Greg and I decided we would not see each other on our wedding day until I walked down the aisle, so I stayed with my parents. My family had arrived the day before from Louisville. I arrived to their hotel room after the rehearsal dinner festivities. I got ready to go to bed and we started to talk. I had a roll-away bed in the corner of their room. We talked well into the night and I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up it was still just us. (My brother’s family, the wedding coordinator, and make-up artists would be arriving later.) At one point in the morning, Dad pulled me aside and asked if he could play “My Old Kentucky Home” on his harmonica at our reception. I immediately said no, thinking most people would not be from Kentucky and not really get it.

Dad and I had played Bluegrass music together when I was a child. I played the fiddle, and he played banjo and harmonica. My family always celebrated the Kentucky Derby when we were kids, often going to the race. The more I thought about it, it made sense to me to have him play the song. I could feel my mind changing with each minute. My initial reluctance melted in a wave of nostalgia and love. I told him it would be great if he would play.

Our wedding ceremony was everything we had envisioned. We were in Washington, DC in the church that meant the world to me. I loved my dress. We were surrounded by family and friends. Mom and Dad walked me down the aisle. We exchanged vows we had written together.

Our reception was a true celebration. The reception started with food. Tables and tables of food. Food would be followed by a DJ complete with light sticks and maracas. Between eating and dancing, it was time for toasts. My father offered a father of the bride’s toast. He started his toast and spoke for several minutes, saying father of the bride toast things. He then asked people from the Louisville area to stand. Quite a few people did. Once Louisville people were standing, he got his harmonica out of his pocket and began to play. Like the moment before the Kentucky Derby race when My Old Kentucky Home is played, everyone started to sing.

The last part of the song means the world to anyone who knows Kentucky in their bones. “Weep no more my lady, oh weep no more today. We will sing one song for my old Kentucky home, for my old Kentucky home far away.” At the Derby, people put their arms around one another and sway while singing these words. Wherever I have lived. Whatever I have been doing on Derby Day. I have always stopped to sing this song and remember special memories from Derby Days gone by and home. I looked around the room and saw dear friends and family swaying and sharing something very special. People not from Louisville even understood how much this moment meant. I will always sing a song for my Kentucky home. My past and my future were dancing at that moment.