Weddingbee Blog

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Penguin, Cheese, Avocado, Hot Cocoa, Lemonade, Pinot Noir, Cherry Pie, Fondue, Martini, Spring Roll, Candy Corn, Cookie, Corn, Dumpling , Pineapple, Espresso, Ballet Flat, Meatball, Cupcake, Dahlia, Deviled Egg, and of course Bee!

Whew! That’s a lot of bees, and I give in. I do have a few secrets that I haven’t shared with the hive. It’s not because I’m embarrassed… OK maybe it is, but I thought I might share with you my somewhat double life. Here goes: I was an orchestra playin’, a capella sangin’, performing arts nerd.

When I was very young, I was watching TV at home and saw a woman playing a violin. According to my mom, I got really close to the TV and wouldn’t budge. I begged for violin lessons and my parents agreed. Because I was only about 4 years old, I started on a little cardboard violin and gradually moved my way up to a full size violin throughout the years. We lived in the sticks of Colorado (OK, the mountains really, but it was still pretty rural). My poor parents had to constantly drive me from lessons, to dance class, to orchestra practice. It exhausts me just thinking about it now.

My love for music didn’t stop with the violin. I started singing with the local groups and eventually had to travel two hours away twice a week to Denver (the big city) to sing with the Colorado Children’s Chorale. I moved from there to state and county choirs and finally went to prep school for the performing arts. I gradually moved into musical theater and was living a completely double life. I wanted more than anything to be popular, so I really tried to fit in. Most popular middle school and high school crowds (at least in my hometown) aren’t involved in musical theater, so I had two very defined, different, and fabulous groups of friends.

Here I am in high school during a performance of Cabaret.

Lets just say I wasn’t exactly dating the captain of the football team.

And perhaps one of my most embarrassing high school experiences is this group I used to sing in. We were carolers, and we would go around the town of Vail dressed up in bonnets, hoop skirts, top hats—you get it. I was by far the only member under 40, and I’m not sure any of my friends knew I sang in this group. I guess it’s no secret anymore!

Fast forward to the college years, and I was still singing. My freshman year, I auditioned for an a capella group and I truly believe it made my college experience complete. Sure it wasn’t the most popular crowd, but I loved the group and became really close to all of the girls. When Champ and I met, he knew all about my a capella nerdiness and was totally comfortable attending our shows (well, at least most of them).

So there you have it. It’s all out now—I was/am/will always be a geek. A capella or bust, man.

Anyone else live a somewhat double life with two groups of friends or two completely different hobbies?