Musical Heart Strings

Musical Heart Strings was such an excellent addition to our ceremony. Kerry and Gretchen are professional, kind, and incredibly talented. They were so helpful from start to finish of the planning process including music recommendations and how they could best support our ceremony vision. We had so much fun choosing the songs for the ceremony and the different genres to choose from, was astounding. We got so many compliments from our guests, and we can’t recommend them enough for your event! They are truly one of a kind!

Musical Heart Strings created the magical ambience that we envisioned for our wedding! We had so much fun and ease picking out songs from their repertoire. When our wedding day came, we were absolutely in awe hearing the music come to life as they delivered on every song.

From beginning to end, we appreciated their responsiveness, thought and care. They were extremely personable and detail oriented.

We are so grateful that Musical Heart Strings was able to be a part of our wedding day to make it so special and memorable!

We are so happy with the performance that Gretchen and her string quartet brought to our wedding. We had them play for our ceremony and cocktail hour. They had such a wide selection of music with a few of my favorites already in their repertoire. My husband and I have a special attachment to Ghibli films, and so we felt like it was a must to request some special arrangements from our favorite films. Gretchen arranged beautiful pieces from “The Wind Rises” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” to play during our ceremony. Gretchen made special effort to ensure that we heard the arrangements in its entirety, and she even played for us when we were taking bridal party photos before guests arrive!
Gretchen also made an extra special arrangement for my bridal procession where she included by favorite section of the piece, and played it at the right moment during my walk. The timing couldn’t have been better.
Their performance was everything we had hoped for. We even had our guests come up to us to ask where we found such talented musicians!
After they finished playing, Gretchen greeted and congratulated us personally, which we appreciated
All of these small gestures mean so much to us. Working with Musical Heart Strings was such a joy, from beginning to end.

Musical Heart Strings made our wedding day even more special! Thank you for being part of our history, for playing with such talent, and for being outstanding people!

Wow! Musical heart strings was outstanding! Getting chills all over again thinking about how special they made our wedding day. The musical heart strings quartet played for our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. They made each event very memorable. They have an amazing song selection list, and are so talented. The ceremony music exceeded our expectations. The cocktail hour music fit our request perfectly (classy, fun, timeless). Could not recommend this group enough. They are so kind and enjoyable to work with.

Thank you to Grethen and Kerry - 2 beautiful and talented women. They made our ceremony, cocktail and dinner so unique with their vast repertoire. They know honestly ALL songs 💕 We also made them learn 2 of our special songs. Honestly, everything was also magic thank to them. We are very thankful!

Musical Heart Stings did an incredible job at our July wedding in Sonoma County! Gretchen/MHS were very responsive to questions and emails, flexible with song choices and extremely professional and kind. You can see they truly have a passion for what they do. We received a lot of compliments during and after the wedding from our guests in regards to what a beautiful touch this was on our night. If you want to add a live musical element to your wedding, we highly refer MHS and we look forward to working with them again!

Booked Musical Heart Strings for my wedding in Sonoma and the team played beautifully on our special day. Live string music was a hit with my guests and elevated the event. From ceremony through cocktail hour, the music was perfect for an outdoor vineyard setting. I was able to pick from a wide repertoire selection on their website; they have everything from pop, classical, to fun and whimsical. My ring bearer walked down to the tune of James Bond and the guests LOVED it!

Musical Heart Strings was professional and attentive to their client's need from initial consultation. Checked in prior to the wedding and worked seamlessly with my planner and officiant to flawlessly execute the music at the exact timing. One of the easiest vendors I worked with. 10/10. Could not recommend Musical Heart String more!

Musical Heart Strings is an amazing group to work with. They are reliable, professional, freindly, fun, and TALENTED! They have a huge repertoire and deliver what you want with exactly the right amount of finesse and ambiance. Do yourself a favor and knock this off of your to-do list. I highly recommend them.

I’ve been working with Kerry and Gretchen for a few years now and they always put on an excellent performance for our residents. They have a diverse repertoire that everyone enjoys. They are professional, flexible and always a delight to have. I would definitely recommend them to perform at your next event! You will not be disappointed!

We booked Musical Heart Strings for our Sonoma wedding, and they were incredible! They have and very diverse and fun repertoire. We loved being able to have classic music, as well as pop hits and even scores from our favorite movies. We got compliments all night on how fun the strings were. They learned a new song for us, and it made our special day all the more special. Thanks so much Gretchen!

I'm so glad we hired Musical Heart Strings for our wedding! They added so much to the day with their extensive and very diverse repertoire. Picking our song list was so fun because they have seemingly endless options to choose from! We ended up opting for the quartet option and couldn't have been happier. They sounded absolutely beautiful together! We asked them to play through guest arrival, our ceremony, and our cocktail hour. Working with Gretchen was a breeze - she's incredibly professional, responsive, and genuine. I had multiple people compliment me on their performances and even passed their contact information on to a friend who asked for it for another wedding!

Pro tip: Think twice before letting your photographer take some pre-ceremony formal photos right next to where the Heart Strings are playing! It was an already emotional time, but the tears really started to flow with the beautiful sounds of Ed Sheeran instrumentals in the background! It was all I could do to keep it together and stay photo-worthy! :)

Musical heart strings was absolutely amazing! Working with Gretchen was wonderful. She was incredibly flexible and understanding as we worked through navigating COVID-19 postponements.
The music was absolutely beautiful and gave our wedding such an elegant touch. Though we missed cocktail hour - as most brides and grooms do - we were so happy to hear the trio was a hit and even got a round of applause after their last song. Do not hesitate! You are in great hands with Gretchen and her fellow musicians!

Musical Heart Strings was amazing. Gretchen took the time to have several phone conversations with me to help me fine-tune the ceremony details. Ironically I got more help planning my ceremony from Gretchen than my officiant. On the day of the wedding ceremony, they performed beautifully. They made my ceremony feel very special and beautiful. All our guests loved their performance including my cousin who has a music degree. Musical Heart Strings is very nice, friendly, professional, and talented I highly recommend them. An added bonus is their affordable pricing. 10/10 recommend.

We cannot give Musical Heart Strings a high enough review! From the moment we reached out to them and saw their videos on YouTube, we knew we found the perfect live music for our June 2021 wedding; and they confirmed our decision every step of the way. Our primary contact was Gretchen, Musical Heart Strings’ cellist. When we had to postpone our wedding a year due to the pandemic, Gretchen was amazing. She helped us change our contract and communicated with us every step of the way. She also did a custom arrangement for our ceremony and worked overtime with our friend who sang during the ceremony. The music during our ceremony and cocktail reception was wonderful. MHS has a large repertoire of songs you can listen to and choose from on their website, so we got to create our own playlists, which was fun and added to the personalization of our wedding. Gretchen, Kerry, Dagenais, and Betsy, who played at our wedding, are talented musicians who were prompt, professional and made our wedding classy, fun and memorable. Thank you, Musical Heart Strings! You are all a gift!

We HIGHLY recommend Musical Heart Strings for any wedding or major event! Gretchen was wonderful to work with and made all of the planning a breeze. We had a special request for our Bride/Groom exit song that was not in their repertoire, and Gretchen was able to personally compose a beautiful rendition of the song just for us. They are extremely talented musicians and were an absolute joy to work with!

Having Musical Heart Strings perform in our wedding was VERY special! Gretchen and Carrie played during our ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and cake cutting! Gretchen was very professional, accommodating, and very responsive. Gretchen and Carrie had beautiful smiles the entire time and you can actually feel their warmth and happiness. They truly are the kindest and friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Too bad my husband and I are not from the area otherwise we would hire them for future events! We HIGHLY recommend them! Thank you soooooo much, Gretcen and Carey!! We’re very grateful! We’ll never forget your beautiful music, but most of all your genuine hearts! :)

Gretchen and her team were amazing!! I loved having them at our event. They were professional and sounded amazing. They came in with smiles on their faces!! Gretchen was excellent to deal with. Would recommend them to all!!

Musical Heart Strings made our wedding day absolutely magical!!! They arrived early and began playing for pre-ceremony into ceremony and cocktail hour. They are SO talented and wonderfully friendly to work with. Leading up to the wedding, Gretchen thoughtfully went over our music selections and day of timeline with us. They have a brilliantly expansive repertoire of songs to choose from and were even willing to learn a special selection or two for our ceremony. My husband and I are both musicians and were truly blown away by not only their amazing talent but also the beautiful sunshine-filled energy that they shared with us and our guests. I will never forget walking down the aisle with my Dad as the strings emotionally accompanied us on our way. It was beautiful. I cannot imagine the day without their hearts and music setting the tone for the entire wedding. Thank you so much Gretchen and team! We're forever grateful!! -Libby

Musical Heart Strings played at our "Celebration of Life" for my sister. I felt so fortunate to have found them. They provided 2 strings and a keyboard player (as requested) and I think they would be perfect for a wedding. At a difficult time for decision making, Gretchen really took care of us. We knew we were in good hands and indeed we were. They played beautifully the songs we requested as well as fill-in songs where appropriate to keep in line with the event. We look forward to hiring them for a happier event sometime in the future.
Thank you so much Musical Heart Strings.

Gretchen was amazing to work with. We utilized Musical Heart Strings for a holiday party put on for the executive board of our company.

She was understanding with my companies payment policies and was patient throughout our internal approval process.

Every wish was granted and the Musical Heart Strings website made asserting all of my preferences easy. The event was a huge success, and everyone appreciated the amazing performance.

We hired Musical Heart Strings (pianist, cellist, violinist, viola) to play at our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. Kerry and Gretchen's quartet did a terrific job! Their beautiful music filled the room and really set the mood! Our guests loved it. They were highly responsive, professional and flexible. We asked them last minute to add another player to make a quartet instead of a trio, and they quickly secured a cellist per our request. They have a great, extensive set of music that we were able to choose from for the ceremony (all classical music), and then we asked them to play more movie scores and modern music in our two rooms for the cocktail hour (pianist in one room and strings in the other room). Our program ran 15 mins late, and they offered to continue playing until the end of our cocktail hour. Their extension was a little steep ($25 per musician for an additional 15 mins) but other than that, we were extremely happy about their performance and professionalism. I would definitely book them again if I was hosting another event requiring live music!

We hired Musical Heart Strings for our recent wedding at San Francisco City Hall, and we cannot say enough wonderful things about them! They were so communicative throughout the booking process and very easy to work with, and their rates were on par with what we expected to pay. I loved that they offer audio snippets on their site - it made it easier for my husband to choose his music for his portion of the ceremony. On the day of the event, everything went very smoothly - they were there early, set up quickly, and did a beautiful job - our guests loved them! Thank you so much for helping to make our day so special!

Kerry and Gretchen are amazing! They were so easy to work with. Their musical skills are fantastic, they gave you all of the freedom to pick what you wanted while also providing suggestions to select from during a very busy time. They modified their dress to match our wedding colors and theme. They are simply wonderful to work with and made the event so much fun! Our guests were very impressed and had such a wonderful time. They will truly make your occasion a memorable one :)

My hubs and I came across Musical Heart Strings at one of the local wedding fairs in San Francsico about two years ago when we first got engaged. At the time, having strings at our wedding was not on our radar. However, when We heard them play the theme song from Games of Thrones we were smitten! From there, we saw them play a few more times at local restaurants just to see them perform in different atmospheres. We were sold! We booked them for our wedding last weekend in Aptos CA. They were wonderful! They played exactly the type of sweet romantic music for our ceremony in the redwoods, but then busted out their more upbeat trendy music for our cocktail hour. Our guests and venue raved about how amazing they sounded outside! They were so easy to work with and I had to do absolutely nothing the day of the wedding as they came in seamlessly, worked with my coordinator, and got all set up. They were the perfect addiction to our wedding!

Five plus stars for Musical Heart Strings! =D

We met MHS at the Presidio Bridal event in San Francisco over a year before my wedding. We knew right away that we wanted them to play at our wedding. They were one of our best vendors. We got married during Memorial weekend at the Observation Post Presidio in San Francisco.

MHS have been great from the very beginning. The email communications from the very start were fast in response time and sweet. On our wedding day our family and friends complimented on how beautiful the musical arrangements were. Everyone's favorite were of course, Game of Thrones and Indiana Jones.

Gretchen, Kerry and Megan are definitely very talented, sweet and delightful to work with. I'm subscribed to their email newsletters and will definitely come out to Danville to listen to them play again. I definitely recommend MHS to anyone that is looking for beautiful music arrangements that will be a memorable experience on your special day.

Guest Arrival
“A Thousand Years” C. Perri
“In Dreams” Lord of the Rings
“Beauty and the Beast” A. Menken
“A Whole New World” A. Menken
“Bittersweet Symphony” R. Ashcroft
“Storybook Love” W. DeVille
“La Vie En Rose” E. Piaf
Game of Thrones Theme/Rains of Castamere

Processional (4 Pieces)
“Life on Mars?” D. Bowie - Groom/Groomsmen and Officiant
“All I Ask of You” A. L. Webber - Parents
“Hoppipolla” Sigur Ros - Bridesmaids/Flower dog
Canon in D - Bride

Recessional
Indiana Jones Theme

Cocktail Hour
Jurassic Park Theme
James Bond Theme
“Africa” Toto
“This Must Be the Place” D. Byrne
“Love Story” Taylor Swift
“Bohemian Rhapsody” Queen
“Over the Rainbow” Wizard of Oz
“Everything is Awesome” from Lego Movie
Spring from “The Four Seasons”
Addams Family Theme
“Viva la Vida” Coldplay
“White Wedding” Billy Idol
“You’re My Best Friend” Queen
“Jump” Van Halen
“Brown Eyed Girl” V. Morrison

We booked the string trio, and from our first contact with Kerry through their final song at our reception dinner, we were so happy with our choice and thankful we were able to book them. Their extensive repertoire (from wedding classics to contemporary pop songs) and lovely sample recordings drew us in, and their professionalism meant that everything went incredibly smoothly once we were booked. Their rendition of our processional song (for which they acquired the sheet music and rehearsed for a small additional fee) was breathtaking, and at the dinner reception they even went the extra mile in playing some last minute requests. Our wedding would not have been the same without Musical Heart Strings and I can't recommend these talented musicians highly enough.

I cannot say enough good things about Musical Heart Strings. My husband and I were married at Saint Francis Solano Church in Sonoma with our reception at The Lodge at Sonoma, and MHS played our ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner. The backdrop of their music was just perfect. We chose the quartet (with keyboard), and Kerry, Gretchen, Matt and Megan did an incredible job. Since it was a full catholic mass, we had specific musical requirements and even a couple songs that they gladly learned for our service. They also worked with a cantor at the church for the hymns. It was above and beyond! Their selection at our cocktail hour and dinner was perfect (there was even a sing-a-long to Bohemian Rhapsody). If you're looking for a string quartet, look no further. You can't beat Musical Heart Strings!!

Musical Heart Strings made our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour spectacular! I cannot imagine our wedding without them! They have a fantastic repertoire and can also make custom arrangements. We loved the mixture of classical and popular songs. We also decided to have a custom arrangement of “Better Together” for our recessional song and it was awesome! We are still receiving compliments on our wonderful string trio months after our wedding! Kerry and Gretchen are friendly and professional! They promptly answered all of my questions and had fantastic recommendations. I highly recommend Musical Heart Strings for your wedding or special event! They truly made our wedding special and unique.

My words will never begin to describe how wonderful these ladies are. We arranged for Gretchen and Kerry to play at our daughter’s vineyard wedding. The bride had a particular song in mind for the processional that unfortunately was not part of Musical Heartstrings repertoire. After speaking with the group, without hesitation, they agreed to find the music and play it at the wedding. Even more unfortunate, they were only able to locate the music for guitar. They were quick to suggest learning the piece by ear. The result was fantastic. These ladies are so professional and accommodating. Smiles never leave their faces. They were happy to take and quick to play guest requests. When on break, they quickly jumped up to help with an audio problem that was occurring which was unrelated to their performance. It was as though favorite cousins offered to play at the wedding and reception. I can’t say enough about this group. Both their music and personalities were beyond magnificent. You will not go wrong with this duo!

Gretchen and Kerry of Heartstrings did a phenomenal job at our company holiday party. They have a wide selection of music that appealed to all of our guests. They were very responsive to emails, phone calls and always clear answering any of our questions. It was a pleasure to work with them from start to finish. We would love to have them at a future event!

Quintessential: Representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class. As a wedding coordinator in Wine Country, I need string musicians who can play beautifully in any range of conditions, from outdoor in the hot July vineyards to a balcony in January with a cold breeze blowing through. Gretchen Egen and Kerry Borgen have played music that made me wish I was Cinderella riding to the ball, then turned around and jazzed it up until the guests were doing a "sing-a-long" and begging them to stay! Either my clients or I have hired them a score of times during the past year and have always been thrilled. Denise Kramer, Denise Kramer Weddings

I mainly dealt with Gretchen when I hired heart strings! I must say they are very good at what they do! My reception was truly a hit because I had them play music at my cocktail hour and also while my guests are being seated into the ballroom! Everyone felt like they were in the scence of that movie "titanic" when guests of the ship were enjoying the music played by those famous musician! Heart strings are very professional! Look no further when looking for a violinist and a cellist! Their music pieces are simply amazing! They will also give your reception that fancy, over the top feel! Thanks guys for giving my reception that epic ambiance! Will hire you again when the next event comes!

We were so pleased with the musical backdrop that Gretchen and Kerry gave to our small vineyard wedding. They provided an elegance to our ceremony that truly completed the day's perfection. Though not only were they incredibly talented and professional, they were also very flexible with our wedding party's diverse range of musical taste. While the prospect of a Jamaican/Italian wedding might scare off some musicians, Gretchen and Kerry were more than willing to accommodate both backgrounds with style. Our small wedding had a blast dancing and singing along to their selections. They're the perfect addition for any wedding day, and we'd recommend them in a heartbeat.

Classical ensemble does not express the range that Heart Strings will bring to your event. They brought a wonderful energy to both our holiday party and the 90th birthday celebration. We look forward to the next event when we can share and enjoy there positive energy and incredible talent.