FAQ

Here’s a few of our most frequently asked questions. If you have a question then please drop us an email, text, or fill in the form on our contact page!

  • What Will You Require On The Day?
    • Approximately 3m(L) x 2m(W) of spaceArmless chairs.
  • Can You Play Outside?
    • We are happy to play outside if the conditions are right. Regrettably we cannot play outside if it’s raining/cold, and we just require shelter to protect our instruments from direct sunlight. Some of our instruments are hundreds of years old! A shaded area would be totally fine! We’re happy to advise on this as we know lots of venues well.
  • What Happens If My Wedding Overruns?
    • It is quite normal for weddings to overrun, and we are happy to stay for an extra 15 minutes free of charge (ceremony bookings only). If you require us to stay for longer, and we are able to, our overtime rates are £60 (30 minutes), £120 (60 minutes), or £180 (90 minutes). This is to be paid in cash on the day, before the musicians start the overtime.
  • What Will You Wear?
    • We have a few different ‘uniforms’. Either colourful, black and white, or all black. Please let us know if you have a preference!
  • What If One Of The Musicians Gets Ill?
    • All of the musicians we use are experienced professionals and we have a huge list of musicians in case emergency strikes!
  • Will It Be The Musicians Who Are Pictured On The Website?
    • In short, not necessarily. Didsbury String Quartet consists of fully qualified and highly experienced musicians. Our musicians are some of the finest performers across the North West and are either freelance musicians or have jobs in orchestras. This is the way that all string quartets work – in fact, we all regularly perform with other string quartets too!
  • Will You Require A Break?
    • We only require short breaks for events that last more than 1.5 hours – we’re very flexible when we take our break and usually time it with when your guests are away having their photos taken. We will discuss our breaks with you over email – don’t worry, we will liaise with your venue staff to cover our break with some background music.
  • How Many Pieces Should I Choose?
    • We endeavour to perform as many of your requests as possible. As an estimate, we’d say 10-15 pieces per 30 minutes, but please note that we cannot seamlessly go from one piece to the next like a CD.
  • What Happens If I Need To Alter My Wedding Date?
    • Generally this is fine, it just depends whether we are available for the new date. If you change the date and the quartet is unavailable on the new date, we regret to inform you that we cannot refund your deposit.
  • Can I Change My Ensemble Type?
    • If you have booked a smaller ensemble and wish to ‘upsize’ to the String Quartet, this will depend on the availability of our sheet music – we have multiple sets of our folders so this is usually fine though! I’m afraid we are unable to ‘downsize’ any of our ensemble types once you have booked.
  • Can We Have A Piece Played That Isn’t On You Repertoire List?
    • Yes! We just charge a small fee for this service. We usually fulfil all requests if submitted at least 21 days before your event and can play anything and everything – challenge us!
  • Do You Take Request On The Day?
    • Yes! We love taking requests on the day – be careful though, sometimes we actually have requests that people jokingly throw our way!! If we do not have the requested piece we will do our best to play the next best thing. Your guest will be amazed at what we can play!
  •  Do You Offer Smaller Ensembles Than The String Quartet?
    • Yes! We also offer a String Trio (violin, violin, cello), String Duo (violin, cello), Piano+Cello Duo, and even soloists! Need something bigger like a string orchestra? No problem – you can have as many string players as you like! If you would like a singer/oboist/other musician to join us, this can be discussed!
  •  When Do I Need To Pay?
    • We take a deposit at the time of booking to secure the booking, and then the rest of the fee is to be paid by seven days before the event date.
  •  What Forms Of Payment Do You Accept?
    • We accept online bank transfer, cheque, or PayPal for the deposit. For the remaining balance we accept online bank transfer, cheque, or cash before the day.
  • Do You Have Any Other Recordings Than What Are On This Website?
    • No, sorry! We will be adding some more in the not too distant future. Maybe you’d like to see us live at a wedding fair to request some pieces? Check out the Live page!