Oh my goodness I just played my first beach wedding with my pedal harp! I felt the exact same way, I was so worried sand would get in the pedal workings.

The woman who organized the wedding was so understanding and sweet. She got me a piece of plywood which we then put a blanket on. My harp has a lyon and healy case, and I also have a harp dolly. Between the case and dolly rolling it onto the beach wasn’t too difficult. Then we placed the harp on the plywood. It was large enough that my music stand, chair, harp, and amplifier all fit onto the wood. It worked perfectly and my harp stayed clean and I didn’t even pop a string. I thought with the salt, humidity, and sand at least one or two strings would pop. It went really well and I think us harpists need to relax a little. 😛

If I did beach weddings regularly I’d definitely consider a carbon fiber harp (Heartland Harps) so I wouldn’t have to worry at all, but for now if the weather is fine a pedal harp on the beach would be lovely.

— Natalie