Oh what songs of the heart we will sing all the day

I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. When possible on Sundays, I discuss some things related to my faith and what I believe. With respect to your own beliefs, I hope this gives you a chance to get to know me and my religion a little better. For previous installments, click here.

I've mentioned before that I frequently hold music related callings (assignments) at church. I've also written more about callings here and here. I actually avoided it for the first year I lived in Japan had worked as activity leader for the girls ages 8-11 and then as a counselor in the presidency of the women's ministry (Relief Society). But when I realized our congregational music chair was leaving soon, I had a feeling I'd be asked to accept that assignment, and I was right. Then, a few months ago, our choir director was needed elsewhere and I asked if I would be willing to do that assignment as part of my music chair responsibilities and I agreed

I really don't mind these particular jobs. I enjoy music immensely and feel that its presence in our worship services is invaluable. I've done them before, but there is always still more to learn. And! I realized today our little ward choir music library is really just an unorganized IKEA bag of binders and stacks of  music, so you better believe I will be putting the knowledge I've gained from the two Masters degrees I have (musicology and library sciences) specifically with the goal of organizing music as a music librarian to work soon.

Today was a particularly involved musical day. Lots of people were out due to travel (it's a three day weekend, since we're an American base even in Japan, thank you veterans) or illness, plus I keep forgetting my choir accompanist moved, so I was pretty busy for two of the three hours of church and the hour before for choir practice. Blake helped me copy and collate the Christmas song we started in choir today. Choir was more of a soprano sectional (no altos or men), and I had to play the piano and teach/lead the music - which was actually still productive. Then, even though it's not my month, I led the music in our general worship service (Sacrament meeting), since this month's conductor was away for a volleyball tournament. The Sunday school class we attended did not have any music - this time, but I spent the last hour of church in the children's Sunday school (Primary) subbing as the music leader (who was traveling) and playing Battleship (the ships were songs the children are learning).

Props to Jessica, our usual Primary music leader

Truthfully, it was probably one of the better Sundays I have had at church recently. I felt the spirit, sang and learned of Jesus, and had fun!

The rest of Sunday hasn't been too bad either. We took a too long nap, went to the dog park, and then made okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancakes) for dinner.

Afterward, Blake and I played Forbidden Island and won by the skin of our teeth.

I love Sundays! And music! And spending time with Blake!

I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above will send me someone to lava

In March of this year, I started a new instrument - the ukulele! A woman in my neighborhood had recently moved in and was starting up some classes for anyone who wanted to learn. Blake was leaving for a long TAD, so I needed new projects, and a new musical skill? Yes, please! We started with the Lava song from the Pixar short (the title of this post). 8 months later, I can definitely say that I know how to play the ukulele (though I'm still not great, just better than I was when I started) and I am having an absolute blast.

In an effort to find my own ukulele, I discovered that there is a music street in Tokyo, outside the Ochanomizu station, where there is a whole block of instrument shops. I took a little excursion one day and found the perfect little uke!

My concert sized ukulele - I love it a lot!

At this point, I've learned several new chords and a few dozen songs in class. I've been trying to work up a few songs on my own, and that's getting better as well. I took the ukulele camping this summer and got to play what few songs I knew at that point around the campfire. I was even able to play the ukulele for a play I was in this summer and felt really good about my progress there!

We started Christmas music the last few weeks in class, of which I'm definitely in favor! Hopefully, I can commit more songs to memory, so this instrument and my ability to play it are even more portable. Any requests for songs I should learn?

Right Before Your Eyes

This year's musical with the high school drama club is James and the Giant Peach, Jr. Before this summer, I had read the book and seen the movie from the 1990s, but I hadn't even known this musical and certainly hadn't heard any of the music. I'm grateful that Summer wanted me to choreograph again and give me a chance to learn about this sweet and touching version of this delightful story!

As usual, I've had a great time with these students and exercising my creative juices. The students have worked really hard and I'm looking forward to their opening night this Friday! Today, Monday, was their final dress before they start school performances for the elementary students on Tuesday.

One of the sweetest moments in the show, when the insects tell James that his parents will always be with him

Spiker and Sponge and the cruise kick line - This part made me laugh so hard during today's rehearsal!

Break a leg, guys! If you're local, come see our show! If you're not, but want to hear the music for yourself - you can download the original cast album here!

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

I sang with the Mormon Choir of Washington DC from the spring of 2007 through the summer of 2016, with a bit of a break in there while I got my second Masters degree. All told, I had 7 Christmas seasons with them, and even though I like Christmas music a lot, starting rehearsals of it in September made it impossible to only listen to after Thanksgiving.

Hold on, I just realized I could be listening to Christmas music while I write this.

Okay, fixed that.

What a Glorious Night by Sidewalk Prophets - New to me and I quite like it

Anyway - usually by the end of November with MCW, we were starting our Christmas concerts. We might have even had one the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The tree lighting ceremonies in the temple visitors center were typically the first week of December and we’d wrap for the season by about the 15th.

On top of that, I was generally involved in my congregational choir and spent at least one Christmas involved in the LDS Institute Choir.

It was a LOT of Christmas music. And that’s great!

But now I don’t have that. I recently learned about the Tokyo Embassy Choir, but their rehearsals conflict with my taiko classes. I’m still involved with my congregation’s choir, but due to a variety of circumstances I have only been present at one rehearsal that involved a Christmas piece thus far.

So, instead of flooding my ear holes with Christmas music for months, I find myself having to seek it out and, as seen above, even reminding myself it’s Christmas music season! I’ve heard it out in town some, but not everywhere. In fact, a store we were in (Don Quixote for my local friends) yesterday was playing Christmas music in one section of the store (Pentatonix even!), pop in another (Ed Sheeran at the time), the store jingle on the stairs, and something else entirely on the bottom floor. That store is an assault on the eyes and ears and I love it.

I’ve actually realized that my current lifestyle has changed my consumption habits of all music, but this is Christmas time, so that’s my focus right now.

Oh the whole, I’m okay with this. I miss MCW, but I don’t miss all the stress of driving all over for all of our concerts. I like being able to skip Christmas songs I don’t like (if only I could have done that at MCW) and hear old favorites. I even heard an obscure Kate Bush song that I already loved, December Will Be Magic Again, while we were shopping in Kappabashi-Dori. In a way, it makes Christmas music even more special since I’m not completely overwhelmed by it, and I’m going to have to be really proactive to listen to all my favorites.

So, since I’m not being bombarded with it from any direction - what do you recommend I check out this year?

Some other musings on Christmas music can be found here from 2009 and this same day in 2008.

My heart wants to sing every song it hears

The local high school drama club has traditionally done its annual musical in the spring, but this year they are doing it in the fall and I am honored to have been a part of it again as choreographer. The choice this year was the beloved classic The Sound of Music and tonight is opening night! It's not the most dance-heavy show, so my hardest part was over some weeks ago, but I still attended rehearsals to lend my voice where I could and just to enjoy being present in the creative process.

Lonely Goatherd - In the stage musical, this happens during the thunderstorm instead of "My Favorite Things" - This has become my favorite number of the whole show.

Our family has been thrown a number of challenges recently, typical of life really, but having this creative outlet has been unbelievably helpful in getting me through all of it. I've been so blessed with all my shows of the last year, in that they have come into my life at just the right time for a variety of reasons. It's been so good to have theatre become a more regular part of my life again, and now I just need to find more outlets for performing as well as creating.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

So Long, Farewell

Many thanks to Summer for inviting me to be part of the drama club and many thanks to these amazing students for all their hard work!

ガマン (Gaman)

Japan has a long history of the performing arts, so musical and theatrical performances are not particularly hard to come by. Seeing them in English? Now that's a different story, whether professional or not. Fortunately, it can be done if you look for it and are patient. Today, that patience really paid off.

Tonight, we had the opportunity to see a filmed recording of the Broadway musical "Allegiance", which stars George Takei and Lea Salonga, among others, which tells the story of a family sent to a Japanese internment camp during World War II.  It's run on Broadway had been short, and wanting to reach audiences across North America, they filmed it and showed it in movie theaters around the U.S. and Canada. This week, at a few theaters in Tokyo, they are showing the same recording with Japanese subtitles, to reach George Takei's (and musical's characters') ancestral home. The musical is still in English, but with Japanese subtitles.

We went to the show with the same friends I do the high school musicals with, and with whom we have now established a tradition of attending professional theater in Tokyo together. This time, I figured out how to buy and pick up our tickets (a bit of an adventure in and of itself). I knew that it would feature some recorded welcome and introduction from George Takei and that he would be present at the premiere showing earlier in the week. So, even when we walked into the theater and some chairs set up on the stage, we did not expect to see George Takei in the room.

George Takei! (And some other nice people.)

Clearly, we were wrong. For about 30 minutes, they had a pre-show chat with George Takei, a producer from the show, and an actress who may be starring in an upcoming L.A. production (?). It was really interesting to hear about the birth of the show and some of their favorite parts. The moderator spoke the fastest Japanese I've ever heard, but also had perfect English and switched between the two flawlessly. It was fascinating. George Takei spoke a little Japanese, but gave most of his remarks in English.

The show itself was beautiful and touching. It wasn't perfect, maybe even a bit formulaic in places, but still really thought-provoking and well-executed. I would absolutely recommend it, even if all you can do is listen to a cast recording.

Blake, me, Summer, Ben

After the show, we went to dinner at place called Eggs N' Things, a restaurant chain born in Hawaii that has since come to Japan. Our friends, despite living here for seven years and counting, have never been. It's not the first time I've introduced at least one of them to something, nor will it be the last, which is amusing to me. One interesting thing is that each location has its own menu or specialty item, which is what I ordered tonight. It was too pretty not to!

Night Sky pancakes - strawberry pancakes, topped with bananas, strawberries, and a mountain of whipped cream, with a side of chocolate sauce and sprinkles.

Tonight was more than I expected, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to watch even filmed professional theater, hear from some of the creatives involved (George Takei!), and spend time with wonderful friends.

This photo looks like we're in front a backdrop or green screen, but I promise we are not!

Tokyo

Sing with me, sing for the years

Karaoke in Japanese is a clipped compound word combining empty (kara) and oukesutora (orchestra). It's wildly popular throughout the world, but it was developed in Japan where it has long been common to have musical entertainment at dinner or a party. What seems to be popular here now is renting a private room with a group of friends, which Blake and I have enjoyed once and look forward to doing again!

It's no secret that I love to sing and perform and karaoke is, for me, a really chill way to get to do this. When I was in college, I spent many a Friday night at a theater in Pleasant Grove, Utah, singing karaoke with several of my theater friends. In Virginia, I went to Rock It Grill in Alexandria and other karaoke nights. But somehow, Blake and I had never been together until we moved to Japan. 

We have now more than made up for this, since I have found a new job and it couldn't be more perfect for my new life in Japan - karaoke host by the name of Amanda Darling!

Contracted through the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office on our base, I alternate hosting duties on Saturday nights at one of the bars on our base. It's my job to announce singers, program the karaoke machine, and sing in the downtime. I was "discovered" by answering a survey sent out by the MWR looking for local entertainment.  I'm still figuring it all out, but I'm two months into this job now and I like it!

I'm getting to know some people in my neighborhood, practice singing, and working on my hosting/MC skills. I certainly didn't anticipate this opportunity, but I really do enjoy it. One of my favorite moments so far was being profiled by Aspiring Mormon Women on Facebook for embracing my "and" - all the things I am in addition to a wife, (one day future hopefully) mother, and LDS woman. I'm looking forward to seeing to where this goes and you can follow my adventures on Amanda Darling's Facebook page! 

I want to be in the room where it happens

My very first task at this Virginia Association of School Librarians conference on Thursday morning was to present. I was at a three day professional development course over the summer and ideas were shared and it was suggested I submit a proposal to present in the fall. And I did. And I was accepted! So yesterday was my first opportunity to present at a professional conference of any kind and I think I did pretty darn well!

My session was on the The Music Teacher and the Librarian, and I shared a variety of ways that music teachers and school librarians can collaborate on lessons to support one another's program. Using ideas I gathered from other librarians, music teachers, and other educational colleagues, as well ideas of my own, I threw out several ideas for musical read alouds, research projects, listening and writing assignments, and other ways the librarian might be of use to the music teacher in fun and engaging ways for the students. I even got to work Hamilton into my presentation.

Since my school does not have a music program at this time, there is a lot I can't implement myself, but I hope the twenty-five or so people who attended got something out of it that they can take to their school.

It was a little nerve-wracking being among the first presenters. Everyone is still energetic and excited and not yet conferenced out or overwhelmed with ideas, like you might be by the third day. On the other hand, it was nice to get it over with and then just enjoy the rest of my meetings so far.

And enjoy them I have! As expected, I've been to sessions that have inspired me to make changes in my library now and other things to file away for later. Now that this is my second year attending VAASL meetings (I attended all the events that I could last year), I'm getting to know people and enjoy some networking as well. One of the sessions I attended today turned into a bit of a therapy session for me. It was intended to be a meeting of any solo librarians to network and meet together, but it ended up just being me and the facilitators. So, we talked about my job and the challenges I'm facing. They were really reassuring and encouraging and made me feel like I am doing the right things. I was even told that they were glad I was not the shrinking violet type, because I'd be even more challenged at my job if I were. It's really nice to receive professional validation from other librarians who know more than I do. One of them had even been to my presentation and enjoyed it!

I also won, in a round of genre bingo, a copy of a biography about my Texas hometown hero - Babe Didrikson Zaharias. She was a great athlete from the early 20th century who also grew up in Beaumont. I can't tell you how many times I wandered around the museum about her. It was right off the soccer fields, so I'd go there during my siblings' games sometimes.

It has also been wonderful to spend some time with an internet friend of mine, after meeting her in person for the first time. We've been friends on Twitter for at least four or five years and finally we got to hang out! She was a keynote speaker on Thursday and I think we both appreciated having a buddy to spend time with the last couple of days. It was also a highlight to get a shout out during her keynote address. I'll have to get up to Boston one of these days and hang out with her again!

I'm really glad to be attending this conference. Meetings like this can be hard for an introvert, and I miss my husband and dog, but I'm glad I'm here - learning things, feeling energized and rejuvenated about my job, and being among my people, strangers and friends alike!

Alexander Hamilton, My name is Alexander Hamilton

A month ago, the most I might have been able to tell you about Alexander Hamilton was that he was shot by Aaron Burr and I probably only remember that thanks to a certain commercial from the 90s.

Now, thanks to a certain new musical, I can tell you a whole lot more. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who I already liked from his musical In the Heights and his wedding video, has written a musical based on the life of Alexander Hamilton and it is brilliant.

As an introduction, here is the Hamilton Mixtape that Miranda performed while he was first working on this project. Miranda explains the concept and sings what became the musical's opening number.

Basically, Miranda decided that music of the revolution was a hip-hop story - an orphaned immigrant who starts at the bottom in a new city and helps change the world. Using hip-hop, R&B, rap, pop and traditional Broadway style music, Miranda has created an approachable, emotional, and inspiring story about "ten dollar founding father without a father."

The promotional materials explain that the show is the story of America then as told by America now, as it is an ethnically diverse cast. It's almost impossible right now for me to think of the Founding Fathers as just a bunch of old, white guys. And, of course, the relationship between Burr and Hamilton throughout. NPR First Listen gives it a really nice review that's worth reading.

There are so many Easter eggs and references in the music and I know I haven't heard them all. At this point, if I think to myself that something is a reference, it probably is. There are some wonderful lyrical annotations at genius.com, and I look forward to having time to go through them all.

I have so many favorite parts that I don't even know where to start. It's just so smart and so fun to listen to. You should give it a listen on Spotify, or just buy the album. Listen for King George singing as a scorned lover. Definitely check out the song where Hamilton starts making fun of a Loyalist farmer by creating variations to the farmer's musical theme, like Mozart did to Salieri in Amadeus. Discover how beautiful it is when Washington starts speaking his farewell speech as Hamilton writes it. All the repeated musical and lyrical themes of various characters. And all the other musical delights in between.

I haven't discovered a new musical that I love this much in a long time. It's just so, so good. Be aware that there is some language and that Hamilton was the center of one of the first, shall we say, interpersonal scandals of our new nation, and that story gets told.

I can't recommend this musical enough. So, go listen to it already! And if anyone wants to send me and Blake to New York to see this, I would be forever in your debt.

Enjoy!

Come sing to the Lord

I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. When possible on Sundays, I discuss some things related to my faith and what I believe. With respect to your own beliefs, I hope this gives you a chance to get to know me and my religion a little better. For previous installments, click here.

Serving in the temple usually means participating in worship and religious instruction through certain rites and ordinances that can only be performed in the temple, whether for ourselves or for the dead. By doing work for the dead via proxy, we simply offer the completed ordinances to those who have passed on and it us up to them to accept it or not. Blake and I try to attend and serve in the temple once a month, and it's been tradition for me, and now us, to go on the day after Thanksgiving. Sadly, I was sick this week, so we postponed this year's trip until Saturday, which was still wonderful.

We also got to go again today, but for a different purpose. This evening was the annual Christmas devotional for temple workers and officiators and their families and I was privileged to sing in the choir - Mormon Choir of Washington, DC. This is my sixth season with this choir and the temple devotional is always one of my favorite annual events.

We meet in the assembly room on the seventh floor, which is modeled after the Kirtland Temple. Speakers are chosen from the temple presidency and their wives as well as other church authorities. It's always a beautiful meeting and a rare honor to sing in the temple, which is usually a much more quiet place. 

I am grateful for the temple and the lovely way I get to kick off the Christmas season. This week, the choir will be participating in the lighting ceremonies for the Christmas lights on the temple grounds. Next week, on Saturday evening, we'll be singing our annual Christmas concert, which is open to the public. If you're in the area, you should come! If you are in the area and can't make it that night, there are events every night throughout December. You can find out more at dctemplelights.lds.org. 

How do you kick off your holiday season?

Some of the lights out this year! Please pardon the fuzz.

All About That Bass

I love when writers, authors, musicians, and other artists take something the general population is already familiar with and redoes it in a new and interesting way. Fractured fairy tales, modernization of stories told in the past, gender swapping, and so on. This is why I love watching the television show Once Upon a Time. Yes, it's basically Disney writing their own fan fiction and it's pretty darn ridiculous most of the time, but it's a lot of fun.

Interestingly, I don't actually get into actual fan fiction, especially the sort you might find online at livejournal or Tumblr. Maybe I'm a snob, but for me to be interested in a retelling, it usually has to be to legitimately published material.

I just love variations on familiar themes and characters and the interesting ways people more talented than myself can interpret them. My love also to extends different cultural interpretations of familiar stories.

Really, this topic cannot be covered in a single blog post, but suffice it to say - I love covers and retellings and reimaginings. And for the rest of today's post, we're going to talk about musical covers.

It's not enough, for me, for a musical artist to just sing the same song in the same way. What I really enjoy is when they take a song written in one genre and redo it in a completely different and unexpected way, usually in a different genre

I think my first introduction to musical covers was Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, who had some ska/punk versions of Broadway showtunes. I already loved showtunes, and I was starting to discover ska, so it was a fantastic musical marriage. .
Like Belinda Carlisle's 80s pop hit "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" redone as a piano ballad. I heard the original on the radio a few days ago and didn't like it nearly as much, and I usually love me some 80s pop. I almost think it was supposed to be a piano ballad from the start, Belinda Carlisle just didn't know that.

 Here's one I found just yesterday. I loved them on The Sing Off and this is an adorable cover.

Postmodern Jukebox just gets me, with so many different pop songs done in a variety of ways.

Carolina Chocolate Drops does a really interesting version of Hit 'Em Up Style
Some of my favorite cover groups are The Baseballs (German rockabilly band covering American Top 40), The Puppini Sisters (Andrews sisters sound-alikes covering Top 40), and Pomplamoose (real life couple doing cool instrumentations of popular songs).

I'm really just scratching the surface on my favorite covers. I'm sure I'm leaving out something amazing. Please let me know if I am!

How do you feel about covers? Any favorites?

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis!

Saturday morning, we had to leave town bright and early. Fortunately, a local custard shop owner opened early just for us to have breakfast. Belgian waffle with lemon custard and strawberries? Yes, please and thank you.

There had been some major flooding in Illinois and Iowa that week (even some of the sites in Nauvoo were in danger), so our journey had to be rerouted a little. We also ran into major road construction and baseball game day foot traffic. This made our next stop, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, a little tricky.

When I was thirteen, we went to the arch as a family, but I was in a cast and dealing with either a wheelchair or crutches and the arch is not accessible. My family refused to go without me, so I was thrilled when Blake suggested we go on this trip. However, we had timed tickets and with all the detours and travel difficulties, we were late. The lines were long and all seemed lost, until we made some phone calls and found some very understanding people who were able to get us up with the next group. It was a journey 17 years in the making and totally worth it!

The door to the pod that took us up the Arch

Finally made it!

Our final touristy location was the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Kentucky. We met my uncle there and caught the last tour of the day. They take you on the actual factory floor! It was cool to learn how they make their bats and get a mini-bat of our own.

That night, we stayed with my aunt and uncle in Indiana and enjoyed visiting with them. Sunday morning we headed out and made our final push to home. When we weren't stopping and touring, we enjoyed a good 40-50 hours of drive time together. As promised, I napped, but we also had lots of time to talk, listen to (maybe even sing along with) the satellite radio the rental car provided, and listened to an audiobook together (House Rules by Jodi Picoult). It was an amazing time and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my wonderful Blake!

I'm in love with a wonderful guy!

Six months ago today, I married the most wonderful man.

It was the perfect day. This post is long and it has a lot of photos, but it's worth it.

We were married in the Logan, Utah, LDS temple, the sixth generation of my mom's family to do so. It was a risky choice in winter, but it turned out exactly as we hoped, with just the right amount of snow.

Since we and most of our guests stayed in Logan the night before, I had to spend the night before my wedding in a one room hotel room with my entire immediate family and share the bathroom getting ready in the morning with three other women. The men, my dad and brother, wisely steered clear as much as possible, and I only had to call "Bride!" once for mirror dominance. As crazy as it was, it was still really fun to have my mom and sister help me get ready before Blake picked me up to take me to the temple.

The ceremony was, of course, beautiful. To kneel across the altar from my best friend and the best man I know and make eternal covenants with him and with Heavenly Father, surrounded by supportive and loving family and friends, was a precious experience I'll never forget.

By about 10:30 in the morning, we were married and it was time for celebrating!

But first, let's talk about the clothes.

My mom made my dress. I wore her wedding slip, which she didn't actually get to wear at her own wedding, because it somehow got left in Idaho.

We bought matching Chucks, because I wear orthotics and there was no way I was going to go without them that day. Plus they're just awesome and a sly reference to one of my favorite shows.

I made the bouquet from brooches and assorted jewelry donated by family and friends and a few things I picked up on my own.

I also made my earrings and Blake's boutonniere, which is a reference to our first date.

The circlet we found at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

The cloak was just something I had in closet from a Halloween costume Eilonwy made me several years ago.  Perfect for a winter wedding.

After pictures, we had a wedding breakfast at The Bluebird Cafe, a Logan favorite that's becoming something of a family tradition. We'd invited the closest of our families and friends to the morning events and the breakfast gave us a chance to talk to everyone and thank them for supporting and loving us. Our families get along amazingly well and we seriously could not have asked for a better day with them.

We spent the afternoon caravanning back to Utah Valley (Blake and I stopped on the way to get Dr Pepper Slurpees, something we can't find in DC), where our evening reception was held, allowing us to celebrate with many more people! Our decoration theme was" us" and it turned out exactly as we had dreamed and planned with a lot of personality. It was also a real treat to put together with our families, especially all the final touches and seeing it all come together the way we'd hoped.

The book arch was something I mentioned and showed a picture of to my mom one day, remarking how neat it would be, and a couple of days later she told me my uncle would do it! We loved it so much.

 The room was filled with love, happiness, no shortage of cookies, and a hot chocolate bar. My only wedding regret was not getting a single cookie. I guess I was too busy hugging people!

Me and Grandpa!

I did have some cake. Fran made us a tiny cake, which we topped with a topper my maternal grandfather gave me for Christmas when was I was 18, with the caveat that I not use it for at least five years. I played it safe and didn't use it for almost ten! We cut said cake with my paternal grandfather's dress sword from the Navy.

I convinced my dad to sing "The Wedding Song" by Paul Stookey, accompanied by my uncle, for our first dance, since I'd grown up listening to him sing and play it.

 I surprised Blake by singing to him. I chose "I Will Love You" by Fisher, a song I fell in love with sometime in my teens because of its simplicity in its message about undying love and wanted to sing to my husband someday.

Then, I surprised my dad by choosing "You Can Close Your Eyes" by James Taylor for the father-daughter dance, which is our song.

And then everybody danced!

Finally, we made our exit in our cunning hats from AnneArchy under a shower of sparklers.

It really was the most amazing day. So full of love and wonderfulness. I'm so grateful to everyone who helped us plan and prepare everything and everyone who supported us in this decision, whether they celebrated with us in person or not. We're truly blessed by the people in our lives.

And marriage? Marriage is awesome.

Happy six months to us!

Photography by Jasmine Purles, Chris Manning, and Emily Pilmer.