Wedding bells have chimed over here in the Philippines this past week! Earlier in the week, our church hosted a wedding for a young couple. The bride, Miss Lani Lopez, was a Sunday school assistant teacher for Meagan and I. She was so sweet to ask us to play for her wedding (even though we had never played during a large wedding before!). Mervin and Lani Lopez are starting a church in another province, and so we will miss her in our class. But we know that God has a special plan for them both.
In many ways, the wedding was very similar to ones that we have been to in the States— but of course living in a different culture always means that there will still be unique cultural differences. That is what makes our many experiences over here so colorful, I guess.:-)As the wedding day approached, Meagan and I were excited yet also nervous. This particular wedding was one-of-a-kind as it included a lengthy list of songs, thirty to be exact.:-) But, it was a good experience for us both. Meagan and I both have a greater appreciation and admiration for the experienced musicians who make the job look so easy. We discovered that in special occasions such as these, flexibility is required!
It was during the bridal march, when our admiration for other musicians really grew. As we were finishing the song, we glanced up and frantically wondered, “Ahh! Where is the bride?” Then moments later we realized that she was only halfway down the aisle, yet our song was basically finished.
All of the musicians and singers with the bride and groom
We tried our best to improvise until she reached the front, but that was a little difficult to do in a synchronized fashion between all five of us (two flautists, one violinist, an organist, and pianist). Live and learn. We will just have be well prepared for the next time…..of course, that is if we are even asked to play again! ;-)
At first we were so embarrassed that such a thing happened, but later our family reassured us that they did not notice our extra musical “embellishments” since everyone was so distracted with the bride and other unpredicted events….such as a guest stopping the bride’s parents as they walked down the isle to show them the pictures she took. We thought that was pretty funny! I guess all weddings have moments like these.:-)
After the wedding ceremony was finished, everyone carpooled to a nearby resort for the wedding reception. Our family had a nice time visiting with other church members and also some really sweet people from other churches. The more time goes by, the more our family realizes that we will really miss our new and special friends that we have made over here in the Philippines.
3 comments:
What a wonderful experience! I'm sure the music sounded great. It's always interesting to learn about weddings in different cultures. Thanks for sharing and including the pictures (love the little flower girl!).
Love,
Megan
How neat is that? I love foreign weddings! Way to go girls for playing - that is an awesome testimony! Keep up the great work there, you all! You are doing a great job and making tons of great and memorable friendships!
Love ya all!!
~Camille =)
Just catching up. Everything sounds so neat. The story about the lady crossing the street is great.
And weddings, I've helped with a few of those. The closest I got to doing any music was being the page turner for a string and whistle trio.
Not a very important job, but no one told me that the musicians would be on the stage and they would all be wearing black. So I inocently showed up in a flowery skirt and a turquoise blouse. Thankfully I found out in time to race the 20 min. home and back.
Then, during the wedding, the music was set up differently then they originally intended so I had to get up from my seat and walk around the front of the musicians, and down a couple of stairs,(because we were on the edge of the stage.) On one such trip I stumbled and my mom and one other mom in the church were sure that I was going to fall down the last 3 stairs!
After the wedding a number of people told me, "I was trying to figure out what instrument you were going to play."
A humbling experience all around.
;)
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