7-7-07
Everyone in the wedding industry knew what a big day this one would be. It was no exception for me – my busiest wedding day ever!
It actually started the night before with a Friday evening wedding in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A lovely setting at the Lakeside Rose Garden, and although it was REALLY hot, it was a beautiful (and thankfully, short) ceremony.
I loaded up the harp and headed up to Grand Rapids, Michigan. My Saturday started with an early wedding, so I spent the night up there to make sure I wouldn’t hit any travel snags on the way.
My first wedding of this historic day was at 9:00 am (!!!) at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. Conservatory and greenhouse weddings have the benefit of outdoor beauty, combined with the assurances of indoor weather! Although the high humidity can cause some tuning problems, I love playing in greenhouses. They also have concrete sidewalks – a much more stable place to put a harp than on grass outside.
Once that wedding was over, it was back in the car for a quick stop at Starbucks to meet with a local bride, and then down to Grandville, MI for my second wedding at 1:00 pm. It was a beautiful (and indoor!) Catholic wedding, presided over by the uncle of the bride. They chose mostly traditional music, and I played with the pianist for the bride’s entrance to Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”
Back in the car and down to Niles, MI, for wedding #3. This one was outside in the heat, but I was well-shaded under large trees. This one was the officiant’s first wedding – he was a friend of the couple. It went off without a single problem!
It was exhausting, but well worth it to be a part of so many beautiful weddings and a special day in history. I was lucky to have such a wonderful group of people to work with last weekend. 7-7-07 How could it be anything but lucky!
