Outdoor wedding music always seem to have more challenges than indoor weddings, but the wedding we played at Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale this month was certainly one of those challenges!
As the date got closer and closer, we noticed that the day was projected for rain. Not the days before or the days after, but just the Saturday of the wedding! We connected with the wedding planner, Bernadette from Desert Whim Event Design & Planning, and she said she would let us know by 1:00 the day of the wedding whether the couple wanted to go ahead with the outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour or whether it would be moved.
Of course, we thought for sure the weather forecasters would be wrong, but the morning of the wedding, it was pouring down rain. We heard nothing from Bernadette but we assumed for sure that the wedding would be moved inside. When we finally talked to her, she surprised us by relaying that the bride still wanted to go ahead with the ceremony outside, although she resigned herself to an indoor cocktail hour.
We really didn’t want to let the bride down, so we scrambled to make arrangements. Laura contacted Woodwinds by Germann in Phoenix to see about renting a student flute for the ceremony so she wouldn’t have to take her professional flute out in the weather. They said they could have a flute ready for her to rent but it would need to be repaired first. So, with the go-ahead, he began the repair and Laura raced to North Scottsdale where the shop was to pick up the flute.
There was also the question about an umbrella or tent for us to be under so that our instruments and sound equipment was ruined by the rain. We got that figured out and hoped for the best.
When we got there, it wasn’t actively raining, but it was still cloudy. We waited indoors as long as possible but then it started clearing up about 30 minutes before the ceremony, so we brought out our instruments and equipment and began to set up. Although it was windy and there was a fast last minute push to get set up after the rain, all was ready by 3:45 when the prelude music was to begin. There was a large number of guests for this outdoor wedding, so we ended up setting up behind them, near the sound system for the officiant.
We played classical music for the prelude music as the large number of guests arrived and once the 4 bridesmaids and groomsmen arrived, we played Canon in D by Pachelbel as their wedding party’s processional. The processional was long and slow, so we got to play through the Canon completely and even repeat the fast part 3 times!
The bride entered to the traditional Bridal Chorus by Richard Wagner (“Here Comes the Bride”). At the Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale, the bride gets a nice long processional, so we were able to play through all of the Bridal Chorus. It was a very quick ceremony which concluded with the new couple’s recessional to the traditional music of Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn.
While it was a bit windy which can be a challenge, the outdoor ceremony music turned out fine and before we knew it, we moved inside for the cocktail hour. Inside, we played classic love songs as the newly married couple got their pictures taken and the guests ate appetizers, had drinks, and prepared for dinner.
Glad this outdoor wedding ended up turning out well!
