On Saturday I was in a wedding for my cousin Leah. She has been with her then-fiance Kipp for many years. She and I have always been incredibly close, and it was only my second time being a bridesmaid (I normally have friends ask me to sing at their weddings, which is such a different experience). It was so wonderful to see Kipp and Leah ‘finally’ married. They are not even a full year younger than me, so it is funny to say ‘finally’ but they started dating in college back in 2005 or so.
Our bridesmaid bouquets for Leah and K’s wedding:
When my sister Courtney was married in 1999, Leah and I were in her wedding party as bridesmaids. Our aunts sang “Going to the Chapel.” It was a different atmosphere then, and C is closer in age to my aunts (she is 16 years older than me) so the tone was different at her wedding. They even made up an extra verse for her singing, ‘goin’ to Jamaica and you’re gonna get na-a-a-ked!’ All of the women in my family sing (you may remember me telling you all that at my Pappy’s graveside burial in February, we all sang Shenandoah) so we have grown up with homes of music – particularly when we get together throughout the year. Guitars come out, sometimes with papers printed ahead of time, or old family hymnals get passed around. The aunts love folk songs particularly from the 60s and 70s. Almost all of us cousins were involved in music all the way through high school.
My marriage in October was the first time that the aunts had had a chance to sing again for a wedding since C’s, so they chose a different song, “Turn Around.” They did not have a microphone, but you can see I was completely wrapped up in the moment when they came to our table during dinner to sing:
Our wedding photographer captured them afterward:
Leah and K’s cake:
So on Saturday it was Leah’s turn. Here is my mother taking her place (as an aunt to sing at the first wedding of one of her nieces), along with two of her sisters. Sung to Leah and Kipp on their special day. I am so happy the tradition continues… I recorded this video on my iPhone, so happy with the quality!
Does your family have any special traditions at weddings?
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That is such a cool tradition! However, the women in my family should never, ever sing 😉
Awww, okay, maybe some people should not sing, but it is the thought that counts right?
XO
what a lovely tradition! i loved seeing your wedding picture with your aunts! your cousin's wedding looked beautiful too!
our family tradition is crying. lots. 🙂
xox P
Crying can be a good thing if they are happy tears!
Thank you for the love – I hope to do more wedding posts soon.
XO
Love your bouquet…the green berries are so pretty!
Your Aunts are perfectly darling! What a fantastic tradition 🙂
such a lovely post! the bouquet is wonderful
Wow. Beautiful singing. I have goosebumps.
Rest assured, your Twitter mom cannot sing to save her life. You are very lucky, and if you can sing too, how wonderful.
Thank you so much! I love the hypericum berries as well. I had them in Leah's bouquet for my wedding in the Fall – at that time of year they are more orange-red – so it was fun to see some things tying us together on her day!
Aren't they the sweetest? I loved hearing my Mom sing. There are four sisters and one brother on this side of the family. So, this was Mom's first chance to play 'wedding singing aunt' with two of her sisters – so neat!
Thank you so much! Aren't the flowers so elegant?
Thank you Twitter Mom! It was a goosebump moment for sure. I can sing, funny you should mention that. It is such a big thing in my life on that side of the family.
Your dress is gorgeous! You looked so pretty!
Jayme & Mendi @ Her Late Night Cravings
Thank you so much! I hope to write more about my own special day in the coming weeks now that I have all of the photos pared down.
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