Aren’t they adorable?!? That’s one of our favorite young people from Holy Communion, Katie Rouse, who is now Katie McPherson because of the handsome young man standing with her, Jacob. Katie’s wedding was one of two which we attended this weekend- the other, Friday afternoon, was for Jill Baker – Carthage grad, turned Holy Communion member and Kenosha Unified teacher – and Ryan McDougall – who grew up in Holy Communion and is now about to become a doctor here in Racine. Both weddings were wonderful and fun.
Some highlights- – – Jill and Ryan were one of those exceedingly rare couples in which the groom gave almost as much input on the wedding music as the bride did. I really liked that!
Jill and Ryan’s rehearsal dinner was – drum roll, please – pizza at Infusino’s, because that’s where their first date was. I loved the choice, not only because it meant something to them, but also because it was such a comfortable setting where people could truly relax and enjoy themselves and each other’s company. It reminded me of a rehearsal dinner many years ago in Decorah- a Luther friend named Brad Will had his rehearsal dinner at Mabe’s- and I loved it. I also have absolutely no recollection of the wedding itself- not even the vaguest impression of anything about it. All I remember is the party in the basement at Mabe’s.
Two of their ushers were two former voice students of mine- Caleb Sjogren and Nick Barootian. They both stayed over at our house Thursday night (along with Caleb’s wife Susan) and it was a delight to have a chance to catch up with them both. (I hadn’t had any contact with Nick since right after Christmas- and although Caleb sang in last weekend’s concert, we had almost no time to talk.)
My wife really bawled her eyes out during Jill’s processional- and although some of those tears were joyful tears at seeing Jill walk down the aisle on this happy occasion, I think a few of those tears were because Jill’s processional was Sir William Walton’s “Crown Imperial.” Way back when we were planning our wedding, that was the piece with which Kathy really fell in love- but then we found out that the sheet music would have cost us $65. . . that’s for one seven-minute piece of music. . . and decided to do something else. Now I rather regret that, since so many couples spend $65 on one corsage or one bejeweled napkin ring. We probably should have just bit the bullet, spent the money and had the processional we wanted, but finally decided against it. (In all my years of playing for weddings, only one other person has ever used “Crown Imperial” – Maria Windh, daughter of long time Carthage Choir director John Windh.
I had been really sad to miss Jill’s wedding dinner and reception- I had the Racine Symphony Lakeside Pops that night. Then I found out later that people were seated for well over 90 minutes before finally getting their food. (The Summit was struggling to keep up, I guess.) Kathy will tell you that Waiting For Food is something which is apt to send me over the deep end, so it’s just as well that I missed out on that. Otherwise, it was a great occasion in every way.
Katie’s wedding on Saturday afternoon was great fun as well. Caritas provided the music and it felt good to be in the saddle again after many months of inactivity. A highlight was “Wedding Song.” At the risk of sounding pompous, we really do a good job with this song, enough to make it sound like great music. (No small feat.) Their processional was Pie Jesu – gorgeously sung by Kate and Kathy (in my unbiased opinion.)
The picture above I think says “young love” as much as anything could. While Jill was a beautiful and joyful bride, Katie was giddy with delight, almost as though it were all a fancy game of dress-up. But in fact, this wedding was a long time coming and Katie was just so happy that the day was finally here when the two of them could finally begin their life together.
Their reception was at the Milwaukee Zoo – and what a blast that was! We ate in something called the Peck Welcome Center- just past the penguins – and it was lovely and delicious and fun. (The food was catered by Saz’s.) The DJ was pretty terrible – from his silver-spangled jacket to his inept mispronunciation of almost every word and name put in front of him. . . but otherwise it was a superb night of fun and fellowship. We were seated with Lynn, Walter and Laura- Dan Coyle and Kris Capel (she used to be the asst. pastor at HC) and Kristen Theusch – and there were lots of other church friends seated nearby that added to the pleasure of the evening.
Holy Communion within the previous week had said goodbye to two long-time members. . . one of whom was 102 and the other 104. . . and there was something very right about stepping away from those farewells into the joyous beginnings of these two weddings. Now turn to your songsheets, everyone, and let’s sing together “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King.