Wedding Music

I have always loved singing/playing for weddings.
I love weddings in general.

For the past several years I have learned a lot more instrumental pieces for weddings, and I have loved being able to provide both piano and vocals.
I love love love it.

Coming up soon is another wedding for which I get to provide the music.
I am beyond excited and a little nervous.
This time was a little more complicated.
I only have a few weeks to prepare, obviously my health issues present some challenges, and we have our own wedding coming up in just over a month (eeeee!!).
So this time I had to give a few boundaries.
There are certain tunes that I have performed before that I am comfortable with, there is one specific Parts of the Mass type that I have done many times before, and there are several songs that I do not want to be pressured to learn in such a small amount of time.
If I go in there overly nervous because I could not confidently perform a new tune, I could be facing more than just anxiety - I could suffer throat swelling, which could impact everything.

Lucky for me, my current wedding repertoire is fairly extensive, and there are only a few very specific songs that I don't yet know that I could not confidently learn in time.

So the last few days have been about remembering how to play these gorgeous tunes - like Largo, Trumpet Voluntary, Wedding Processional, Walk Hand in Hand (instrumental or with vocals), Air on a G String, Jupiter, Wherever You Go, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
I think the most important parts I need to remember are the exact fingerings.
I have to admit that sometimes I don't play the entire chord: sometimes I only use two fingers instead of three to make the transitions easier. Or if there are additionally difficult movements in between the main parts of a chord, I may modify those. I need to remember how I can play it the best - the most smoothly.
It has been a simple refresher, and I am thrilled to be playing these again.

I remember being a young soloist at weddings, watching the accompanist play these exact tunes while people were being seated at weddings, and thinking that I could never pull off that kind of piano playing. I thought I would always just be a soloist.
But then, one day, I bought wedding books with piano arrangements and simply began practicing.
Now I can manage playing and singing for weddings (and funerals, and private functions) and I LOVE IT!

I love My Musical Life!