Gee, another month I just pulled down from the calendar. It seems like yesterday I was getting ready for Rosh Hashanah, but a full month has flown by, and the end of the year is coming up so quickly. I couldn’t step into November, without writing about the rest of October.
Last weekend, I officiated my first double-wedding-weekend.
Saturday night, I performed a wedding for Sebastian and Moran.
They were the sweetest young couple, and as always, the experience of working with them brought incredible joy and happiness to my heart. Sebastian contacted me from my website, and he told me that he was looking for the perfect person to officiate their small, intimate wedding ceremony. I thought he sounded so young! (he was!) But, we met in Aventura one afternoon, and I began getting to know this couple, and we were connected right from the start.
They have the cutest story – He is from Argentina, she was from Israel. They met while he was traveling in Israel, and then, they bumped into each other again a few weeks later – 200 miles away from where they met. They carried on a long distance relationship for a while, and then, Moran moved to Florida. She really didn’t know anything about planning a wedding (who does??) but, over the time we worked together, Moran really did a great job and learned so much, and she and Sebastian made the most lovely wedding ceremony at The Bath Club, in Miami Beach.
It was a small, intimate ceremony, and I’m so excited that because they didn’t really have a chuppah, I decided to make one of my own, so, at their wedding, we used my beautiful, handmade chuppah for the very first time. This is one more couple that really became very special to me, and I hope we all stay in touch for a very long time!
So – at about 8:30 p.m., when the ceremony was over, I jumped in the car, and drove to Jacksonville, for the wedding of Ian & Lindsay, at the Ramona Pavilion in Jax. (of course, the ceremony was the next morning) The weather was beautiful, and it was such an amazing day. Lindsay also worked so hard on making her day just right, and she did a great job. Ian and Lindsay’s wedding was an Interfaith wedding. He was Jewish, and she was raised as a fairly devout Christian. We wanted to make sure we incorporated the fundamental Jewish rituals, without being too over the top for the non Jewish guests. We incorporated a sand ceremony, adapted the processional a bit to meet everyone’s needs, added a few non Jewish traditions, like giving away of the bride, etc., and the wedding was great. Everyone felt comfortable, and was so happy with the turnout.
It’s not easy to create the perfect service for everyone. I really believe that while it is about the bride and groom, it is also about respecting their immediate family, and making sure everyone can be comfortable with the outcome. Even in a full Jewish wedding, like an Interfaith wedding, both sides often have different expectations, and it’s important to consider and balance everyone’s needs. It can be done, and it can be fun!
So, for November – a wedding in St. Pete (David and Katie), another Havdalah Bat Mitzvah (Rachel and Mara), a trip to Punta Cana (Yelena & Lenny), an Orlando wedding on Thanksgiving weekend (Michael and Megan), and a Memorial service here at home. Another busy month to come, which I am so thankful for!
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