On Friday, April 12, the Westridge Glee Club had the honor of singing at a Westridge alumna’s wedding. The wedding was located at the Athenaeum at Caltech.  About 60 people were in attendance, including other Westridge graduates who were friends of the bride. Some guests had traveled all the way from Argentina to celebrate.

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Glee Club had an important role in all of this, one which they had been preparing for months. Kathryn “Kate” Meenan, the bride-to-be and former Glee Club member, had reached out to Mr. Stephenson, the Upper School Choral Music teacher, several months earlier to ask if Glee Club would sing as she walked down the aisle. Of course, Mr. Stephenson gladly accepted her offer, and from then on, classes consisted of rehearsing the romantic classic hits “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Say a Little Prayer.”

The Tuesday before the wedding, Kate and her fiancé, Hernan Santarcangelo, came to Glee Club’s A block class to preview the songs, both of which sent her into tears.

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On the day of the wedding, members of Glee Club slipped into their white uniforms, boarded the bus, and arrived at the Athenaeum, which had been decked out in an array of peach-colored flowers and ribbons. As Glee Club set up on the steps next to the altar, awaiting their cue with baited breath, guests craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the bride, who would soon emerge from the shaded columns of a nearby building.

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Once the piano began, Glee Club began “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and the bride, escorted by her father, came into view. The walk down the aisle may have felt like an eternity to her, but to Glee Club, it was a successful start to what had been months of rehearsal.

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Glee Club’s successful start was followed by an equally noteworthy ending.  Their final song, “Say a Little Prayer,” was performed as the newlywed couple exited the ceremony to cheers, applause, and not a single dry eye.