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Surprise Song: Let the Bride in Your Life Know That You Care with a Song Just for Her!

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We all have our favorite songs, and sometimes our favorite songs don’t fit neatly into the event that we’ve planned. Luckily, this pesky little problem doesn’t have to mean you’re relegated to a musical menu of Ave Maria’s and Canon in D’s.

Special music doesn’t have to just happen at the wedding ceremony in a certain way, and opening up the places to infuse your life with song can create a really memorable journey into your next phase of your relationship.

If you’re looking for a fun and memorable way to say “I love you” to the bride in your life, sending her a surprise song can be a really special way to do just that.

Who Sends a Surprise Song?

  • The groom-to-be can send one to his glowing fiance
  • A member of the immediate or extended family
  • A friend who wants to do something a little different
  • You tell me!

When to Wield the Surprise Song:

  • At her office – Yes, like a singing telegram. I show up with a recording or a musical buddy in tow and we serenade her. I’ve always loved this. (Don’t worry, there will be no Gorilla Grams!)
  • At the rehearsal – as the officiant runs through the order of events, she doesn’t need to know that the song I’m about to run through is a special one just for her and not on the program she’s approved.
  • At the rehearsal dinner – (and my personal favorite!) Gathering, mingling, schmoozing, hugging, toasting, eating, thanking, smiling…take a pause and give her three minutes to sit back and breathe in the moment while she’s transported to another time and place and we sing to her.
  • At the actual wedding ceremony – for the bold and courageous only, and only when armed and ready with tissues! Depending on the song selection, this might result in tears, but can be a powerful move nonetheless.
  • After the first dance – That song that isn’t right for your first dance together might be the perfect musical tribute to her and your relationship.

Email me at heather@heatherhightower.com with the plot and song you have in mind, and we’ll take it from there.

Filed Under: Packages, Uncategorized, Weddings, Funerals, Sacred Ceremonies Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Elegance in Bridal Show 2012

January 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Well, just a little shout out to say that I will be showing up  at the “Elegance in Bridal Show” at the Omni Hotel, Sunday January 22!

Here are some snapshots from the Charlottesville Wedding Classic January 8, 2012:

My booth for the Charlottesville Wedding Classic on January 8, 2012 at the Boar's Head, Charlottesville, VA

Doesn’t it look nice? I brought my house plants because I love the jungle, the lushness of green and air and all things life. I did, however, get a few people asking if I was a plant vendor. Whoops. And, thanks to Sarah Cramer’s awesome photography, all wonderfully enlarged by Stubblefield photo lab, a few others thought I perhaps was a photographer. Whoops, nope!

I made a Note to Self to get my name blown up with the word “vocalist” in big letters, but the last two weeks were so busy preparing for and attending Christine Kane’s Gold Academy Mastermind with 75 other purposeful, passionate women entrepreneurs, that I didn’t get it done. Oh well. Instead, you’ll see ME, looking something like this:

Nope, I'm not a plant or photography vendor, I'm Heather! And I'm here to make your wedding ceremony sparkle with magical perfection, through music.

 

Last time I gave out free sample CDs, but I’m doing things a little differently at this show. So all the ladies tomorrow (all who stop by and sign up on my sheet) are going to get a brand new, special free gift from me sent directly to their inboxes.

Last time I had free chocolate, free dream wedding assessments, free CDs, and a door prize of a half price wedding! Ooh la la! And, some of my pet rocks. They're not really my pets. I just enjoy them.

 

Somehow, with a boyfriend and a few late night movies, my Hershey’s miniature chocolate supplies have mysteriously dwindled….I’m going to have to see what I can do about that tomorrow morning.

"Hi, I'm Heather and I'm a classically trained vocalist!" I'll have a few of these CDs tomorrow - if you really want one, ask me for one and I'll give it to you from my special stash.

 

If you’re at the show, please stop by my booth and say hello! And, brownie bonus points if you can name the jeans I’ll be wearing….

 

Love,

 

Heather

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Funerals: How a Singer Creates a Sacred Ceremony and Meaningful Service

September 23, 2011 By 2 Comments

Your singer is one of your channels to the divine. (Photo credit belongs to the amazing Katie Stoops, http://www.katiestoops.com)

Funerals are a special time in the life of a family.  They can be a beautiful time of passing, letting go, and letting the new emerge.  The singer is invited to take on the sacred role of creating space for all of the emotions to be processed, or at least begun to be processed. Through intentionally placed sound and presence, offered by the singer before and after song, grips of stuck emotion can be unleashed, enabling family members to feel their grief, allow their sorrow – or anger, or any other kind of emotion. Once felt, emotions can then be released. Once released, freedom can be restored. Once freedom is felt, life can move on.

This can be the beauty of a funeral service.

As one member passes, all of us are invited to let go of what was and make space for the new to emerge. Isn’t this a beautiful thing?

As eternal beings, I believe that our spirits exist before we enter this body and continue to exist after we leave this body. Releasing is important for both those left on Earth, and in some cases, important for those who have chosen to leave this body and move on to their next phase of existence. Who’s to say that they’re no longer with us? They’re just with us in a different form.

The singer at a funeral has an incredible opportunity to facilitate the movement of the energy for all parties. For even just a few minutes of song, this sacred role can truly help transform the experience of death in the family unit. Personally, I enjoy the space of feeling the energies in the room, communicating with them on an as needed basis, and helping connect messages between realms. Not all singers bring this awareness to their work, and I believe that music with this strong connection is pretty much one of the most sublime experience human life has to offer. Pretty music can be good, but powerful music is…powerful. It is always my intention to create that sacred space as effectively as possible, while dedicating my training to the execution of a great song from a technical standpoint.

With ties that no longer bind, remaining family members can continue processing this evolution of life.

The song of a singer may move a person to tears, and perhaps they don’t know the root of their tears, but they know it was needed. It was beautiful. They wept. They felt. They felt. They felt, and that is beautiful.

If you are in need of a singer for a funeral or celebration of life service, contact me at heather (at) heatherhightower (dot) com.

Commonly Requested Songs include:

- On Eagle’s Wings

- Amazing Grace

- Ave Maria, Franz Schubert

- Pie Jesu, Faure Requim

Do you have a story to share? Or a song that touched you in a passing of life ceremony? Leave a comment below.

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Weddings and the Sacred Ceremony of Life Joining Together

August 19, 2011 By 1 Comment

One of my favorite performance spaces are weddings.

Weddings are beautiful ceremonies that bring together the spirits of husband and wife, the sacred space that invites all energies of the families to meet, touch, feel, and to a certain extent, mingle or co-create. The role of a singer in a wedding, in my opinion, is to open up the pathway to the highest heavens and invite our bodies to mingle with this new arrangement of souls. The singer moves the energy around. The singer makes space for the spirits to marry and merge on the higher level, while the master of ceremony is responsible for marrying the two souls in the bodies. Or, at least that’s the way I feel it’s happening.

I take this role very seriously. It’s my job to be ready in not just my music, but to be ready in the body to be able to open up channels and support the flow of energy through the room.

This video clip of Franz Shubert’s “Ave Maria” is from a good friend’s wedding in July 2010. I loved this space not just because of the loving couple being a church family member, but also because the acoustics of the chapel were off the hook awesome, with cathedral ceilings and wood ceilings. This clip was taken at the wedding rehearsal. (Recording actual ceremonies is often disruptive)

And, it’s not about me at this service – while I believe the singer plays a crucial role, it is absolutely, totally about the bride and her groom. It’s about family having space to feel their emotions. It’s about doubts having the space to be lifted. It’s about using the moments to release, open, and receive the blessings of this universe.  You need just enough ego for presence, performance, and after-performance graciousness. But you need more love, devotion, humility, and willingness to be invisible through your total, magical visibility.

 

Filed Under: Weddings, Funerals, Sacred Ceremonies