Selkie Celtic Band: Don Shabkie

Selkie Celtic Band made my wedding extremely special. The music was most beautiful, a mix of wedding classics with their own creative compositions. The band acted very professional, I did not have to worry about them setting up, rehearsing and being ready on time. They followed the order of the service with precision, and showed flexibility when our minister made a mistake. The keyboard player, Don Shabkie, was very helpful in accomapanying a singer that was not a part of the band, met with her ahead of time to practice and supported her in every way. Everybody attending the wedding commented on the music and how much it added to the service. The band is very versatile, Don Shabkie is a fantastic pianist and can play the most challenging classical pieces. I strongly recommend Selkie Celtic Band for any indoor or outdoor wedding ceremony. Thank you, Selkie!

Although we enjoyed their music, we were very disappointed in the overall experience. After spending hours choosing a special song (based pretty much on the words) to be sung during the lighting of the Unity Candle, not only did Don fail to bring the music to the church, he somehow missed that the song was supposed to be sung...he thought it was just an instrumental piece. The wild scramble to try and locate the music made for a stressful beginning of the ceremony and in the end was played only as the instrumental. VERY diappointing! I think if Don had been willing to come to the rehearsal, a lot of these issues could have been avoided. In addition the band dressed very inappropriately for a wedding. They were front and center in a small church and they were definitely the most under dressed at a formal affair. I would not use them again.