A few of my favourite things…
For me, falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, never ending rain, and crisp air not only marks the beginning of winter, but the (near) end of wedding season. Summer 2014 marked another successful, romantic season that I am so grateful to be a part of. It is such an honour to be an integral part of one of the most important days of so many people’s lives. Reflecting on this past season, I wanted to share with you a few of my favourite things:
Elisa’s favourite wedding things 2014:
1. Open back dresses. Oh. My. Goodness! I saw some of the most beautiful wedding dresses I have ever seen this year. This is my favourite wedding dress I have ever seen to date. And I have seen a lot!
2. Heartfelt speeches/personalized vows. This summer was the first time I ever cried during a ceremony of a client whom I had never met before. After reading their own (beautiful) vows to each other, the both husband and wife read vows to the bride’s daughters, about how they understood it was a hard transition for the girls and how excited they were to build a new family together. It’s these deeply intimate, honest and personal moments that make a wedding ceremony so special.
3. Venues with a view. The coolest wedding I’ve been a part of was at the Vancouver Aquarium – but there are a lot of great spots around town. Capilano Suspension Bridge, Cleveland Dam Field at Capilano Regional Park, Hycroft Manor, Brock House, and Brix Restaurant are a few of my favourites.
4. Quirky, personalized wedding invites (this one came from my cousin – it’s so exciting for me to be invited to a wedding as a guest!)
5. And on that note…personalized music! Nothing makes a moment more special than having the perfect music to set the mood. It makes such a difference when couples request songs that are special to them – whether it’s the song he used to propose, the song they first kissed to, or the favourite song of a loved one who can’t be there to celebrate. I think the quirkiest request I had this year was the Indiana Jones Theme Song for the recessional. Some top requests this year were:
One Thousand Years (Christina Perri)
All of Me (John Legend)
Marry You (Bruno Mars)
Fly Me to the Moon (Frank Sinatra)
At Last (Etta James)
6. Getting to stay for the party. Don’t get me wrong – I love playing for wedding ceremonies – but as a musician it’s so much fun to get to stay and play for the cocktail hour/reception! My amplifier to gives me that needed boost to be able to be heard over chatter, and it’s great to get to stay and play more upbeat contemporary music people are often surprised to hear coming from the harp. Sometimes I even get to bring my friends along to make music with me! Check out my group Ladybird to see what I mean.