I left my house around 10:30am Saturday to play the last wedding of the season. It was a beautiful and uneventful three hour drive to catch a ferry and a 45 minute ferry ride to Mackinac Is. I arrived at the facility at 2:30 to play a 3:30 ceremony. When I got there I set my stuff up and proceeded to get in a last minute warm-up and practice before the guests arrived.
Within a few moments the mother of the bride came in. She treated me like a rock-star and thanked me for agreeing to play. I'm usually the grateful one so this turn about was novel to say the least.
When the time came I began playing for the guests. The bride was about 20 minutes late so I just kept on playing. Then the ceremony began and I played the music requested for the important parts. I played a couple of extra songs after it was over as the guests milled about and then packed up. I greeted a few people, wished the bride and groom good fortune, thanked the mother for hiring me and walked back to the ferry dock.
On my return trip I reflected on how nice everything had turned out. I was concerned about the weather initially, but that ended up being beautiful. I had a couple other minor worries that were unfounded. And, most important, the bridal party loved the way I played.
When I got home around 8:30pm I spent some time with my wife and then disappeared into my office to prepare for Sunday morning service at church.
On Sunday morning I conducted our choir and accompanied a friend as he played a special song during the service. That went very well. I think making music with friends is the most satisfying part of being a musician.
After service I went home, had lunch and then jumped in the car to drive an hour to watch another friend play a concert. He is a marvelous guitarist and his programs are always interesting and surprising in their scope. I met another guitarist friend there so that made the performance that much better. At the "meet-and-greet" after, my friend and I were the last two to congratulate the performer. Then the three of us hung out a bit to talk. It's funny how we rarely get to spend time with peers. We are usually with students or other, non-guitarist, friends, so this was a special treat.
When I got home I found an email from a composer friend. He's been commissioned to write a piece for soprano and guitar and asked me to become involved in the project. I agreed of course.
I don't know about your weekend, but mine was terrific.