In early 2019 my folks I knew through my college alumni group said their daughter was planning her wedding in Baja. I told them I’d hold the date, but my family almost got in the way! My wife and I were expecting our second child, and the due date was a month after my friend’s wedding. I always honor my commitments, but this international trip had to be cleared by the doctor first. Once he assured us that the baby had only about a 1% chance of being born a month early, and, even then, labor would likely take 12+ hours, I was ready to purchase auto insurance for Mexico and set up credit card travel alerts so I could be part of the festivities!
It turned out really well, and turned into a huge destination wedding weekend with many folks flying in from New York. I was honored to be the musician for the rehearsal dinner at the Encuentro Guadalupe winery and restaurant. Big weddings have lots of moving parts and ever-changing schedules. I pride my services on being flexible and a can-do attitude! Throw in the fact that it was in Mexico, everyone was enjoying the local wine, and most people were relying on limousine for transportation, my show time got changed a few times. But when everyone arrived at Encuentro, they were impressed that I was set up and already playing smooth jazz.
The view over the Valle de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Valley) wine region was spectacular. I felt inspired and enjoyed playing a mix of jazz and pop music, all easy listening background music with backing tracks pumping out of my amp, which added to the ambiance of the event. Between cocktail hour and dinner, they asked everyone for their attention for the practice wedding march. They requested fitting music for the scene, and I went into John Legend’s All of Me, a song that I played at my own wedding years ago. I got rave reviews for my performance during the evening. I’m very happy that our baby decided to come later!
