Wedding Fanatic

This last spring and summer, I received enough wedding invitations to cover my entire refrigerator. This is not an exaggeration one bit. For two months, every single weekend was booked with wedding receptions.  And get this.  There were even weekends where I attended multiple receptions, just to make sure that I could congratulate my newly married friends.  I’m sure many of you can relate to this, especially those of you who are in my same stage of life.  What were your thoughts going to the mailbox day after day and seeing another one “bite the dust?”  Now, you might think I am crazy for how I felt about it, but I’m not going to hold back. Each time I opened another invitation, my heart did a little jump.

Call me crazy, but I am a huge fanatic of weddings.  And wedding receptions.  Receiving an invitation to one is basically a invitation to eat yummy food, socialize with good friends, and dance till my heart is content.  But honestly, I do love everything about them; the love and giddiness in the air, gorgeous arrangements of flowers, delicious finger foods (a cheese board if I’m lucky), lively dancing, formal gowns and suits, and lastly the rich music.  You can’t have a good party without good music so this last point is definitely a big one for me.  

Speaking of music and weddings, one of the most common pieces played in a ring ceremony is The Wedding March. Written in 1842 by Felix Mendelssohn, it was created to accompany Shakespeare’s famous, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  You are probably most familiar with this being played on the church pipe organ for a ceremony like this.  This composition is linked to the Romantic period, and became popular at weddings when Victoria wed Prince Fredrick William of Prussia in 1858. 

Composer, Mendelssohn, was a gifted musician as he wrote his first symphony at just age 15. NPR wrote an article (linked below) regarding the talented Mendelssohn, "the themes and how he manipulates them are brilliant," he says, "especially in the third movement 'scherzo,' which has a lightness, an effervescence that we now refer to as 'Mendelssonian.' It's a kind of music that no one had written before."

I thought I couldn't love the details of weddings even more, but now that I understand the history for the traditional Wedding March and am familiar with the gifted composer, I appreciate it even more.  I am thrilled for the next wedding I attend to listen for this as the bride walks down the isle.  This wedding tradition has been going strong for 150 plus years, it may stand the test of time and continue throughout he years!  

Picture: by Tezza Barton