There is no greater love...

Because I'm a musician the selection of music for our ceremony was very important to me. I mentioned in a previous post that we hired a solo guitarist, Brendan Burns, to play for our ceremony, cocktail hour and the beginning of the dinner hour. It was a great choice!



We also asked a dear friend of mine to sing a song with him. She is very talented and actually just graduated from college with a degree in classical voice and is pursuing a career in opera. She is also a fantastic jazz singer and a stunning girl -- what a package! See the video above to hear and see them.

The song we picked was "There Is No Greater Love" by Isham Jones and Marty Symes. The lyrics were just so perfect for us:

There is no greater love
Than what I feel for you
No greater love, no heart so true

There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song
Than what you sing to me

You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known
And to think that you are mine alone

There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you.

We also had him play "Better Together" by Jack Johnson. Two musical interludes were perfect and they both had such meaning for us. I printed the lyrics of both songs on the back of the program so our guests could better understand our choices.


Brendan Burns playing at our ceremony

Brendan arrived early to run through the song with my friend, he played the songs we'd talked about beautifully, although I wish I could have heard everything prior to my walk down the isle! I guess that's another reason to look forward to our video from Wes Jones (www.filmjones.com). His selections for the cocktail hour and dinner were perfect. He added to the ambiance without sticking out which is just what you want for this kind of occasion.


Brendan in the background -- my mother-in-law looking at me proudly in the foreground

He learned a number of songs for us including "Better Together" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys which was our recessional. He is based in Boston but travels, so I'd highly recommend you reach out if this is the kind of feeling you want for your wedding. He also teaches private lessons, so if you live in the Boston area and have always wanted to learn guitar -- now is the time! Check him our at www.brendanburns.com.

Better together...yes we are!

A quick musical background on Miss Onion:

I grew up in a household where there was always music playing. My mother started a chamber concert series in our living room when I was born, then she turned the series into a non-profit when I was a little girl, and from there the organization has grown exponentially. The organization now runs a major jazz festival in Connecticut the first weekend of August every summer and a jazz camp that runs for four weeks. Incidentally, I sang on the festival in 2005 -- it was an amazing experience. See the a highlights video HERE.

Here I am on stage with my friends/fellow musicians:



From left to right: Don Braden, John Benitez, me and Matt Wilson. Photo Credit: Stuart Felman

I got my degree in classical voice and later fell in love with jazz love songs from the 30's and 40's when I discovered a song my grandfather had written for my grandmother when they we first married in the late 1930's. I didn't know my grandfather (who passed away long before I was born) was a composer. As my grandmother was passing away four years ago now, my mother began to sing this beautiful song that turned out to be the ballad that he wrote for my grandmother. It's called "Is it love you're after?" And with that I was inspired to record this song and other great love songs from the same era (feel free to listen here and here if you're curious).

Ceremony Music:

So -- when it came time to pick music for our wedding it was a MAJOR decision. Because we are hosting our reception in a restaurant there will be no room for a live band, but I knew that the ceremony music HAD to be live (strings if possible).

So I began my search with the UVM String department because when I was a music major all my friends played weddings to make some extra money. Well I finally got a demo from one of the student ensembles I'd been talking with and it just wasn't "it." I understand their students, but my standards are WAY too high.

Gotta love the Internet! I happened upon another Vermont bride from the VT board on theknot.com and saw she'd hired a guitarist from Boston to play her ceremony. I checked out his website and was pleasantly surprised -- he was wonderful. I emailed him an inquiry and we then talked at length on the phone. Before the conversation ended he said he'd be happy to play for our ceremony, cocktail hour and even stick around for the first hour of dinner! Hooray! I was so happy.

He just emailed me a sample of a song we'd asked him to work on for our ceremony -- Jack Johnson's "Better Together." Now I know that this will be a hugely popular wedding song but I just don't care! I love it and it's very "us." I think we'll print the lyrics in our ceremony program.

So without further ado, check out the sample he put together HERE.



His name is Brendan Burns. He's a jazz guitarist who trained at Berklee College of Music and now teaches and plays gigs. So far, I'd highly recommend him. Clearly he's willing to travel so give him a ring if you think a nice solo guitar would be just the thing for your wedding.

You can check out his website to learn more about him and hear some samples of his work. He has samples of a few pop tunes, classical songs and many jazz selections including "Moonlight in Vermont!" How perfect :)

I'll keep you posted on our final music choices for the ceremony! Until then the research continues....