A Glasgow Saturday - St Leo the Great Church and Oran Mor

What a weekend we have had!
Scotland really pulled out all the stops on Saturday with blazing sunshine and perfect Wedding Weather, and two teams from CSQ hit the road. One Team bound for Dumbreck in Glasgow for a wonderful Catholic Church Ceremony and the other to Edinburgh to beautiful Melville Castle.
This post is all about St Leo's and Oran Mor.

When it comes to acoustics, Churches are our best friends. No need for amplification here as the roof allows the music to soar around the chapel. Fr Gerry had written a lot of the Mass and sent us music to play along. There were lots and lots of songs to play in the ceremony  - 17 in all, so we had a fairly complex system of Stickies and numbering to make sure we had everything in the right place.

Thankfully everything went without a hitch (no pun intended) and we zoomed off to Oran Mor to play for the drinks reception and dinner before the guests arrived in this foxy little fella....

we may or may not have indulged in a little treat on the way ...

Oran Mor was beautiful as always. We set up on the stage for the whole thing as the DJ for the night had already set up and we had plenty of space. We also had a little help from our small amps that we use to give us a little oomph, especially during Wedding Breakfasts, so we can be heard over the clatter of cutlery and plates. 

Oran Mor is a wonderful venue for a city wedding. I'm always so awed by the murals and beauty inside. You're never quite prepared for it being so pretty, no matter how many times you play there.

Our playlist for the Mass was

Arrival of the Guests Classical Music including Purcell and Clarke Trumpet Tunes,
Arrival of the Bridal Party Canon in D – Pachelbel
Opening Hymn Be Thou My Vision (3 verses)
Kyrie
Gloria
Psalm no.32b
Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, verse, alleluia
At the Close of the Marriage Rite Taize Gloria
Offertory Hymn (after bidding prayers) All Things Bright and Beautiful (3 verses)
Sanctus (Holy, Holy)
Mystery of Faith
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
Communion Antiphon This is the Bread
Communion Hymn A New Commandment (Chorus, verse, chorus)

Signing the Register
1. Married Life Theme from Disney's "Up "
2. Ave Maria - Beyonce
3. Largo – Handel

Processional Spring – Vivaldi

At Oran Mor, the playlist was left up to us and we did a big mix of Jazz, well known Pop Songs and Movie Themes (including Jurassic Park)
The flower girls were tasked with delivering us quite a few requests from the tables including James Bond, Star Wars Medley and our finisher, the Theme from Game of Thrones, which earned us a standing ovation :)
Emily, the Bride was so lovely when she came to chat and looked absolutely stunning. Her only song request was an absolute pleasure to play and a song, I must say, that is not nearly requested enough - It was, of course - Fat Lip by Sum 41.
All in All? The perfect day!

The View from the String Quartet Chair

Hi Everyone, 

As so many of my lovely couples ask me about the venues we travel to, and the music we play regularly, I decided to write a blog of our weekly travels, venues and Wedding Soundtracks. All of our couples take care in picking a personal soundtrack to their day but sometimes we all need a little inspiration so hopefully this can help. 

Though the Cairn Troops have been adoring weddings since 2007, this idea has just popped into my mind now so I'm starting with last week and I'm going to tell you about a little Slice of Heaven about 1.5 hours from Glasgow - the Lodge on Loch Goil and a glorious Wedding Ceremony we played last Saturday.

This venue is extraordinarily beautiful as the big treehouse dominates the view of the moody Loch. The journey to and from is ace for us as we pass Loch Lomond, the Cobbler (Suz's favourite mountain) and Drive - Thru Costa Coffee (my personal favourite). 

The day was a little drizzly so the venue set up inside but with the big patio doors open so the couple could get married looking on to the Loch. Our Humanist Celebrant had plenty of Banter and tears of Laughter and Loveliness were everywhere. 
The Soundtrack for the Day was a little "Twilight" themed which suited the day so well. 

Processional Music  Pachelbel's Canon 

Signing the Register
1. Bellas Lullaby
2.  Kissing You from Romeo and Juliet 
3. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri 

Recessional Hornpipe from Handel's Water Music