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

The sooner the better. While it's sometimes possible to book last minute, my calendar generally fills up 6+ months in advance, and I often have events on the books up to two years in advance. If your event is on a weekend, particularly a Saturday, I recommend reaching out at least 6 months to a year out.

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 your date with me and then hopefully my colleagues will still be available to join me should you decide you'd like to include them.

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

Please stay in touch as you navigate 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 opportunity.

In general, we will need:

• A performance space which affords 3 square feet per musician and is set apart from the crowd.
• Depending on the performance situation, an armless chair for each musician performing.
• If we'll be bringing amplification equipment, we have systems that are battery powered and that need a power source. Knowing whether or not a power source will be available on site, or an extension cord, allows us to plan accordingly. If we'll be plugging into an existing PA, yes, we have all our own mics and pickups, but please inquire about the instrument inputs we'll require.
• A place to safely store cases, bags, and purses away from the performance area.
• For performances lasting 2+ hours we appreciate the opportunity to enjoy a few refreshments, and for events requiring more than 2 hours of travel each way or lasting 3+ hours, a vendor meal when possible.

• Short of an actual stage, a corner or against a wall where we're not blocking the flow of traffic if perfect.

• A level surface and dry ground.
• Shade and protection from sun or fog and mist, either natural, architectural, or an umbrella or pop-up. If this is not possible, an instrument hazard surcharge will apply.
• A spot with protection from wind if possible.
• In the case of rain, including heavy fog and drizzle, or more extreme heat or cold (over 95 or under 55), we request an alternate indoor location or reserve the right to refrain from playing until the situation is remedied or resolves.

• We'll need to brainstorm ways, such as a platform, rug, tables, etc. to keep chairs (and sometimes instruments) from sinking into the sand, and sand out of instruments, cases, and electronic equipment. If this is not possible, an instrument hazard surcharge will apply.

To receive a tailored proposal for your celebration, please reach out with your event date, venue, estimated timeframe, desired ensemble, and if possible, a list of any key song requests or the overall genre/theme/mood you'd like to create. My investment tiers reflect over three decades of event performance artistry, absolute professionalism, and meticulous pre-wedding curation.

All custom quotes are flat-rate experiences that include unlimited consultative planning via phone or video chat, seamless coordination with other necessary vendors (wedding coordinators, DJs, videographers, etc.), and comprehensive $2 million event liability insurance, as required by elite venues across the California Central Coast, Bay Area, and beyond. Final pricing is tailored based on peak-season demand, travel logistics for the artists, and bespoke production requirements.

I design our performance around the emotional arc and flow of your day. Every event is unique and your base investment covers the significant preparation and coordination, score curation, artist travel, rehearsal, and sound-check setup required for a flawless ceremony, reception, corporate event, or party.

For wedding couples and event clients seeking a seamless guest experience, I offer efficient, multi-hour curation tiers. Once on site, extending our live performance into a cocktail hour, family photo chapter, dinner reception, is a seamless and impactful addition to your event.

To protect the uncompromising quality of our performance and the availability of my elite musicians, I observe a standard one-hour booking minimum. For Saturdays during peak wedding season (April through October) or for events requiring more significant travel, we implement a 1.5 to 2 hour minimum depending on geographic logistics.

Whether or not you choose to have us perform the entire time, this baseline structure protects your timeline. It provides a built-in buffer, ensuring we are poised to gracefully fill the space with beautiful music should unexpected shifts occur, keeping your guests enchanted and relaxed.

To ensure your guests experience absolute musical clarity, regardless of the performance space and layout, low-profile sound reinforcement is included in every booking package. We travel with compact, high-fidelity, amplification systems designed to deliver rich and clear acoustic distribution across expansive spaces with battery-powered options so we can setup anywhere and without excess unsightly cables.

My priority is absolute harmony with your creative team and your venue's guidelines. If you're celebrating in a historic chapel or a local zone that legally mandates unamplified sound, we simply execute a completely acoustic, traditional performance. Because my investment tiers reflect calendar exclusivity and tailored music performance rather than the physical weight of the gear we may or may not be bringing, the pricing structure remains the same. For acoustic-only settings, we can adapt playing technique and instrument positioning to maximize the natural, raw acoustics and resonance of the space to maximize volume and sound distribution.

We offer amplification options to suit the variety of performance situations we encounter, including the ability to be entirely self-sufficient. Utilizing premium battery-powered audio arrays, we are able to place zero logistical infrastructure or power-grid demands on your venue, your generator, or your lighting team. This independence allows us to set up and perform anywhere - including remote cliffside terraces in Big Sur, open beaches in Carmel, or hidden vineyard lawns - free of power cords, extension hazards, or aesthetic clutter.

You can leave the technical coordination entirely to us. Once you provide your planner or venue coordinator's contact details on my onboarding form, I will interface with them directly to coordinate arrival timelines, site layouts, and plan your space's sound needs. The only information that will be helpful to customize our setup are your estimated guest count and whether our performance location(s) are indoors or outdoors, allowing us to pack the perfect gear for your celebration behind the scenes.

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 perform exclusively on an exquisite acoustic instrument crafted by a master California luthier and celebrated by audiences for its remarkably deep, rich, and warm resonance.

While I don't offer the modern pop visuals of plastic or colorful electric violins, nor high-intensity digital sound effects, I am fully equipped to amplify my acoustic instrument, ensuring that its breathtaking, authentic classical tone will fill your space with clarity and sophisticated presence.

To maintain the highest standard of musical artistry, I perform exclusively live and do not utilize pre-recorded digital backing tracks.

The true luxury of completely live musicians lies in our fluid, real-time adaptability during high-stakes moments. As you walk down the aisle, our music walks with you, masterfully elongating a phrase or condensing a moment, crafting a flawless, natural cadence precisely as you reach the altar. Digital backing tracks force a musician into an unyielding grid; if the timeline shifts even a few seconds, an audio file might end abruptly, loop awkwardly, or fade out in an unresolved section of the music, leaving you and your guests with a lingering feeling of incompleteness and uncertainty, breaking the magic of your climactic moment.

For an uncompromised atmosphere, I strongly recommend my duo or trio configurations to achieve both organic depth and flawless pacing.

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 while this master library features hundreds of selections, once-in-a-lifetime celebrations often require special requests. If you envision a song or piece not listed, we will prepare and rehearse a bespoke arrangement exclusively to your ensemble configuration. Please provide six weeks' notice for custom commissions. Arrangement fees apply.

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 special song for your event.

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 trusted colleagues, 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, the question becomes quite legitimate and understandable when navigating the modern corporate and wedding string ensemble and band space. 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, thrilled 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. 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 events up to ~150 people we are happy to add high-fidelity battery amplification and up to two wired microphones (handheld or on stands) to your booking package.

I carry comprehensive $2 million event liability insurance, as well as insurance to cover potential damage to musical instruments and other gear I might be bringing to an event.

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

My quotes are all inclusive of my performance of requests from my master library, unlimited client and other relevant vendor coordination (wedding planner, DJ, officiant, etc), amplification needed for the space and guest list size (or working with an existing system on site), and all setup, soundcheck, and travel time necessary.

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.
• Special music fee: Applicable if you envision a song or piece not already included in my repertoire lists.
• In-person consultation: Applicable if you'd like to meet in person to consult about a booking, or have me attend a wedding rehearsal or official walk-through (our time spent by phone, on a video call, or emailing is already factored into your booking)
• Infrastructure add-on: Applicable in the event we will need to supply basic performance requirements usually supplied by the venue or client (an umbrella, a chair, etc.).
• Officiant/speaker microphones and amplification.

All quotes factor in event length, the number of musicians performing, travel time and distance, all client and vendor coordination leading up to the date and the day-of, sound design and early soundcheck, whether we'll need to learn new music, and yes, the day of the week, the time of day, and the time of year.

My event agreement, signed by both parties at the time of booking, clearly states how we would handle a cancellation. Please reach out if you'd like to preview a copy.

Having performed throughout the California Central Coast and Bay Area since 1998, I'm quite familiar with the micro-climates of the region and seasonal shifts. While the weather tends to be temperate overall, certain times of year and locations are safer for holding outdoor events and weddings than others, and they are not always what we might think!

Spring: Mid-March through May tends to be clear and breezy, with periods of high wind and drizzle. There may be showers and daytime temperatures tend to be in the low 60s at the coast and warmer inland.

Summer: June through mid-August tend to be foggy and cool by the coast, and warm, or even sweltering, just a few miles inland. Temperatures on the coast are typically in the low to mid 60s, but the dampness can be quite chilling. In contrast, inland areas like Carmel Valley, the Santa Cruz Mountains, San Jose, and Gilroy can easily be in the 80s, if not 90s and 100s.

Indian Summer: Shhhh, this is the local’s secret. The end of August through mid-October is typically when the warmest and calmest weather happens by the coast in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. Temperatures are often in the high 70s. A great time for an outdoor wedding overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean!

Fall: The end of October and November are typically cooler, with daytime temperatures by the coast returning to the 60s or getting down into the 50s. The days can be brisk, though often sunny and still comfortable. November often has some showers.

Winter: December through mid-March is typically either cloudy and cool, brisk and sunny, or cold and rainy (sometimes torrentially). Though glorious warm spells have been know to happen, daytime temperatures are usually in the 50s at the coast and could be in the 40s at higher elevations. I recommend an indoor wedding or at least an indoor plan B.

While I can't recall every incredible vendor I've met at the thousands of events I've played over the years, I always enjoy working with the following 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

• Adam Millman, DJ Shazam https://djshazam.com
• 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
• DJ Jeffty https://www.musicbyjeffty.com
• Mark Addington https://www.markaddingtonevents.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