Engagement Story

Hey everybody!!! I cannot believe it. I am engaged! For most of my 20′s I lived a very single life and got accustomed to it. I had come to grips with the fact that I could be a woman who didn’t marry and it would not be the end of the world….clearly I was wrong!!!! Many of my friends would roll their eyes at me or make faces that meant, give me a break Lakshmi. It wasn’t a woe is me thing just a fact.

In April 2009 I went to speed dating on Allen St in NYC. One of the Divas had told me her cousin was dating a guy she met at speed dating and I figured what is the worst that could happen? I meet a ton of absolutely not’s and have a funny story? No problem! So I decided to wait until my orchestra season was over and off I went. I had no expectations. Upon arrival to the location I was like, omg!, who are these guys they found BUT then a guy in a pinkish red fitted shirt came in and I text my friend, finally a hot one! He was very cute and muscular so my pheromones had heated up lol. The speed dating began and it was a range of funny and weird experiences. Then the pinkish red shirt guy was my date and he kept me laughing. He seemed like a player in those moments together but hey, a girl needs a date! There is much more to this story like we knew someone in common, him slipping me his card and me thinking he really liked a girl I had made friends with there, my being caught checking him out by on one of the other dates :O blah blah.

Fast forward two+ years and we were living together happily but had never taken a vacation together. I am huge on travel and it drove me almost insane every time he said he wasn’t ready to travel with me, doesn’t like flying (this is true), won’t get a passport, has no interest in leaving the country etc. All in all there are way too many positives with Shaun so I just let it go and hoped that one day he’d go away with me and give it a shot. This past weekend was the first time. We went to Mystic, CT which is about 2 hours away from where we live. I had asked that we go someplace close by. Just get out of our normal routines and not have to fly. I was über excited on Saturday when we left and Shaun was exhausted. The night before I had thrown a monkey wrench in his plan. My ring was at my parents house but my plans with a friend had been postponed so we were together. Long story short he ended up using a friend as a decoy and not getting home until 1am! I didn’t know until later but he made a iPhone video of himself walking to the car Saturday morning talking about his plan to propose and why I am the one. I LOVE this video. We also took some video in Mystic before and after the proposal as well as the night before in Foxwoods where I find my facial expressions to him quite amusing. I wish I could post some here but it’s $60 to do so! But right, right the story.

Sunday afternoon we booked tickets to take a boat ride on Mystic River at 2pm. Shaun was a little uncertain because the weather report said possible thunderstorms but I had faith that we would get lucky. I was right! Sunday was humid but no rain. We arrived around 1 to downtown Mystic. We found a bench to sit on by the river to wait. Shaun asked if I would change anything in our relationship and I said no, I’m happy. What would have happened if I gave a list of problems lol?! So we talked about us and the past a little. Made of fun of things we saw like a woman wearing hair rollers on the bench next to us, HA! The whole time he was giving me small smooches and rubbing my shoulders. He was nervous. Then he said thank you for being patient with me about going away together. I really needed to save money this year (he’s an accountant, need I say more…). Then he said I made my goal but I blew it and I said on what? Then he started rustling in his pocket and out came a jewelry box but it wasn’t the standard ring box. He opened it and asked me to marry him. I said yes and something else I don’t remember and he said did you say yes?! And I said yes, grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him ! We only had a few minutes until 2 so we walked over to the boat and called my parents and his mom. I was SOOOOO happy all day and I still am. The boat ride was very nice. I had left my phone in the car by accident so I wasn’t texting and calling people but I was enjoying being with him. We made two short videos, one just talking and excited about it and one where we explain the proposal. I am so happy he thought to make these videos because now we have short snippets of our engagement weekend. My fav is definitely the first one where he says how awesome I am, J/K! So there you have it. Lakshmi and Shaun are engaged. It’s not real to me yet but I am so happy. I will do my best not to bore you all with the minutia of the planning once we get around to it but I will probably complain from time to time or ask for help when I can’t make a decision.

Here I am the night before the engagement, clueless that there’s a ring in the hotel!!!

After dinner the night of the engagement. I clearly packed a lot of black tops. The tragedy of always needing black clothes to perform.

(Excuse my eyes and the reflections of light. We couldn’t get a good picture.)

City Meets Country for a Wedding

Saturday was sooo much fun. My bf’s ex-coworker had a wedding celebration at Camp Oneka in Pennsylvania. They were married in NYC at the Justice  of the Peace at the end of last year after being together since college. The weekend was a celebration for family and friends with no wedding ceremony. Instead of typical invites they sent out save the dates with this website, http://camponanley.com/. You have to check it out. It’s cute in a very different wedding way. Rather than the regular lists of who, what, when and an idyllic story of how they first met you are welcomed with jokes and an air of low key fun.

The week of the event I kept asking Shaun, bf,  what do I wear. Of course I had asked earlier but he just didn’t understand what the big deal was. But on  the website it said camp casual. Ummm….what is that?! Finally Terry, the groom, told me he didn’t care what I wore but his wife would be wearing a long cotton jersey dress and he would be wearing a linen suit. I was in love with that response so I opted for jeans, a black top and some boots. I was informed by Shaun the week of that we would NOT be spending the night in the woods because he’s “not sleeping in a cabin in the woods!” Smh. This Queens boy was not ready for where we were going.

Saturday arrives and I walk  to the train and meet him by grand central. Shaun was pretty cranky because he had class in the morning. He’d already left home, driven to Queens and then into the city. I accepted the complaints but I was on time for the meet as well as another guest. It took us FORever to get out of the city. I always prefer to avoid the tunnels but we had no other option. The ride was chockfull of booooring tax convo between Shaun and Sean. Yes, the other guest has the same name. We drove through many towns, the highways didn’t go where we were going lol. Eventually we arrived and I thought it was so cute. A very small campground with heated cabins. We had trouble figuring out which group of people was our’s and my Shaun didn’t want to get out of the car because he was scared! LMBO! It was 4:30pm! I got out and figured it all out. Lucky for me I had been to sleep away camp as a kid so this was nothing to me. Shaun was talking about how this is how all the murders start in the show Criminal Minds lol. Clearly I’d die first since my 6’3 diesel boyfriend refuses to leave the car!

We found Terry and another coworker Ghada. Ghada was great! Such a funny woman with her adorable 9-year-old. The four of us sat outside by the lake making jokes until dinner. Ghada and I were clearly overdressed as the other guests were wearing t-shirts from the bride and groom, sneakers and old jeans lol. The dinner was held in the dining hall, the picture below is in the hall. Happily people were more dressed up for this part and we didn’t stand out anymore. The food was very tasty. A buffet of pulled pork, baked beans, baked chicken, corn on the cob etc. The vibe was wonderful. I felt like I was at a family party. The guests were in comfortable clothes, the music was pumping and the food was  home style. Terry and Jennie accomplished a lost art in wedding celebrations. Comfort, ease, low-key, family, friends, fun.

Career Thoughts

On Sunday I went to a fabulous Tapas bar in Greenwich CT, Barcelona, with a colleague I admire. She isn’t a mentor to me but she is someone who has built a career that makes me gape in awe. Our discussion was chock-full of relationship and the life of a musician talk. The musician talk left me with a range of emotions. For one, I was reminded of how difficult the choices are for women no matter what their career. So many people we both know have chosen to focus completely on entering the NY scene of musicians whether it be through auditions into the big orchestras, broadway, freelance etc. The common thread is many single women which is hard for me to swallow. If we/I throw myself into building a strong career what will happen to my relationship?? Why has it been so hard for them to find someone? We all know that a relationship can be a distraction but why when women put their career first are there so few men supporting them the way women support men in high-powered jobs? So then I took a few sips of wine, sighed and remembered it’s still a man’s world.

So what am I going to do? That is most important question I must answer. Honestly, I am not sure. I am contemplating what will bring me the most gratification. I am sure that I will not start prepping myself for years of auditions. My quartet is what makes me the most fulfilled musically so it will certainly continue but how do I build on that? Do I try to enter the world of freelance pop world in NY? I could but like every other part of this life the who you know game is key. I know who is in charge of hiring musicians for this work however that person has a core of musicians. Just like I have a core quartet and they are always hired with each having a sub just in case they can’t make it. So do I drop the dream because I didn’t get my Masters in the city or move there outside of school? I really don’t know. The only thing I do know is I must continue to become a better musician so a new practice regime will begin soon. Perhaps give another quartet concert and hopefully take up my colleague on playing together and for each other. She also suggested we give a concert together which totally freaks me out. She’s soooo good! Yes, yes, that’s me still feeling inadequacy after so many years. Stop it Lakshmi! Buck up little camper and make it happen!

Blasts from Many Pasts

What a day! So many of my worlds collided at the Glen Island Harbor Club in New Rochelle. It is a beautiful place, http://glenisland-harbourclub.com/index.html. I grew up in New Rochelle and I used to work for its sister venue, The Fountainhead. I was 16 and a hostess, the girl who holds your champagne with strawberries as you arrive and brings drinks to your table. I remember the opening of GIHC….I hope that doesn’t mean I am getting old! The staff was wonderful as always. As we began playing Prelude music a woman in a pretty blue dress walked by who was the past superintendent of schools in New Rochelle, Linda Kelly. She was amazing at her job! All of the kids in New Ro knew and loved her. I’m not sure how she accomplished that but she did. Time continues and we notice a woman in a gorgeous dress. Jess compliments her and she says she had us at her wedding! She came over later to say hello and I was shocked. It was Jennifer Soberman! She had an amazing wedding at Capitale in NYC. She is the reason we now perform the Forrest Gump Theme at so many weddings. The kicker of the whole day was that the bride went to high school with me. I knew this ahead of time but how crazy to see someone who used to play in the viola section with you in high school orchestra walking down the aisle. And last but not least, I went to put my viola away and noticed they still decorate each place setting with an orchid and flat bread. The only thing missing was the butter at the 3 o’clock position on the plate lol.

Jennifer, if you have a picture of yourself and David from the wedding please share!! I really wish I would have taken a photo with the two of you!

Forrest Gump Feather Theme Sample

A First and I Pray the Last Time

This morning was very stressful. I didn’t sleep well at all anticipating the results of the storm. As soon as I woke up I checked the traffic, thank you Traffic and Weather Channel, and the Taconic State Parkway, Interstate 684, Interstate 87 and the Tappan Zee bridge had closures. What does this mean? Every possible route I could take to get to our wedding was closed!!! I spoke to the MOB (mother of the bride) and she indicated that come hell or high water, literally, the wedding was on. I was hoping and praying that by noon one of the highways would open up so we could go but no such luck. By 1pm there were no options from Jersey or Westchester. One of the members was even staying 20 minutes from the venue and had no luck. A creek overflowed which would not allow her to leave her parents home and Route 9G was closed. . If I had wings I would’ve flown there. Or a broom like Harry! They were such wonderful people to work with but we just couldn’t make it. I hope that their wedding day was beautiful despite not having live music. In truth, I know it was. The essence of the wedding isn’t the music, the food, the dancing, the gifts or the guests. It is two people pledging their lives to each other. So I will chalk this up to a learning experience and most importantly, mother nature rules.

Hurricane Wedding Weekend

This has got to be one of the most insane wedding weather months I have ever seen. We are in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Earlier this afternoon we performed a ceremony which went off without a hitch BUT tomorrow we are scheduled to perform a ceremony and cocktail hour in Poughkeepsie, NY which is a minimum of 90 minutes from our homes. Luckily the Mother of the Bride has worked diligently to change the venue to a hotel and set us up with hotel rooms. I am starting to think that tonight should have been the night we stayed so tomorrow in the heat of the storm we aren’t driving. Unfortunately I did not think of this yesterday so tomorrow morning I will wake up and see if the storm is as bad as they have been predicting. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!!

On a happy note, the wedding today was gorgeous. They were married at an Inn in Bedford, NY. The ceremony was moved indoors into what is used as a yoga loft. There were about 50 guests in the room and it was just beautiful. I love intimate weddings. I highly recommend to those of you looking for an alternative to the reception halls finding a restaurant, inn or historic house. The effect is wonderful.

 

Fun Day

Let me start by saying rain on your wedding day does not have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can make things really memorable.

Today we all arrived early to the Bird and Bottle Inn in Garrison, NY to rehearse some music for the ceremony today but also for the rest of the month. We noticed that the ceremony was still scheduled for outdoors even though it was overcast but we were keeping the faith that it would not rain. Things were going very smoothly until Melissa looked at me with eyes that meant “rain!!” I wasn’t feeling any drops but a few minutes later it started to come down. So I made the call, let’s go under the awning. Luckily the processional was already over so we would only have to be under the awning for the Recessional. If you don’t know, our instruments can not be in the rain….BAD NEWS!!! Then it really started raining and the poor guests had to put their programs over their heads because the venue couldn’t accommodate moving inside. There was a rush to the end and we played Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered as bridal party and the guests left the area. I was so pleased that everyone was smiling. They say it’s good luck when it rains on your wedding day and in this couple’s case I think it’s true.

After the ceremony was over we recorded part of a  song, Hoppipolla, for an October bride literally huddled on a porch! We couldn’t go inside because the venue was trying to make room for the guests. It was pretty hysterical. I was sweating bullets…as usual! Jess was standing up playing her cello and we are all crowded around each other. By some miracle and the lovely gadget the iPhone we recorded. I reaaalllly hope the bride likes it because Sasha is going on maternity leave. This was our last opportunity to record before  Baby Korczynski #3 arrives at the end of the month.

As Jess and I were about to pull away Amy and Michael, the bride and groom, came outside to have some quiet time on the porch and were so happy with us. Out of the car window we got this super cute picture of them.

Here’s Hoppipolla-another reminder that we have the iPhone on a stand, huddling over it in weird positions hoping we can actually play properly, the balance is definitely off as the person closest is picked up the most, and there are trucks driving by but hey.

Hoppipolla

I know, I know, it’s been too long

I have been completely amiss with my blogging. I apologize to my readers. July has been quite the wedding month for us. Each one has been beautiful and special in its own way. This weekend we were so happy to be inside. It’s been reaaalllly hot and playing outside can be quite the experience for someone like me. I sweat the instant I step out into any temperature above 80 degrees so you can imagine what it’s like at 90 degrees or more playing my instrument. HOT! Luckily no one can tell how hot I am.  As long as the bride, groom and guests are happy I can sweat .

Both couples did things a little differently this weekend. Friday’s couple had a prelude full of contemporary music. They decided since they were inviting guests 30 minutes prior to the ceremony to have popular music for the first 20 or so minutes and then have us switch to more traditional wedding music. I thought it was a cute idea especially because we were only performing in the Church and not going to the cocktail hour. A little bit of the best of both world’s. Saturday’s couple were also married in a Church and had a photo montage on a screen above the altar. We had a play list to go along with it. I have seen this a few times at some Churches in New Jersey but I forgot how much I like it. It gives the guests something really nice to watch beforehand. It sets a sentimental mood as well with us playing along. I think more people should do it at this time rather than at the reception.  Just an idea for you budding brides.

This is Jaclyn and Michael. By chance I ran into them on my way out Sunday and they were so gracious to allow me to take a photo of them. So cute! They were going to be on their way out of the church to greet their guests. (The guests were given Rita’s italian ice after the ceremony. Another very cool idea!)

I Made it!!!

My enthusiasm is through the roof! On January 1st I made a goal for myself which I wasn’t sure about doing  because it felt like a resolution. However, I had spoken to a woman I admire in my profession and she gave me the confidence to go for it. I made a goal for an amount of weddings I would book for the 2011 season and I made it!!! We made it, we made it, we made it!!! I have been pouring my heart and soul into marketing us and it has paid off 10 fold. I can’t even believe it’s happened. These women have helped to make my life so special. YAY!!!  Maybe we’ll even surpass the goal :O.

This pic is so not how we show up to play weddings BUT I love the magazine cover feel.

Best Job Ever

On Saturday I had a recital for my students. I had been looking forward to it for a couple of months because a bunch of them were learning beginning Concerto’s. Concerto’s are pieces of music where there is a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. In their case they would be performing with piano accompaniment. Seeing all of them perform was pretty surreal. When I first decided to go to school for music I had no intention of teaching. I was adamant that I would not teach in school but my senior year in college I needed to find a course to take in order to stay full-time and have my scholarship. I found a  grad school class in the Suzuki method and was allowed to take it. The class taught me how to start a young student and a pedagogical method. It was one of the most valuable things in my collegiate years. Once I graduated I found a studio to teach privately in near my Master’s program and the rest is history. Some of the students performing are from my very first years. To see them now is unbelievable! Many of the parents were expressed to me during the reception how impressed they were and some even emailed me. I started thinking about where my life is today and it’s pretty awesome. I have a wonderful group of students, a successful wedding business, and I free-lance with orchestras. This week I feel incredibly blessed.