Robert and Aria's Rehearsal Dinner at Rhodes Hall -

When I was in fifth grade and my parents bought me a piano, none of dreamed that someday I would playing at a castle.

But last night I did!

Yes, for the first time I got to play at Rhodes Hall, the “castle on Peachtree.” Built in 1904, Amos Giles Rhodes and his wife Amanda called it “Le Reve,” or “The Dream.” It was believed to have been inspired by their travels through the German Rhineland in the 1890’s.

Robert and Aria were having a Derby Party Rehearsal Dinner and realized, approximately four days before the event, that they could not just plug in an ipod to some speakers — because Rhodes Hall doesn’t have any speakers!

They do, however, have a great piano:

Isn’t that a cool bench? Oh, and psst — kids! That thing against the wall underneath the window against the wall is called a “radiator.”

The inside of Rhodes Hall is, of course, as magnificent as you would expect a castle to look.

I played a variety of music for a little over three hours.

I overheard guests getting excited when I played both “Let it Go” from Frozen and “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. A very nice gentleman asked me to play Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” a second time, and he sang along a bit while I did. Another gentlemen told me, after I played Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer” that it was played at his own wedding.

Robert was kind enough to invite me to help myself at the buffet, which was courtesy of Affairs to Remember. Fried green tomatoes, chicken, beef, salad, macaroni and cheese … thank you, don’t mind if I do!

But I was most impressed by the cake, the wonderful, incredibly delicious, chocolately cheesecake provided by Mark Lotti at Classic Cheesecakes. It was amazing!