Nero/Manor House String Quartet... Duo vs Quartet!

Not heard of either of those - so can't help there.

As for trio versus quartet. I was told that really, there isn't that much difference (not to the untrained ear i'd imagine) and the price can be much better. However, the song we wanted was only able to be played by a quartet so that's what we went with.

Our was in Bristol and cost us just under £300 for 2 hours (ceremony and drinks reception). They were fab. I found them online, listened to the sample tracks and booked them based on them being able to play the song we wanted.

A duo will give you a much "thinner" sound than a full quartet. I don't know exactly what combo they'd send, probably either two violins or a violin and a cello, but it would mean that although the melody would still be clear, there would be much less harmony and less range of textures to the sound.

A trio usually either leaves out the 2nd violin or the viola, so obviously the harmony still won't be as full as a quartet, but the difference is much less noticeable. If you are strapped for cash I would go for a trio, but otherwise I don't think a quartet would be overwhelming with 60 guests unless your room is very small.

Thanks. I think we might just go for the quartet.

Nero have quoted £450 for 3 hours which doesn't seem too bad as we're thinking of paying them a little extra to break for an hour after the ceremony (photos will be outside and we can't see the point in moving them/setting them up just for an hour) and then they can play through the dinner.

We've booked Nero for the ceremony and an hour afterwards and we've gone with the trio as it was a little bit cheaper x

We've booked Nero too, they have been great to deal with so far, but still 42 days till the wedding so I can't tell you any more than that. My OH booked them so I can't even tell you why he chose them. We've got them for 4 hours so will play throughout the wedding breakfast too.