I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago (Palos Heights, anyone?)
Passionate about playing the saxophone, doing anything for a laugh and wanting to be just like my dad, I grabbed every opportunity to lead a band. Beginning as high school drum major, I soon moved on to leading my own 14-piece big band. I was fascinated by the magic of choosing the right songs that would get people up and dancing.
After graduating from the DePaul School of Music, I started band leading in Chicago's special event industry and immediately knew that I'd found my calling. Everything about a couple’s story goes into the music we create for their wedding day. It’s an incredibly fulfilling job because we get to celebrate with people on the happiest day of their lives, and the more we know about them, the better!
Sometimes, surprises are a good thing.
Hey, it happens. With mom & dad in their mid-40s, and two brothers in their late teens, my surprise arrival kind of shook things up. Wanting to keep up with my older brothers, I became obsessed with music and begged for piano lessons. I had to settle for melodica at first, and then violin was the next (logical?) step. Several years and four college degrees later (overachiever, yes), I found myself on the west side of Chicago, having the best time as a freelance violinist. Backing up Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen were pretty darn spectacular! I created Artistrings in 2002 and adore working closely with brides & grooms to choose the perfect music for their wedding ceremonies.
Yes, we met while performing for a wedding, of course.
We were both intrigued, but went our separate ways. This was way before Tinder, and Carol was pretty shy, so a few months later when the intrigue resurfaced, instead of calling Chris, she resorted to stalking him at the grocery store. Genius. It all worked out though, because eventually they bumped into each other in the parking lot. Standing outside in mid-January, talking for hours, he made her laugh and she was hooked. And, the rest is history.
Our merger became official on a Tuesday in 2004.
We got married (by 3 priests!), and followed our dream of starting Sarlas Music a month later.
Since then, we've planned and performed for about 2000 unique Chicago area weddings.
That's a lot of weddings! We're super excited to teach all that we've learned in the last 19+ years. Carol's an expert at all things ceremony music, and Chris is the bandleader who knows how to find the best wedding band that will successfully read the pulse of your party. Together, we can't wait to take you through our time-saving process and share our knowledge!
Want to join the party?
Easy music planning is our jam. Let's do this!