An Irish Wedding Celebration in Estes Park, Colorado: Flute, Viola, Cello Trio
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Flute and String Trio Wedding Ceremony Music at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Estes Park, Colorado, Flute and Strings by Christen Stephens, Photo by Christen Stephens
I love playing Irish music on my flute, and it’s one of my specialties, so I was so excited when this couple asked me to help celebrate their Irish heritage at their wedding with our music! The family had immigrated from Ireland through Ellis Island, which reminded me of my own grandmother who also immigrated through Ellis Island. What a wonderful and fun family history!
The couple chose our flute and strings trio (flute, viola, cello), to play music for their wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. They loved the full sound of our trio, but that it has a lighter sound than a quartet.
Flute and String Trio Wedding Ceremony Music at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Estes Park, Colorado, Flute and Strings by Christen Stephens, Photo by Christen Stephens
The ceremony took place at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Estes Park, Colorado. It was a charming hilltop church in a majestic mountain setting. Originally, the couple wanted a prelude of Irish music and other non-traditional music to greet their guests as they arrived. Unfortunately, it turned out that this Catholic Church required us to play approved traditional music. I picked out a new set list and had it approved, and I sadly couldn’t incorporate any of the music that the bride originally wanted. But we were able to fit in all of the bride’s song requests later for cocktails!
We played a beautiful and holy prelude, befitting of the setting, and our music filled the church with glorious sounds from our overhead perch in the choir loft. For her communion, the bride chose for us to play “Blest Are They”, and I arranged a lush setting of the song for our trio to perform.
Afterwards, we moved to Della Terra Mountain Chateau to play cocktail hour music. This is where we let loose and had some fun! We played 100% traditional Irish music and Riverdance music. From jigs and reels to slow and haunting airs, we created a lovely vibrant atmosphere with our music as guests mingled for cocktails. To accomplish this, we added 11 new traditional Irish pieces to our repertoire, and I specially arranged 5 new Riverdance songs for our trio. Leading up the wedding, it was not uncommon for my husband to hear me playing “Reel Around the Sun” and other lively Irish tunes over and over again so that I could perfect this difficult music. It was thrilling when it all came together into one celebration!