Remember that moment when an ukulele band plays the beginning of ‘Wedding March’ for Woody and Tracey’s beach wedding in Season 3 of Channel Seven’s popular TV series ‘800 Words’? So perfect! I mean it’s Woody and Trace! Set in New Zealand, in a fictional little ‘dead-end town’ Weld, the tiny 4-string instrument sang louder in harmony for me than all the rock guitars put together in the world in that moment Trace walked down the aisle.
A traditional ukulele band playing Felix Mendelssohn’s ‘Wedding March’ at Woody and Tracey’s Beach Wedding in Weld, New Zealand in popular Channel 9’s TV series ‘800 Words’
We both grew up with classical piano training as part of our musical background. So when asked to play the classical bridal processional songs (or walk-ins) like ‘Wedding March’ (Felix Mendelssohn) or Canon in D (Johann Pachelbel), we always regard it a fun thing for us to revisit that experience on ukulele! With leading ukulele experts and masters such as Jake Shimabukuro, Herb Ohta, Lyle Ritz, Sungha Jung, James Hill, the latter two whom we have had the honour and pleasure of sharing stage with in Sentosa Ukulele Festival 2014, and more recently, Feng E from Taiwan, the potentials of this unassuming 4-string instrument are being steadily revealed. Its little body isn’t made to sound like a little guitar, but has finally gained its own recognition as an instrument, with its own voice. It has always been Polkadot + Moonbeam’s little dream to sing from the unobvious. I think how we carry our lives probably has a lot to how we carry our heart song. Though we love our jazz piano and bossa nova guitar experiences, P+M has a mission that we don’t fight very hard for. We just enjoy sharing the other side of us through music we love. And feel extremely blessed when our music resonates effortlessly with people.
Woody anticipating the moment when the bride walks down the aisle.
Writing this, I thought of the time when Barrie and Matthew first requested for us to play this for their bridal processional for their wedding at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club. That was about 6 months ago! And the many good times we had just tinkling the unique arrangement we have created on ukulele and acoustic bass to have that sweet duo effect without removing authenticity from the original more austere but beautiful arrangement.
Whilst visiting our families in Sydney, we decided to do a little video of Pachelbel’s Canon in D at Blackwattle Bay when we first played ukulele together. To make it extra special, we dropped the usual bass and went on an all-ukulele high. Since we were soaking in midday sun whilst being windblown, you’d also enjoy some au naturale squinting and a bit of cousin IT-hair-action. Enjoy the dancing clouds, shiny jewels on the water as well as the traffic action on Anzac Bridge, Sydney: