Valparaiso Wedding Harpist | Aberdeen Manor Gardens

I always love coming back to Aberdeen Manor!  When Jeff and I got married in 2004, we had our reception there.  Denna, Jim & their staff are amazing to work with, and always communicate well with vendors on your wedding day.  It makes for a seamless and stress-free event for everyone involved!

The bride's only request was for "Canon in D" for her processional, and then traditional & classical music for the rest of the ceremony.  It was a Jewish ceremony, and the florist turned the pergola in the garden into a beautiful chuppah!

Spring Weddings

I've been fortunate so far this summer - nearly all of my weddings have been outdoor, and not a single rain-out! It's been a great start to the "season". A few pictures:

The beautiful flowers at my wedding on June 15th were done by the Flower Cart in Chesterton, Indiana. Although it was definitely on the warm side, Aberdeen Manor has a nice spot in the shade for the harp. The monogram made out of rose petals in the aisle was a theme that the couple carried throughout their wedding, from the programs that served as fans to the personalized hand towels in the restrooms!

A new wedding location for me: the Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. Another hot day! I also learned that I shouldn't wear high heels when playing on a slatted wood surface - it makes pedaling even more difficult! It was hard to keep the harp in tune due to the high temperatures, but we were able to stay inside until just before the wedding began. Makes for a short prelude!

The two weddings for which I played on June 9th were at a couple of my favorite locations - South Bend's Center for History Gardens and Valparaiso's Aberdeen Manor. The couple that got married at Aberdeen are also musicians, and picked some great pieces! They started with a prelude of all classical music, and then switched to popular and jazz for the processionals and ceremony. The recessional was a quartet singing "All You Need is Love", which I followed up with "Grow Old Along with Me."

I returned to Foster Park's Bridal Glen on June 2nd. The rain held off just long enough for the beautiful ceremony! That night, I got to play my Celtic harp for a birthday party in Valparaiso. It was a lot of time on the road! Fortunately, my wonderful husband and "harp roadie" was able to come along and keep me company - and of course, move the harps!

Memorial Day weekend was another busy one - four weddings! I played at Swan Lake in Plymouth, Indiana for the first time, and had the pleasure of working with a wonderful violinist. It was a bit drizzly, but the gazebo there provided plenty of shelter to keep the harp and violin dry. That night was a reception at Strongbow Inn where I got what I think was a compliment - I had just started, and a guest walked by and said "Oh, you're actually playing!" Perhaps I sound like a CD? I guess that's pretty good!

On the following Sunday, I had a ceremony and then a reception - both in Valparaiso. It was a busy weekend, but extremely enjoyable. Good thing I had my trusty roadie!

A Three-Wedding Weekend

What a weekend! Three wedding ceremonies & several students crammed into just a couple of days. What can I say - I love to stay busy!

On Friday, I played for a wedding in a small country church. The late mother of the groom was a harpist, so the bride's family hired me in her memory. It was a beautiful ceremony officiated by the father of the bride. The music included:

First Arabesque (Debussy)
Canon in D (Pachelbel)
Bridal Chorus (Wagner)
All I Ask of You (Webber)
Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke)

After teaching a lesson after the ceremony and getting back to South Bend around 11pm, I was back on the road to Northwest Indiana early Saturday morning. My first wedding of the day just booked about a week ago - so it is never too late to check and see if I have your date available! The weather was gorgeous for an outdoor morning wedding. It took place at the hall where I had my wedding reception, so it was fun to go back and see everyone there that had to deal with me when I was a bride! The music for this ceremony was also very traditional: Bridal Chorus & Trumpet Voluntary.

Between my two Saturday weddings, I had the pleasure of teaching a harp lesson. I spent the rest of the afternoon in Valparaiso, leerily watching the sky fill with grey clouds. Of course, my evening wedding was outside!

I set up at Coffee Creek with my waterproof harp cover within arm's reach. Fortunately, the weather held for the ceremony! The amphitheatre is a stunning location for a ceremony with the geyser-like fountain in the background, but it can be very windy - one of those places where I'm afraid to ever take my hands off the harp! It also requires that I use amplification because the wind carries the sound away from your guests. The colors were perfect for a Fall day - dark brown, orange, and yellow. The music the couple selected:

All I Ask of You (Webber)
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)
Bridal Chorus (Wagner)
Wedding March (Mendelssohn)

Throughout the ceremony, I played light glissandos that fit in perfectly with the outdoor setting - it sounds like musical wind!