A taste of the islands

Last year my family and Mr. E took a trip to my dad's home country of Trinidad and Tobago. This was the first trip ever for Brother Elephant, me and of course Mr. E.

The Whole Family

Arriving in T&T

We had some quality relaxation time on the beach. 

We were able to try regional drinks (Sol) and food (like Roti and Conch & Dumplings).  It may look weird, but that Roti tasted so good!!! You may be able to see the awesomeness of Roti from that pic of Brother Elephant and Mr. E chowing down.

We toured both islands learning so much about Daddy Elephant's childhood and culture while enjoying family time together.

While there we heard a lot of steel drum music which originated in Trinidad and Tobago.

Little kids practicing the steel drums

I thought that it would be awesome to somehow incorporate the steel drums into our wedding as a nod to Daddy Elephant's heritage. Early in the game I requested a quote to have a local group play at the cocktail hour, which ended up being a little out of our price range. So I tabled that idea for a later discussion.

As the months rolled by, I thought more and more about it, and thought that having the steel drums for the ceremony would be something that all of our guests would remember and could be a surprise to my dad (a small token of thanks for all of his monetary help for this wedding). So I reached back out to Island Boogie and found out that their price was very reasonable! Here is a you tube video of some common wedding songs played on the steel pan.


Source

I am so excited to work this into the budget and surprise my dad on the big day... let's hope I can keep this secret better than I do with most of Mr. E's Christmas gifts!

Are you planning any music forms for your wedding that incorporate your heritage?