Dan Phelps

Contact: Dan Phelps

Email: dan@phelpsmusic.com

Telephone: 07974 635 502

Address: Tonteg, Pontypridd
Website: www.phelpsmusic.com/weddings

"I had the absolute pleasure of walking down the aisle to the sound of Dan playing our chosen song at our church wedding and the memories continue to give me goosebumps. We met with Dan a few months before our wedding and we knew straight away that we wanted him to play in the church. A gifted pianist, he was open to playing anything and offered us many ideas. We would definitely recommend Dan, he completely took the stress away from us, all I had to do was walk down the aisle and enjoy our service. He added that extra special touch. Throughout the planning stage to opening our much appreciated wedding card and CD the day after, Dan went above and beyond and we knew he would work with us to achieve what we wished. Thank you Dan for being part of a cherished memory and the most special and outstanding moment of our lives!"
Karen and Rhys

Eugene Portman Pianist

Contact: Eugene Portman
Telephone: 01342 835 394
Email: mail@eugeneportman.com
Website: www.eugeneportman.com

Prices are from £250 as a solo pianist depending on distance from venue. Though the site refers to London and home counties, Eugene Portman says he will travel all over the UK.

Eugene writes: "The piano has always been my passion. I started playing when I was seven. All I ever wanted was to become a professional pianist."  He first went down the classical route and moved on to focus on Jazz. "I specialise in mellow Jazz piano."

A jazz pianist can provide classical music for the wedding ceermony and Jazz for the reception. "At one time I used to consider it a novely if I had to play the piano for a wedding. Now they're seldom seems to be a week when I don't have at least a couple of weddings to play for. One thing that has become more and more popular is the civil wedding ceremony and I think this is the reason I am being booked for more weddings each year."

The advantage of hiring a Jazz Pianist for your wedding is that they can provide the music for the wedding ceremony, welcome drinks, and music during the wedding banquet.  The Pianist will play during the ceremony at four places - the gathering of the congregation, the procession, the signing of the register, and the recession.

Once the ceremony is over, everyone starts chatting to each other and there is a lot of noise as people catch up with relatives. The Pianist will now provide background music but not too obtrusively so as not to interrupt the conversation of your guests.

During the wedding banquet I can play mellow dinner jazz if your guests are quiet or more lively material if the guests are making a lot of noise. As a Jazz painist one of the most important things for me to assess is whether the music is interfering with the conversations of your wedding guests - if it is then I must be doing something wrong. I usually finish playing once the speeeches start, unless you feel there may be gaps after the speeches which also could benefit from some backgroung music.

If your venue has separate quiet rooms away from the main evening entertainment, you can also opt to have your Pianist play in the evenings, quietly, in one of the lounges where your guests may wish to gather away from the noise of the disco. At Craig y Nos guests often move through to the lounges to converse in more relaxed surroundings. The castle's two main lounges are a little distance away from the dancing and music in the main function room - see the Nicolini Lounge. Most guests have not seen each other for a long time so are eager to catch up with each others' news. This means the lounges are rarely empty and your pianist would still be playing to a full room.