Wedding Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Music at the Mirabelle Restaurant in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Flute and Strings by Christen Stephens, Photo by Emmkayy Photos

In the midst of a very rainy spring, I drove through the wet weather to Colorado’s mountains to play my flute for a peaceful wedding ceremony in Beaver Creek. Once I arrived at the charming historic Mirabelle Restaurant, I was greeted by a continuous downpour. I ate lunch and then my cellist and I warmed up on our instruments indoors. By the time we were preparing our setup in the cool outdoor air, the rain had retreated, leaving a clean and sweet rain-washed air in its wake. Several gas patio heaters, kindly provided by the restaurant staff, offered a toasty counterpoint to the day's chill.

As we warmed up on our instruments outside, my cellist colleague noticed something amiss. String lights hanging above the ceremony area were touching one of the patio heaters, generating wisps of smoke. We immediately alerted the restaurant staff, preventing what could have been an unfortunate event. Disaster averted!

Shortly afterwards, the bride’s brother was facing a challenge of his own. He had volunteered to sing "All of Me" and accompany himself on his keyboard, using borrowed sound equipment. Unfortunately, the speakers were barely audible and produced a distorted sound even at low volumes. I noticed the problem, and I offered my backup sound equipment. My spare speaker and microphone allowed him to sing and be heard above the murmur of the creek and the whisper of the trees.

We played an elegant prelude of classical music. This was followed by the ceremony, which went off without a hitch, except for the bride and groom getting hitched, of course! With the sun breaking free from the clouds and the soothing sounds of the nearby creek providing a natural soundtrack, the bride and groom exchanged their vows. We continued to play after the ceremony as guests mingled and enjoyed appetizers. I selected a mix of classical and contemporary music for the cocktail hour set list, and so many people came up to us and said that we were playing their favorite songs, or songs with special memories attached. That made me so glad that our music could be a meaningful part of this special day!

From the Mother of the Bride:

“Perfect Music for my Daughter's Wedding”

“Christen and a cellist played at my daughter's wedding in Beaver Creek. She was very helpful with planning the music for each part of the ceremony. Her website is an excellent resource for selecting the music. She was very responsive and even reached with questions so that we stayed on track with planning. We ended up adding an hour of music for the cocktail hour. My son, who is very musical, was impressed with the popular music they played, such as music from the Greatest Showman. On the day of the wedding, she went above and beyond to help my son, who was singing, set up his sound equipment. Having the flute/cello duet definitely elevated our wedding experience. I would highly recommend working with Christen.”

Wedding Ceremony Music:
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke): Wedding Party
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach): Bride
Amazing Grace and Be Thou My Vision: Communion and Prayer
Wedding March from a Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mendelssohn): Recessional

Sample Music from the Prelude and Cocktail Hour:
Chorale from Cantata #140 (Wachet auf), Spring from the Four Seasons (Vivaldi), Air from Suite #3 in D Major (Bach), Si Bheag, Si Mhor (Traditional Irish), Anglaise (Bach), La Vie En Rose (Louis Armstrong), Ode to Joy (Beethoven), I Get to Love You (Ruelle), A Million Dreams from the Greatest Showman, Married Life from “Up”