Anniversary Harpist, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

As much of the view as the camera could fit!

The Museum of Contemporary Art does events in several different locations throughout the building, but this room is really the only one that is a truly private space that can host an event during regular museum hours. I think it made for a really fun and relaxed celebration of the couple, and the views of the sculpture garden are lovely. I played background music as the party goers came and went, spending some time together in the exhibits. Then, as the museum closed, they settled down to food, speeches, and celebration!

I thought my harp fit in nicely with the 
surrounding architecture!

My regular wedding and cocktail hour repertoire makes for great party music, too! www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com

60th Wedding Anniversary Harpist, Papa Joe's, Orland Park

Papa Joe's private banquet room.

I was kind of a last minute addition, and that was fine by me! Preparations had been chugging along bit by bit over time, as the party was meant to be a surprise for the anniversary couple, but they hadn't yet thought about music.  Papa Joe's already features live music (a pianist) on Saturday nights, but the couple's daughter thought it would be fun to have music right in the room where they would be celebrating.  In these situations, I generally arrive well before the guests of honor, and play for the party goers as they get ready to surprise the arriving couple.  It turns out that the 60th anniversary couple did not have any special songs, so I started out with "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles and went from there.  It was a casual party, and everyone was in high spirits.  Of course we had "Here Comes the Bride" for the entrance of the guests of honor, and indeed they were surprised!  

And yes, the green centerpiece is a palm tree.
They were adorable!

Carriage Greens, Darien 25th Wedding Anniversary Harpist

It is always such a pleasure to play for long married couples!  This couple had blended their respective Irish and Italian heritages to form an especially rich history.  I was lucky; I got to bring out my extensive Irish music collection and play through my smaller Italian music folio! In between, I played lots and lots of love songs, and a wonderful time was had by all.  

Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass

Sigh.  My pictures rarely seem to do justice to these beautiful events, but the story's the same again today.  This past Sunday, I was thrilled to be part of a mass celebrating 50 years of marriage for couples from all over the Chicago Archdiocese.  The mass was held at Holy Name Cathedral, and the celebrating couples filled the entire church!  Even immediate family couldn't be accommodated in the Cathedral, so the musicians had the best (and really only) seats available in the house.  It was a beautiful mass, featuring a full choir (in white shirts in the foreground of the picture), organ, harp, and violin.   Ricardo Ramirez (Director of Music at the Cathedral) kept us all together as we offered Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, Panis Angelicus, and (of course) Schubert's Ave Maria.