Photos by Colleen. Left click on the images to enlarge.
The bells rang out and the choir sang at the beautiful, little St Mary Virgin Church, Caldicot for chorister Tony Griffiths’ son, Paul and his fiancée Rhiannon Hughes on the longest day of the year, June 21st.
On a brilliantly sunny and warm June day, the choir of over 50 choristers, conducted by Siân Hatton and accompanied by Stephen Berry and John Nicholson kept the appreciative, waiting congregation entertained by singing favourite wedding songs such as You Raise Me Up, Somewhere Out There and the Welsh classic Yfory (Tomorrow) telling of a young man’s longing and hopes to be home to see his loved one.
During the service, the choir also loaned its strong voices to the hymns ‘Morning has Broken’ and fittingly on a glorious June day, the all time children’s favourite ‘All Thing Bright and Beautiful’.
Following Rector, Rev. Lyndon Harrison’s announcement that this would be his last ever wedding ceremony, the now Mr and Mrs Griffiths made their way to sign the register to the sounds of the Everley Brothers hit ‘Let it be me’ and the song made famous by Charles Aznavour, ‘She’. After a little wait, the newly weds made their way down the Nave to the sounds of the choir singing the Elvis classic ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ followed by the delighted congregation of friends, family and of course, the choir.
The wedding reception and ensuing celebrations were held at the Choir Hall and many thanks are due to the choristers who, through hard work and dedication set up the hall, ran the bar and thankfully cleaned up on the following Monday morning in time for practice. Your efforts and hard work are really appreciated by us all.
Meanwhile, after a long day, the Bride and Groom are honeymooning in Florida with not a bike in sight. The Choir and Musical team wish them both a long and happy life together.
Footnote:
In appreciation for all our efforts, Tony offered a drink at the bar for all those choristers who attended the wedding. Well done Tony and THANK YOU. He’s not repeating the offer on Thursday though.
Also we wish Rev. Lyndon Harrison a long, happy and healthy retirement following many years of service at St. Mary’s. The choir has sung on innumerable occasions at the church including concerts, weddings and funerals and has many memories of Lyndon’s support and enthusiasm for the choir. We hope that Lyndon will keep in touch and come and enjoy our future concerts.