Water Music
Listener Submission: Most Meaningful Wedding Music Story

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My husband-to-be, Steve, and I were both competitive master swimmers. Our wedding was planned for August 6th, 1994—the same date as the National 5-Mile Open-Water Swim Championship on Lake Minnetonka). We were doing the swim at 7 am in a relay with our best man before our noon wedding in Wayzata (close to the beach). We decided to "stick" with the water theme with our wedding music.

The processional to the wedding was (what else) Water Music by Handel (specific movement selected from the A Prairie Home Companion Christmas show). The ceremony music was all performed by Steve's two cousins from Wisconsin. They sang contempory music; but lovely. They sounded like angels.

The recessional was a bit unique: Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries." The organist didn't have a clue, so we opted for a CD recording. (An usher put me in a state of shock before the ceremony when he played his version from Apocalypse Now ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning."). Needless to say, the music came off well; it was unique and exactly what both groom and bride wanted (we were adults and knew what we liked!). We have been married for almost seven years; have a three- and five-year-old and always listen to Jim Ed Poole & Dale Connelly in the morning driving to "school." The five-year-old wonders about hearing Lorna Benson at night on the way home. They have developed their parent's great taste for music: Austin Lounge Lizards, Alan Sherman, Greg Brown and other great Morning Show artists play at home.

Sarah E. Nelson
Eden Prairie, MN