This was my first ever visit to Bicton Park Botanical Gardens and despite the damp weather it is an absolutely stunning place. Such a pretty venue to have your wedding. Unfortunately the rain got the better of us so we somehow squeezed 70 people into the palm house with all the plants! It was a cozy ceremony! I got to play a couple of my new arrangements today, 'Come with me' by Norah Jones is such a beautiful melody that is perfect for the violin. Also 'It must be Love' by madness which got everyone singing and dancing. The drinks ceremony ended with lots of dancing and singing to a set of upbeat, well known somngs and tunes. #weddingviolinist #musiciandevon #dawlishfiddler

Busy few days. Solo Violinist wedding this afternoon at the very beautiful Powderham. Lovely wedding ceremony and drinks reception in the rose garden. It was a wedding where timing of the music was so important. The bridesmaids walked in to 'You Raise Me Up' and then I subtly went into 'Lean On Me' for the entrance of the Bride. For the signing of the register I played 'You are the Reason' by Callum Scott and Lily Allen's 'Somewhere Only We know'. The exit music today was 'Marry You' by Bruno Mars and then I played for another hour or so while the photos were taken and the guests caught up over drinks. Love my job! #devonviolinist #weddingviolinist www.musiciandevon.co.uk

Lovely afternoon out playing at Kingston Estate Weddings near Totnes with Exe Valley String Quartet. In a beautiful setting the bridal party walked down the isle to 'A Thousand Years' and danced out to 'Shut up and dance'. For the signing of the register we had the opportunity to play a couple of new arrangements, 'A sky full of stars' by Coldplay and 'Rewrite the stars' from The Greatest Showman. A lovely wedding in a beautiful setting. #weddingquartet www.exevalleystringquartet.co.uk

Lovely evening gig at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery tonight with the Exe Valley String Quartet. We are not just a traditional wedding ensemble we are also available to play for corporate events, drinks and dinners. A string quartet is the perfect backdrop for a reception. We put together a varied set list of mainly upbeat pop and rock classics and covers at the organisers request. The music was very much appreciated. #corporatemusicians #corporatestringquartet www.exevalleystringquartet.co.uk

I seem to have taken up residency at the very beautiful Rockbeare Manor after another wedding yesterday in the Devon sunshine. This time I was there playing as a solo violinist for the wedding of Jade and Michael. A lovely outdoor wedding by the Pavillion, Jade and her bridesmaids walked down the isle to 'Can you feel the love tonight' and I arranged 'Turning Page' by Sleeping at Last' for solo violin for the signing of the register. The wedding party made their exit to 'Love me like you do'. I then played for an hour or so while the guests caught up with each other over a glass of bubbly. A really enjoyable day. #musiciandevon #devonviolinist #weddingviolinist. www.musiciandevon.com

The Exe Valley String Duo played for a very beautiful wedding party yesterday at Glebe House in the heart of the beautiful Devon countryside. We played for Libby and Jordan and their American guests as they gathered for the ceremony. We played 'Make you feel my love' for the entrance of the bride and then 'Here comes the sun' for the exit of the wedding party. We then played a wide selection of songs and melodies for the drinks reception including lots of The Beatles and Musical Theatre/Film hits which was so lovely with the beautiful views all around us.

We are so fortunate to work with some top musicians. I was busy yesterday but my quartet friends Exe Valley String Quartet accompanied Roderick Williams OBE for a classical wedding in Totnes. Roderick is a well known baritone and composer and he arranged a bespoke version of Ave Maria for the wedding ceremony.

A slightly different gig tonight. We played for the Exeter Cathedral Staff Summer Garden Party in the gardens behind the beautiful Cathedral. Fantastic place to play and we got free ice cream!

Road trip for the quartet today. This was our first ever visit to Glebe Barn Weddings. What a stunning venue in the very heart of Devon and perfect for a wedding. We played a brand new arrangement of 'I like you better' by Lauv for the brides entrance followed by some classic tunes 'Iris' and 'Can't help falling in love with you' for the signing and we ended the ceremony with 'I'm Yours'. Then we played for an hour or so for the drinks reception with the stunning Devon countryside as our back drop. Fab venue. Congratulations Layla and Liam.

Back out on the road as a solo violinist today. Really enjoyed playing at Brickhouse Vineyard for a small intimate wedding ceremony. Today was a nice surprise for the brides mother who used to play the violin. My versatility was put to the test today playing the Imperial March from Star Wars and then discreetly merging into Pachabels Canon for the brides entrance!! Cool idea. I then went to the other extreme and played Sweet Child of Mine for the exit of the bridal party and guests. #weddingviolinist #dawlishfiddler #musiciandevon.

A new venue for us this weekend @Wooladon Estate, Lifton and what a stunner of a place it is. We are so privileged to visit such beautiful places for work. We played Wildest Dreams for the brides entrance and Married life from Up for the signing along with a special request of You’ll be in my heart. Spring 1 from Bridgerton was a fitting way to send the happy couple off on their new married journey down the aisle. What a way to spend a day at work.

What a lovely Easter wedding at St.John’s Church in Bishipsteignton. The sun was shining and the music was glorious. The quartet played a range of pop hits with a new favourite ‘It must be Love’ by Madness for the exit of the bride and groom. Congratulations to the happy couple.

Corporate Violinist for the evening last night. Drinks reception for Armoric Freight as they celebrated together at St Elizabeth's House in Plympton. Love gigs like this. Playing through my repertoire to complement the mood of the evening with a few ballads and then a few more upbeat songs as the champagne flows. I had the nicest of compliments as well last night. 'I love the way you add your own personality to these well known songs'. He said that my style was 'unique' - I think that's a good thing! #corporateviolinist #musicandevon #dawlishfiddler

It is the Spring which means we are now back visiting beautiful wedding venues all over Devon. Yesterday we started the year at one of our favourite and most visited venues Deer Park Country House. A lovely wedding in the spring sunshine. The music requests included 'Wildest Dreams' by Taylor Swift, the theme from The Champions League and 'Shut up and Dance' to send the guests on their way to their drinks reception. Its so good to be back playing as a quartet after our short break and lovely to hear all the positive feedback. Looking forward to a very busy summer season.

Today we went off to BBC Radio Devon to record an interview with Breakfast Radio Presenter John Acres which will be aired while we are in New York preparing for our performance at Carnegie Hall! Very exciting time to be a Rockie in Devon and Cornwall.  Very excited to be conducting and playing violin on the Carnegie Hall stage!  BBC Devon Rock Choir Caroline Redman Lusher

One final wedding today at Rockbeare Manor this time as a solo violinist. Lovely atmosphere and decorations to make it feel very festive. Some beautiful music choices today including Taylor Swift's 'Lover', Beauty and the Beast and Can you feel the love tonight. Lovely audience who were very appreciative, we even had a couple have a dance as well. Time to give the violin a well earned rest now until next year.

Yesterday we played our last wedding of the year at the very beautiful Higher Eggbeer Farm. It felt very Christmassy in the barn with the twinkling lights and roaring fires. The bride walked in to ‘The most beautiful girl in the world’ by Prince and we played ‘Dancing in the kitchen’ by Lany for the bride and groom’s exit.

We braved the stormy weather yesterday and took a road trip over the moors to beautiful (but windy) Tavistock. A lovely winter wedding in the iconic town hall. The bride walked into the theme from 'A Little Chaos' which is a great string piece. We also played I Giorni and Sweet Disposition - a real mixture of pieces and genres. We have one more winter wedding next Saturday and then we have a well earned break in January and February.

Totnes Guildhall Wedding November 30th 2024. Nice to play in a unique setting. Always nice when we are asked to play from our classical repertoire. Beautiful music like Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (Grieg) and Tchaikovsky Waltz Des Fleurs. This was complemented by the brides entrance (moonlight Serenade) and exit music (Nobody Does it Better - 007). Richard was happy because we also got to play a lot of Beatles songs as well.