Event bookings are secured through filling out my event music agreement and paying a 50% deposit. Please email me or text me at 831-224-0913 to discuss your event and my availability, and we'll take it from there!

The sooner the better. While it's sometimes possible to book fairly last minute, my schedule is generally pretty filled up 3-6 months in advance, and I often have bookings and tours starting to fill in up to two years in advance. If your event date is on a weekend, especially a Saturday, I recommend trying to book 6 months to 1 year in advance.

Dates that tend to fill up first are weekends (especially Saturdays), and particularly in April, May, July, September, and October. It's not unusual for me to get several requests for the most popular dates each year, yet most weddings and other events tend to happen around the same time of day so unfortunately I can usually only take one booking. Bookings are first come, first served.

December holiday and New Years events tend to book up by mid-October. Weekdays and other times of the year are hard to predict.

In the case where you know you'd like to book me, but aren't yet sure if you'd like me to perform solo, or with an accompanying musician or two, best would be to secure me for your date and then we can hopefully my colleagues would still be available to join me should you decide you'd like to include them. Deciding sooner than later ensures the desired instruments and musicians are available. I have a first call and a backup player for each type of instrument I perform with, but especially closer to the date all our options may be booked up.

In the case where you aren't ready to decide and book any music yet, I'm happy to hold your date, within reason, and give you the chance to book first as other inquiries for the date start rolling in. Should you still be unsure at that point, unfortunately I'd need to move on.

Especially if you're interested in booking me with one of my ensembles, I can't ask my musicians to hold dates indefinitely and miss out on other opportunities they might be receiving should you decide to go in another direction in the end.

Please stay in touch as you go through your decision process, and reach out if you have any questions about my services. As much as we'd be thrilled to play for your event, we appreciate knowing as soon as possible that you've decided to go in a different direction so we can invite a new possibility.

For indoor events we need a space which affords roughly 3 square feet per musician. Short of an actual stage, a corner, where we're not blocking the flow of traffic and a bit set apart from the crowd is perfect.

For outdoor events, we need a level surface, dry ground, especially where cello or doubleness is concerned, and shade. A spot with protection from wind is always appreciated. In the case of rain or more extreme heat or cold (over 95 or under 55), we request an alternate indoor location or reserve the right to not play until the situation is remedied.

Depending on the situation, we may also need an armless chair for each musician performing.

If we will be bringing amplification equipment, we need a power source at the site, or an extension cord. If we'll be plugging into an existing PA, please inquire about the inputs we'll require.

For events 2 hours and beyond we appreciate the opportunity to enjoy a few refreshments, and for events 3 hours and beyond, a vendor meal if possible.

For a quote, please reach out with the following information, or as much as you can provide at this time:

• Event location
• Event date and timeframe (or time estimate)
• Desired instrumentation/ensemble
• Key song requests, if possible

Many clients take advantage of my reduced pricing structure for longer bookings. Whether you're choosing to feature the intimacy of solo violin, or the added dimension and fullness of a duo or trio, the first hour is where you'll pay the bulk of our fee. It factors in all our pre-wedding/event preparation, including time coordinating with clients, coordinators, and DJs, and our rehearsal, travel, and setup. Once we're already planning to be there for one hour, it can be very cost effective to pay a relatively small additional amount to keep us on for additional time. After the initial hour we can be booked in half hour or hour increments. For longer events, pricing typically reduces further the longer we stay on, and for weddings, it opens up possibilities for live music during extended postludes and cocktail hours, dinner, the reception, or for an extended prelude, cocktail hour, first look, or family photo time that might be happening before the ceremony.

I will happily fit with the flow of an event and play for as long or as brief as clients need me, however, my rates will reflect a one hour minimum, and moving forward with events in 2026 and beyond, for Saturdays during wedding season (April through October) or more extensive travel, a 1.5 or two hour minimum, depending on distance. I will communicate this upfront with my initial quote. Even if you don't need music the entire time, it offers you options and some buffer should something unexpected happen and we need to fill time while guests are waiting. That time when the bride was stuck in traffic and the ceremony started 2 hours late… That time the ring bearer forgot the rings back at the hotel… Things happen. Someday I'll write a book!

Similar to my explanation in the previous question, my rates must factor in not only the time we spend performing, but also travel, rehearsal, setup time, and coordinating with clients, coordinators, and DJs, as well as setting aside the day. Weighing this bigger picture, rather than covertly charging the same as an hour or two for the single song, or the 15 or 30 minutes a client might request in certain situations, I prefer to offer clients a rate that includes the option of extending the music to fit these minimum timeframes, if desired. If you still only want music for shorter timeframe, that's perfectly fine.

In making the decision to amplify or remain acoustic, we need to consider whether your event is indoors or outside, how many guests will be in attendance, how many musicians will be performing, the size and acoustics of the space we'll be performing in, and whether the venue has rules about acoustic versus amplified music, or even legal requirements to stay within certain decibel levels (acoustically, the latter would typically never be an issue for the type of instruments and music we play, but when amplified, is always necessary to consider).

While acoustic solo violin for a cliffside elopement may be a perfect and intimate fit, that same violin may be only be heard by guests sitting or standing very close by at a larger, more boisterous wedding, cocktail hour, or party on a wide open lawn or large carpeted hall. This is a decision best made together after discussing your particular event.

If we do decide to amplify, we can either supply our own system for a modest additional fee, or we can usually work with an existing system at no additional charge.

Although I'm happy to perform on either, most of my solo event repertoire is arranged for violin. Although I can transpose most pieces and songs to the viola, it's often simplest to perform them on violin as I usually do. If you'd strongly prefer for me to perform on viola, or a mix of the two instruments, this can likely be arranged. The viola is certainly a beautiful sounding instrument too and deserves more recognition!

I'm very lucky to have landed on this particular violin as a teen. We grew into our professional careers together and found each other before its maker's violins appreciated beyond reach. People often comment on its unique look and its rich, warm sound (sometimes people wonder if I'm actually playing a viola!). Some people over the years have even told me that they don't usually like the sound of violins, but that they love the sound of mine.

All that to say that although I have fiddled around on some electric violins over the years, I am always eager to return to the beautiful tone and familiarity of my acoustic instrument.

I'm happy to amplify my acoustic violin for your event, but if you're looking for the visuals of a sleek and colorful electric violin and intensive sound effects beyond maybe some reverb or echo, I'm not offering that at this time.

While I always recommend adding accompaniment if the budget allows, I feel that performing along with pre-recorded tracks can greatly diminish a huge benefit of hiring live musicians, especially for wedding ceremonies: our ability to shorten or lengthen any song to suit the moment and to wrap up an elegant ending, no matter where we actually are in the song. Past experiences with DJ tracks ending in unresolved, moody places as the bride arrives at the altar, or ending completely before she's even close to arriving, have only left me leaning even more emphatically toward offering only completely live music.

If you'll also be hiring a DJ and would like me to play over some songs that he/she might be playing, this may be possible, but my rate will reflect the additional time needed to coordinate such a performance.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with talented musician colleagues, and their help creating incredible renditions of every type of genre over the years, as well as their camaraderie and the musical chemistry we all bring to the table, for truly memorable event music. While a solo musician performing with backing tracks might seem like a budget friendly way to snag a fuller sound, I'd prefer to try to work with you and bring one of my incredible live musicians to accompany me.

Thankfully, the violin and fiddle are actually the same instrument, the difference only being the style of music being played! Rather than Classical, or Jazz, or contemporary music, if you'd prefer "fiddle" music, including traditional Irish/Scottish/Celtic, Bluegrass and Old Time, Country, or Folk, this can be arranged. If you'd like a mix of styles, I'm happy to keep your guests guessing - "what style can't she play??" 😅

The violin can perform solo or be accompanied by a range of instruments, however, not all songs will sound as convincing when performed solo, or with every type of ensemble. For example, in general, guitar accompaniment offers the most versatility and fullness for clients wanting to feature a variety of styles, especially more contemporary music, but for clients wanting to focus on traditional Classical music, cello can be another good choice for a duo.

Along with considerations like the venue and guest list size, budget, event length, and whether or not the group will be acoustic or amplified, there are a variety of considerations when booking a musical act and it's a decision best made together after discussing your situation.

In general, I've created my rehearsed ensembles for a reason, including not just their talent and versatility, but also their dependability and our musical chemistry. While many musical acts in the wedding and event space are able to offer every possible instrumental combination due to a practice of hiring players from long lists of local musicians on a first come first served basis, I only work with a few dedicated colleagues who I've performed with for years, if not decades. Rather than seek out musicians I may have never played with before, on instruments I may need to create entirely new arrangements for, I prefer to offer what is already polished and experienced. For more information about that, please see the "Choosing Ensemble Type" section on my Event Services page.

That could certainly be a possibly. Please reach out and we'll go from there.

Definitely! We'd be honored to perform our original music at your event, concert series, or festival. You are welcome to reach out to me, or for information about booking Dan and Laurel, please visit https://www.danandlaurel.ca/Booking

We are happy to perform any piece or song from one of the lists here and if you have a music request that is not listed, most songs can be arranged and learned given enough notice (at least 6 weeks prior to the event is preferred). An often modest additional fee will need to be negotiated to cover the time and costs associated with purchasing, learning, arranging and/or transcribing new music.

As explained above, we are happy to perform any piece or song from one of the lists here, but we'll need to negotiate a fee if you'd like us to learn and prepare a song that's new to us for your event. This fee factors in the anticipated time and costs associated with purchasing, printing, learning, arranging or transcribing, and rehearsing new music.

Even when sheet music exists, we sometimes need to arrange it to fit the instrumentation, such as turning a piano score or lead sheet into something a string quartet can read, or working out chords and bass lines for a Classical piece so the guitarist and bassist in my violin-guitar-doublebass trio have parts. This can sometimes take considerable time and usually involves the input of all the musicians who will be performing. When sheet music doesn't exist and I need to transcribe from a Spotify or YouTube recording, it's not unusual to spend 3-4 hours just deciphering the parts by ear and creating the sheet music, before any real practice on my own or with my colleagues has even happened.

When making your favorite song sound as polished as the rest of the songs in our repertoire, my modest special music fees are truly a bargain.

Many wedding and event clients choose only a few special songs and leave the rest up to us. If you're enthusiastic about creating the setlist, we'll happily try to fit in all your favorites. If you'd prefer to choose just the genre(s), or a handful of artists/composers to focus on, we can easily fill the time with a nice selection based around your preferences. When narrowing down your selections, note that for each hour of continuous music, we'll typically play 10-12 songs.

With reportedly 120,000 new songs being uploaded to streaming platforms every day, we know there are a lot of songs to choose from, on my lists and otherwise. For weddings, please click here for some of my ceremony music suggestions.

Assuming we can be in touch ahead of time about the details and we'll have a few minutes to rehearse the song before the event, yes, this is usually possible given sufficient notice.

Although I prefer to work with my established ensembles and the colleagues I trust, I understand the need to sometimes book non-associated musicians for an event, such as the pianist already associated with a church, or a special vocalist. Assuming we can all be in touch about the details, and possibly schedule a rehearsal or two ahead of time, this is usually possible given sufficient notice.

As odd as this question might seem at first, as many groups, especially string quartets and wedding bands, go corporate and international, the question becomes quite legitimate and understandable! We see such-and-such string quartet smiling on their website or playing in a video, but the musicians who arrive to play your event are quite obviously not the same people. Assuming an agency has a strong network of musicians to call on, it's probably pretty lucrative to take every booking that comes in and send out whoever's available to fill in.

For me, concert worthy event music, chemistry among the musicians, happy clients, and my reputation are much more important than making as much money as possible. While I'm happy to provide referrals if I'm unavailable for your date, I only book events that I'm personally available to play.

Similarly, when you book me with one of my ensembles, I focus my collaborations on a small handful of professionals I have played with for years (usually only one primary collaborator per instrument, and a secondary backup just in case). If I do need to hire a colleague other than one seen performing with me in my pictures, videos, or audio clips, you can rest assured that I only work with high caliber musicians who are also conscientious, kind people.

For a modest additional fee we are happy to supply a simple sound equipment setup to amplify speakers at events hosting up to ~100 people. For larger groups, unfortunately we are not equipped to handle that level of volume, though we may be able to look into renting a bigger sound system.

I carry the industry standard $2 million event liability insurance, as well as insurance to cover musical instruments and other gear I might be bringing to an event. Proof of liability certificates are available to those venues requiring it, though if a venue needs special additional requirements, a modest fee to cover the additional fees charged by my insurance company will apply.

For venues also requiring proof of workers compensation insurance, my colleagues are private contractors, not employees, therefore these requirements do not apply to us.

Since any travel fees are factored into my initial quote, other fees that may or may not apply to your event are:

• Overtime: Applicable in the event that the finishing time of a wedding ceremony is significantly later than anticipated (more than ~10 minutes). In such cases the contracting party will be billed in 30 minute increments.
• Special music fee: This fee, described among the questions above, would apply if a client requests music outside my repertoire. The fee reflects the costs and time involved in purchasing the sheet music and the preparing the new song or piece.
• Amplified music fee: This fee reflects the extra preparation and arrangements required when amplifying, and the possible need to rent equipment depending on the scope of the production and size of the ensemble. If we will be playing acoustically or using an existing system on site, this fee does not apply.
• In-person consultation fee/attending a wedding rehearsal: If you would like to arrange a consultation in person or have me attend your wedding rehearsal, a fee reflecting my time and travel will apply. Time spent by phone, on a video call, or emailing to help determine event music requirements, selecting music for the event etc. is already factored into the overall booking fee.

My rates factor in event length, the number of musicians performing, travel time and distance, whether we're playing acoustically or need to bring a sound system, whether we'll need to learn new music, and yes, the day of the week, the time of day, and the time of year.

However, these latter considerations usually hold less weight. If an event is close by, yes, I may quote a slightly lower rate for a non-peak day, time, or season, but unlike venues where they might deeply discount a Tuesday wedding versus a Saturday wedding due to the popularity difference across different days of the week, my time and energy are more of a factor in setting my rates and are consistent regardless of the popularity of a particular date. I'll still need to spend the same amount of time practicing, lining up colleagues and rehearsing with them, consulting with the clients and coordinators by email, phone, text, and/or video chat, and organizing my music so that all the song requests are easy to flip to on a moment's notice. And, weekday traffic often requires I spend more time traveling than on a weekend actually.

In the end, my time is still my time and my rates are quite competitive with others holding a similar level of skill, experience, and professionalism.

My event agreement, signed by both parties at the time of booking, clearly states how we would handle a cancellation. It reads as follows:

• Termination by the contracting party: The contracting party may terminate this agreement with at least 31 days prior notice of the event without penalty, though the deposit is non-refundable. Should the termination occur with 30 days notice or less, an additional 25% of the agreed upon total fee will be charged. Should termination occur with 7 days notice or less, the remainder of the total fee will be charged.
• Termination by Laurel Thomsen: In offering event services since 1998, Laurel Thomsen has never had to cancel services for any reason, but if such a case should arise and Laurel Thomsen is unable to perform due to illness or emergencies beyond her control, she will make every effort to arrange services as similar as possible to the services agreed-upon. If this is not possible or acceptable to the contracting party, she will return the deposit and balance, if already paid, to the contracting party, though not including fees paid for any services already rendered (in-person consultation fee, etc.).
• "Force Majeure”: If the event must be canceled due to an “Act of God” including a major earthquake, flood, fire, riot, strike, war, or epidemic, clients may choose to reschedule the event to a later, mutually agreed upon date, in which case the deposit, balance, and any other fees already paid would be applied to the new event date. Should the contracting party choose not to reschedule, they are not responsible for paying the balance and the deposit will be refunded, minus payment for any services already rendered (in-person consultation fee, etc.), and minus a 20% administrative fee for events with total prices of $300 or less, or minus 15% for events with total fees over $300.

While I can't recall all the amazing vendors I've met at events I've played over the years, I've definitely enjoyed meeting and working with these individuals and companies serving the California Bay Area and Central Coast:

Wedding/Event Planners:

• Anita Starr, A. Starr Events https://astarrevents.com
• Jessica Schmidt, Cork and Vows https://www.corkandvows.com
• Jules English, Events with Jules http://eventswithjules.com
• Lynn Myers-Galster, Duke and Pearl http://www.dukeandpearl.com/index.html
• Patty Spiers, Every Last Detail Wedding and Event Coordination https://eldweddings.com
• Sarah Greathouse, A Paper Flower Wedding https://www.apaperflowerwedding.com
• Wedding Connection https://www.weddingconnection.net

• Ashley Good, Fog City DJs https://www.fogcitydjs.com
• Belmont Entertainment https://www.belmontent.com
• Brian LaPlace http://laplaceproductions.com
• DJ Jacob @ Crush Events https://www.crushevents.com
• Mark Addington https://www.markaddingtonevents.com
• Elite Entertainment https://e3music.com
• Jeffty https://www.musicbyjeffty.com
• Santa Cruz DJ (have worked with both Trevor and Scott) https://www.santacruzdj.com
• Scott Krugman http://djtrug.com

• Brian Borgia, Weddings in Monterey https://www.weddingsinmonterey.com/officiant.html
• Brian Lyke, Life Celebrations https://www.lifecelebrations.org
• Ellen Scher https://www.ellenscher.com
• Elvia Valázquez, Bilingual Ordained Ministress weddingsbyelvia@gmail.com
• Sarah Eby, Ordained Spiritual Guide and Reiki Master https://shorturl.at/tUYZs
• Soaring Starkey https://www.bigsurceremonies.com

• Audey Shen https://www.audeyshen.com
• Brandon Scott https://brandonscottphoto.co
• Derek and Kayla https://derekandkayla.com
• Heidi Borgia, Weddings in Monterey https://www.weddingsinmonterey.com/photography.html
• Lynn Lewis https://www.lynnchanglewis.com
• Seeking Venture Photo https://seekingventurephoto.com

• Derek and Kayla https://derekandkayla.com
• Filmman Video Production https://www.filmmanvideous.com

• Dan Frechette and Vinyl Revival https://www.danfrechette.com
• Dave Holodiloff https://www.daveholodiloff.com
• Entourage the Band https://entouragetheband.com
• Harry & the Hitmen https://www.harryandthehitmen.com

• Sea Stars http://seastarscatering.com