First wedding of the season for the Exe Valley String Quartet. Beautiful Brickhouse Vineyard. We played a mixture of classical music and pop and rock classics. Great to be back playing together. www.exevalleystringquartet

First visit of the year to the beautiful Rockbeare Manor. Solo violin wedding on electric violin. Music requests included The Joker and the Queen by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. The bride made a Bridgerton style entrance to Wildest Dreams. I played God only knows and Tenerife Sea for the signing of the register and then the very lively Came here for Love for the big finale. I then stayed on for an hour to play a variety of upbeat rock and pop songs while the guests caught up over a drink! A really lovely wedding! #musiciandevon #dawlishfiddler #weddingviolinist

Last wedding of the year yesterday with Exe Valley String Quartet. Always nice to play for a traditional Christmas Church wedding. We played in the beautiful St Andrews Church, Colyton. Some new songs/pieces were requested by the Bride and Groom which we always enjoy arranging and rehearsing together. 'Open Arms' by Journey for the Brides entrance and 'Waiting for a Star to Fall' Boy meets Girl for the exit of the Bridal party and guests. We also played 'A Million Dreams' and 'All for Love' during the signing of the register and to complete the ceremony we accompanied the guests as they sang some Christmas carols. Time for a rest now!

Lovely day out with Exe Valley String Quartet playing for a wedding at one of our favourite venues Bovey Castle. We had to show our versatility yesterday as we prepared and performed 'Plan and Elevation' - The Beech Tree by Caroline Shaw as part of the ceremony and also a challenging arrangement of Hedwigs Theme and Spring 1 (Richter). We then went into the bar and played a set of lighter rock and pop numbers while the guests had a drink and a good catch up. Who doesn't like a Christmas wedding!

Busy weekend of playing. Upton Barn & Walled Garden yesterday for the ceremony and then a road trip all the way to North Devon and Watermouth Cove Weddings today. Big playing day today. Ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast. Lots of different requests including At Last (Etta James), A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum), lots of Queen, The Greatest Showman and something a bit new to me but I loved playing it - all the hits from The Rat Pack. Great fun to play. The guests even had a sing along! Loved the variety of music this weekend. #musiciandevon #devonfiddler #weddingviolinist

Lovely solo wedding today at Higher Holcombe by Ottery St Mary. A rustic countryside wedding venue with lots of character and atmosphere. The perfect setting for 'Concerning Hobbits' from Lord of The Rings for the brides entrance. I also played a brand new arrangement of 'The Book of Love' by Peter Gabriel which is such a beautiful melody. I played a range of chilled out tunes and movie themes while the wedding guests had a drink and some photos and a good catch up. Lovely day. #WeddingViolinist #musiciandevon #dawlishfiddler

Shilstone Weddings. Some pictures from yesterday afternoons drinks reception at Shilstone House. A nice relaxed occasion while guests have a drink and catch up with each other. I put together a set list of popular upbeat songs that guests recognise (and sometimes sing along to). Having live music at this point in your wedding day adds a nice touch to the day. Thank you for all your lovely feedback and kind words afterwards. It was a pleasure!  After this gig it was a short journey up to Exeter and the Rougement Hotel to meet up with the Exe valley String Quartet to play for a very special dinner. It was the 15th wedding anniversary for a couple that the quartet played for at their wedding ceremony all those years ago.  It was a very intimate and romantic evening full of emotion and love. Love working as a violinist in Devon. #weddingviolinist #dawlishfiddler #exevalleystringquartet www.musiciandevon.co.uk

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.