Music. Music has pretty much always been a part of my life. I was always singing and making up songs as a child and began taking piano lessons when I was six. It has now developed into a career and a hobby. At times I love it. Sometimes it frustrates the snot out of me when I hit a writer's/composer's block. One thing I've learned through music and the arts is that if something doesn't work, quit trying the same thing! Sometimes you just have to try something completely off-the-wall.
When Joel and I were dating/courting, I began to write a song for him. The main theme came really easily, but beyond that I hit a writer's block. Once we got engaged on Dec 27th, 2010, I decided to try to finish the song so I could play it for him at our wedding. The pressure was on. We had 5 months to plan our wedding, and I had 5 months to finish the song. My goal was to get it finished by April so I would have 2 months to just "play" it and not work on it. Word of wisdom: Time lines need to be flexible when you're planning a wedding. They will get changed. After 3-4 weeks of being stuck in the same spot, I finally had breakthrough and everything else in the song feel into place. Poor Joel had to hear about my frustrated moments when I thought it would never come together. I think he's learned to say, "It's okay Babe. Just keep going."and leave it at that. What a trooper!
Our wedding day came on June 11th, 2011; a beautiful and wonderful day. I was completely relaxed about every element of the day; all the hard work had payed off (a big thanks to my Mom) and it was time to soak it in. The only thing that made me shudder a little was playing the song for my soon-to-be Hubby. I wanted it to be memorable and beautiful for him; and not memorable because of an obvious blunder. I also hoped to share my part of our love story with our family and friends through the voice of this song. Whew. Right before my bridesmaids walked out to line up, my friend Monica asked if I was nervous. I told her that I felt good about everything... except the song! My nerves were starting to get the best of me. I'll never forget what she said to me: "You'll do fine, Chelsea. You're in your zone at the piano so just play it for Joel." It was just the encouragement and focus I needed. And it worked. The song wasn't perfect, but it was from my heart.
The link below is a highlight reel from our wedding (a big shout out to Tim Torabpour, our videographer!). The theme song to this video is the song I wrote for Joel, "
My Beloved".
Song of Solomon 2:8-14
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“ Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over
and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines
with the tender grapes
Give a
good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “ O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret
places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice
is sweet,
And your face
is lovely.”
