Each week radio DJ Laura Pittson opens up her wedding planning diary...
Hi everyone
It's now 11 weeks to go and it’s showtime! Well, that’s not strictly true, it’s actually Order of Service time, but putting the service together for our wedding seems to be evolving into a fullblown show. I know I said I'd fill you in on flowers for the reception this week, but that's been on the back-burner for a few days while I got very excited about the music!
Believe it or not, I thought about the wedding service very early on. This was partly due to the advice given by the Vicar Revd Gay Ellis, who is taking our marriage, who urged us to get on with making some decisions. She warned us that many couples leave it all to the last minute, haven’t had time to do their research, and are then disappointed that their wedding service is not individual.
There is one thing that I have known about my wedding service since before I even met my future husband. The person playing the music, directing the music, and hopefully conducting some of the music, would be my long-time friend and confidante Richard Hetherington. Richard and I met in the church choir when we were young and have had a love of music, and fun ever since.
Over the years we’ve worked together, and now I simply watch Richard’s career with a mixture of admiration and pride. Richard is currently at the Royal Opera House in the Music Department, and has an incredibly enviable job. Not one for forgetting his old muckers, Richard was keen to grab my marriage ceremony by the horns, and put his stamp of brilliance on it.
On our first meeting he suggested something that I would never have dreamt of. Knowing that I mixed in theatrical and artistic circles, Richard thought a wonderful idea would be to have a handpicked choir made up of my friends. Of course I loved the idea, even though I hesitated because I dreaded the logistics of getting all my musical friends, who all live all over the place to a central place to rehearse just for my wedding, when they have such busy lives themselves.
But then what I hadn’t anticipated was the lure of rehearsals at the Royal Opera House, with a genius such as Richard. Suddenly we had a resounding yes from all our contenders. Step forward, Mesdames Alexandra Smith, Ruth Salsbury, Rebecca Cullen Moreno and Lisa Todd, and messieurs, Tom Chamberlayne Macdonald, Francis Salvesen, Graham Rogers and Martin Rumble (I've squeezed as many of them as we could fit into the photo above!).
On Wednesday we had our first rehearsal, and it was a delight to hear. The hymns chosen are traditional; Praise My Soul, All things Bright and Beautiful, Jerusalem and How Great Thou Art. For the solo, we’re still deliberating, but Anne Marie Hetherington (Richard’s sister – yes, the talent runs in the family) is in discussions with us about our choices. At the moment it’s between, I Know that My Redeemer Liveth (from the Messiah), and Panis Angelicus.
As the icing on the cake the “super choir” as I’ve named them, are going to sing Count Your Blessings which is a very moving song by Reginald Morgan and Edith Temple, it’s guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes, especially if all my dear friends are at the front of the church singing it, so I will have to invest in waterproof mascara!
The entrance will be The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, and the Recessional is the Wedding March by Mendelssohn. I’m working on a couple of extra little frills for the children to sing, and I’ll keep you posted on that when I’ve had a chance to rehearse it.
My head is buzzing with music at the moment, but I’ve still had time to order the pageboys kilts, which I’ll tell you all about next week. The good news is, I’m still managing to stay sane...So far!
Don't forget you can check out my blog here, or if you're in Hertfordshire, you'll hear me weekday mornings on my Herts Mercury 96.6 Breakfast Show.
