As Laura got out of the car, it was time for me and James to take our seats on the front row: going into the barn from the sunlight was like heading into the night: the 16th century renovated barn had no natural light and was lit with lamps and candles..it looked beautiful. The music had stopped, the whole place was silent as my heels clicked on the natural stone floor: walking through the rows, quiet with anticipation I arrived at the front row and took my place next to Clive's mother. I smiled. She looked back at me, face tight, lips pursed like a dog's bottom. 'It's not the same without an organ playing.' Aah. There's the rub. We are not in church.
Suddenly the air is filled with the sound of Pachelbel's Canon, one of Laura's favourite pieces of classical music, and the bridesmaids precede her down the isle. As the bride walks in, I look at Mec's face as he turns to look, and as expected, his face lights up when he sees her. She climbs the couple of steps to join him on the stage, on which Laura has earlier sprinkled cream rose petals.
I take in every minute of the short service, led by a sensible, kind lady registrar, the two readings and the vows taken by the couple: while the register is signed
we hear Heartbeat by Jose Gonzalez....my mother-in-law's mouth pursesd a little tighter. As the marriage certificate is presented, I check my 
watch, and yes, the whole service has taken only 15 minutes. I can't believe my daughter is married, it is over so quickly: no prayers, hymns or address....but married she is, and the happy couple, still smiling, start back down the aisle as Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours' hits the air and the congregation (audience?) breaks out into applause. Clvie turns and follows the couple out with Mec's mum, and I join arms with Graeme, his stand-in dad who I have never met before! We introduce oursleves as we walk down the aisle together, and we reach the champagne table, complete with glasses of champagne with a raspberry floating in each one, just as Laura had requested.I take a glass of champagne and step out into the sunshine.
4 comments:
Ah,Pachelbel's Canon, excellent choice. Still remains strange how someone could have written one thing so beautiful but then not managed anything else of note. The tonality, the use of structure, the building theme. Yes, perfect for a wedding.
You mean he wrote other ring tones as well?
;-)
Actually my mother has it in the instructions for her funeral and she's made it clear this means on an organ, not a nokia held up to a microphone.
But Sally, we were all praying and celebrating and reminding God about Laura and Mec ALL DAY - I don't expect he'll forget to bless their marriage, really!
Pachelbel is wonderful...Even after Luci used it as her "ensemble" piece for A/S Music! so it MUST be good :-)
Is that a photo of you? I can't believe you were posting a while back about wanting to lose weight for the wedding. I had assumed from that that you were a large lady and you're really not.
Wedding sounds fabulous.
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