I performed John Stanley’s Trumpet Voluntary as the bride (Celia Madden) entered St Benet's Minster in Beccles, Suffolk on Saturday 3rd August 2019. Celia and I met while studying together at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and it was a great pleasure and privilege to play as she entered the church on her wedding day.

Celia married Joseph Carter at 2pm and their wedding service featured the hymns: Lord of All Hopefulness, Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, and How Great Thou Art. Madeleine McConnell-Smith (soprano) sang Ave Maria by Franz Schubert and L'Heure exquise by Reynaldo Hahn during the signing of the register.

It was fantastic to play with the organist Victor Scott - an exceptional musician and a last minute stand-in (covering for illness). Victor Scott is the Organist and Director of Music at St. Edmund’s Church in Southwold. He played the Toccata from Symphony No.5 by Charles-Marie Widor as the wedding guests departed for the reception at the nearby Sotterley Hall.



I thoroughly enjoyed the reception and I had to leave a little before it finished to drive to Heathrow Airport. I had received a last minute booking to record Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.2 [BWV 1047] and I would be staying in a hotel at Heathrow in preparation for an early flight the next morning.

Congratulations to Celia and Joe!