Violin and Cello Wedding Ceremony Music on the Holy Cross Event Deck in Vail, Colorado, Photo by John Cain Photography

I played cello along with my violinist for this fun and sweet wedding ceremony amidst the July wildflowers on the Holy Cross Event Deck. We were crossing our fingers for no rain, and the weather stayed sunny and dry for this Mississippi bride. The haze from the California wildfires was thick in the mountains that day, and it gave the landscape a soft and dreamlike quality.

As we were setting up to play, we had a freak accident! As I was kneeling to set up, the wind carried the patio umbrella that was over us right out of the stand! The umbrella pole hit me right in the center of the forehead! I was very dazed and felt sick, so we asked for help and I was carted off to the medic. The folks at the wedding deck promptly replaced our umbrella with a more secure one, but I’ll be double checking that every umbrella is secured in its stand for the rest of my life now!

I was grateful to be able to play music despite being very dizzy! I didn’t get any photos of the wedding because of my injury, but John Cain was so generous in sharing his professional photos with me! The photos are stunning and made even more so by the wildflowers, which were prettier than they’ve ever been, due to all the rain we’ve been getting.

The bride let me select all of her prelude and ceremony music, only requesting nothing sad and no tears! She said in her wonderful Southern accent, “I don’t want to be bawlin’ as I walk down the aisle”. I think we succeeded with a selection of upbeat classical and contemporary music, and there wasn’t a single tear but smiles all around!