“…the music for the ceremony, I know you said you’re not very traditional….”

Lunchtime, I'm taking a walk through the park and overhear somehting:

“…the music for the ceremony, I know you said you’re not very traditional….”

That’s all I heard. A mere snippet of a conversation. Not even a complete sentence. A woman, maybe 30-ish sitting on a bench in the park at noon, talking on her cell phone as I walked by.

So many half conversations we hear with people on cell phones, walking near us or on the bus or train; many annoying half conversations. But this was different. This one truly intrigued me!

My mind was racing to fill in all the other details.

Clearly, this was a wedding, no? Ceremony and music and not traditional – what else could it be?

But who was this woman on the bench? Was she the wedding planner? Or a curious friend? Or the music director at the church where the wedding would take place? Clearly, she was not just interested but had a real need to know about the music. I could tell this from the tone of her voice.

And whom was she talking to? Probably, the bride-to-be, I would guess. Or maybe both of them were on the call. But, again from the tone of the woman on the park bench, it sounded to me like there was only one person on the other end of the call. It sounded very person-to-person.

So, here we have wedding planner or someone involved in the ceremony talking to the bride-to-be. It’s March, so probably the wedding is a couple of months away, maybe May or June. But the bride is not “very traditional” so what must she be like? Is she a “free spirit” who wants a very different style of ceremony, maybe very simple, maybe more intimate in the setting. Maybe on a few dozen guests? Anyway, it’s probably not in a big church with hundreds in attendance. Maybe it’s in a small chapel, or in a small room off the reception hall, or outside in a garden.

An what about the dress? Not too traditional, hmmmm. No long trains. Maybe something simple yet elegant. Maybe not pure white, but an off white. Probably no large bridal party either, maybe only the Maid of Honor and Best Man. Maybe they walk in together and skip the traditional giving away of the bride.

And the music. Definitely not a big pipe organ with "Here Comes the Bridge" or other traditional wedding marches. Maybe sometime simple, yet romantic. A couple of tunes played on a violin.

So what do have hear?

• I think a wedding in June.
• Simple, but elegant gown.
• Small wedding, maybe 40 or 50 guests, tops. Just the couple and their witnesses.
• A brief ceremony with simple entrance and recessional music, a couple of romantic melodies played on violin.
• And then to the reception.
  
  

I do wish them well. I almost feel I know something about them, even though all I heard was a snippet of a conversation, walking through the park at lunchtime in March.