Although the wedding of Andre and Brooke took place awhile ago (1997) it is still fun to share what it was like to be a part of that special day. We were hired as a string quartet and were told that it was a celebrity wedding. We were asked to meet at a location in Carmel Valley where we were given wrist bands, then driven to the site of the wedding. We STILL didn’t know who we were playing for, so we took turns guessing which couple it might be. We had seen Brooke and Agassi in the Monterey area in the recent past, but we had also seen Barbra Streisand visiting the Monterey area. As we got closer to the wedding venue we heard the din of helicopters circling overhead and noticed a number of photographers hanging for dear life at the top of Cherry Pickers just outside of the heavily guarded parking lot. So much for secrets!
The wedding was to take place at a little red wooden church; St. John’s Episcopal Church, in Monterey, CA. Inside, it was hot and crowded on the stage, as we were playing alongside a woodwind quintet. By the time the bridesmaids, Andre and Brooke had arrived, we were practically touching elbows! The church was beautifully decorated with white roses, and their fragrance was delightful! The wedding didn’t start on time, and we waited for about an hour while the helicopters buzzed overhead creating a lot of noise. Finally the ceremony began, and the bridesmaids entered the stage wearing sleeveless golden gowns. Andrei was standing right next to me looking impossibly handsome and much taller than I was expecting. Finally Brooke began her walk down the aisle with her father to the music “Gabriel’s Oboe”, played by the quartet and the wind quintet. I have been in love with that piece ever since! It is so hauntingly beautiful.
As Father Charles Gard spoke to Andre and Brooke, I noticed a bead of sweat on Andre’s forehead. Brooke seemed to have eyes everywhere, for she reached over to him with a hankerchief and dabbed at it, all the while looking straight ahead. When it finally came time to present the rings, I looked closely at Andre as he prepared to slide the ring on Brooke’s finger. It was then that I saw that his hands were empty, there was no ring, and he was pantomiming the act of sliding the ring onto Brooke’s finger! I looked over at the other violinist, but she was temporarily immobolized by a photographer who had been using her shoulder to steady a huge camera lens. I had hoped to validate what I thought I was seeing. After a lovely rendition of “Gloria” by a boys’ choir the wedding was over and the couple left the church as we played Vivaldi’s “Spring”.
Once outside we were surprised when the Security Detail refused to let us back in the car. We waited for what seemed like an eternity and tried taking pictures of ourselves (to pass the time) which were almost confiscated by the same Security folks. To make a long story shorter, we found out later that the Best Man had placed Brooke’s 5 carot diamond ring in a kleenex and accidentally tossed it into a trash can. While we were kept waiting, the Security folks were frantically searching for the ring. While all of this was going on, Andre spied a bottle of water that I was drinking from and begged to share it with me. I let him know that I had the beginning of a sore throat and I hated to expose him to a cold just as he was going on his honeymoon!
Ultimately the ring was found, and we were all allowed to escape the parking lot!
St. John’s Episcopal Church