UPCOMING CONCERT! 2011-09-14

Hello everyone!! It has been a VERY busy summer for us and we have been posting more to facebook than to the blog, but we would love to announce an upcoming concert! 


Sunday, September 25th Chesapeake Strings Quartet Concert! 2:00 p.m. at St. Andrew By the Bay, Upper Hall, Parish Center,701 College Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21409A great chance to meet us and hear us perform before your event!
We will be performing Dvorak "American" String Quartet, two movements from Mendelssohn Quartet No. 2, and a fun encore! The concert should be under an hour and we will have a light reception afterwards. This is a great chance to come meet us and see us in action before your event! Please stop by, enjoy the music, and say hello! (more...)

We are weddingwire rated for 2011! 2011-07-06

Chesapeake Strings is now WeddingWire Rated for 2011

{Baltimore, MD} - {July 6, 2011} - WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding technology company, is pleased to announce that Chesapeake Strings is WeddingWire Rated 2011 for the business category of Wedding Ceremony Musicians. WeddingWire Rated is an annual award program that distinguishes wedding vendors across the country for their excellence. Based on hundreds of thousands of recent wedding reviews, WeddingWire Rated is the most recognized and trusted brand among engaged couples looking to find the best local businesses for their wedding. 

Chesapeake Strings has 17 reviews on WeddingWire. Reviews by our newlywed clients include detailed ratings and insightful descriptions about their experiences working with our business and staff. Our reviews provide transparency for potential clients, assisting them in making the most informed decisions for their big day. 

"We are delighted to unveil the 5th annual WeddingWire Rated program," said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire, Inc. " Chesapeake Strings has made a commitment to capturing their clients experiences on the nation's leading wedding review site." 

As the largest site for wedding reviews, WeddingWire empowers engaged couples with the most comprehensive and trusted review system available. The WeddingWire Rated program provides Chesapeake Strings with a simple platform to capture customer feedback from their wedding planning experience. Newly engaged couples can easily access all of the reviews for Chesapeake Strings on WeddingWire.com. We would like to thank our newlyweds for our WeddingWire Rated 2011 recognition. 

For more information, please visit Chesapeake Strings on WeddingWire at [http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/chesapeake-strings-baltimore/26a277138bc3ec30.html]. 

For more information on WeddingWire Rated 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com. 

About WeddingWire, Inc. 
WeddingWire, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including ProjectWedding.com, MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Weddingbee.com, and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS). (more...)

Greetings! 2010-08-09

Hello there!  Thanks for visiting our new blog!  Chesapeake Strings is an up-and-coming string ensemble specializing in performing at weddings and other events.  We can't wait to share our personal stories and pictures with you, so please stay tuned!  


Check back in September for pictures from our upcoming photoshoot with Allison Britton, a wedding photographer based in Alexandria, VA.  By then we'll also have some recordings and video clips of our favorite songs!


Violist Elizabeth is in the process of arranging these popular songs for string trio (violin, viola, cello):


-"Need You Now"  ~Lady Antebellum
-"Lovers In Japan"  ~Coldplay
-"Chasing Cars"  ~Snow Patrol
-"I'm Yours"  ~Jason Mraz
-"Fireflies"  ~Owl City
-"Love Song"  ~Sara Bareilles
-"Lucky"  ~Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat


If you'd like to hear any of these at your event, contact us!  And for more titles, please visit our website, Chesapeake Strings.  


Thanks again for checking out the blog!  We'll post again soon! (more...)

Here Comes the Sun! 2010-08-16

Well, we're halfway through August, but it's never too late for an August wedding post!  Does anyone else feel like the most popular color this summer has been yellow?  Ali Fedotowsky loved wearing yellow on "The Bachelorette," and designers have been using it for accent pieces, like this Kate Spade tote.
I attended a baby shower this weekend, and five people wore yellow!  I realize that's only a handful, but yellow definitely stands out in a crowd.  And, there are so many different shades of yellow-- from chartreuse to gold to lemon to maize!  


For August weddings, any of these shades of yellow are appropriate, but personally, I can't help but think of sunflowers when thinking of an August yellow.  In other words, more golden and natural than lemon and neon.  There's a diverse Sunday farmer's market in downtown Baltimore, and the vendors always have beautiful sunflower selections in August.  


Sunflowers can really make a wedding bouquet POP:
Because of their brown centers, sunflower yellow and brown has become a nice color palette for a late August wedding.  And I say late August because brown is also a popular fall color.  These dresses are from BCBG (gold) and J. Crew (brown).
  Our sunflower theme can also be used on the cake and invitations:
  Yellow can really be paired with a range of colors to suit any season--eggplant, plum, aqua, red-orange, shades of blue, teal, light pink... the list goes on and on.  
I'll delve into my love of eggplant and plum weddings later this fall, but since it's still summer, lets  explore one more bright palette: lemon yellow and lime green.  Think minted lemonade and peridot (this is August's birthstone, after all).   
A brighter combination than gold and brown, lemon and lime is ideal for a warm-weather-wedding held during the last few dog days of summer.  If you'd like to avoid brown-centered sunflowers, use teddy bear sunflowers in your bouquet.  (Notice their green centers!)  Other things to do with lemon and lime?  Key lime cupcakes:Lemon Cake:

Lemon dress and shimmery silver shoes: 
Lime feathered headband and green patent ballet flats:
Citrus centerpiece:And, Yellow globe lanterns:

Musically speaking, play any songs about sunshine and they'll fit perfectly into your sunflower theme.
"I'm Walkin' On Sunshine"     ~Katrina & the Waves"Here Comes the Sun"     ~The Beatles"I'll Follow the Sun"     ~The Beatles"You Are the Sunshine of My Life"     ~Stevie Wonder"Pocketful of Sunshine"     ~Natasha Bedingfield

Featuring a bold yellow at your event truly eludes happiness and fun, guaranteeing your guests a memorable time!
See you next time,
Elizabeth from Chesapeake Strings
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Somewhere Over the Rainbow... Butterflies Fly? 2010-08-24

In doing some blog research, I have discovered countless other blogs like this one, suggesting wedding-related color schemes.  Of course I'm going to continue posting similar ideas, but my question now is, what if you CAN'T decide on just one color??


It seems like there is an infinite number of color duos to choose from, and color plays such a huge part in your wedding's ambiance.  Like music, wedding colors can elude elegance and sophistication, modern flair, rustic charm, or liveliness (see the yellow post).  If a couple can't decide on a color group, why not choose all the colors?  


I've been reading Martha Stewart Weddings for a few years now, and have never forgotten the beautiful butterfly cake on the cover of the Winter 2009 issue:



In fact, there is an entire website dedicated to butterfly cakes, like this one:


With these pictures, I'm not suggesting a butterfly-themed wedding (we'll save that for later), rather, a wedding so colorful that there are no main theme colors.  
Picture an outdoor waterfront ceremony decorated with colored balloons:


And a cocktail hour underneath a rainbow of parasols (or balloons, or butterfly garlands, etc.):


For the reception, ask your photographer about setting up a photo booth and drape the background with a bright fabric.  IKEA sells this one for $6.99/yard!Well, now that we've set the scene... what to wear?
Let's talk about the bridesmaids and groomsmen first.  One option is to have all the bridesmaids wear similar dresses but in all different colors, and the groomsmen wear colored ties to match.  Perhaps a less vivid option is to have the bridesmaids wear their favorite LBD's (little black dresses) with some colorful accents.  
I love these glittered slingbacks from Kate Spade:

And perhaps this would be too matchy to wear with pink shoes, but this Dolce and Gabbana bag also caught my eye:If you'd rather not spend a grand on a bag, check out this clutch from Topshop:If each bridesmaid picks her own accent color, these Anthropologie earrings would perfectly coordinate with our earlier butterfly ideas:


Now for the million dollar question!  What will the bride herself wear?  Answer: Whatever she wants!  A bride can stand out in a crisp white gown among her colorful wedding, or she can choose a colorful gown for herself!  Gwen Stefani was one bride who fearlessly sparked the non-white trend when she wore a white and pink gown:


Today, almost any formal colored dress can be worn as a wedding gown, however non-traditional this may seem.  Designer Chrissy Wai Ching has created a line of wedding dresses that are everything but classic white.





Brides: if you are hesitating about breaking traditional all-white dress rules, DON'T!  You can wear whatever you want!  
Of course, if you're planning a very colorful wedding, it would make sense to accompany it with some very colorful and upbeat music.  
A couple suggestions:

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
"Viva la Vida"  ~Coldplay
"Any Way You Want It"  ~Journey
"Bohemian Rhapsody"  ~Queen
"It's A Beautiful Life"  ~Ace of Base
"I Gotta Feeling"  ~Black Eyed Peas


Think about what music pumps you up!
because,
Happy Music = Happy Guests!

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