Do wedding string quartets play outside?

Palatine string quartet love being warm, we are much happier and play much better when we are warm…we also LOVE the sun, but unfortunately our instruments don’t.

Ok, so it’s April, still very chilly but the sunshine is out and everyone in Britain is going crazy for their share of it. It’s your wedding too this month, and your guests are wanting to be outside (surprise surprise) sipping on a Pimms, having a crack at croquet, throwing confetti with lovely warm sunshine beating down on their backs, and you have been dreaming of your perfect wedding for ages, outside…by the lake….swans in the far distance, you get the picture. You’ve booked Palatine string quartet to play for your wedding too but forgot to tell us until the last minute that you intend to have your wedding outdoors assuming we’d be fine to play outside if all your guests will be too, enjoying the unseasonal April sunshine.

Erm….no.

Firstly, glam dresses, fingerless gloves, high heels and woolly jumpers are not a good look at a wedding. Secondly, the string quartet  have to perform in the shade as the instruments cost thousands and they need protecting (they’re not cheap Ebay purchases from China that can be replaced). So even though your guests may be outside enjoying the sun, we will feel the cold a lot more quickly as we are working in a sedentary manner and cannot regulate our body temperature unlike your guests (they can move about, put on a coat, pop indoors for a bit of warmth etc, we can’t).

If your guests are outside in the nice warm sunshine please make sure there is an alternative place indoors for the string quartet to use just in case it is too cold. We can only play outside between late May – end of August. The temperature needs to be above 19 degrees in order for us to play comfortably. Cover needs to be provided for all outdoor events. The best cover is a gazebo (2 x 3 metres) or 2 large parasols with bases that could potentially be moved about if necessary. Trees do not always provide adequate shade, plus we have had birds poo on the instruments and ourselves before, so this is not ideal.

Happy warm string quartet musicians = Great music for your event!

 (To hire Palatine wedding string quartet for 2015 or 2016 please visit Palatine String Quartet or call us on 07957 423557.)