Love — or anything good — does not happen without risk taking.
Elizabeth — daughter of a preacher from middle Missouri — said yes to Ajay — born in India — via eharmony. They then made plans to marry.
Happily they wanted a classy jazz band. So inquiries ended up in the KM4 email box. They were then living in Madison and were going to marry in Jefferson City. More than a two hour drive … counting set up, it would make for an 11 hour job. I wanted to say no.
But something about this couple made us take a chance.
I met with them, loved them, and frankly a crazy amount of emails and phone calls were exchanged. Lots to work out. See most of his family was coming from India, and her family from small town in Missouri. All my preconceived notions of their background was challenged, but I was won over by the power of their love.
So we took a chance. And we are glad we did, as their wedding was one of the most satisfying, exhilarating evenings of our varied career. A one point a 15-year-old came up and took over the piano — I always say no to that. But this kid was amazing. He played with us for nearly a half hour.
Otherwise, to see white bridesmaids dressed in the colorful outfit of traditional India, grinding it out to our version of “Mercy Mercy Mercy” complete with scarfs was well something we don’t get to experience every gig. Thank you.
To contribute to such a diverse special event was beyond anything we’d been part of. At one point, our singer Barb, turned to me and said, “this is why we do this.”
We took a risk. It paid off. We hope you too take a risks, wherever your heart leads you.
