This first Saturday in May was just a beautiful day. A perfect day for a Wedding at Wildcat Run Country Club in Estero. It is my first time playing at this venue. Our couple, Andrea and Nick have chosen a lovely spot behind the clubhouse in front of the lake. How gorgeous!
Today I am joined by my colleagues Susan Sikuta on violin and Diane Coffman on cello to form the Seaside Strings Trio. Today I am back performing on viola. We found our place in the shade where we also had good visibility for the processional. We are here just for the Ceremony which will be officiated by Reverend Richard Rodgers of Unity Church in Naples. We are very familiar with each other as we have performed at his church many times on Christmas Eve.
When we arrived, Nick and his Groomsmen were putting the finishing touches to the site. They added flowers to the arbor and palm fronds at the end chairs of each row. A small table was brought in for the wine box ceremony. Nick was definitely in charge!
Since this was a country club venue, we had planned to start the prelude music twenty minutes prior to the start of the ceremony. As we began to play, the guests did begin to arrive. However, instead of enjoying this beautiful day outside, everyone went inside the clubhouse. We continued to play the mix of music that Andrea and I had worked out. Among the classical pieces we played were Mouret’s Rondeau, Handel’s Entrance of the Queen of Sheba, Haydn’s Divertimento and movements from Handel’s Water Music Suite. The pops songs that the couple chose to mix in were Beyond the Sea, Just Like Heaven, I Say a Little Prayer and What a Wonderful World.
About fifteen minutes after the ceremony was supposed to start, the guests began to come out and continue to mingle. I have to admit I was beginning to worry we were going to have to go into overtime. Finally, all were seated and Rev. Rodgers led the men out to take their places and we began the Pachelbel Canon. After a couple of nods to the Groomsman that it was time, the Mothers were seated. The Bridesmaids in their beautiful deep purple dresses followed. The lovely yellow bouquets looked beautiful with their dresses. Once the 5 Bridesmaids were in place, we changed the music to Can’t Help Falling in Love as Andrea emerged from the clubhouse.
After the “I do’s”, the small table was brought forward. On it was placed a box. Into this, Andrea and Nick placed love letters they had written to each other and a bottle of wine. The idea is they open this at a future date and read the letters and enjoy the wine together. As we played the Handel Air, they were to light the wax and seal the box . The breeze caused a bit of a problem with this. The guests were patient and we repeated the piece as this was accomplished.
After the introduction of the couple, we began to play Signed, Sealed Delivered, I’m Yours as the Recessional. We quickly followed this with All You Need is Love which was Nick’s request. Even with the late start, the hour worked perfectly we only went 5 minutes over. It was a lovely ceremony and Nick and Andrea looked so happy and excited! Best wishes to you both!
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