This is one summer’s day as a harpist. I couldn’t ask for more perfection weather-wise. Blue on blue. Gentle waves and breeze. Seventy degrees. My ferry docks and so begins my work day.
The Arrival
Today’s wedding is in Issaquah at a mansion/estate/farm on a once mellow country road. Now, there are paragliders floating down the blue mountain foothills in the distance. Next to that, is a park and ride, full of RVs and cars, from tourists, commuters, and some probably camping out. The traffic is a non-stop flow of suburban stop and go.
On the drive there, I think to write a theme in B, calling it “Blue Cascade.” But I am looking for my exit, not a melody. Perhaps this will make a nice assignment for myself later.
I stop at Boehm’s Candies, the Austrian candy shoppe, designed to look like an Alpine chalet and village. I played in the tiny white chapel here once for a different wedding ceremony. A bell was rung at the end by pulling a long cord that hung down from the tower. I had to have help lugging my harp up the tippy-top stairs that curved up to the loft, because that was the only space available – that’s how tiny the little church is! I went inside the candy shoppe and picked out some European chocolates for my family and me: raspberry truffle, macadamia nut covered in dark chocolate, English toffee, and Mozart marzipan from Vienna.
So far this day is a good adventure in wedding harping! I arrive at the venue ahead of schedule, which is good, because parking directions on my GPS are strange and the lot and load zone have changed since I’ve been there last. In fact, I find that the large event tent is now in the back, which means I’ll be doing a fair amount of harp rolling between ceremony and cocktail hour.
The Event
Typically, I travel light for my first of three trips from the car. I walk across the lawn looking for the electrical outlet plug for my amplifier. A staff member tells me that some months back a lawnmower ran over it, so that is no more. Good thing I have my cellist Maria to help me out to boost my volume today
We play La Vie En Rose; Theme to Avatar, Last Airbender, Celtic songs, classical favorites (Vivaldi, Bach, Debussy, Mozart) and another called La Cinquantaine, meaning 50 in French. The song written somewhere back in time for someone’s fiftieth something. A wedding anniversary? What was the event like? Did people dance in ruffles and pointed shoes?
My own shoes got rather dusty rolling my harp through the wood chips, which disappoints me. They are new leather mules and my toes sticking out look dirty now, like I’ve been camping for a couple of days. I have to load my harp in where the florists and caterers are. At this venue, it is next to old stables and it is now the dry part of summer, so dusty dirt is hard to avoid.
I am glad for the parasol and small stage the bride arranged for. Direct sunlight is the enemy of classical instruments. The heat melts wood glue and varnish, causing a myriad of headaches when serious. The weather is hot and the Sammamish River flows by, behind the central area where the ceremony takes place. It is a small, inviting brook at this flowage and I have a strong urge take my shoes off, and dip my feet into the stream!
Cocktail hour after the ceremony is across the estate in an old stable converted to event space. This time, I roll my harp a different way: across a paved horseshoe drive. It is a longer, but smoother journey, than the woodchip way, which would have been more of an effort for my shoulder to push through anyway. Inside the new venue is my amplifier, which I set up earlier. Chandeliers are wooden in a modern style, hanging from high open rafters. It is sparse, but the people fill up the room. Small tables with clusters of flowers and us two musicians are the only decorations.
We play more Celtic songs, a few more classical pieces. We stick to the peppy pieces. The set ends rather quickly and guests trot off to dinner in a third location. Our job is done. We say our good-byes.
The Departure
I drive off into the sunset to the west. There are horse farms on my drive home. A white fence-line hugs the road up and down the hills. Golden grass this time of day becomes a bright yellow. Accomplishment of challenges and successes are behind me. I feel grateful as I treat myself to a toffee.