DJs
Booked in place of a standard wedding dj for the first half of the day, this live string trio covers the prelude, the ceremony and the cocktail hour that follows it, at San Francisco venues and beyond. Three classically trained players, two violins and a cello, carry every part of the celebration where guests are seated or standing with a drink.
What the third player buys you
A duo is the common configuration and it works, but two instruments spend most of a ceremony covering melody and a bass line with nothing left over. A cello underneath two violins opens the middle of the arrangement, which is where a wider repertoire lives. That is the practical reason this trio can move between classical, pop and modern crossover arrangements without any of them sounding thin.
The rooms a trio actually fits
Scale is the question most couples get wrong when they book live players. This ensemble is intimate enough for a courtyard of forty guests, where a larger group would be too loud for the space, and it still fills a ballroom seated for three hundred without overpowering vows or readings. The sound is acoustic in character but it is reinforced through the sound system, so the back rows are not straining while the front rows get the full weight of it.
Three sets of music, not one
The booking covers three distinct blocks rather than a single performance. The prelude runs roughly twenty to thirty minutes while guests are being seated, the stretch that feels longest when nothing is playing. The ceremony itself follows: processional, an optional interlude during a unity moment or a signing, and the recessional. Then the trio moves straight into a cocktail hour set of about forty five to sixty minutes, built from instrumental versions of songs the room will recognize. Three blocks, one load in. On site the whole engagement is scheduled as four to five hours.
Microphones, sound and the spoken parts of a ceremony
Music is only half of ceremony audio. A full professional sound system is sized to your guest count and venue rather than pulled off a shelf, and wireless lapel and handheld microphones cover the officiant, the vows, the toasts and the announcements. Wedding MC support is included to keep the timeline moving, and dance floor lighting effects sized to the room come with the booking as well, so the later part of the evening is not left dark. An event dj can hold every hour of a night from a single position; an acoustic ensemble cannot, which is why the support package around these players matters.
Custom arrangements and how the song list is built
Up to two custom arrangements are included, which is the answer to the request almost every couple has: a specific song, usually one nobody has ever scored for strings, for the processional or the first look. Those arrangements and any other special request piece have to be confirmed at least thirty days before the event to allow rehearsal time, so a couple booking inside that window is buying the standing repertoire rather than a new score. Beyond those two, the repertoire is drawn from a curated selection refined through a detailed pre event questionnaire. A shared planning document captures must play and do not play songs for the ceremony, and requests from guests on the day are welcomed.
Booking terms and what the venue must provide
A retainer of half the fee reserves your date, and the balance is due two weeks before the event. For outdoor events the venue must provide a covered performance area, along with standard electrical access within twenty five feet of the performance location. That second condition is worth checking before you sign: a garden ceremony with no shade and no power within reach cannot be fixed on the day. Performance breaks are covered by curated playback through the sound system, so the room never falls silent. Travel beyond fifty miles from the home base may be priced as an add on, quoted in advance.
Planning calls, setup and the shape of the day
Planning starts with a call of thirty to forty five minutes covering the run of show, the processional and recessional choices and the song lists. A second call two weeks out finalizes the timeline and, importantly, the microphone hand off plan, which is the detail that decides whether the toasts sound like the ceremony did. Coordination with your planner is part of the booking, including a final timing call. Setup happens early, the room is tested in place with sound balanced where guests will actually sit, and a backup feed is kept ready. Teardown is handled quietly so the venue can reset on schedule. Attire is professional formal: dark suits, a black dress, or black on black. Dj services and live players are usually priced against each other on cost alone, but the difference here is what the room hears during the twenty minutes before anything formal begins.
