Our responsibility
We just came back from the Poconos, where the Japanese pianist and her painter fiancee had their wedding. Her violinist friend hosted the wedding at his backyard and the reception at his house and the Treasurer basically ran the show. I was tapped to play the piano (actually electric keyboard) at the ceremony so I had to learn “here comes the bride” in 3 days. The music itself is not hard - it’s sightreadable - but I had to learn it well enough that I could also devote attention to the progression of the bridal party down the aisle, so I can time the song to end naturally when everyone is in place, by changing the tempo or adding or subtracting the coda. I ended up needing to add a coda because the party walked much more slowly than during the rehearsals. And, sure enough, when I realized how behind they were, I messed up one chord.
We arrived early to help set up (me being part of the ceremony meant we had to arrive early), but the Treasurer had also tasked us to bring in folding chairs and tables too. So while I rehearsed, she could help set up.
The Japanese pianist also made an arrangement of Schubert’s Ave Maria, with the Latin prayer substituted in, and added two violin parts to it so the violinist and his other violinist friend from Amore opera could play along with the Japanese Mezzo and I as exit music to the ceremony. The arrangement looked complicated and we’d only gotten together on the day, so I feared not having enough time to put it together, but turns out it was easy; I think the fact the violinists are already used to accompanying operas really helped.
The hardest part was actually deciding when to take our spot. The painter made us rehearse the ceremony 4 times. There were some grumblings about that, but I felt the rehearsals were justified - it wasn’t just the music that needed tightening: the walk down the aisle, the exchange of vows, and even the DJ playing music during the receiving line were also rather loose. The mezzo and the violinist friend were both in the wedding party, I was in the audience, and the other violinist was hiding inside the house (we set up shop out on the deck because that was only spot where the extension cord could reach, but it wasn’t shaded, so the violinist had to protect the violins). So at the end of the ceremony, we had to know when to make our way to the deck. Ideally, we should start playing when the officiant announce the new couple as husband and wife, so we needed to know when to start making our way to the deck.
We were late, but that was good because it gave time for people to cheer the new couple.
- S
Bed and Breakfast
It takes 2 hours to get to the Poconos from Long Island, that is without traffic, so we stayed at a bed and breakfast the night before and the night after the wedding, to make it easier on ourselves.
This was the first time I stayed at a bed and breakfast, so I didn’t know what to expect, but we enjoyed the stay. The owner was quite chatty once we started to talk, and had several funny stories to tell. They also have three very well-behaved dogs, one of them likes to lick sweat off me, one likes to get scritches, and the third one tries both but didn’t get what the big deal was.
They also serve a big breakfast. La Professeure says it’s better than brunches at some of the high-end restaurants here. Each morning there was a baked good (it was strudels or scones), an appetizer (it was baked apple and watermelon salad), and a main course, which included some egg, some meat, and some fried bits. We couldn’t finish breakfast either day. And we didn’t eat lunch.
The room was quaint; it was more like a guest room than a hotel room. But it was well-appointed and well kept-up. We also have our own bathroom - it was lacking lighting though, so I was showering almost in the dark.
Other than that, I enjoyed the stay; La Professeure liked it so much that she wants to stay there again when we come to the Poconos the next time.
- D
The Guests
The Treasurer had asked the guests at the wedding to bring “a dish that reflects your culture” for the reception. The result was that there was way too much food.
But I didn’t get much time to eat. I was roped into accompanying a set of Irish fiddle tunes first, with the violinist playing fiddle and the Taiwanese pianist playing her bodhran, and then somehow got a bodhran handed to me, and then I was playing along to a song I had never heard. I had no idea what I was doing. But everyone else had fun.
Many of the Japanese pianists friends are musicians, so there was a lot of music making. I wonder if it made the painter’s family not comfortable, because they were rather quiet, so I didn’t get the chance to get to know them. I did get to catch up with some friends that travelled there for the wedding, so that was nice.
A flash storm came through the area shortly after the ceremony ended, so we were lucky to escape being rained on. I did have to run around and rescue the electric keyboard, which was still sitting on the deck, and to bring in the folding furniture so they don’t get too wet. And then we found the sunroom has a leak, so that made quite a mess.
The food was great, though, the painter’s family brought a whole cooler of crab bake with this seasoning that is flavourful but not aggressive, just perfectly balanced. It was unfortunate that by the time I got to it I was already stuffed.
In summary, it was a productive day.
- N
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