Matthew’s thoughts: Anyone At All
I’ll remember this particular wedding for a few things. Firstly, the lovely bride Michelle had put so much thought into her first march-in it took me by surprise!
She chose Carol King’s Anyone At All (“…you could’ve been anyone at all….”) and usually, it’s the band’s job to arrange it with the hotel people i.e. Letting them know how the sequence would go, just so they know when to open the doors (rocket science, really.)
So here I was playing through the song, and I admit, I didn’t really know the song that well, so I went for the (almost)fool-proof method of “OK, we play the verse, and open the doors at the chorus.”
At that point of time, the bride’s coordinator, noticed that Michelle had left specific instructions in the program! It says, “band plays 1 verse and chorus, we’ll walk in on start of 2nd verse.” And I was thinking, “Hmm, how does that work. Sounds like it’d take too long…don’t want the guests to stand up too long…hmm…”
And as silly (and stubborn) as I am, I suggested a few ways of doing it, and only after 20 minutes of experimenting, we realized the only way (and best way) to make it work, seemed to be Michelle’s way! (Michelle 1 – 0 Matthew)
For all those who are confused at this point of time, try listening to the song:
Anyone At All
and follow the sequence we did on that day!
1. Emcee gets guests seated and ready for the entrance, “OK guys, settle down. Couple’s coming in soon.”
2. Hui Bing sings the first verse, which is chemically-bonded to the chorus (flows directly and seamlessly).
3. At the end of her chorus, just before the 2nd verse, emcee gets guests to rise to welcome the couple!
4. Doors open. Couple walks in. Huibing starts her grand 2nd verse.
I dare say, that’s how Michelle wanted it. From the start. Don’t fight the bride. She has put more thought into it than you.
One more thing, and it’s so important that I’ve actually wrote about it before. It’s taken me a while but I’ve finally realized the reason as to why couples help us arrange dinner (e.g. Get a friend to buy chicken rice/Mackers) but it’s mainly because we have lots to cram in and prepare from the golden hour of 6-7pm (doors usually open at 7.30pm)
So what happened was I showed up, and asked the friend of the groom if he knew anything about our dinner arrangements. He didn’t think there were any. So I proceeded with Huibing to get our own. No biggie. When we return, we find out that the groom actually got us 2 nicely packed fried rice dinnersets. (1st “Argh!”)
After our 1st set, as we were about to walk out for our break, someone tells us “Hey the couple got you guys a seat at the table.” haha TOO MUCH FOOD. But there’s always space for steamed fish. And it was good.
Lawrence serenading his lovely bride!
L-R: Matthew, Lawrence, Michelle, Hui Bing
Anyone At All (1st March-in), L-O-V-E, Fly Me To The Moon, Girl From Ipanema, It Had To Be You, I Say A Little Prayer, The Look Of Love, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, When I Fall In Love, When I’m 64, Someone To Watch Over Me, Cheek To Cheek, The Way You Look Tonight, Come Away With Me, If I Ain’t Got You, Sunrise Sunset, 甜蜜蜜 (Honey Sweet), 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart), 花好月圆 (Beautiful Flowers, Full Moon)
Song To Recommend:
Anyone At All
“You could have been anyone at all…I’m so glad it was you!” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of finding the one you love…
Compliments from Michelle:
Hello!
Hui Bing and Matthew did a great job!
Guests appreciated the music and sound: not too loud, just nice. One friend took pic, put in on Facebook and said she loved it. Thanks much!
I didn’t know Matt could sing as well, otherwise, I’d have picked more for the male voice. It was really fab, thanks!
