OK - let me lie down on the couch, doctor. There is one thing about my wedding that I can't stand, and it is really starting to bother me. Really. What am I talking about, you ask? The fact that my mother won't stop worrying about whether or not we need to provide the hairdresser with bobby pins? While that is a rather pressing issue, I am not referring to hairdresser woes.
I am referring to "the gap." Not the store, though I have been disappointed with them for a while, but the fact that there is a gap between the ceremony and the reception.
I don't know what to do - I know that many people have posted their dissatisfaction on Knot message boards, but it just can't be helped. Even though my fiance and I talked to our deacon about the date 14 months before the wedding the time we wanted (4:30) wasn't available. We had our choice between 2:00 and 7:00. I blame the Catholicism. If there weren't so many of us getting married at churches, there wouldn't be this cafeteria-style ceremony line up at the church. Yargh.
We realized that a reception starting at 8:00 pm wouldn't be super friendly to our older guests, so we decided to have the wedding at 2:00 pm. We also realized that a reception that started at 3:00 or 3:30 would not be any fun - who wants to dance and drink (or for that matter, eat dinner) and leave in the daylight? So, we have "a gap," from whenever the 2:00 ceremony ends (it's a Catholic non-mass, so it's vague - somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour) until the 6:00 reception.
My sister also had a gap at her wedding. My parents reserved a meeting room at the hotel and had sodas, beers, and snacks there after the ceremony and until the reception. I don't know if that's in the plans for this wedding, but it's very distressing. Everyone keeps asking me what they're supposed to do between the wedding and the reception. I need to think up a good answer. Maybe there's a 3:30 movie across the street from the hotel. A quirky comedy would be perfect, people would be out by 5:15.
Showing posts with label Ceremony Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ceremony Music. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Music Lady Meeting
Today I had a meeting with the music woman at the church. Originally, I was going to go to the meeting by myself, but since my mom and I were going to go to the reception site afterwards, she decided to come with me, but not to worry, she didn't have an opinion. I felt bad that I had scheduled the meeting with her, because she looked really tired. She explained that she had been working all week to get ready for Easter Week next week.
The first thing she asked was if I had any ideas for the music. I didn't know I was going to have to do any real preparation for the meeting. I had even asked her if we (my fiance and I) needed to do anything to prepare for the meeting, but she told us that we just needed to bring our selections for the readings. I hadn't thought about anything because I thought that I would be given Option A or Option B, or maybe Option C. Luckily she did have some ideas, and ran through some options with us. All in all, it only took 45 minutes.
For a while, we apparently didn't have any "meat" in the musical composition of the ceremony. We had worked through the psalm we had picked, then the processional and recessional. I picked out all instrumental pieces, so the music lady was somewhat disappointed that I didn't have anything else for the cantor to sing. Then when we picked out the song for the mothers to walk in on, we told her that we probably didn't want to have words, because there are several emotional people in the wedding party that might break down in tears if they heard a moving song while they were walking down the aisle.
Luckily, she recommended that we have the cantors sing during the prelude, and picked a song that would be good as a duet. My mom loved the idea, thank goodness she was there. She also really wanted the the cantors to sing because she thinks that everyone will be talking really loudly before the ceremony starts, which she realllllly hates.
The first thing she asked was if I had any ideas for the music. I didn't know I was going to have to do any real preparation for the meeting. I had even asked her if we (my fiance and I) needed to do anything to prepare for the meeting, but she told us that we just needed to bring our selections for the readings. I hadn't thought about anything because I thought that I would be given Option A or Option B, or maybe Option C. Luckily she did have some ideas, and ran through some options with us. All in all, it only took 45 minutes.
For a while, we apparently didn't have any "meat" in the musical composition of the ceremony. We had worked through the psalm we had picked, then the processional and recessional. I picked out all instrumental pieces, so the music lady was somewhat disappointed that I didn't have anything else for the cantor to sing. Then when we picked out the song for the mothers to walk in on, we told her that we probably didn't want to have words, because there are several emotional people in the wedding party that might break down in tears if they heard a moving song while they were walking down the aisle.
Luckily, she recommended that we have the cantors sing during the prelude, and picked a song that would be good as a duet. My mom loved the idea, thank goodness she was there. She also really wanted the the cantors to sing because she thinks that everyone will be talking really loudly before the ceremony starts, which she realllllly hates.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Inflexible Church Lady?
I did get a response from the church lady who is in charge of the ceremony music. Unfortunately, it does not look good. I’ve been delaying my response.
She wrote to me to say that I didn’t need to contact her until January to schedule a meeting in mid-February. She also gave her appointment schedule, which is two days in the middle of the week from 3-5 in the afternoon. This really doesn’t work for us, since we live in Austin, the church is in Houston, and my fiancé can’t take off multiple days in a row from work, and both of us would strangle each other if we had to drive to Houston and back in one day. I’m not trying to be self-centered; I really understand that those times usually work for people.
The other part of her email which worries me is that the meeting lasts for 45 minutes to an hour. We sit with her and listen to the different music selections. My fiancé and I really do not have the longest attention spans, and I think it would just be painful. I think my plan is to email the church lady to see if she could send us a list of the selections, and we could listen to them on iTunes or something, and then get back to her with our choices.
I mean, that would be simpler. Something tells me that my plan might not fly….
She wrote to me to say that I didn’t need to contact her until January to schedule a meeting in mid-February. She also gave her appointment schedule, which is two days in the middle of the week from 3-5 in the afternoon. This really doesn’t work for us, since we live in Austin, the church is in Houston, and my fiancé can’t take off multiple days in a row from work, and both of us would strangle each other if we had to drive to Houston and back in one day. I’m not trying to be self-centered; I really understand that those times usually work for people.
The other part of her email which worries me is that the meeting lasts for 45 minutes to an hour. We sit with her and listen to the different music selections. My fiancé and I really do not have the longest attention spans, and I think it would just be painful. I think my plan is to email the church lady to see if she could send us a list of the selections, and we could listen to them on iTunes or something, and then get back to her with our choices.
I mean, that would be simpler. Something tells me that my plan might not fly….
Monday, December 17, 2007
Church Lady Woes
Since we are having a Catholic wedding, I have expected to have the occasional "run in" with the stereotypical "church lady." Now that we've selected the readings and vows, it's time to coordinate with the music minister to arrange for the church accompanist. Last week, I dutifully emailed the contact person, but I got an out-of-office message dated the day before.
That's no big deal, I mean, occasionally I would extend my out-of-office at work while I was still catching up the day I got back, just to let people know that I might be slow responding. It's been over a week, and she still hasn't responded. Hmmm.
I asked my mom if she was still out of town (she knows some other people at church), but she said that the music lady was in, but to be careful when I emailed her again, because she was "very sensitive" about that sort of thing. I'll wait patiently for a response, but if I don't get one, it sounds like I'll need to gather the gold, frankincense, and myrrh offerings...
That's no big deal, I mean, occasionally I would extend my out-of-office at work while I was still catching up the day I got back, just to let people know that I might be slow responding. It's been over a week, and she still hasn't responded. Hmmm.
I asked my mom if she was still out of town (she knows some other people at church), but she said that the music lady was in, but to be careful when I emailed her again, because she was "very sensitive" about that sort of thing. I'll wait patiently for a response, but if I don't get one, it sounds like I'll need to gather the gold, frankincense, and myrrh offerings...
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