Q. What do you do at a wedding?
A. We play 20-30 minutes of prelude music as guests are being seated, all required ceremony music (ie. processional, signing of the register, recessional) & a few minutes of postlude music as guests are exiting the ceremony area.

Q. Have you played at many weddings before?
A. No, yours will be our very first one!  Wait, you want the real answer?  Festivo Strings not only comes with a good sense of humour, but also a strong performance history.  We have files dating back to 1997 for over 800 events, the majority of which were weddings and wedding receptions.

Q. What do you need in order to be able to play outdoors?
A. We require shade and/or shelter to protect our valuable instruments from the elements.  We can make do with approximately a 10x10 space, although we'll happily take a large space if you have it!  Most venues can recommend vendors for tent or canopy rentals if no shaded area is available on the property.  It needs to be a minimum of 16C for us to be able to play outside.  That said, we try our best to be as reasonable as we can be.  Unfortunately, we've had events where people have decided to proceed outside in 10C rainy weather and this is why we have an official weather clause in our contract. **NEW FOR 2012: We can now provide a 10x10 canopy for an additional fee of $30 if you require this service!**

Q. Can you work with my vocalist/instrumentalist?
A. Probably.  If you are having someone sing, we will need sheet music for the song (if it's not already in our repertoire) and also the key in which that person prefers to sing.  If you want us to work with another instrument, ie. organ, piano, trumpet, etc, we can accommodate that as well.  When we work with other musicians, we arrange to arrive at the ceremony venue approximately 15-20 minutes earlier than normal on the event date in order to rehearse in the acoustic setting where the ceremony will be held.  There is no additional charge for this, unless you also require rehearsal at another date/time.

Q. Is there tax on your services?
A. No.  This is one area of your wedding where you can breathe a sigh of relief as there will not be a 13% "surcharge" going to the government.

Q. Can you play contemporary music?
A. Yes and no.  Some songs are better suited to strings than others.  If we have a song in our repertoire or can find an arrangement of it, we will be happy to play it.  That said, many songs are either not in print or do not translate well to strings without many hours of arranging time.  It's always best to check with us about specific songs and to do so well before your wedding date.

Q. Do you attend the wedding rehearsal?
A. No.  We arrive early enough on the event date to speak to the officiant about ceremony cues, etc.

Q. How soon should I book my music?
A. As soon as you have your location booked you can begin to think about booking music.  We are currently taking bookings for 2012 and 2013.

Q. Is it always the same musicians? What if someone is sick?
A. You will see the core members of Festivo Strings at approximately 99% of our events.  If someone is sick or otherwise unable to be there, we have a short list of highly qualified substitute musicians who have played with us before.