MINDY PETERSON, NCTM

While there are a million ways that music can enhance a wedding experience, here are a few ways that music enhanced my mother-of-the-bride experience. Discover tips to turn each element of the event into an elevated moment, even those necessary “chores” that could easily turn into forgettable items on the to-do list. Make each step of the journey an unforgettable symphony of cherished moments!

I’m Mindy Peterson, host of Enhance Life with Music podcast, where we explore the ways music makes our lives better. And this is Microhance, a micro-dose of musical enhancement.

My oldest child and only daughter recently got married. My husband, Ian, and I have two children, Adrienne and Erik. Adrienne met her husband, Luke, at college. She graduated in May of this year, and their wedding was in June. As you can imagine, a wedding is prime territory for musical enhancement. I could not possibly pass up on a Microhance opportunity to describe a few of the many ways music enhanced this most precious and happy milestone in my and my family’s life! While there are a million ways that music can enhance a wedding experience, here are a few ways that music enhanced my mother-of-the-bride experience.

As I was getting ready for the wedding, in our rented Vrbo on Amelia Island in Florida, it occurred to me that it would be fun to mark this momentous occasion – and enhance the getting-ready process – with a unique playlist, something other than my usual listening fare. I did a quick Spotify search for “wedding day getting ready playlist,” selected one that looked promising, and hit “play.” I found myself really enjoying multiple songs that were unfamiliar to me and added them to my personal playlists. This simple step of playing someone else’s curated song list elevated and set apart this element of the day that could otherwise just be a forgettable item on the to-do list. I plan to re-listen to this Spotify playlist again soon to relive the memories of that special day, and see what other new-to-me artists and songs I discover.

At the wedding venue, before the ceremony began, Adrienne presented Ian and me with individual parent gifts. My husband, Ian’s, included a framed letter to him from Adrienne, with two other openings in the framed matting: one featured a picture of the two of them together when she was little, and in the other were the printed lyrics to their Father-Daughter dance song. Once that touching dance happened, later at the reception, it was that much more memorable, given the tangible representation of the song in the physical gift, that also created anticipation. And the song itself became a thread imprinting on and linking in our minds Adrienne’s gift, the moment in time that she presented it to Ian and the moment in time of their Father-Daughter dance, and the countless moments in time throughout her life to this point that represent the precious, profound father-daughter relationship and bond that they share. All we need to do in the future to recall this exquisite memory blend is to play the song, “Cinderella,” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Regarding the wedding ceremony itself: What can I say?! What would a wedding be without music during the seating of grandparents and parents, the bridal party processional, the song change cueing the bride’s arrival, and the triumphant, celebratory recessional? Musical selections personalize each ritual, and provide structure for individualized moments, like lighting a unity candle (or in our case, silent prayer for the couple during a song since the wedding was on a windy beach on the Atlantic Ocean that was not conducive to candles staying lit).

Along these same lines, what would a reception be without music for the dancing – including that special Father-Daughter dance song?

On the flight home from FL to Minneapolis later that weekend, I tried listening to a podcast, but found my mind wandering to the exciting events of the last few days. I gave up trying to concentrate on anything cerebral, and switched to listening to music, enabling my mind to more fluidly wander, remembering and processing the joyous events, the support of friends and family who were there in person, and the overwhelming gratefulness I feel to know my daughter has married a good man who is a great fit for her.

And those are just a few of the many ways that music enhanced this mother-of-the-bride experience. I’ll put a few pictures from the wedding in the show notes.

If you have a recommendation for enhancing a wedding experience with music in a unique way, I would love to hear about it.

You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

I’m Mindy Peterson, and I hope this inspires you to enhance your life with music.

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