Fees for Weddings,
Memorial Services,
& Commencement Ceremonies

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Fees for Weddings & Commencement Ceremonies     

Gift Certificates available - For a truly unique gift, give a gift certificate from 1st Choice Music Services.  Often family members select this option as a wedding present to delight their loved ones.  See below for costs. 

Wedding & Commencement Ceremony Price quotes include:                                                                                    

• Performance fees include hours of artist rehearsal and preparation time before arriving at the event. Performance fees are based on the amount of time musicians are in service for your event 

• The standard wedding performance time - @ 60-70 minutes - includes music as guests are gathering, ceremony music, and music performed to the end of the postlude when the last row is emptying - not based on how many songs are played at the wedding.  

• Wedding Fees include  Administrative consultation time, & fees to facilitate the  performance agreement, artist payroll, & MISC 1099 forms. The Prairie Mother will stick by you to offer expert advice from your first inquiry - daily as needed until your special event ends. Normal planning time is usually @8 months, 75-100 emails, calls, texts, in person, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, or SKYPE meetings.               

• Music Library preparation time is required - usually 2-4 hours - to prepare scores and set them in order for the ceremony. Additional time and costs is needed to honor special music requests, research, and score preparation.

• Cartage for harps, drums, keyboard, & travel fees  - when applicable - is an additional fee

• A Letter of Agreement & Music Request Template may be downloaded  at the bottom of this page.   

•  Travel fees listed below are applicable for out of town locations or performers living out of the area.   

• Wedding, Memorial Services, and Commencement Ceremony Fees 

•  Brass Quintet - $1350.00 UI Faculty Brass | $950, Regional professional brass quintets 

• Quartet - $800.00   - A) 2 violins, viola, & cello, B) flute, violin, viola, & cello, C) keyboard/piano, organ & 3 players

• Trio  -         $700.00   - A) violin (or flute), viola, & cello, B) piano, organ, or digital keyboard + violin (or flute) & cello

• Duo -          $600.00   - A) violin/flute & cello, B) cello, violin, or flute & keyboard, C) harp with cello, violin, or flute

• Solo Instruments - $275/ea.    [guitarist, trumpet, horn, cello, violin or flute - except solo harp & bagpiper fees listed below

• Bagpiper  - $300.00   Pipers wear full regalia. ( Photos and videos are available upon request.)  

• Harp  - $400.00    Solo harpist charge additional outdoor surcharges of $50.

• Organists - $300.00   Some churches require resident organists be engaged unless they are unavailable. Be sure to ask the church about "bench fees" for budgetary purposes. In the event an organist or pianist is needed, but the resident organist is not available, we can secure a highly qualified one for your event. Note: If/when a bridal client hires a non-professional, amateur organist or pianist who is not an experienced, professional wedding musician necessitating additional rehearsals, consequently rehearsal fees, advisory and music library services plus travel fees are applicable.

• Recital Fees  - TBD   Recital fees are negotiated separately

• Vocalists for Weddings &/or Memorial Services -  $350 (up to 3 songs) - UI Professors/Regional Pros, & Graduate TAs

• Birthday or Engagement Surprise Serenade -  $400 for up to 3 songs plus keyboard rental and travel reimbursement if over 20 miles  - A noted baritone & pianist will serenade a loved one for their birthday or surprise engagement  (with sample songs such as All the Way, Unforgettable, Love & Marriage, September Song, Some Enchanted Evening, That's Amore, Without a Song, Happy Trails, I Love You Truly, or others TBA) Proceeds help support CUSO In School Musical programs.  

• Equipment Rental  

• Pop up Tent -  $50/event for outdoor venues - String & harp players are concerned because the weather damages their valuable, historic instruments and require a pop up tent or complete shade for outdoor events. 1st Choice Music Services can provide a white pop up tent with wedding appropriate sand bags if the venue or client does not have one.  

•  Digital Keyboard, stand, & amplifier rental, delivery, set up, & retrieval - $85.00/day

• Ensemble Chairs and White Brocade Chair Covers - $15/each 

• Cartage for drums &/or digital performer's keyboards - $25. 

• Travel fees when applicable are applicable. See listings below.
  
  
  

• 2nd hour reception performance rates are posted on the reception fees page. Discounts are offered if the ensemble prepares and performs for the ceremony, then continues to play for the reception. When that occurs, reception billing begins at a DISCOUNTED 2nd hour rate - unless a new performer arrives who would be billed at the 1st hour reception rate.
  
  
  

• Special popular music request fees for purchase, research, & arranging fees  - To save research fees at $45/hour, clients are free to do the research to find and purchase sheet music for their special song requests. Be sure the scores accommodate the ensemble you have engaged. No extra cost ensues when the scores are in artist's personal libraries, available through personal loans from a colleague, or available in the state library system holdings.
  
  
  

• In the event additional rehearsals are required to learn special requests,  or rehearse with a vocal soloist, a first hour rehearsal fee is applicable. Arranging services are available for a fee of $100 per song when other options have been exhausted. Extensive searches and arranging fees apply for special music requests which are         

•         1) not published  2) not published for the ensemble/instrument engaged for your event or

•         3) music which requires research, arranging, printing efforts & expenses, and additional rehearsals.

• Rehearsal Fees

• Attendance at wedding rehearsals or with vocalists requires additional performance fees. Rehearsal on a day prior to the event requires a first hour reception fee, plus applicable travel costs. Rehearsals in the hour prior to the event are billed at second hour discounted reception fee rate.

• Generally, musicians do not attend wedding rehearsals since:

• Due to budgetary concerns, clients do not want to or cannot to pay for additional time and expenses.

• Often the musicians do not get to play at rehearsals.

• The wedding party does not walk the same way as the next day in their dress clothes with adrenaline flowing. Consequently, we ended up changing timings the next day.

• The music has to be timed to sight and word cues in order to fit the music to the order of the ceremony. Once the ceremony order, choice of readings, etc. is set after a meeting with the clergy, we slot the music in afterwards. However, even after the music is set in order with the script & all the ceremony details, musicians will meet with the clergy just prior to the start of the prelude music. We strive to be sure nothing has changed since final plans were set in place and nothing goes awry at the ceremony.

• Changes sometimes do occur. For example, a grandparent does not come after all, an attendant is ill, etc. so the head count and cues change slightly. Musicians confirm all verbal cues and agree on eye contact with the clergy, especially at critical moments to keep everything flowing smoothly.

• Months of pre-planning occur with clients before the ceremony. It's advisable to have everything in place by 10 days prior to the ceremony so clients & families have more time to deal with their needs and no more vendor or production concerns.

• Deposits: The non-refundable $100 deposit is applicable towards your final total. Should your event be cancelled & cannot be rescheduled, the deposit is non-refundable.

• Holidays & After Hour Fees: Performance fees after midnight to 8AM will be billed at time and a half. Fees for events on major holidays (4th of July, Christmas Eve or Day, New Year’s Eve or Day, Thanksgiving Day, Memorial Day) are billed at double scale. Qualified artists are generally available for most events and major holidays. However,
  it can take additional search time to guarantee staff availability for major holiday events. Hence, the agency reserves the right to decline a booking during holidays.
  We wish we never had to, but ethically feel it is wrong to promise artists to perform whom we cannot honestly guarantee.
  
  
  

• Problems caused by Mother Nature

• Temperature range & outdoor service charges: Harpist’s outdoor event service charge is $50. Harpists & all instrumentalists reserve the right to add a surcharge for
  non air-conditioned sites or cancel without penalty with no return of fees if temperatures fall below 65 & above 88 degrees Fahrenheit - especially when severe weather conditions put guests and instruments at risk.

• Rain location: For outdoor weddings, be sure to have a rain location & a backup plan. Please note - If a client chooses to continue with an outdoor ceremony in inclement weather, musicians & their valuable instruments must have total protection from rain and wind or are not obligated to perform under those conditions, and no refund will be issued. We will work with clients to try to find a solution. But, if none is available, clients will agree to the possibility of cancellation when extreme conditions arise. Since 1985, we've faced some really bad conditions, but to date have always been able to honor the contract and play.

• Protection from sun damage:  For outdoor events, protection from sun damage & complete shade (via a secured umbrella, canopy, or pop-up tent), is mandatory to protect valuable, historic instruments from the elements. The sun melts the varnish on string instruments, makes seams pop, & bow hair stretch which requires a bow rehairing and round trip to Chicago to get it done. It also makes instruments go out of tune constantly. The damage becomes more costly than earnings from the engagement.

• If protection from the sun and elements is not guaranteed, most professional players will not agree to play outdoor events. Sometimes even seated under trees, rain drops down, twigs falls, or birds deposit waste which causes concerns for players and distracts them from the music. If they have bad experiences playing outdoor weddings, they will decide not to play them in the future. We have so much invested in the tools of our profession that we must take care of the instruments as if they were a newborn baby.

• One exception for needing a tent and wooden boards for outdoor weddings at Allerton Park is when couples get married in the Fu Dog Garden. The musicians can sit inside the tower on the ground floor and the doors are opened to the East. The ceremony takes place at the top of the steps of the tower and the guests are seated facing west towards the tower. The tower provides protection; thus, a tent or wooden boards are not needed. The Fu Dog Garden also does not have as many drainage issues as the Sunken Garden when there has been lots of rain for several days prior to the wedding day. The Sunken Garden is lovely, but sometimes Mother Nature interferes with a couple's plans.
  
  
  

•  Pop up tent Sun Protection 

• I will provide a tent to protect the performers & their instruments Yes___ No ___

• I need to rent a tent from 1st Choice Music Services   Yes___ No ___ Rental fee $50.  plus separate mileage and set up fees if our staff is not performing Note!!! Allerton Park requires you to rent their tent at their rate. For non-Allerton Park outdoor events, 1st Choice Music Services can provide and set up a white 10' X 10’ tent with top vents at a lower rental rate.  In the event the tent is requested and delivered, but ends up not being not needed, a refund will be issued minus a $25.00 handling and restocking fee. 

• Wooden boards or platforms are needed when the ground is wet and will be provided by the client or host site. Boards are useful in soggy ground conditions to prevent chairs, harps, or cello end pins from sinking into the dirt. Getting dirt into pedal or end pin mechanisms can lead to mechanical problems.

• Harpists need a 3ft x 3ft platform.

• A trio or quartet needs an 8 x 8’ platform. 

• For a solo cellist, chair, and music stand, a board @42 inches wide by 60 inches long is sufficient. 

• one armless, straight back chair per instrumentalist - except for harpists & keyboard players who generally bring their own stool

• access to & a key (if needed) to the organ

• access to electrical outlets if the lighting requires using stand lights

• Does the site have black Manhasset music stands, or shall the performers bring their own?
  
  
  

• Travel Rates/Fees

• Travel fees apply for all events located 15 or more miles one way from our business office or solo artist homes. Events occurring in a location 40 miles or more one way from the agency office require a two hour minimum. Clients will be charged compensation to the driver at $.70 /mi and $.70/mi/artist for travel time as per the State of Illinois Rate as of  January 2025.  Our mileage log or MapQuest.com or Google Maps computes mileages to area churches, country clubs, and concert halls.

• Popular outdoor & non-air-conditioned wedding sites

• Holy Cross Catholic Church, St. John’s Catholic Chapel, Allerton Park Gardens (OK if in the house), UI Arboretum, Lake of the Woods Botanical Gardens, area country clubs and parks, the Homer Lake Reserve (OK if in the air-conditioned reception hall), Kennekuk Park Historic Chapel, Turtle Run Golf Club, Harrison Park Golf Club on the golf course or outside the house, the Westville Forest Glen Reserve, or Pear Tree Estate east Patio.
  
  Out of town wedding mileage distances from our studio: (Locations marked ** are distances which require a two-hour minimum.)

• Robert Allerton Park, Monticello, IL - 64 mi RT x $.70 = $44.80 for the vehicle and $44.80/artist for 1.5 hrs of travel time    

• Map/Directions to Allerton Park | Allerton Weddings | Wedding Video Link  |  Allerton Park History |  Mansion Photos

• Bloomfield Barn, Chrisman, IL ** for 2 hr 6min RT travel for 105.2 miles RT See On Map

• Lake of the Woods Botanical Gardens, Mahomet, IL - 35 mi RT

• Pear Tree Estate - 34.2 mi RT

• Miller Farms Barn, 42 mi RT, Gifford IL 

• The Beef House, Covington, IN - ** 96 mi RT (Note time zone)

• Fanmarker Club, Rantoul, IL -36 mi RT

• Homer Lake Forest Reserve, Homer, IL 28 mi  RT

• Mann's Chapel, Rossville, IL ** 92 mi RT

• Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, IL 200 mi RT

• Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast, Paxton, IL 62 mi RT

• Sadorus Sportsman's Club, Sadorus, IL 46 mi RT

• Starved Rock Conference Center Oglesby, IL 238 mi RT

• Southwind Park, Springfield, IL - ** 187 miles RT.  - ALERT!!! Based  on our  direct, personal experience, only use the enclosed Erin's Pavilion and not the outdoor pavilion. Extremely strong winds  can be horrible from all directions in the outdoor pavilion. It ruins outdoor photos (unless you want the really wind blown look), blows over chairs and music stands, blows away decorations, make it hard for guests to hear, makes it too difficult to perform there and endangers instruments. Guests have to use port a potties. Everyone will hide out in their cars until just before the ceremony  starts. if the weather can turn suddenly cold (i.e. 43 degrees on May 14, 2016). In our direct experience, and to quote the minister, "Southwind Park certainly lives up to its name, doesn't it? ". The outdoor pavilion on a cold, very windy day is not an ideal site for an outdoor wedding.

• Tuscan Hills Winery, Effingham, IL = 150 Mi RT
  
  Danville, IL wedding mileage distances from our studio:

• Harrison Park Country Club    70 mi RT               Danville Country Club                72 mi. RT

• Turtle Run Country Club            80 mi RT  **        St. James Methodist Church  68 mi RT

• Holy Family Catholic Church   80 mi. RT **       Kennekuk Park Chapel              70 mi. RT

• Trinity Lutheran Church             71 miles RT         Second Church of Christ          82 mi RT **

       Meals - Is it normal to provide dinner for the musicians when the event occurs during dinnertime? 

It's very gracious and thoughtful to ask this question. Some players insist on dinner being provided during mealtime engagements. Yet some players will need to get on to the next engagement since weekends are good for employment. Clients often order a box supper and a beverage for players to take with them so they do not worry about dealing with table settings, seating placement concerns, or higher costs.

See more outdoor venue photos plus a performance agreement below. 

Allerton Weddings video click here  (also listed below). At 3:29 there is an image of the Fu Dog path which the wedding party processes through. The tower can be seen in the photo at 3:31 & 3:32. You are viewing the photo facing west. In case the Sunken Garden is flooded and the ground is too muddy on your wedding day, this site is a nice option - if it's available and you still want to risk get married outside. Let's pray Mother Nature does not force you to go inside. I've seen it happen many times over the years.  More 1st Choice Allerton Park photos are below in addition to photos on our Facebook page.