Wedding Music/chair/flowers question:

Photo courtesy of Bellagala. The following question/answer is from a few years ago, but I've re-posted it on my blog because it's interesting and informative

Question:

Dear Rev. Coleman,

We are writing from Japan, so please excuse our English. We are in need of live music, harp, flute, and violin, but if it costs high, prefer to recorded music. Do you know how much the costs? We need flower decoration for Gazebo we are using. we would like to have the ceremony Gazebo. We need some chairs for old people (our relatives coming from Japan). Do you have suggestions? Also, would we get the marriage license in the US?

Japanese Bride


Answer:

Konichiwa!

Wow, good for you for planning your wedding from so far away. Yes, I can definitely give you some great recommendations, plus advice on getting your marriage license, etc.

-If you would be interested in a Flute/Violin/Cello trio, I would highly recommend the Baroque Trio - their fee is about $425.

-If you are interested in a Harpist soloist, I recommend Reuben Correa. His fee is about $375.

Either of the above choices would work really well for your wedding ceremony, if they are within your budget. You'd most likely hire either the Flute/Violin/Cello trio, OR the Harpist soloist (but not both). If either of the above choices sound good to you, I would recommend emailing them and asking if they are available. Both of them are very professional, and I have worked with them before, and if you hire either of them, then you would basically just tell them the date and the time, and they would take care of the rest. If you mention my name, they know me.

If you would like to rent chairs for your guests, I would recommend Apres Party Rental. For an extra fee, they will deliver and set up the chairs for you (an option I highly recommend). The cost is about $2/chair, plus they would have a delivery charge.

If you would like to hire someone to set up flowers, one of my favorite Minneapolis florists is Polished Petals, but I don't know what the fee would be for setting up the flowers. You'd have to email them for a price quote. The person to contact is Erin Erskine, and if you mention my name, she knows me.

For your Minnesota marriage license, I would recommend applying for the license as soon as you arrive, then they will mail you the marriage license to wherever you are staying. You can then bring the marriage license with you to the wedding rehearsal and I will make sure that it is signed and mailed back to the county.

I hope this answer helps!

Warmly,

Pastor Tomkin
Minneapolis Weddings

p.s. As mentioned above, this question/answer is actually from a couple years ago, and I wound up performing their wedding ceremony. They wound up choosing to get married in the gazebo at Irvine Park in St Paul, MN.