Frequently Asked Questions

How many musicians do I need for my event?
The Allegro Quartet (4 musicians) has many years of experience and the best selection of music. This grouping is our premier sound and is what you hear on our website. We highly recommend a full quartet for any occasion. We do understand about more intimate events and smaller budgets, so we do have trios (3 musicians) and duets (2 musicians) to offer you for your special occasion.

For an outdoor wedding: For 50 or fewer guests, a duet (2 musicians) will do nicely. For 80 or fewer guests, a trio (3 musicians). For more than 100 guests, we recommend a full quartet, 4 musicians.

For outdoors weddings you will need more musicians because the absence of walls and ceilings will cause some of our volume to be lost. We suggest that you add one extra musician to the guidelines mentioned above. If you are having 200 guests or more, we can add 2 musicians to a quartet to make 6 musicians or even double the quartet to 8 musicians.

When do you arrive for my event?
We always arrive at least 30 minutes before we are scheduled to begin in order to speak to the coordinator about cues and also to speak to the officiant to go over the ceremony details. There is no charge for this service.

How do I pick my music?
You can use the song lists and the music samples with our guidance to pick your music.

What if I want a song that’s not on your list?
Just ask. Each partner has a private library at your disposal. If we do not have the song in our personal library and the song needs to be arranged, we have professional arrangers who have worked for us for many years who do this for us. The extra charge for this will be a minimum of $100.00, depending on the complexity on the song, as it takes time and talent to arrange a song for a quartet.

What time do you begin playing at my event?
It is customary for us to begin 15 minutes before the time printed on the invitation, and this can be adjusted at the couples’ request. Our start and finish times will be stated on your contract. Remember we arrive at least 30 minutes before our start time in order to set up, at no charge to you.

Why is shade so important?
Our instruments are one-of-a-kind, hand made out of wood, and are very valuable. They cannot be exposed to sunlight, which can damage them and cause them to go out of tune very quickly. Sunlight in our eyes prevents us from reading our music, seeing your coordinator’s cues and watching for moments during your ceremony that are critical to the proper timing of our music.

For what length of time should I hire you?
If you would like us to play for your ceremony, one hour is sufficient for a simple ceremony. For a Catholic or Episcopal Mass, 1.5 hours are necessary. Add more time for cocktail hour and reception.

Can I pay you with a credit card?
No, we accept checks or cash for the deposit or the balance. Not taking credit cards helps us keep our costs down.

How far ahead should I book you?
We have couples who book us one year in advance for the busy months of October, March and April. Call us for availability. We have 6 partners, so we can play 5 events a day.

What do you wear?
The women wear all black and the men wear tuxedos except in the summer when the men wear black.

Music
Jewish Music
Latin Music
Irish Music
Holiday Music
Sacred Music

Are there any additional fees I need to know about?
There are travel fees for locations outside the Phoenix/Metro Area. The fee depends on the distance and the time it takes to for us to reach the destination.

Also, for events planned on Holidays, there is an extra fee of $25.00 per musician. Holidays include:

New Years Eve and Day & weekend
Valentines' Day
Memorial Day & weekend,
Labor Day & weekend
Thanksgiving Day & weekend
Christmas Eve, Day & weekend

Any changes made to a contract for time, day or location will have a $25.00 fee.