Weddings are fun. Or are they?

[JLWicks341]

I fortunately have not had many train wrecks during the actual weddings, but anyone who has played a good number of weddings has lots of stories. When I counsel with the couple I usually start out "OK, so you want 'Send In The Clowns' for a processional, right?" (the lyrics obviously don't match the thought, but the shock value of the title is great to break the ice). With one bride-to-be, (the groom wasn't there), she got a really big, mischievous grin on her face and said "well, not for the wedding, but FOR THE REHEARSAL....." And so we did. We had all the correct music picked and ready for the wedding, but for the first run-thru on the rehearsal, it was SEND IN THE CLOWNS for the Processional. At that church, the pastor led the processional, followed by everyone else. I was watching the pastor's face in the mirror on the Allen digital (Bish) organ and he had this "I know that tune... what the heck is it?????" look on his face. And then when he was nearly to the Chancel a big grin spread across his face as he finally recognized it. I was filling in for that wedding as I was the organist/music director at another church of the same denomination, but I knew that pastor fairly well, having worked with him in the past, and we liked each other. He actually writes hymn texts and has two or three in the current hymnal for that denomination. Anyway, a good time was had by all, and I hope the groom appreciated the great sense of humor his bride has.

[gtc]

I launched into 'Here Comes the Bride'

Seems "Here Comes The Sun" would have been more appropriate. :-)

[Origano]

I seem to recall a saying maybe in the Bible. Forgive and Forget!

[Freddy, UK]

Way back in the 1970s, on a dull and cloudy afternoon, I was depping a wedding for our regular organist who was ill. It was my first experience of a wedding.
The west door could not be seen from the bench so on the star's arrival the vicar would switch on the chancel lights as a signal. As was customary, the bride was late and I was still playing quietly several minutes after the appointed time. Suddenly, the chancel lit up and I launched into 'Here Comes the Bride', the guests stood followed by thumping footsteps coming down the aisle, tempo allegro, to say a few words in my ear. 'She ain't here yet, mate'. Oops! Guests sat, bemused. Looking up at the chancel lights, they were still off but outside the sun had suddenly broken through and was shining brightly. Back to square one.
It subsequently all went well but the vicar never let me forget it; jokingly.

[gtc]

Nevertheless, she refused to hand over the keys.

In any other circumstance that would be grounds for dismissal, right there. At the very least, the church should have its own key (... and maybe a pack of fuses).

[andijah]

I simply can't click the "like" button for this story. What a weird and somehow appalling behaviour! Good that there was a "happy ending".

[John_Joe_Jr]

Not me but I was told a story about an organist who attempted to sabotage a wedding.

A married couple to-be selected two long-time friends of theirs to provide the music at their wedding - one to sing the hymns & the other to play the organ.

The organist at the church where the wedding was scheduled always locked the cover of the instrument when it wasn't in use & took the key home with her. When she found out that a wedding was on & that she would not be playing, she was not pleased in the slightest. As far as she was concerned, the organ was hers for her use only. A heated argument ensued & the wedding party put forward (with the support of the Parish Priest) that the organ was bought with parish funds & thus belonged to the church. Therefore it was not in fact the organist's personal property. Nevertheless, she refused to had over the keys.

To cut a long story short - the lock was picked & just to be on the safe side, the fold-down cover was unscrewed & stored in the boot of the guest organist's car, just in case the resident organist attempted to re-lock it. When the guest organist & the vocalist went to the church the day before the wedding to practice the music, the organ wouldn't power up. Someone had removed the fuse from the plug! Anyway, a pack of spare fuses were procured from a nearby hardware store & the wedding went ahead as intended.

The priest apparently apologised multiple times to the guest musicians over the organist's behaviour even though the poor chap had done nothing wrong...

[gtc]

My story relates not to organ and wedding, but sound system and wedding reception, 1970s.

Following the friends' church wedding we adjourned to the convention room of a local club for the reception party. The place was packed and while waiting for the bride and groom to arrive following photos, etc, the duly assembled was plied with liberal quantities of alcohol by waiters.

By now the hired disco system should have been up and running but it wasn't, and it was perceived by a middle-aged relative of the bride that the natives were growing rowdy, if not restless. So, she decided that what was needed was for her to perform a cappella some numbers from old musicals in her somewhat shaky soprano.

The groom's father made a bee line to my table asking "Can you take a look at this disco thing and get it working before there's a riot?"

So, with more than few beers under my belt, I found myself at the rear of a 19 inch rack cabinet trying to sort out the confusion of cables and connections while said father provided illumination via a Bic lighter.

Eventually I managed to get things connected properly and there was music.

[myorgan]

The worst wedding gig–playing for a musician! ;-)

Michael

[you795a]

I agree with Silken Path. To me they are of little help. Ebay still owes me $200.00 for items that I sold and being that I refused to give my banking information to them they closed my account. I filed a complaint with the BBB and after three responses they said they couldn't help me.

[andyg]

Thankfully, I've managed to somehow avoid the kind of misadventures some of you have had. I have had fun at weddings!

One bride arrived very late and I had time to work as many highly disguised pop songs into my loooong initial stint. I do remember also putting 'Adeste Fideles' into the mix - in the UK we sing the words 'Why are we waiting?' to that melody and that did raise a few chortles.

But when my daughter's best friend got married (the first time!), I visited the church for rehearsals to find a 1970s Viscount. Just a thinly disguised home organ, it did have a Leslie speaker and the bride's request for 'Amazing Grace' was delivered by yours truly and a very enthusiastic choir in Gospel style on the day! I was offered 'the regular gig' as the Vicar put it, but politely declined!

But at my own wedding, I asked for 'Prelude in Classic Style' rather than the traditional Wedding March. I gave the organist the music well in advance and even obtained a fiery trumpet voice card for the church's Allen. What could possibly go wrong? I have no idea why, but she played it around half speed rather than at the marked tempo. She wasn't a poor player, the hymns had been fine. Perhaps she was a little out of her comfort zone.

[Silken Path]

Years ago you could call a city's BBB and ask if there were any complaints against a company. Also, if you had a problem with a company and were not getting any satisfaction, the local BBB could often "grease the skids" and get things moving. Now they are just another cog in the grand scheme of commerce. They are not on the consumer's side or in any fashion beneficial for the consumer.

[myorgan]

After looking past the dreaded "MY SISTER SINGS", I recall a weeding where the bride was a very, er , very,very ...very large woman in both directions.

Pat,

You reminded me of our wedding video set up at the end of the aisle where the mother of the bride (my mother-in-law, also quite large in two dimensions–neither vertical) wore a dress with fairly large roses on it. As she walked slowly down the aisle, the predominant view was a rather large rose on each cheek sashaying down the aisle! That was almost 3 decades ago.

Michael

[RogerM]

Ah yes, we have similar organisations over here but I think the trader has to belong before he can be rated. Thanks, Michael.

[myorgan]

Better Business Bureau. People leave reviews of businesses, and the BBB rates them on a grading scale from A-F(I believe).

Michael