Not Another Wedding!
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that thought hadn’t passed my mind during the 5 1/2 hour drive from Paris, IL to Ridgeway, WI. It had crossed my mind many times during that drive. Here’s why – I had JUST finished up a solo Chicago wedding on Friday, made a late drive out to Paris, IL for a dueling piano Saturday wedding (which went into the am hours,) and I was now famished of sleep, heading into the third and final leg of the “weekend wedding tour.” Sunday was Labor Day, so it was indeed a perfect day for an outdoor dueling piano wedding. It’s not often that people are able to get married on a Sunday and have the reception party the same evening. Guests tend to prefer a Friday or Saturday so that they can get their celebration on.
For me, as much as I enjoy every show, I was just worried I didn’t have the energy. However, with the help of one 5-hour energy, I knew I could prove myself wrong.
A Waste Of A 5-Hour Energy
As it turned out, the family and friends of the wedding party were so lively, that I did not even need the extra help. I mean it – this wedding had a particularly fun crowd. Although, we try to maintain our own energy, we were really able to feed off of the guests’ energy for this one and throw it right back at them.
Even the ceremony was great. Pastor Mary was such a great speaker, and had drawn every one in. Jim (my dueling piano partner) was close to tears, and I’ve never seen him like that. The music that they gave us for the ceremony was fantastic, as well. We opened with a live solo piano performance of “Heartbeats” by Jose Gonzalez, and then Jim joined in on vocals for the recessional song, “To Show you My Love” by Mike Schmid. I had not been familiar with either of those songs, but really enjoyed playing them, and they came across really nicely for the setting.
An Extended Dinner Hour
We were playing live easy listening music at this time, and it turned into a marathon session. With several guests expected for the party, only half had arrived, and they asked us if we could hold off for a while on moving things forward as their reception guests were still trickling in.
That was great for Jim and I, because we ended up playing a lot of cocktail songs that we might not have tried otherwise. A few that I remember playing for the first time with him were “Slip Slidin Away” by Paul Simon and “One Love” by U2. Both and many others were a lot of fun to perform and set a really nice relaxing as we waited for guests to arrive.
…And Then The Sun Set
While some of the ceremony guests and those with kids left, dusk brought in a new group of friends. It was time to dance…
dancing into the night
still dancing…
… and dance
By then, even Jim had to get in on the action!
… and dance even more
Before the night ended, there was a fantastic synergy between ourselves and the wedding party and guests. Instead of writing requests down, they were shouting them out. We brought the bride on stage a few times to sing as we played live, and her Dad was bringing his swag on to the dance floor with some old school rock.
It was a great time, and a friendly group of people. I’ve traveled many times to Wisconsin, and the people there are always incredibly friendly. I’m starting to think there is more to Spotted Cow than meets the eye.
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