Wedding-Nakya&Michael (Bekah's Post)
Well, this Friday we had the honor and privilege of playing at Nakya and Michael's wedding. The venue was beautifully decorated and the bride was absolutely gorgeous. Polyphony enjoyed playing for a good friend, and because wedding gigs are always the best! :)
I've known Nakya for a little while, and was genuinely pleased to play their wedding praelude and processional. Weddings are sometimes tricky because just about everything has been known to happen. The trick to making the music run seamlessly throughout is to just go with the flow. Don't overstress it, just make sure everyone knows their clue and expect the unexpected. I think in my years of playing, that is the best advice I could give: To expect the unexpected. Line-ups change, people go faster (or slower), and the distance down the aisle can be much shorter or longer than anticipated. That is what happened, the processional took much longer than we expected. But because we knew to expect the unexpected, we made sure to think ahead about improvising and other things. In order to be a competent and great musician, you have to be quick on your feet *and hands and fingers and mouth (in some cases)* lol.
I say this because musicians are often the last to know everything. We are the last to know if things are running late (or ahead). We are the last to know where the venue is. This is a certifiable fact. But hey, it's a hazard of the job. But you just do it cause you love it, anyway. In the next post we'll post tips about planning for the music in your wedding. NO worries, it will be simple, quick to the point, and actually helpful.
Sincerely,
Bekah
P.S. Congratulations to the Bride and Groom.
