About this vendor
Voted Best Wedding Ceremony Music by the Boston A-List in 2014, 2012, 2011, and 2010, the Boston String Ensemble has, since its formation in 2008, performed at more than 1,200 weddings and special events across New England. Our clients have included corporate partners and premier venues throughout the region. Whether for a local celebration or a destination wedding, we bring the experience and artistry to create moments you and your guests will remember for a lifetime.
Our simple booking process takes the hassle out of hiring ceremony or event musicians. Backed by a dependable, professional management team, we ensure punctual arrival with ample time to coordinate with your wedding planner, event organizer, or venue. With over a decade in the industry, we know how to adapt seamlessly to the unexpected and respond to your evolving needs.
We work closely with you to design a setlist your guests will enjoy long after the day has passed. Our extensive repertoire spans classical masterpieces, pop, and Top 40 hits—and we are always adding new selections. If you have a special song in mind, we can bring it to life. Our core ensemble features violins, viola, and cello, with the option to include other instruments by request.
Our mission is to help transform a beautiful occasion into something truly extraordinary. We look forward to making music for your special day!
Details
Instruments
- Cello
- Fiddle
- Viola
- Violin
Music Genres
- Classical
- Folk
- Jazz
- Pop
- Rock
- World Music
Music Services
- Live Music
Wedding Activities
- Rehearsals & Parties
- Rehearsal Dinner
- Welcome Party
- Wedding
- Ceremony
- Cocktail Hour
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Reviews
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4.8
out of 5.032 reviews
Review photos
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We had the pleasure of working with Chen from Boston String Ensemble for our wedding ceremony, and we could not have been happier with the experience. Throughout the entire plannin...
g process, Chen was incredibly responsive, which made coordinating details and logistics so much easier and less stressful. We always felt supported and confident that everything was taken care of. On the wedding day, Chen was punctual, professional, and completely self-sufficient, allowing us to focus on enjoying the moment. Most importantly, the music was absolutely beautiful. We received countless compliments from our guests, many of whom said they could have listened to the violin for hours because it was so elegant and captivating. We are so grateful to Chen and Boston String Ensemble for helping make our ceremony so special. If you're looking for stunning music and a wonderful partner to work with throughout the planning process, we cannot recommend them highly enough.
We hired Boston String Ensemble for our cocktail hour, and they were absolutely incredible! After researching many string quartets, I was so impressed by their extensive song list,...
clear communication, and overall professionalism from start to finish. They played a mix of modern pop songs in that elegant Bridgerton-style string arrangement — it was the perfect blend of fun and sophistication. The music added such a special touch to cocktail hour, and so many guests commented on how beautiful and unique it was. Highly recommend them to anyone looking to elevate their event!
The Boston String Ensemble were amazing! I heard (both from my own ears and guests) nothing but praise for their performance at our wedding.
They were incredibly responsive in the...
time leading up to the wedding, very professional, and helped make our wedding very special.
I would, without hesitation, gladly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a string ensemble to play at their wedding or other event. Absolutely superb.
We hired Boston String Ensemble for our wedding at the Old South Church in Boston, MA. They were fantastic! They arrived on time and played a mix of traditional and pop music for t...
he prelude to the wedding ceremony. Our guests said the music was delightful. Would recommend them again!
Boston String Ensemble was all-around exceptional. I love classial music, so I did a lot of research to select a quartet for our wedding. Boston String Ensemble's sound stood out t...
o me among all of the other Boston quartets that I listened to. They are masterful musicians. And they were wonderful to work with. Chen responded right away in all e-mail communication and was prepared for our meetings. We were delighted by their extensive set-list and I loved the pieces that I had to choose from. They also provide the option of playing a song of your request that is not on the list for a small fee. I asked them to learn and play a song that is special to me for our processional, and they played it perfectly. We loved their contemporary set list as well and had fun choosing songs for them to play at our cocktail hour. I am hoping to find another event for them to play at, they are that amazing! I could not recommend them more highly.
Boston String was easy to work with and has a beautiful repertoire of both classical and modern music to select from. Our trio was prompt, professional, and played beautifully duri...
ng our ceremony and cocktail hour. Absolutely recommend.
Boston String Ensemble was so talented and professional. My husband and I are both musicians and had many musicians in the crowd, so it was important to us to have amazing musicia...
ns! The guests were amazed by their skill, they took our ceremony and cocktail hour to the next level! They have an extremely expansive repertoire of classical music as well as popular music! We loved having them, they made our wedding that much more elegant. Thank you so much, it was beautiful!
Boston String Ensemble was great to work with. They played classical music for the ceremony and pops for the cocktail hour, and we were very happy to find a group that did both gen...
res well. I had a few special requests that they played, which was really nice! As the bride I unfortunately didn’t get to hear them play as much as I would have liked (we weren’t there for the prelude or the cocktail hour) but from what I did hear they sounded amazing, and multiple guests commented on how much they enjoyed the pops at the cocktail hour! They were extremely easy to work with and handled moving between the ceremony reception (a few blocks away) smoothly.
Boston String Ensemble was the perfect addition to our wedding! Chen was so helpful with music selection and easy to communicate with. They are sooooo talented and I am so happy wi...
th our choice to use them! Thank you BSE!
Boston String Ensemble was amazing for our ceremony! Chen was super easy to communicate with, they had a giant list of songs to choose from, and they really elevated the ceremony a...
s a whole.
BSE strong trio performed for our ceremony and I’m so happy with them. We had them play a mix of modern and classical music. We received so many rave reviews about them from our gu...
ests! Not only were they talented but everyone said it added a special, elegant touch to the wedding so definitely book them if you’re considering strings for your ceremony! Chen was a dream to work with and super responsive to emails. Thank you BSE for being apart of our big day!
The BSE performed at our wedding for 2 hours and we could have not been more happy with their performance! They were incredibly professional, easy to work with, and were able to m...
eet all of the various requests we had. Would highly recommend booking!
We hired Boston String Ensemble for our June wedding ceremony and they were just fantastic! Chen is so nice and easy to work with. He is so quick to respond to emails and answered ...
any questions I had promptly. We hired them for a prelude session while guests were arriving and to play during the ceremony. Our guests were raving about the prelude session and said it added such a nice, classic touch to the overall day. The string trio was on time, went over cues with our coordinator and were just overall so pleasant to work with. I couldn’t have asked for better musicians for our wedding.
Would unhesitatingly recommend Boston String Ensemble for any event! They played at our wedding this past weekend and were not only first-class musicians, but showcased the epitome...
of professionalism. Everybody was beyond impressed with their performance. Chen was a dream to work with. Ver highly recommend!!
I had a wonderful experience working with the Boston String Ensemble! Chen was very easy and pleasant to deal with, and the string quartet was flawless for our outdoor ceremony and...
cocktail hour. Our guests were so impressed with their ability to cover modern songs! Highly recommend.
Chen and the Boston String Ensemble were absolutely great! My husband is a musician and wanted to make sure that we had the best quality of music during our ceremony. The Boston St...
ring Ensemble absolutely delivered. All of our guests loved the music played before, during, and after the ceremony and are still talking about the music and the quality of the sound. Chen replied to all of our emails and was very accommodating! We highly recommend them.
Both my husband and I are professional musicians, so the quality of our wedding music and the ability to choose specific pieces was very important to us. The Boston String Quartet...
was excellent! They were able to accommodate all our specific requests, they were very professional, and they played beautifully. In addition to playing as a quartet, we asked the cellist to play a solo with a separate pianist we'd hired. They put this delicate piece together on a brief rehearsal and performed it with great poise beauty, creating a very special moment in our ceremony where we all sat and listened. I highly recommend these musicians!
Cannot recommend them enough. BEAUTIFUL music, amazing set-list to choose from, on-time, responsive, well-priced, professional and really good with kids who wanted to take a look a...
t the instruments before the ceremony :-). LOVED them. So glad we went with them (I had gotten quotes from 10+ different quartets and Boston String Ensemble had the best reviews and best pricing). Look no further, you won't regret it!
Highly recommended. I used Boston String Ensemble for my ceremony and cocktail hour. Booking process was easy and efficient. Office staff responded to all my emails in a very timel...
y manner. The musicians sounded amazing and were very professional on the day of. I am so glad I used this group for my wedding.
We hired BSQ for our October wedding ceremony. We chose contemporary music from their repertoire and fully customized our ceremony to suit us. Chen was incredibly prompt via emai...
l, everything was explained and straight forward and they delivered as promised. The music was absolutely breathtaking and our guests have given us many compliments on the tone of the ceremony, it really was special. Thank you to the string quartet, I would highly recommend their ensemble to anyone looking for a moving and classy wedding ceremony.
Their professionalism was evident from the very beginning. Everyone enjoyed listening to the live music during my ceremony and cocktail hour and I have gotten nothing but complimen...
ts for having them as part of my wedding. I highly recommend using BSQ.
Chen was the best vendor! So accommodating of our special music requests. The music was beautiful! Great value. Just FYI, the ensemble needs to be in shade because of potential sun...
damage to their instruments, so plan accordingly. We placed them in the gazebo we were married in front of, and it worked out great!
We were very happy to book Boston String Quartet for our August wedding. Chris was able to answer our questions and was very easy to communicate with before our wedding day. We pro...
vided them with a list of our preference of songs, with some special requests which they accommodated without any issue. On the day of the wedding, the quartet arrived ahead of time, looked formal for the occasion, and sounded beautiful. I forgot to assign someone to cue them when the ceremony finished, but one of the musicians looked out for me and when I gave him a nod they quickly played our recessional. I was pleasantly surprised by the extent of their repertoire – they added more songs in than I expected and did a fantastic job. Thank you for helping to create the atmosphere that we were aiming for!
The Boston String Quartet's professionalism shone through during the ceremony as the playing of the selected pieces coupled with the timing of the music was perfect. Enjoyable was ...
the mixing of our request for classic selections with contemporary pieces to provision a personal and very meaningful experience. The repetoire definitely set the tone for what we will always remember as a most special time in our lives. We received numerous complements for the contemporary pieces played during the cocktail hour. One of the wedding attendees stated that "She is now totally hooked on String Quartet musicianship!"
BSQ was a very professional, well-oiled machine when it came to performing at my wedding. They were on time and knew exactly what to do with no direction from me. They were also ...
a truly talented group, whose skills shined through in the sound of their music. My guests enjoyed listening to them as much as my husband and I did, and I would highly recommend this quartet to any couple on their wedding day.
Boston String Quartet was contracted by me a year before my wedding. I tried to be in contact with them about my music choices and making sure they knew what songs to play when. ...
They were very unresponsive, I had to write several emails and even call to get a response.
And last but not least, THEY NEVER SHOWED UP. How would you feel as a bride if you were 5 mins before walking down the aisle and your string quartet was no where in site? No music to walk down the aisle to!! Well 1 out of the 4 showed up. How can one person play the music I chose for a quartet?! He cant. No phone call to say they were going to be late, no emails, no NOTHING. I send the ONE violinist on his merry way and my DJ played the music through his laptop. THANK GOD! I had no other issues with any of my vendors except for Boston String Quartet. And on top of that all I had was an email stating "sorry we did not fulfill our contract, can we have your address to send you your deposit", thats it? Thanks guys you ruined my ceremony!!
We had the quartet play for our ceremony and cocktail hour in August 2011. They did a fantastic job and added an elegant touch to my sunset outdoor ceremony.
My only issue was th...
at I was tracked down and asked to pay the balance of their fee as soon as the cocktail hour ended when I had already paid in full 2 months prior. The check had already cleared so i knew they got paid. They didn't
believe me and needed to know who I gave the check to and it was one of the guys that was there who "forgot" that I had already paid. This added some uneeded stress to the day and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
The BSQ played for the first hour at our wedding reception and I couldn't be more pleased. The music was beautiful and all of our guests loved the selections - we chose electric in...
struments to play all of the top contemporary songs like Thriller by Michael Jackson, Poker Face by Lady Gaga and it was just amazing. Their price is on the high side but totally worth it.
Great players - added a lot of class to our ceremony. Would have liked if they arrived a little bit earlier to practice with soloist.
Very punctual, well prepared. Gave us a repertoire sheet to choose music from, but also accepted and followed our specific requests about which segments to play. We also were able ...
to hire them only three weeks before the wedding. Overall a wonderful choice.
BSQ was very professional and did an amazing job- They have an extended song list of classic and contemporary music choices. They played our wedding ceremony and the cocktail hour...
and was just beautiful!
This was not a reception band per se but a string duo that played during the cocktail hour. They were great my guests said!
Contact
MA, NH, RI
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