ceremony Archives - K.V. Fischer

The wedding celebrant has the most important role — marrying the bride and groom. As the wedding planner, my first question to my daughter was, “Who do you want to marry you?” Without hesitation, she replied, “Father Mbala.”

How We Met

wedding, wedding planner, marrying, marry, celebrant, church, ceremony, bride, groom, Our Lady of the Mountains, St. John the Evangelist, missionary — Father Mbala

When we first moved to Colorado, we did what a lot of people do, we church hopped to find the right fit. Father Felicien Mbala was a missionary priest from the Dominican Republic of Congo assigned to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, our new church home. A brilliant man (he speaks more than a half dozen languages fluently) with a heart for people, he made a big impact on our lives.

The Question

He stayed at our church longer than normal for a missionary priest, and without family, he shared a couple of Thanksgivings with us where we got to know him better. At the time my daughter told me that there was only one person she wanted to marry them, Father Mbala, his assignment was the University of Colorado in Boulder. When my husband and I asked him to marry Victoria and Rob, his response was immediate — he was honored.

Our Lady of the Mountains

The pastor of Our Lady of the Mountains had no problem with a guest priest, especially since he was not available to perform the ceremony. University of Colorado was not far from Estes Park (about 40 minutes), however, Father Mbala got transferred before the wedding to Breckenridge, quite a distance away. Fortunately for us, he still looked forward to performing the ceremony.

Father Mbala was there for the rehearsal and walked us through what would happen along with Deacon George (the new wedding planner for the church) and his wife. From the bride and groom to those who gave the readings, sang, and participated in the bridal party, we were all clear on the expectations.

On the day of the wedding, we couldn’t ask for a more beautiful and memorable wedding ceremony. Father Mbala clearly had an effect on all of our hearts, and made it especially touching for the bride and groom. We all left with his special blessing.

Thank you Father Mbala! You truly are a reflection of God’s love.

The music is a requirement for every wedding ceremony regardless of where you have it. As the wedding planner, I never imagined one of my most difficult tasks would be finding the musician for the wedding ceremony. My dilemma arose because of the date — great for some aspects of wedding planning, but a major drawback when it came to the instrumentals.

The Musician

wedding, wedding planner, music, ceremony, River Flows in You, Canon in D - Palchelbel, bridal procession, bridal party procession, piano, organ, maid of honor, bride, videographer, pianist, singers, Christmas wedding — Organ, Our Lady of the Mountains, Estes Park, CO

Organ, piano, harp, guitar,…. your preferred instrument dictates your choice of musicians…so does the date and the church. The church typically has a list of musicians who play for weddings, but they may not be available, as was the case for us. What also surprised me was that very few felt comfortable on an organ.

A Christmas wedding precluded the entire list — they were either out of town, with family, or worked for the post office (the Saturday before Christmas is their busiest time of year). I then tried surrounding churches with similar results. Estes Park is driving distance from 3 major universities with music departments, but alas, it was Christmas break.

The groom’s mother was a pianist, but I couldn’t ask her, after all, she was the mother of the groom and wanted to enjoy the wedding, as she should. With less than a month before the wedding, I contacted Lisa, the Director of Music for my church and fortunately she agreed to rearrange her schedule in order to help out. Although she did not play the organ, she played a beautiful piano. She also agreed to come up before the rehearsal the day before to tune in with both singers. Thank you Lisa!

The Singers

We were blessed with the singers. Where some have trouble finding just the right beautiful voice, we had 2, both bridesmaids — my daughter’s former college roommate, Carleen, agreed to sing Ave Maria (a very difficult Latin song) as well as the Psalms, and the groom’s sister sang O Holy Night. Ave Maria filled the church as the mothers were escorted to their seats. Carleen set the perfect tone, her voice filling our hearts.

After the bride and groom exchanged rings, Sarah sang one of my favorite songs, O Holy Night. Our videographer, Jack Dorfman, did a phenomenal job memorializing the entire ceremony, including the music.

The Procession

I never thought about the music choices available for the procession — one for the bride and the other for the bridal party. Our pianist provided a list, but I contacted a former colleague, Cassandra, who not only had her master’s in music, but was fairly recently married (within the last 5 years, whereas I’ve been married 34 years) and she sent me a comprehensive list as well. Needless to say, the bridesmaid and maid of honor chose the music from Cassandra’s list: Yirma – River Flows in You for the bridesmaids and Canon in D – Palchelbel for the bride’s procession. Although our pianist did not know River Flows in You, she bought the music and learned it. Wow!

I love Christmas music, with Ave Maria and O Holy Night near the top of the list. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (or Ode to Joy/Bach) was the Recessional as the bride and groom walked out of the church with big beautiful smiles. Thanks to everyone involved, the ceremony was indeed a memorable success.

What’s your favorite Christmas music?

Tag: ceremony

The Wedding Celebrant — Who Do You Want to Marry You?

How We Met

The Question

Our Lady of the Mountains