Audio Tribute Reflections - Belated Wedding Gift

2021-09-20

A series of interviews sharing stories and appreciations for a newly married couple as a gift due to the pandemic downsizing the wedding. An exploration of how much fulfillment can come from your own initiative.

A wedding I was going to attend in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic and it was done virtually instead. For many people, a wedding is a big event in their lives and one important aspect is for all the loved ones of the couple to show their support and encouragement. While it was good to participate in the wedding at all, doing so only virtually, I felt a lack what makes that life event meaningful. I believe, if something is important to others, then it is important that I do something to make it something truly meaningful.

Goal:

Do something meaningful to show the support and encouragement a couple would feel on their wedding day that I feel was missed due to the pandemic.

Process:

While exploring my ideas for the Audio Time Capsule project, I realized I could accomplish two projects in one go. To recreate the feeling of having loved ones at a wedding, I knew I needed to include our close friends. For each of these friends, I would record audio of their responses to questions.

I wanted to keep it concise and summarize our friendships. I researched best man/maid of honor speeches and some chose elements that I thought would best fulfill my goals. I knew the questions I chose to ask were important and would shape the overall message, so I spent a lot of effort in exploring these.

I decided to ask them to:

Tell a favorite story.
Do some friendly teasing.
Share a quality that is appreciated.
How our friend's partner elevates them.
Predict how they will be in the future.

Outcome:

It took two months of traveling for in person interviews and a week of editing the files. I learned that for every minute of audio recording, it can take many times that length of time to edit. I also learned how much there is to training your ears to listen to voices. I wanted to shape an overall message, but also keep each persons intent with their words. It was a good experience in learning how to balance those two aspects.

I think everyone should be able to experience how the people in their lives appreciate them. I beleive this is a key to creating and maintaining meaningful life connections and experiences.

After finishing, I scheduled sent the file to be delivered on the couple's 1 year wedding anniversary.

Update:

It was appreciated, success!