From the very beginning Nick and I were set on not having a DJ. Originally, we thought a concert would be neat, but I couldn’t get the artist to agree to do it (he doesn’t do weddings). Then we tried for a Dueling Piano group but they were out of our price range unless we did a Sunday wedding. So I kept digging around, trying to find some good LIVE music. When we were brainstorming one day, we came up with the idea of a Calypso band (in honor of our trip to Grenada last spring). I scoured the internet and started making calls. I came upon Cyril Paul and the Calypso Monarchs. Originally from Trinidad, Cyril leads a group of 6 other musicians and does weddings and other social functions. The only thing I was adamant about was that there had to be a steel drum.
We couldn’t have ended up with a more spectacular musical group. It added the perfect flare to our globally-themed event and was ideal for either dancing and/or listening. We had a blast! Cyril was beyond accommodating, having the band learn a new song for our first dance (we just had to get him the sheet music). Their rates were fantastic for live music – only $1250 for 7 musicians! That’s an amazing deal, especially considering the quality of their playing. And so we danced the night away…. and even got a massive Congo line going!
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