The Big Day

       When you're a six year old flower girl or ring bearer at a wedding, your screw ups are nothing short of adorable. When you're a sixteen year old violist playing in a string quartet as the bride walks down the isle, your screw ups have the potential to ruin an entire wedding.

       This weekend I played in a wedding at a very hilly golf course. The ceremony took place at the bottom of a hill by the edge of a lake. Beyond the lake were rolling hills covered in trees just beginning to change for fall, and all signs of anything golf related were hidden at the top of the hill or behind those trees. The scene was picturesque. 

       I've always loved weddings, and the thought of playing at one had me thrilled. On the other hand, the thought of screwing up someone's wedding had my stomach in knots. Sure, I had practiced over ten hours over the course of the past two weeks to conquer pieces with difficulty levels similar to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, but the thought still haunted me. What if I play out of tune? What if I loose my place? What if I start playing at the wrong time? What if I loose my music? What if I go to put my viola on my shoulder and instead it flies over my back and lands in the lake? Believe it or not that was a serious concern.

       A wedding, as I have always pictured them, is a day of complete perfection. Weddings are supposed to be one of the happiest times in a person's life. They're supposed to be like a fairytale, beautiful and romantic. When I arrived the day of the wedding, that's how everything seemed to be. The scenery was gorgeous, as was the bride, and the everyone there was beaming.

       At that point, I didn't know whether I should be happy that I would get to be a part of such a special day, or terrified that I might ruin it. At the rehearsal, everyone was pleased with our performance, but there was still room for error. With an outdoor wedding, there were a million what ifs to be accounted for. What if my music blows away? What if a bug flies in my ear and I scream? What if it's so cold my fingers can't do vibrato?

       In the end, I had nothing to worry about. The performance went beautifully, the couple was happily married, and I got to play a small part in a stranger's perfect day.

Photos found here and here.