Hi, I bought my wife a cello! She was a trained piano and clarinet player who hasn't played for years. She has always wanted a cello so I surprised her with one for Christmas. The cello came in a case, the strings are not set up and the bridge is in a side pocket. My question is how do you set this up? Should I be going to a music shop to get someone to do it, or can she put the bridge where she thinks it needs to go and tune it until the strings are in tune?
Thanks very much

Well, I've put a bridge back on several times myself, but in these cases there were marks where the feet of the bridge had been, and I'm guessing there will not be marks on a cello that has never held a bridge.

The main problem with a fallen bridge is that it can cause the sound post to fall as well, which is not a good thing at all.

The bridge is supposed to stand between the "notches" on the F-holes. Just look through the F-holes to make sure the soundpost is in place before stringing. The back side (the side towards the endpin) of the bridge should be at 90 degrees to the belly when strung, you'll probably have to adjust it while gradually tuning to pitch. Expect to tune often at first before the cello and the strings "set", for a few days the pitch will keep dropping.

Anyway, although your wife can do it herself without great difficulty (following the instructions above), you're better off taking the cello to a trained professional, and this is what I advise you to do.

If you don't have experience... I would go to a music shop.