I worked with Melissa and QP forcocktail hour music and ceremony music for my qedding at Adler. I…read morecould not have asked for a better experience. As a professional, Melissa is an incredibly versatile and creative talent. For my Western wedding ceremony, she coordinated with my young cousin, who sang a solo and tailored the performance accordingly. She adjusted the music throughout the ceremony to complement the live event. For the cocktail hour, with only a little direction, she devised a repertoire that included contemporary Indian film songs and the Top 40s. As a person, Melissa is a joy to work with - she is collaborative, personable, and authentic, bringing a lovely energy into the ceremony. I recommend QP without hesitation and know it will enhance your wedding experience.

I used Quartet Parapluie for our wedding this past July and I am so grateful I did. My husband and…read morehis dad are two generations of professional musicians so they can be difficult to please when it comes to live music. Needless to say, they were impressed which says a lot. From the time I signed on with them until wedding day, Andra and the group were as professional, elegant, and as talented as they come. Andra would always respond to my emails and inquiries in a timely manner, provided us with sound clips and CDs to help familiarize me with the songs they had available in their repertoire, and even met up with me to go over the ceremony details and song selections vs. just coordinating via email. Quartet Parapluie offers a wide variety of music - and have a long list of classical and popular songs to choose from. I wanted to walk down the aisle to a particular theme and they learned the music for me! Tip: If there is a song you cannot find sheet music for, you can pay them to write it up for you for a very reasonable fee. It's been a month after my wedding and it is wonderful to hear that people still remember the music - a detail that can get overlooked or remembered if done poorly. I will keep them in mind for any future events I have or for helping friends and family as they plan their weddings. These girls are as good as it gets. I would recommend them to anyone.

I cannot say enough great things about Oliver and his services! He spent so much time working…read morethrough all of the details, special moments and showed that he is not only a skilled professional, but cares so much about his work/clients. He made us feel like family and made sure the whole night ran smoothly. The music for our ceremony ran so smoothly and Oliver created the party we had always wanted (our guests were on the dance floor ALL NIGHT). So many friends and family members have raved our Oliver's DJ skills and how much fun they had. I would recommend him to anyone wanting to have a super fun dance floor at their wedding!

Oliver was an awesome DJ to work with for our wedding. From the initial phone call to book to the…read morefinal phone call before our wedding, Oliver was professional, personable, and very helpful. His website was easy to use and easy for my now husband and I to build a list of music we loved and wanted at our wedding. He tailored our music and day of experience to everything we wanted. We had so many guests tell us how much they loved our music at the wedding. We used his Photo Booth services as well, and loved all the photos. It was nice that it was all together. Would highly recommend!!

Paul and his band were absolutely fantastic at our wedding. They ROCKED all night long and put on…read morean overall GREAT SHOW! They were super easy to work with throughout the process and then totally exceeded our expectations on the big night. I could not recommend them more highly

The Z Orchestra just performed at our Wedding on June 18th. They are just the best! We had a…read morevariety of styles - something for everyone. Paul is very easy to work with and makes a tremendous effort to give you the music you want. He is also a wonderful MC. All of the band members were top notch- the singers were awesome. Everyone danced the night away! Thank you -Paul Zimmerman and the Z Orchestra. Andrea and Bill

Michael is fantastic! I host a yearly fundraiser and he is absolutely wonderful about going…read morethrough the various offerings and explaining in detail about the varietals while still making it fun. Magnifique!

I just had a great experience with the Windy City Wine Guy. I hosted a birthday party for a close…read morefriend and thought a pop up wine tasting would be unique. The service and guidance I received throughout the process was excellent. My party of 12 got to sample six wines as well as learn about food pairings. The wines were tailored to our specific tastes (on the sweeter side). I can now highly recommend 2016 Braida d'Acqui (Italy).

Finding a great band was my top priority. After numerous meetings, I came across Patrick and his…read moreband. He emailed me back within 5 minutes of writing him. After exchanging a dozen emails in an hour, it was clear he was a fun, passionate, responsible band leader. We booked him! (And the next morning, we had multiple emails from other bands saying, "We are booked on your date but you should try GREEN THIRTEEN because they are amazing!". Clearly we made the right choice.) Next we met for a long chat where it was clear Patrick was trying to get a sense of who we are as a couple. He got a sense so quickly that in that meeting he even came up with the idea of us using the "Game of Thrones" theme song for our grand entrance since we both work in the film and TV industry and love that show! Patrick was never in a hurry in this meeting; it felt like he would have sat there with us all day to get all the info he needed, from logistics to how to pronounce the bridal party's names. (Their pre-meeting planning packet is awesome! They're the only band I talked to who had something like that. So organized!) Patrick then created an amazing, minute by minute timeline of the evening. For someone like me who plans events, I realized I could let go of some of the control I knew I'd be trying to have (as a producer, I can't help myself!) on that night. And sure enough, it was true. I trusted in Patrick to hit all the beats, speeches, special dances, etc, that we had talked about. He didn't miss a thing. Not only did he do everything we had talked about, he did MORE. We had a small wedding, about 80 people. One of the things we hadn't thought about with a small wedding is that sometimes the dance floor can look EMPTY. When you have 250 people, it's always full (if the band is good!). We had an older crowd and people left to get home to babysitters. I was freaked out that our wedding would wind up empty! Here comes the amazing part: in the back of my mind, I knew that when the band took their ONE scheduled break (most bands take at least two, three, four) that we would probably lose the rest of the people from the dance floor and the second set would be pretty empty (and sad!). I was so happy when the minutes passed by and the band kept playing; I was dreading the moment they broke and everyone left. But... an hour went by, a second hour went by, more time went by and I realized... THEY WERE NOT STOPPING! I leaned in to my husband and said, "Patrick knows that if he takes a break, we're going to lose the rest of our party goers. I think he's just playing straight through." And that is exactly what he did. He and the band played for about 3 hours and 15 minutes. He literally SAVED my wedding without me having to ask him to; his instincts took over and he saved the day!!!! Also, we were unsure about having a "DJ" for any parts of the wedding. It was an elegant affair at the Waldorf Astoria. I had envisioned violins and a harp for the ceremony. But we had such a high RSVP rate that we wound up having NO room for live musicians for the ceremony space. Hesitantly we had to go with CD's. Now? I wouldn't do it any other way! We got to pick unique songs that suited our personalities. It made the ceremony so much more personal. Patrick faded everything in and out and added additional music as needed. It created the most intimate, emotional mood for that part of the night. Another bonus is they bring LED lighting. We wanted the room to be purple for the dancing. We spoke to event décor companies; they charge thousands of dollars for this. I had ruled it out as something that we just couldn't afford. Then I got this awesome surprise when I learned that Patrick provided all of that for free! Which leads to pricing: the Waldorf Astoria gave us a sheet of preferred vendors. The bands on there were all the ones with "orchestra" in their names. They were very out of our price range. We chose an 8 piece band with Patrick; all the other bands we talked to were quoting us between three and eight times what Patrick charged. If you're looking for one of those "orchestra" bands, don't be fooled just because "Green Thirteen" doesn't have that word in it. They are just as elegant and classy (and you pick out what you want them to wear; we went with an all black look and it was perfect!). I could go on forever about all the things he did to make the night perfect from meeting us at the venue weeks before to make sure he knew where to set up to arriving at the venue 6 hours early to ensure they're all set up/out of the way by the time your guests arrive. Save yourself all the trouble of researching and interviewing and just go with Patrick and these talented musicians. PS I'm cynical and often wonder if these reviews are written by the vendors themselves. If you want to reach me directly with any questions, my name is Kristyn; you can find my email address in the faculty page of DePaul's School of Cinema and Interactive Media.

I can't recommend this band enough! Having the right band was so important to me at my wedding. I…read moreinterviewed so many people, some even multiple times. I just never had the right feeling inside about any of them. As soon as my fiancé and I met Patrick, we knew that it was going to be good. We could just tell off the bat that he cared, he listened to what we wanted, and he'd do whatever it took to make sure the day was perfect. He was so organized, which was refreshing to see! I mean... SUPER organized!! He gives you a timeline that goes through the event, literally, minute by minute! Every speech, every dance, every toast, every important song, etc. We were at a very upscale venue in the city, and we wanted to make sure that the band suited this venue. And they were awesome! They were classy but still fun, professional but still passionate. They were perfect. I am an event planner, and I am already using them again for an upcoming event. I'm also thinking about breaking out into wedding planning, and Patrick will definitely be my go to musician. I don't have a single complaint about him. On the night of the wedding, there were lots of little things I was worried about. But the band was sooooo not even on my worry-radar!! You'll definitely buy yourself some peace of mind by going with Patrick. By the time the event rolls around, you will be confident he has it all under control. Just trust him. You won't regret it! Book Patrick and go worry about all the other things you have to do for the big day. This shouldn't be one of them once you meet Green Thirteen!

I am enrolled for drum lessons. I have been interested for years but never took the initiative…read more Met Karina at the French Market in Wheaton where they had set up a booth. I immediately knew this is what I had to do. My instructor Tim K. has been helpful and encouraging. Jerry Evans has hired knowledgeable instructors with a passion for music. Highly recommended. P.S. I am over 60 y.o. So if you have an interest in learning to play an instrument, it's never too late.

My daughter has been taking piano lessons here for just over 1 year. Her instructor, Raluca, is…read moreamazing! She provides a perfect balance of structure and fun in the lessons. Last month, my daughter joined one of the "rock band" classes and is having a blast!

Patrick and his talented musicians were a beautiful and pleasant part of our July 2017 wedding…read moreceremony! We had an elegant outdoor ceremony at The Morton Arboretum. From the start of our contact, Patrick has been kind, prompt, responsive, easy to reach and organized!! Their website provides helpful suggestions for music choices and I used that resource in choosing my preferred music. For a thorough review, aside from the emails we exchanged, we had a phone conversation where we went over all details and aspects. On our wedding day Patrick and his musicians were punctual and dressed in elegant attire. Music sounded beautiful!!! For my processional I chose Pachelbel's Canon in D. Highly recommend Beautiful Strings to everyone!!! Thank you, Roxana and Dan

I cannot recommend BeautifulStrings highly enough; they truly made my wedding dreams and wedding…read morevision come to life. Their musicians are incredibly skilled, poised, and competent. They will show up on time or early and impress all of your guests! Their pricing is truly affordable and their music will bring joy to your event. I worked directly with Patrick setting up everything for my wedding; he was so easy to work with and a true professional. He called ahead to my coordinator at my wedding venue to make sure he had cues so that everything went off without a hitch the day of the event. Big thanks to BeautifulStrings for bringing my guests the gift of music! Special thanks also for playing the two custom pieces; it was an absolute dream to walk down the aisle to the sounds of your music. THANK YOU! Brides -if you have a song you'd like them to play, just coordinate with them! They truly can play whatever song you envision for your day - even fun ones! We had them play the Harry Potter theme song as our officiant entered the ceremony, for example, and it was a hit!

SIMPLY AMAZING! Improv Unlimited exceeded our expectations by 10 fold! Not only are they VERY…read morefunny, but their "Corporate Imposter" and "Team Building" workshops were the highlight of our convention! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! M Cardin AT&T