tzurriz was a beautiful bride!

And jfroebe did not disprove my theory that all men look excellent in tuxedoes! I also danced holes in my hose.

More tomorrow.

tzurriz was a beautiful bride!

And jfroebe did not disprove my theory that all men look excellent in tuxedoes! I also danced holes in my hose.

More tomorrow.

THE Wedding!

Friday night I attended services at tzurriz and jfroebe's synagogue. I left what I thought was plenty of time, but traffic sucked and so I dashed in just at 7:00 -- fortunately, Tzurriz was wrong about the time! Services weren't until 7:30. But that gave me time to meet various relatives beforehand. I enjoyed the entire service, but especially the auf ruf, which is a special ceremony for engaged couples held on the Sabbath before their wedding. The rabbi blesses them, and then the congregation throws candy at them, to symbolize the wish for a sweet life together. Because it was also Sukkot, the blessing of the wine and challah was held outdoors, and then after services we came back inside for a bit of a nosh.

At this point, Tzurriz was becoming a tad frantic, because we (the ladies, anyway) were supposed to be at her mom, dreamsweaver's, house for the bachelorette party. shendoah had arrived there and no one was home! Fortunately, by the time we arrived, Tzurriz' sister had, too, and she and Shen were madly melting chocolate. We had a great time drinking, eating chocolate and telling stories, and then we decorated mugs and espresso cups which will be glazed and fired. Tzurriz brother-in-law modeled his tux (and looked great)!

Suddenly, it was 1:00 a.m., so I decided to head home. (Mojosmom is not used to such late hours!) There's construction on my route, but I figured at that hour it wouldn't be a problem. Wrong! The Dan Ryan Expressway was a friggin' parking lot! What were all those people doing there? Why weren't they in bed? So I got home around 2:00, and didn't get to bed until 3:00 because, as usual, I had to unwind a bit first.

The Main Event

The wedding took place at the Ravisloe Country Club, such a beautiful setting! The weather cooperated, so the ceremony could be held outside. The building forms a "U" around the patio, with the center section higher than the two wings, but all is covered with ivy (?) and birds were flying in and out of the leaves, singing for this special day. The chuppah (see shendoah's photo), was very simple, a light, almost transparent gauzy material.

The bride's attendants (Shendoah and Tzurriz' sister, Megan) were dressed in deep green, somewhere between emerald and forest, floor length strapeless gowns with embroidery on the bodice, made from a very rich satin. Gorgeous. The groom's best woman wore a simple, but beautifully cut, floor length black gown. Then came the groom, attended by his parents. Finally, the beautiful bride with her parents. A strapless gown with full skirt and embroidered corset-style bodice ribbon-tied in back.

One nice thing about Jewish weddings is that both sets of parents participate, as it is viewed as a joining of families. The groom's sister also took part, giving a reading. The ceremony itself is in two parts, the betrothal and the actual wedding ceremony. In between, the Ketubah (marriage contract) is read. This is not just a piece of paper, folks. They are beautifully calligraphed and decorated. This one had a cut-out border, and a green tree of life curving over the top of the text. Just stunning work.

Then cocktails, then dinner (which was yummy, and the wedding cake was chocolate!), then dancing. I danced my little toesies off! Well, you have to when the band is the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band! Much fun was had by all, and I got home at a reasonable hour.

Unfortunately, sans my glasses, which I must have left somewhere at the Club. I called them, and of course they are closed today, so will call me tomorrow to let me know if they found the glasses. The good news is I have a spare pair.

THE Wedding!

Friday night I attended services at tzurriz and jfroebe's synagogue. I left what I thought was plenty of time, but traffic sucked and so I dashed in just at 7:00 -- fortunately, Tzurriz was wrong about the time! Services weren't until 7:30. But that gave me time to meet various relatives beforehand. I enjoyed the entire service, but especially the auf ruf, which is a special ceremony for engaged couples held on the Sabbath before their wedding. The rabbi blesses them, and then the congregation throws candy at them, to symbolize the wish for a sweet life together. Because it was also Sukkot, the blessing of the wine and challah was held outdoors, and then after services we came back inside for a bit of a nosh.

At this point, Tzurriz was becoming a tad frantic, because we (the ladies, anyway) were supposed to be at her mom, dreamsweaver's, house for the bachelorette party. shendoah had arrived there and no one was home! Fortunately, by the time we arrived, Tzurriz' sister had, too, and she and Shen were madly melting chocolate. We had a great time drinking, eating chocolate and telling stories, and then we decorated mugs and espresso cups which will be glazed and fired. Tzurriz brother-in-law modeled his tux (and looked great)!

Suddenly, it was 1:00 a.m., so I decided to head home. (Mojosmom is not used to such late hours!) There's construction on my route, but I figured at that hour it wouldn't be a problem. Wrong! The Dan Ryan Expressway was a friggin' parking lot! What were all those people doing there? Why weren't they in bed? So I got home around 2:00, and didn't get to bed until 3:00 because, as usual, I had to unwind a bit first.

The Main Event

The wedding took place at the Ravisloe Country Club, such a beautiful setting! The weather cooperated, so the ceremony could be held outside. The building forms a "U" around the patio, with the center section higher than the two wings, but all is covered with ivy (?) and birds were flying in and out of the leaves, singing for this special day. The chuppah (see shendoah's photo), was very simple, a light, almost transparent gauzy material.

The bride's attendants (Shendoah and Tzurriz' sister, Megan) were dressed in deep green, somewhere between emerald and forest, floor length strapeless gowns with embroidery on the bodice, made from a very rich satin. Gorgeous. The groom's best woman wore a simple, but beautifully cut, floor length black gown. Then came the groom, attended by his parents. Finally, the beautiful bride with her parents. A strapless gown with full skirt and embroidered corset-style bodice ribbon-tied in back.

One nice thing about Jewish weddings is that both sets of parents participate, as it is viewed as a joining of families. The groom's sister also took part, giving a reading. The ceremony itself is in two parts, the betrothal and the actual wedding ceremony. In between, the Ketubah (marriage contract) is read. This is not just a piece of paper, folks. They are beautifully calligraphed and decorated. This one had a cut-out border, and a green tree of life curving over the top of the text. Just stunning work.

Then cocktails, then dinner (which was yummy, and the wedding cake was chocolate!), then dancing. I danced my little toesies off! Well, you have to when the band is the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band! Much fun was had by all, and I got home at a reasonable hour.

Unfortunately, sans my glasses, which I must have left somewhere at the Club. I called them, and of course they are closed today, so will call me tomorrow to let me know if they found the glasses. The good news is I have a spare pair.

Found!

My glasses were not, after all, left at the wedding. They must have fallen out of my purse onto the floor of the car, but I did not see them in the dark. When I got in the car this afternoon, there they were!

As I was writing my previous journal entry, my dentist's office manager called. I was scheduled to go in today at 1:00 to have my permanent crowns put on, but Yana had to leave at noon (some sort of school emergency). So instead I went in at 10:00. And, oy, was my mouth sore when she got done! But they gave me a couple of Alleves, and now I'm not sore, but still a bit numb.

This resulted in a change of plan vis-à-vis the Co-op book sale. Today was the third and final day ($4 bag/$5 box) and I had hoped to get there right at 9:00 a.m. Instead, I didn't arrive until about 1:00. I still managed to find a fair number of books, though.

Now I'm home carefully drinking a cup of tea. (It tends to be a bit difficult when you've had anesthetic on both sides of your upper mouth!)

Found!

My glasses were not, after all, left at the wedding. They must have fallen out of my purse onto the floor of the car, but I did not see them in the dark. When I got in the car this afternoon, there they were!

As I was writing my previous journal entry, my dentist's office manager called. I was scheduled to go in today at 1:00 to have my permanent crowns put on, but Yana had to leave at noon (some sort of school emergency). So instead I went in at 10:00. And, oy, was my mouth sore when she got done! But they gave me a couple of Alleves, and now I'm not sore, but still a bit numb.

This resulted in a change of plan vis-à-vis the Co-op book sale. Today was the third and final day ($4 bag/$5 box) and I had hoped to get there right at 9:00 a.m. Instead, I didn't arrive until about 1:00. I still managed to find a fair number of books, though.

Now I'm home carefully drinking a cup of tea. (It tends to be a bit difficult when you've had anesthetic on both sides of your upper mouth!)