Mostly Music

Being overtired (I hate you, 6:30am mornings) and with nothing good on TV I seem to turn to wedding planning. So far I'm really pleased with how everything is coming together. Actually, I'm wary about how everything is coming together—am I just deceiving myself? No doubt mum will bring me a reality check when I need one.

So dress and shoes are pretty much out of the way, and my veil is sitting at home nicely wrapped and just needs some tweaking to update to 2010. Mum and I have ideas for decorating for the reception and she is already buy some Very Funky Plates and we just need to sit down and discuss our menu. I have my guest list back from both families and am just mulling back and forth over which friends to invite.

So all that said, this evenings project turned out to be music. Because the wedding will be a mass, there are a lot of opportunities for music. I need to pick a mass setting and make sure whoever does the music can play the setting. I want to have good musicians who can hold their own because I've been to too many regular masses with a congregation that barely sings and music that sounds half dead—NOT AT MY WEDDING. While I can't bank on people singing (although I know Madeleine, Hannah, & I will sing loud enough to compensate, haha) I at least want good music to fill up any empty space. I also want to put good thought into the hymns/songs used at the wedding. While I realize that it is near impossible to find songs about love and commitment that do not sound corny or mushy, if I am going to embarrass myself by having those things played at my wedding they are going to be chosen for the right reasons!

I thought about having Ave Maria somewhere in there. Not sure where—I read somewhere once that it could be sung during the blessing of the rings(?). I *may* also be able to have it as a recessional, but I'm not sure. One needs to be careful where they put Mary in the mass >;)

For the processional I am really, REALLY, hoping to be able to have The Wedding Song (Noel Peter Stookey). Not only is it beautiful, but Dad was the one who found it for me when I was home last. I think it's one of his little ways of being involved, and I just happened to really like the song. And I just picture it being set to some amazing guitar and piano, with the amazing vocalist I'm hoping to have and I melt a little. All that said I'm really hoping Fr Marek doesn't throw a fit like some priests (*cough*stmichael'scathedral*cough*) about me walking down the aisle with my dad (or parents) and meeting David at the front of the church. According to St Michael's this is a superstitious tradition and the bridge & groom are expected to process down the aisle together. I don't think it will be a problem, because i've been to Catholic weddings in Victoria that did it the normal way, and I really don't want David to see me until I'm coming down the aisle so that he will be even more blown away. I think it is much more romantic than seeing me in the narthex before the ceremony.

As for the reception, I've considered various ways of getting music at the park. The main issue is that it is a park, so there is no electricity. My brother is convinced that we can ask the caretaker if we can run an extension cord from the caretaker's cottage down to the picnic area, and I am convinced that my brother is nuts and this won't work. Instead I am really hoping that I can get certain Port Albernians who play classical guitar to provide background music. We are not planning to have a dance, but I have one special song that I would like to do a first dance to. And I don't see why I can't! So hopefully the musicians will know it, and if not I will have it provided via laptop or i-Tunes or something. And the song shall remain nameless but ya'll can guess what it is when you hear it at the wedding.

In non-music related news, it looks like our wedding is going to be dry. We're thinking about obtaining a liquor license so that we can have sparkling wine for toasts, but we're not sure. I don't mind a dry wedding—I've been to too many weddings that just turn into a bunch of people getting roaringly drunk and that is *not* what I want. I also don't want people coming just to take advantage of an excuse to get roaringly drunk. That said, I really don't care if my friends want to bring their own liquor and drink it, of course! It's more the "I'm only here for the alcohol" eventuality that I want to avoid. Besides, it's an afternoon reception!