Hanna+Aaron, Andrew Jackson State Park

I've been so excited to write about Hanna and Aaron's wedding! This post has more personal notes since Hanna has been a family friend, and we were quite involved with her wedding.

First off, Bethany was a bridesmaid for the first time!

Second, I did Hanna's hair and makeup.

The rest of us played music for the Ceremony, and Bethany and I sang with our friend, Angela.

CEREMONY SELECTIONS:

Be Thou My Vision [Mothers/Grandmothers]

A Thousand Years [Bridal Party]

Gabriel's Oboe [Bride]

Mercies Anew [Vocals: Jennifer, Bethany, Angela]

Lord Find Us Faithful [Hanna's brothers on Vocals, Lauren on Keyboard]

All of Me - [Recessional]

Jon, my boyfriend, was the photographer as well! It was a blast to work together. When I wasn't getting Hanna ready or playing music, I helped second shoot. It was a busy, and HOT day! The weather was stormy right before the wedding began but miraculously cleared up in time.

So many times as a musician, we have the best views of the Bride and Groom's faces. We see the little interactions that no one else sees. We see the tears. We hear the little comments. We see them slightly shaking from nerves and excitement. I've always wished I had a camera with me to capture the photos no one else sees.

For the first time, this wish came true! After playing the processionals and singing, I was done with the music [since the recessional was only piano]. Jon left a camera in back for me, and I was able to capture some shots like the ones below. Hanna was thrilled to have photos from that angle, and it gave Jon the freedom to get photos from other angles.

Visit Jon's blog post of their wedding to see the full story of their day unfold!

Angela, it is always a joy to sing and play music with you! Blessings as you move to Africa next month to teach and to minister. We love you!

Congratulations to the new Mr.+Mrs. Berry!

Venue | Andrew Jackson State Park 

Musicians | Wescottage Music 

Photographer | Jon Courville Photography

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Yelena+Bartek, Alexander Homestead

We are just now receiving most of the photos from our June weddings! We were a part of so many beautiful weddings with fantastic couples.

June started off with music at an Engagement Party at the Elizabeth Lawrence House at Wing Haven Garden. 

Live, tasteful, and elegant music at Engagement Parties is such a nice touch to make an event memorable and special.

We had two double header wedding weekends during the absolute hottest time of the year. Record highs - in HUMIDITY and HEAT! Thankfully, the weddings were so beautiful that it helped us and the guests stay cheerful during the entire Ceremony. :)

Yelena+Bartek

Everything was gorgeous. This Charlotte venue is on the corner of a busy intersection, but the trees surrounding the property create a secluded and intimate atmosphere. With Ukrainian and Polish backgrounds, it was so neat to see some fun cultural aspects to the Ceremony.

CEREMONY SELECTIONS:

Can't Help Falling in Love with You [Last Prelude song]

Come Thou Fount [Mothers/Grandmothers]

He's Always Been Faithful, Sara Groves [Bridal Party]

The Cello Song [Bride]

All Creatures of Our God and King - [Recessional]

Knowing a couple of the bridesmaids at the wedding also made for such a fun day! The creative team was a joy to work with, and we couldn't have asked for better clients. Enjoy the photos below by their fantastic photographer, Anastasiia!

To see more photos of this wedding, visit Anastasiia's blog!

Congratulations to the new Mr.+Mrs. Dyszkiewicz!

Venue | Alexander Homestead

Photographer | Anastasiia Photography

Musicians | Wescottage Music

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May - A Wescottage Month in Review

I know it's July, but there were some events in May that were too monumental not to share! 

May was one of the most full months.  For the full Wescott family, performances consisted of:

  • 6 Weddings
  • 1 Graduation
  • 1 Junior Youth Orchestra [JYO] Performance
    • Our sister, Marianna, performed in the second violin section and we all proudly watched and cheered her on!
  • Western Regionals for Marianna
  • JYO auditions for Marianna and Missy
    • Marianna made it to Principal 2nd Violin!
    • Missy is on the cello alternate list. We are still SO PROUD of her, and are excited that she will hopefully be in the orchestra next year!
  • 9 Student Recitals

We have been busy!

On top of performances, we enjoyed a beautiful vacation at North Myrtle Beach and celebrated two birthdays.

And now for the news everyone has been waiting for...

The first ever...

Wescottage Engagement!

Congratulations to Jason+Lauren!

Jason asked Jon to take photos of the big event. I was thrilled to be included in taking photos as well! Jason chose Colonel Francis Beatty Park in Matthews during our church picnic.

When Jason told Lauren he wasn't hungry and wanted to go on a walk, Lauren was suspicious and immediately lost her appetite.

Meanwhile, Jon and I sprinted towards the clubhouse and hid - cameras in hand, sweaty, and excited to see the proposal unfold!

It wasn't until after I scouted out the location that I realized there was an event underway in the clubhouse with a lot of people. We tried to avoid the windows so we weren't a distraction [it was a baby shower], but all of the people inside said they loved watching the proposal!

This was the moment we would talk about as little girls.

Engagement. The man we would marry. How would it happen? What would he look like?

Growing up, we would occasionally dream of walking down the aisle - only to be greeted by a man who never had a face. Did any of you other girls have dreams like that?

It was so frustrating! So close to seeing who he was, yet not enough to know.

Now we know.

Lauren is marrying Jason.

And we couldn't be happier! Jason has been a family friend for many years, and it has been a joy to see him and Lauren grow together. I met Jason many years ago around 5-6am in line at the community college to sign up for classes. Isn't it neat to see how God brings people together?

Jason makes Lauren happy. Really happy. He is the only one who is able to get her to play basketball [or any sport for that matter], or to enjoy dancing. Lauren has opened up so much because of Jason, and he's stretched her in many ways. It's so much fun to watch them interact, and to be a part of their relationship. Lauren, I always struggled in picking out a guy for you [because that's what good sisters do :)] - I'm so glad I didn't try too hard because God did an AMAZING job in preparing Jason for you.

Here is the whole family after the engagement! It was also special to see our church family rejoicing with them!

For the first time ever, we are on the other side of wedding planning! And let me tell you. IT IS A BLAST.

To see more photos from the day, visit Jon's blog post of their engagement HERE.

All of the engagement photos are from Jon Courville Photography.

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Jamie+Patrick - In Action Photos

July has finally arrived with just a little less heat and humidity than June! Bethany and I played a wedding on Saturday as a cello duet, and it was the first since October 12, 2014, that we were inside! Indoor weddings are a dream for musicians. Outdoor weddings tend to produce beautiful photos, but they're typically not comfortable for anyone else [though there are rare cases of perfect weather]. Our instruments always appreciate stable environments with controlled temperatures.

On another note, we received the images from Sposa Bella Photography from Jamie+Patrick's beautiful cottage wedding at Old Edwards Inn! Lindsey and Craig, we so enjoyed working with you!

[You can read the details about their beautiful garden wedding here]

Next up will be a May recap [with some of the most exciting news to share!] and music lists for our many June weddings. Stay tuned!

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Annemarie+Parker - In Action Photos+A Music List

Amy Haynes Photography

Amy Haynes Photography

Annemarie+Parker's wedding was exquisitely beautiful. Nestled in the heart of downtown Asheville is a plantation house called Albemarle Inn. It is completely unsuspecting, but very beautiful and grand with many tall trees surrounding the small property with privacy.

Below are two photos that I took with my phone while we were getting set up.

Annemarie+Parker summed up our last wedding for May. We are grateful for such a full month of beauty and music! We are now in full swing for June with two double header wedding weekends!

Below is the processional list. We played songs by memory for the Prelude time. It's always helpful to play from memory when there's a bit of wind. Notice the close pin in the photo above?

CEREMONY SELECTIONS:

Ave Maria [Family and Bridal Party]

A Thousand Years [Bride]

La Rejoissance - [Recessional]

Thank you, Amy, for taking some photos of us! It was a pleasure working with you!

Venue | Albemarle Inn

Photography | Amy Haynes Photography

Congratulations to the new Mr.+Mrs. Reading!

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Jamie+Patrick, A Cottage Wedding on the Lawn

Happy June! What a whirlwind of a month May was! I look back on the past few weeks with many smiles and memories. A month in review post will be coming soon. Until then, I wanted to write about Jamie+Patrick's beautiful wedding at Piermont Cottage at Old Edwards Inn!

Jamie contacted me in early December about their small destination wedding. With 16 people in attendance, we definitely considered it a privilege to be a part of this very intimate wedding. In one of her emails, I was thrilled to read this:

I have been working with my parents and fiance and all agree that you guys would be PERFECT for our wedding!
— Jamie, Bride

Jamie was so easy-going, kind, and joyful. We all so enjoyed meeting her and Patrick at the wedding. Which, by the way, was beautiful and so much fun.

Piermont Cottage, Old Edwards Inn

We seamlessly played through our favorite selection of songs for prelude. The Officiant sat down in one of the ceremony chairs while we were playing and just sang and hummed along. It is so special when others enjoy the music in that way! While we were playing prelude, Jamie did a first look with her dad on the lawn. It was so exciting and special to watch all of that while playing music.

That's another reason why our group is special:

We play by ear. That means that we are playing from memory and from what we hear. We're not reading sheet music. This gives us so much musical freedom, the ability to enjoy the music, and the joy to see the events of the day unfold.

IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE PLAYED BY EAR, HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF CEREMONY SELECTIONS:

The Cello Song [Family and Bridal Party]

Canon in D [Bride]

Best Day of My Life - [Recessional]

These selections can be found on our Music Samples page --->

 

Craig and Lindsey from Sposa Bella Photography were so great to work with. We will share their photos soon! I am so excited to see what they captured from the wedding - every detail was beautiful.

After the wedding, we went to a local shop and ordered burgers! Bethany was the only one who ordered a salad - it looked amazing. We laughed and enjoyed an evening all together in the beautiful Highlands country.

Congratulations to the new Mr.+Mrs. Starnes!

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