…I don’t care how [tough] you think you are, if Michael Jackson calls and asks

    you to perform one of his songs…. You jump”

I guess the same can be said of Mr. Disney.  The wide array of artists that have performed “their versions” of Disney songs surprised even me.  And I managed to play for hours using just the Disney variations (and probably could have played the rest of the night without ever repeating a single song).  It’s true, a good song, is a good song.  

     The Ceremony itself was an intimate one, on the putting green at Lexington oaks.  I set up for the reception first, then went out to set up the “Satellite System” on the Green.  This turned out to be a bit of a challenge.  I finished getting everything in place for the Ceremony, with one hour left before it began.  I sat back to relax a little and go over my last minute notes on what Valerie wanted.  But God had other plans.  About 15 minutes later the first raindrop fell…so, with 50 minutes to go, I was scrambling to pull all of the equipment off the table and under the cover of a nearby garage (Thank goodness I was still wearing my “Set-up Clothes” because I looked like a drowned ratJ.)  Luckily, the rain only lasted about 15 minutes (Florida weather…(?)).  So off I go again, this time with a bit more tension.  Drying tables and speakers, moving equipment, and asking the rain to take the rest of the day off (you’ve worked hard… go bother Jamaica for a minute…relax).  I get the “booth” set back up in about 8 minutes, the take off to change clothes, and get back to my table still with about 18 minutes before the Ceremony was to begin.  I perform a last minute sound check, and realize I have no power.  The moisture in the power outlet (the only one near me) has cause a breaker to be thrown.  So I dash out to find the box.  A ceremony without music is NOT an option.  I find the box, flip the switch and it immediately flips back.  It’s time to improvise.  I unplug everything around that might be on that circuit that is not related to the Ceremony (probably baffling a few golfers), and find an “assistant” to stand near the breaker box ready to “flip the switch” again, and manage to make it back to the green, start the pre-show music, then inside (where the guests have congregated before the Ceremony began) to make the announcement for everyone to “please start moving toward the Green”…all with 5 minutes left before 7.  How…?? 

 Pixie dust, of course! Just one of the tricks of the trade, and no Disney wedding would be complete without a little magic. It came to me in the form of  an adorable little cherub of a thing, Jillian.  Clad  head to toe  in cotton candy pink, complete with fairy wand, this precocious sprite had been bubbling over with anticipation since she arrived at Lexington Oaks, announcing to everyone she met with a little leap and pirouette that “I’m The Flower Girl!!” and hopping easter bunny fashion through and around the rushing bodies of her family and club staff setting up for the main event.  She went  oohing and ahhing with eyes  big as saucers as each pastel colored confection was primped and placed just so, turning the room into  the couple’s old time ice cream social dream. Various snafus not withstanding, it was impossible not to catch her infections joy and sense of  wonder.

         I had been  double checking the music last minute with the Maid of Honor earlier in the day…(Valerie was a bride that knew exactly what she wanted for her special day and I wanted to be sure it was just perfect for her, cause if the bride is happy, I’m happy)…one of  the songs we sound checked was the flower girl music, which was Fantasy Suite of Dreams from a Disney parade, which happened to be the music Jillian was going to walk down the aisle to. Rooms away, we heard a shriek, “TINKERBELL!!” and then this tumble of pinks bows and shiny brown curls came flying in from the dressing room, feet barely skimming the floor to tell us “The music!! It means Tinkerbell’s coming!! TINKERBELL’S COMING!!!  

       No matter how many weddings we do, there is always that moment that gets you. The moment that is so pure…. full of love and joy and promise its too huge to be contained.  It moves like an energy through everyone involved, reminding us that it isn’t just another day, it’s the day two people are promising their lives to each other, merging hearts and souls, and that is bigger than any one person. Mine happened just after the ceremony had begun. The processional had started, and so far so good but with how things had gone earlier I was holding my breath with sweat running down my newly dry cleaned tux (oh well) and fingers crossed,  praying that everything would go perfectly, worrying about a bunch of little things and making contingency plans for every possible situation…..when I looked up to the end of the aisle and saw…Tinkerbell. There in all her pink tulle glory was Jillian. Smiling proudly in all her un self conscious glory, she looked every bit  the fairy princess. I watched this little girl take in the loving audience before her, draw a deep breath, and slowly and with purpose march down that aisle, with full confidance that everything would work out as it should, that this was indeed a perfect day, the  beginning of a  happily ever after, and that this moment was going to be magic for the bride and groom and everyone who loves them….and she was right. Sometimes fairys are pretty wise for their years…especially about Disney Weddings….