It’s been a week since the wedding of Emily Gluck and Christopher Guy, and I find myself reflecting on so many unique touches that made it such an uncommonly beautiful and moving wedding …. beginning with the sign that greeted us as we first entered the church: “Choose a Seat, not a Side. We’re all Family, once the Knot is Tied.” From that moment, I knew that the wedding we were about to experience would be something really special – and indeed it was (as was the reception afterwards.)
It’s not my place to recount every last detail of this wonderful wedding, but I just have to talk about two moments in the wedding that I can’t stop thinking about. One of them came when Leslie Gluck – the mother of the bride and one of my wife’s dearest friends – stepped to the front of the sanctuary with one of her friends and colleagues and sang a Steve Greene song called “Household of Faith.” The two of them sounded terrific together and sang with such expressiveness- but as much as I enjoyed watching them and listening to them sing, I also found myself watching Emily and Christopher as they listened with this radiant expression on their faces. I’ve sung for more than a few weddings where it seemed like the music just washed past the bride and groom without any emotional penetration whatsoever – either because it was never a particularly important matter for them … or because they were just too nervous in the moment to take it in. But Christopher and Emily were right there in the moment, and you could just see how appreciative they were.
<<<Editorial aside: One of the reasons I was so glad that this was sung was because I vividly remembered what it felt like to sing this very same song with Kathy for the wedding of Leslie and Bob, 23 years ago. That was another beautiful and joyous wedding, although for me the joy of the day was tempered by the fact that I was violently ill with what seemed like the world’s worst case of stomach flu- but which we’re now fairly certain was a case of Cryptosporidium. At any rate, I was throwing up nearly all day long and was barely recovered in time to play organ and sing for the wedding itself. And as for this duet, Kathy and I were doing fine until we got to the last refrain, when Kathy made the mistake of glancing over at Bob and Leslie with young Clint and Lauren beside them- a beautiful new family- and found herself crying and unable to continue singing. That meant that I (still sick as a dog) got to finish out the duet as a solo. So it wasn’t exactly a pristine, flawless rendition …. but beautiful in its own heartfelt way.>>>
And then a few minutes later in the service, it was Christopher’s turn. I don’t remember how it was listed in the bulletin, but it was something like “A Gift from the Groom” – but those of us who knew that Christopher is a wonderful singer could guess that the gift was most likely going to be a song. But I don’t think any of us were fully prepared for just how exquisite this moment would be. Christopher sang a gorgeous art song by British composer Roger Quilter – one of his Seven Elizabethan Songs – called “My Love’s Delight” and this has to be one of the most beautiful musical moments I can ever remember hearing in the many hundreds of weddings I’ve experienced in my lifetime. The song fit him perfectly – and somehow, even with all of the deep emotions of the occasion, he sang it perfectly, rising to each climax with amazing ease. It was just one of those transcendentally beautifully experiences for all of us who were privileged to be there.
Just about everything about this wedding was absolutely perfect- including every word spoken in both the service and at the reception that night (with especially touching stories about how good these two have been for each other in their respective times of need) but for me what lives on most vividly are those two lovely serenades …. one by a very happy and grateful Mother Of The Bride, and the other by a very happy and grateful Groom – expressing in music what words alone cannot quite convey.
B the way, my wife Kathy had to miss the rehearsal because of Fiddler on the Roof (which broke her heart) but at least I had four very nice “dates” to keep me company: Ted and Vicki Repsholdt and Jon and Cathy Marschall. I would have gone even if for some reason they couldn’t have been there, but the fact that we could enjoy the occasion together was a nice reminder that weddings – at their heart – revolve around friends and family because they are a celebration of how much better life is when we forge strong and lasting connections with one another and ride those connections wherever life takes us.
The lyrics to Steve Greene’s “Household of Faith” are wonderful:
Here we are at the start, committing to each other, by our words and from our hearts. We will be a family in a house that will be a home- and with faith we’ll make it strong. We’ll build a Household of Faith that together we can make and when the strong winds blow it won’t fall down. As one in Him we’ll grow, and the whole world will know: We are a Household of Faith.
As for “My Love’s Delight,” the lyrics are by Thomas Campion, who was a talented writer and composer from the early 17th century. (He was one of the only songwriters of that era to write both the words and music for his songs.) They are wonderful words for a wedding:
Come, O come, my life's delight! Let me not in languor pine: Love loves no delay, thy sight The more enjoyed, the more divine. O come, and take from me The pain of being deprived of thee. Thou all sweetness dost enclose, Like a little world of bliss: Beauty guards thy looks: the rose In them pure and eternal is. Come then! and make thy flight As swift to me as heavenly light!