide fifteen minutes of background music while guests take their seats. I played a mixture of light classical, Disney, and some folk tunes as well. When I’m playing for most of the day, I like to start mainly classical, then gradually as the day continues, incorporate more pop and show tunes that guests are likely to recognise.

Lazaat Cottingham

Following the ceremony, and squeezing my car out of a very tight parking situation, the next stop was the Lazaat Hotel, Cottingham. I placed my harp on the dance floor while the wedding guests took their seats for speeches and the breakfast. It was then time to provide background music for during the meal.

I tend to structure my background music into sets of thirty minutes, with a ten minute break in between. This gives me chance to rest my hands and have a glass of water or a snack.

Huge congratulations to this happy couple – Paige and Anupam. It was a pleasure to meet you and contribute to your special day. Thank you also to Paige for this lovely google review:

We couldn’t recommend Angelina more!! Right from the time of booking, she was friendly, helpful and lovely! Her playing was serene and charming, which made our wedding feel personal & intimate. So many of our guests spoke to us about how fantastic Angelina was! Thank you for making our wedding that little bit more special.
Love Mr & Mrs Chandran x

If you are interested in having me play at your wedding, click here to see my packages or click here to send me an enquiry.

Music, Special Occasions

Birdsall House – Harp Music for a special occasion

27 May 2024 No Comments

Earlier this month I played for a very special occasion at Birdsall House, near Malton.

It was the hundredth birthday of a lady called Hermione, who grew up in this beautiful home. Together with some of her family members, we came up with a playlist that we hoped she would enjoy.

Harpist Angelina playing the harp for Hermione on her 100th birthday

I love when my clients want to pay special attention to the playlist. It makes the event much more personal and meaningful. It also gives me the peace of mind that I am giving my clients exactly what they want.

The Playlist

The requests were as follows:

classical pieces, but nothing too cliché
plenty of folk music
nostalgic songs from the World War 2 era

I am classically trained so I have plenty of classical music in my repertoire. I use forscore on my iPad to create playlists for each event that I play for. So I put in most of my classical repertoire, taking out Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Greensleeves, and anything else I deemed ‘overplayed’.

For the folk music section, I added in Scottish folk tunes Fairy Lullaby, Loch Lomond and O’er the Sea to Skye, a Welsh folk song called Watching the Wheat, and from Ireland I decided to include Londonderry Air.

When it comes to the World War 2 nostalgia, I decided on A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, The White Cliffs of Dover, and We’ll Gather Lilacs. These songs remind me of my childhood, my father would play the piano at parties while my sister sang these songs. Such happy early musical memories.

On the day

So with the playlist finalised, I headed over to Birdsall House with my harp. It’s worth mentioning that this was my first engagement since having my baby, so to be honest I was a little nervous! I hoped I would cope with lifting and moving the harp ok post-caesarean, and I hoped I would still have the stamina to play for long periods of time. I hadn’t done my usual amount of practice while looking after my newborn baby.

A photo of a harp behind a table laid for lunch at Birdsall House

Luckily, everything went really well and I received lovely feedback regarding my contribution to the festivities. I felt so welcome, the food and conversation were both excellent. I had a ‘harpy’ version of Happy Birthday up my sleeve, and then it was time to head home.

All in all, a fabulous gig and a fabulous day at Birdsall House.

Here is a lovely review following the party:

A google review of Harpist Angelina. Angelina came to play during my mother's 100th birthday party which was a lunch for 30. Angelina was a pleasure to deal with from start to finish.

If you’d like harp music for your Wedding or special occasion, click here to fill in my contact form. You can find information about packages and prices here.

Career, Music

Yorkshire Harpist – Angelina

17 September 2023 No Comments

My name is Angelina and I have been a Yorkshire harpist specialising in weddings for many years. I’m based in York and mainly cover the Yorkshire area. If you are looking for more information about having harp music at your wedding, keep reading…

Every wedding is special and unique, and I will help you create the perfect atmosphere with my harp playing.

What part of my wedding should I have harp music for?

That is completely up to you! There are plenty of options. I can play for your Wedding Ceremony, which creates a beautiful, elegant atmosphere. You would choose your entrance and exit music, something for before the ceremony, and during the register-signing. I am happy to provide ideas if you would like me to!

Some couples want background harp music for their Drinks Reception, which is the part of the wedding after the Ceremony but before everyone sits down to eat. Harp music sets the mood perfectly while you and your guests enjoy some drinks and canapés. The wonderful thing about harp music at your wedding is that, not only is the harp beautiful to look at, the sound of the harp is not overpowering. The harp is unlikely to drown out conversation among your guests. The harp is definitely gentle on the ears.

Another option is to have background harp music for your Wedding Breakfast, where I would play while you and your guests enjoy your meal. You can find details of the various packages available here.

On my Youtube channel I have a playlist dedicated to beautiful harp music that is ideal for weddings. You can have a listen here.

Favourite venues for Yorkshire harpist Angelina

Most recently I was invited to play the harp for the wedding of Vicky and David in The Hospitium, a beautiful, historic building nestled in the Museum Gardens in York.

I’m sure every Yorkshire harpist has played here many times. I have been playing for weddings in this venue for years and it is a firm favourite of mine. You can see from the photos just how elegant the space is (especially with my harp set up and ready to go):

Yorkshire harpist set up and ready to play in York Hospitium

Yorkshire harpist set up in York Hospitium ready for a wedding ceremony

As ever, thanks for reading. If you’d like to get a quote for me to play for your wedding, drop me an email to angelinaegerton@gmail.com.