9/9/23 Wedding at Long Hollow Gardens

October 18, 2023 at 5:45 pm (Gary Tussing on cello, Jocelyn Sprouse on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Toni Ferguson on violin)

Reminder: The names have been changed to protect the guilty!

On 9/9/23 Patricia and John were united in holy matrimony at the beautiful Long Hollow Gardens near Gallatin. A quartet of Silver Strings were in attendance to provide music from our classical repertoire for the prelude and ceremony including the special request of “Poco Adagio” from the Haydn Emperor String Quartet, the Boccherini “Menuetto”, Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” to name a few. For the processionals we brought the mothers, grandmothers and the wedding party in to the Bach “Air” from the Suite in D. Patricia chose Pachelbel’s famous “Canon in D” for her entrance. During the ceremony the music was a little more contemporary with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” played for the unity rite of a tree planting. After the exchange of vows and rings, we sent them back down the aisle as husband and wife to “You’re My Best Friend”.

After the ceremony the quartet decamped to the reception building to play for cocktails. The music was decidedly from the fun part of our repertoire including songs like “Friends in Low Places”, “Love Story”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Ring of Fire” and “Shut Up and Dance”.

I want to mention their coordinator for the day. Blair did an amazing job of helping get the quartet settled with chairs, actually carrying them herself to our location when I’m sure she needed to be elsewhere taking care of the multitude of wedding coordinating tasks. Anything we needed was taken care of immediately. She made our job so much easier and we thank her profusely for this.

The time has come to wish the newlyweds Godspeed in starting their new life together. Congratulations to them and their families!

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9/9/23 Wedding at Ravenswood Mansion

October 18, 2023 at 5:14 pm (Uncategorized)

Reminder: The names have been changed to protect the guilty!

On 9/9/23 Annie and David exchanged vows in front of family and friends on the grounds of the beautiful Ravenswood Mansion near Brentwood. A trio of Silver Strings, led by Craig Duncan, took charge of the ceremony and cocktail hour music. Annie chose contemporary selections for their ceremony including “A Million Dreams”, “Annie’s Song”, “Marry Me” and Flightless Bird/American Mouth” while the guests arrived. The processionals included “Turning Page” for the mothers and grandmothers, “A Thousand Years” for the wedding party and finally, “Light My Love” by Greta Van Fleet” for the bridal march. Vows recited, rings exchanged and at last, the first kiss, the newlyweds made their way back up the aisle to “Forever and Ever, Amen”.

After the ceremony the guests were invited to the reception area below the mansion to enjoy cocktails and the trio playing fun songs such as “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Viva la Vida”, “Dixieland Delight”, “H.O.L.Y” and “Wonderful Tonight”.

Silver Strings congratulates the Annie and David and their families with wishes for a long and happy life together!

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9/2/23 Wedding at Four Seasons Hotel

October 5, 2023 at 3:30 pm (Gary Tussing on cello, Julianna Waller on violin, Linda Davis on viola., Toni Ferguson on violin)

Reminder: The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

On 9/2/23 A quartet of Silver Strings was in attendance at the nuptials of Ashley and Roger at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Nashville. Ashley chose mostly classical pieces for the prelude as well as the processionals. Included in the prelude were Handel’s “Air”, “Spring” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” and Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. The ever popular “Canon in D” by Pachelbel was chosen for the entrance of the family as well as the wedding party. Finally the quartet announced Ashley’s entrance with a fanfare and immediately into “Trumpet Voluntary” by Jeremiah Clarke. The officiant, Ralph Griggs, in a simple but dignified ceremony, led the couple through their vows and ring exchange before announcing them as husband and wife. Silver Strings swept them back up the aisle to Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

One slightly amusing thing happened during the ceremony. The aisle runner was made of paper…something we had never encountered before. Nobody would have noticed except that during the ceremony when the photographers tried to get pictures looking straight down the aisle and were stepping on the runner, their footsteps were greatly amplified. The only thing we could do was smile as the photographers tried unsuccessfully to get off the paper quietly. In situations like this when the ceremony is over, we look at each other and say, “They’re married.”

This wedding had a slightly different format for the cocktail hour. The cocktail hour actually started during the prelude. The quartet was seated in part of the ballroom curtained off for the ceremony and broadcast through the speakers in the lobby of the ballroom. Guests were finally shooed into the ceremony area a few minutes before the processionals. After the recessional the quartet continued the cocktail hour for another 30 minutes playing more classical selections such as “Nessun Dorma” and “Oblivion” mixed with a few pop tunes including “Hallelujah” and “Stay With Me”. I have to admit here that we got to the hotel early so we could take a promotional picture after an Indian wedding we played the a couple of months earlier. Thus the Bollywood Strings sign in front of us as part of a collaboration with a British musician who specializes in Bollywood music for the Indian community there.

Congratulations to Ashley, Roger and their families from Silver Strings with wishes for a life full of love and abundant happiness!

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