nashvillesilverstrings

As always, the names have been changed to protect the guilty. 😉

On 7/5/20 at the gorgeous Estate at Cherokee Dock Annie and Alex were united in holy wedlock by Annie’s grandfather.  Before this happened, however, there was a slight (read enormous) change of plans.  The ceremony was to take place outdoors on the lawn overlooking Old Hickory Lake but Mother Nature was not in a cooperative mood that day as she poured buckets of rain over the area, flooding the parking area as well as the floors of the reception area.  The wedding planners and coordinators from Premier Wed rose magnificently to the challenge and prepared the reception room to be the site of the nuptials.  Thankfully the joy of the occasion was undiminished as Annie and Alex were wed in a sweet ceremony illuminated by the candles on the tables.

Silver Strings was a quartet that day along with vocalist, Scot Tyler, to perform selections such as “Claire de Lune”, “Con Te Partiro”, “Perfect” and “The Lord’s Prayer” for prelude.  Several grandmothers and the mothers were seated to “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”.  The wedding party then took their places to the beautiful “Canon in D”.  Annie had very definite plans for her march down the aisle that started with the Mendelssohn “Wedding March” (which is usually played as a recessional) as her fanfare that immediately went into the “Wedding March Processional” aka “Here Comes the Bride”.

After Grandfather’s homily Scot sang a very moving rendition of “The Prayer” with Jocelyn Sprouse on violin playing the part usually performed by a female vocalist.  After the vows and ring exchange we played the newlyweds back down the aisle to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You”.

We still had half an hour left on the contract for a mocktail hour after all the rain delays so we were able to set up in an adjoining patio outside to play some fun stuff including “Cantina Band” from Star Wars, “Everlasting Love” and “Shut Up and Dance”.  It felt really good to us to be able to work again after 4 months of pandemic and canceled gigs.  We’d like to also give highest accolades to Dawn Schenkel of Premier Wed and her team for the amazing job they did of transitioning the ceremony from lakeside to the reception room without breaking a sweat.

Silver Strings congratulates Annie and Alex and wishes them many happy years together!

On 12/9/19 a quartet of Silver Strings played for the annual Christmas party for the volunteers with the Bridge Ministry.  Let me explain a little about this work.  Fifteen years ago Candy Christmas, founder of the Bridge Ministry, saw a huge need in Nashville to help the homeless and those down on their luck.  She started with carrying a big pot of jumbalaya downtown to feed homeless people in the area under the Jefferson Street bridge.  This work snowballed over the years into a weekly Tuesday evening supper under the aforementioned bridge complete with semi trucks bringing food, tables, chairs and a stage from which they share their faith and encouragement.  The Bridge Ministry also provides warm coats, shoes, clothes and assistance with finding affordable housing.

If you would like to contribute to this wonderful work there are several ways.  You can donate through the Kroger community giving.  Go to this website to set up an account if you don’t have one already from which you can donate your points to The Bridge Ministry, Inc.

https://www.kroger.com/o/store-services/community-rewards

You can also visit the website to donate or volunteer at:

https://www.bridgeministry.org/

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Silver Strings!

Reminder:  Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the guilty. 😉

On 11/9/19 Bill and Rita were married at dusk at the Ravenswood Mansion in Brentwood.  It was a bit chilly that evening as Silver Strings did their best with coats and fingerless gloves to bring the music for this lovely couple.  The quartet played hymns such as “Amazing Grace”, “How Great Thou Art” and “In Christ Alone” for the prelude.  For the mothers and the wedding party they played the theme from “Ladies in Lavender”.  It was a special moment for the bride as the quartet played a composition penned by her soon-to-be husband.  During the service their unity ceremony, creating a three cord braid, the quartet played a verse from “The Prayer”.  A mashup of “Over the Rainbow” with “Simple Gifts” was played for the recessional.

After the ceremony everyone made their way to a tent for the reception where they were grateful for the warmth.  Silver Strings continued the music with contemporary music from movies such as “A Million Dreams” (Greatest Showman), “Meryton Townhall” (Pride and Prejudice) and “Can You Feel the Love” (Lion King) as well as other easy listening selections such as “Moon River”, “Wonderful Tonight” and “Going to Carolina in My Mind”.

Congratulations to the happy couple and Silver Strings wishes them a happy journey through their life together!

Reminder:  Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the guilty.

On Onctober 19, 2019 John married his sweetheart, Margaret, in a lovely ceremony held at Marathon Village’s “A Room with a View”.  Guests entered from Clinton Street, took three flights of steps to the third floor, wound around in a narrow hallway and were rewarded with an unobstructed view of downtown Nashville as a backdrop for the nuptials.

As per John’s request the Silver Strings quartet was more than happy to play a program of all classical music (it’s been a long time since that has happened!)  The icing on the cake, so to speak, was a composition penned by John himself for the occasion of their wedding to which the entire wedding party as well as his bride entered.  The recessional was the traditional Wedding March from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The quartet then continued with music from the Impressionism period with composers such as Debussy and Ravel to render a beautiful, gauzy background to start the festivities.

Congratulations to the happy couple and their families.  Silver Strings wishes them a long and happy life journey together.

Starting with this blog post I will be using fictitious names of the bride and groom to help protect their privacy.

On October 12, 2019 a quartet of Silver Strings, led by Susan Mullen, was present for the nuptials of Susan and Jonathan at the Stone Stairs just inside the Belle Meade entrance to Percy Warner Park.  It was a chilly day but all the guests’ hearts were warm in anticipation of the joining of this happy couple in matrimony.

For prelude the quartet played selections from contemporary and classic rock.  Selections included Coldplay’s “Yellow”, Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and Death Cab for Cutie’s “Soul Meets Body”.  When it came time for the processionals the mothers were seated to “Simple Gifts” after which the groom, officiant and the rest of the men took their places to the groom’s favorite….”Rocky Top”.  Next came the bridesmaids to “The Feather Theme” from Forrest Gump and then the icing on the cake, the bridal processional, from Maren Morris’ “The Bones”.  After the ceremony the newly weds made their way back down the aisle to Coldplay’s “Paradise”.

Silver Strings extends congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy life together to these newlyweds!