Music and Rituals

Over the summer, my family and I piled into my Dad's car and drove 8 hours to "The Park Chateau" in East Brunswick, New Jersey for my brother's wedding. My brother Joe and his, now wife, Shannon have been together since the 8th grade. THE 8TH GRADE. At the reception, they displayed one photo of them attending their 8th grade formal and the another from their engagement photoshoot (I know this doesn't exactly have to do with the actual music of the ceremony but I felt I had to include it) 

Now, the actual morning of the ceremony was full of music. A string quartet played as guests entered the chapel. There was some friendly chatter, but everyone knew to take their seats as the first few notes of "Canon in D" started to play. That's when Shannon walked down the isle. The quartet played once more as the wedding party made their exit. 

 

After the ceremony, we all made our way to the cocktail hour right outside the chapel and then to the reception hall. The DJ had a song list for the wedding party to make their entrances. The groomsmen and bridesmaids all did funny dances/little skits coming in. The best man, my oldest brother Dean, and the maid of honor, Shannon's best friend, and the parents all gave speeches. Something I really enjoyed about the reception is that both Shannon and Joe got to dance with their parents, Shannon with her Dad and Joe with our Mom.

My Mom and brother danced to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance." It was a really special moment to watch. Both of them were pretty emotional, and if you know me you could probably guess that I was in tears too. I think part of the reason it had such a strong impact was because the song came out a few years after Joe was born and is something we grew up listening to. While the song isn't specifically written for a mother-son dance, a female vocalist sings about her hopes for someone dear to her and encourages that person to keep going, and enjoy life when given the chance. The melody is conjunct and has simple rhythms which allows the lyrical content to really come through. 

After all the emotions, we got to celebrate on the dance floor as the DJ played a bunch of fan favorites. Everyone had a great time and at one point the bride and groom's friends had them in the air, crowd surfing style. It was awesome seeing how happy everyone was to have our family grow that much bigger!