It’s been a while since I’ve done a vendor spotlight, which is a little crazy, because I know a ton of great vendors, and I love showcasing them! Hopefully I’ll be able to pull a few more of these together for you guys soon! Today I’m going to showcase a group of really amazing musicians, and hopefully persuade you to consider budgeting for live music as part of your wedding ceremony or cocktail hour. It can really elevate your event and make it 10x more magical. (Scientifically proven, promise.)
The group is Deans’ Duets, and they provide amazing live music ensembles (think string quartets, piano, or harp) for weddings and events. I seriously can’t even tell you guys how amazing they are, so you should just check out their video, then read my follow-up interview with April, one of the Dean sisters, below.
When and why did you start Deans’ Duets?
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Megan and I (April) are two years apart, and we both started playing the violin at age 3. By our middle school years, our mom saw that we were getting burned out. She also knew how eager we both were to get jobs, but we were too young to work at the typical fast food teenage jobs. She made us some business cards, called us “Deans’ Duets,” and we started taking them to bridal shops. People loved the idea and started hiring us! We had no idea what we were doing back then, but we quickly started learning about the wedding business. By high school, we were playing events all the time – and loving it!
Since then, we continue to play weddings & events together, but we’ve also gradually expanded our team over the years to include more amazing musicians who play other instruments, as we noticed a need for more versatility and more modern music.
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What is the most popular duo/trio/combination hired?
- Our most popular combinations right now are violin/guitar duets, and string quartets. Those are also my two favorite ensembles, so it works out well! 🙂
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What are the most popular songs you all play?
- That’s probably a tie between Canon in D & A Thousand Years. Marry Me by Train probably comes in third.
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What are some of your favorite songs to play?
- We just recorded a string quartet cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns ’N’ Roses. That’s our new favorite recessional. [Scroll up to watch the video!] So much fun! Another recently added favorite is Gabriel’s Oboe. Even though we play it a lot, I still love A Thousand Years for the bride. It creates such a magical moment. Other favorites: What a Wonderful World, Best Day of my Life, and At Last (Etta James).
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What is something you wish more couples knew before hiring musicians for their wedding?
- I wish every couple could experience the difference between having recorded versus live music. The bride’s walk down the aisle is the most important moment of the entire day, and live music makes it breathtaking! If couples experienced the difference for themselves, I think more would work their budgets around the music.
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- Also, I wish all couples would read more reviews before booking musicians! We have way too many couples call us 2-3 weeks before their weddings, saying that their musicians just stopped responding to their emails, or that they cancelled at the last minute. It makes me so sad when I hear those things.
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What are your top 5 favorite venues?
- Biltmore Estate- Asheville
- Westglow Resort – Blowing Rock
- Duke Mansion – Charlotte
- Old Edwards Inn – Highlands
- Pinehurst Resort – Pinehurst
How far do you travel for weddings/events?
- We travel for almost all of our weddings. Our typical travel time is 1-3 hours each way, but we’ll travel anywhere!
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What’s a fun fact about the two of you?
- A few years ago, Megan & I (April) spent 2 weeks – just the 2 of us – in Europe, staying in hostels, taking trains to as many places as possible, eating gelato, and drinking lots of coffee.
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If you would like to book Deans’ Duets for your event (which I *highly* recommend!) you can contact them through their website here! ♥