Sing Your Melody

UPDATE from last entry: No word on the guy’s injuries. Insurance issues are crazy. The car situation for both my fiancé and I isn’t looking too great. If you know of any decent, used cars at a good price, please let me know.

Onto an important topic: music.

I come from a long line of top notch musicians (namely my father), and I love music. I’ve played piano for as long as I can remember (although not as diligently these days), and I played viola in orchestra in elementary school, middle school, high school, and one semester of college. Both playing and listening to music are things that I’m passionate about. And although Keegan doesn’t currently play an instrument, he’s just as passionate about the music as I am.

Jamming with my daddy. Thanks go to my step-mom, Lu, for taking this photo.

I'm the one with the red hair

So as you can imagine, I’ve done extensive thinking on this topic.

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve probably figured out that I’m not exactly a traditional bride. I don’t want a bouquet, I refuse to wear a veil, and there’s no way in heck I’m walking down the aisle to the traditional bridal march. Instead, I have this tune picked out:

The Portrait by James Horner 

I know, I know—it’s Titanic. But still. It’s a great song. And this solo piano version is just beautiful. I know a lot of people think it’s super cheesy, but Keegan and I absolutely love Titanic—I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s a great film in many ways. It’s also a major cornerstone in the film industry since James Cameron went to great lengths to do things that had never been done before. But, I won’t continue my tangent on that here (maybe I should start a blog dedicated to films..). Let’s get back to the music.

I can envision it now—slowly walking down the aisle in my Vera Wang ball gown, taking in the sight of relatives I never knew I had and the sound of a keyboard changing keys at just the right moment. I’m also considering asking my dad to compose parts for a string quintet to go along with the keyboard solo. I’m not sure if the string parts might be a bit too much/over the top (what do you think?), but I have time to keep thinking about it.

As for the rest of the ceremony, I have tons of ideas. Actually, I have so many ideas that the ceremony may become a non-traditional Protestant ceremony in the sense that it lasts for more than thirty minutes. But here are the songs I have on my mind:

1) The Winter Rush by Some By Sea*

2) Out of the Woods by Nickel Creek$

3) Wake Up by Coheed & Cambria%

4) Falling Slowly by The Swell Season#

* This was probably me and Keegan’s first song together. I’m not sure if the lyrics make much sense for a wedding, but me and my dad can play with them and make it work. It’s just a beautiful song and reminds me so much of the first few months of my relationship with Keegan. Plus, there’s a cello solo that I think would be perfect to include if I do get a hold of a string quintet.

$ I have this daydream where I’m with the one I love in a grove of trees and the outside world can’t reach or hurt us. When I imagine this scene, sometimes the ground will be buried in snow, and other times the trees become a canopy from the rain that pours overhead. I’m not really sure where this daydream came from—probably all those long trips going back and forth between Oklahoma and Kansas and looking outside the car's window at all the trees—but this song reminds me of my daydream.

% For anyone who knows us, this one’s obvious. Coheed & Cambria is me and Keegan’s all-time favorite band. We’ve been to their shows every chance we get (there’s one coming up on the 23^rd! Can’t wait!), and we love the stories behind the music. This song is no exception, and although we’ll probably have to change the wording a tad, this song is one we have to include for sure.

Me and Keegan with Claudio Sanchez of Coheed & Cambria

 # I’m not sure if this is The Swell Season song I want to do for sure, but at the request of Keegan’s sister—London—who is an amazing, talented singer, we want to do a Swell Season song that London can sing to. Falling Slowly would go great with string parts and my dad’s and London’s voices, but I’m not sure if the lyrics really fit me and Keegan. It’s a beautiful song, and one of my favorites, but it just seems a little too sad to be a part of a wedding celebration. Oh well, I’ll think on it.

So there you have it—those are my ideas for the wedding ceremony.

Next week, I’ll continue my discussion on music with ideas for the reception. I could talk about music all day long, but I’m sure you have more important things to do than read my blog.

Feel free to join in the discussion on music—suggest a song, send me a link to a YouTube video, etc. I appreciate your input.

-Paige