Ceremony Harpist, County Line Orchard, Hobart, Indiana

Apple trees on one side, and shade trees on the other!

This venue was a revelation! County Line Orchards really has the perfect outdoor wedding figured out. I stopped in at the barn/reception venue to meet with the mother of the bride and check in with the wedding coordinator. The barn was super cute, and had all the facilities you need for (of course) the reception, but also a lovely ceremony if the weather was uncooperative. Next stop: one of their two wedding ceremony groves. As you can see, it was absolutely lovely. They even had the transportation down for the guests, like the hayrides of yore, but much neater!

 

If you need help putting together your perfect playlist, check my website for ideas! www.ChicagoWeddingHarpist.com 

The wedding grove is really private!

 

Fantastic transit via tractor!

Wedding Ceremony Harpist, Deep River, Hobart, Indiana

A limited view at Deep River County Park

Okay, first of all, it was a beautiful wedding, so don't worry, but this location can really be a challenge. For this beautiful October day, they had weddings stacked up every two hours, and that is kind of a bigger deal than you would think. Essentially, you need everyone there right at the start of your 2 hours, but you can't start then, because....

1. Most everyone has set up to do. You will have to realistically evaluate how your friends and/or family will be with the set up, because you (being a member of the marrying couple) will likely be otherwise occupied. If you have a slightly bossy but super capable relative or friend, count your lucky stars and put them in charge. That's the sort of person you can base a schedule on!

2. How much prelude do you want your guests to hear? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? This can also be interpreted as how late do you suppose people will be? Lots of couples now plan that their wedding will start 15 minutes later than the time they tell their guests it will start. Seems fair enough to me!

3. How long will your wedding ceremony actually be? Everyone seems to think it will be about 30 minutes. Most of them turn out to be 15-20 minutes, but occasionally somebody's officiant really gets going and does 40 minutes. If your officiant is good, they know how long it will take and will not mind being asked!

4. How long do you need for pictures? This location is unforgiving if you run over, so you have to leave enough time if you want a lot of pictures at the Gazebo.

Luckily, this bride took all of this into account, and we were fine. No really good pictures, though, because there wasn't but a moment to spare as I moved my harp into place and began playing. You will have to take my word on the fact that it is a thrilling location. As the bride comes down the hill, it is always completely worth all the worry!

Ceremony Harpist, Deep River Park, Hobart, Indiana

The day was gray, but the plantings and gazebo already looked fantastic!

This was a thread the needle type of day for sure. I have been to Deep River County Park several times over the years, and it is truly beautiful, but on this day it looked like it was just going to rain and rain. In the end, it rained right up to a half an hour before their ceremony, then knocked off for about an hour or so, and then started up again! Whew!

Harpist's view of the sand ceremony table and the chairs.

Luckily, that was as much tense drama as there was. The bride chose "Endless Love" for the bridal party, and "Here Comes the Bride" for herself. For the sand ceremony, she had a lovely little melody from the "Romanza" movement of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", and we ended with the traditional Wedding March by Mendelssohn. For postlude, she requested "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, and that brought the music to a close with an upbeat feel. Who even notices the storm clouds when the wedding is beautiful and the music is cheerful?

The path the wedding party use!

Interested in any of the songs mentioned in this post? They are all recorded on my YouTube channel, along with many other options!