The Wedding At Last
I am on my way to Malawi to do a workshop on Program Evaluation and I wanted to blog about the trip. I realized that I hadn't posted the entry about Mark and Reesa's wedding day. So here it is.
The wedding took place on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
There are days that stand out in my mind – days where I remember just about everything that happened. It usually starts with emotion but it’s the emotion that etches the events of the day in my mind.
Each of the days my children were born were days like that – although they were, for Jay and Mark, nights. Stacey had the sense to be born during the day.
Wedding days also seem to be those kinds of days too. I have very clear recollections of Jay and Dori’s wedding.
Today was Mark and Reesa’s wedding. We woke up and climbed into our suits and dresses. This was a morning wedding and we needed to make sure we were at the venue on time. We had found Brock House the day before to make sure we knew the route and the timing. Mark had asked for my wedding band and my tallis – that had all been taken care of beforehand.
Brock House is an older mansion backing onto Kitsilano Beach. The Chupa was set up in the back yard with two sets of white chairs set up in front with an aisle between. The decorations were white and beautiful. The patio/covered deck area was set up with round tables for lunch.
Helene and I walked mark down the aisle behind the Rabbi. We walked down the aisle to the strains of an acoustic version of Iron Maiden songs. The aisle had been covered with white feathers and it looked like we were walking on clouds. We talked to each other just about the whole way down the aisle – mostly laughing.
We both hugged Mark and then took our place under the chupa while the groomsmen and bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Of course Jay and Stacey were who I looked for and enjoyed watching. As we stood there we could hear the water lapping up against the beach – between the clouds (feathers) on the ground and the water sounds in the air we were transported.
Finally Reesa came down the aisle with her Dad and the ceremony started. The Rabbi did the usual things, sang, prayed and eventually declared them husband and wife. They each read ‘vows’ to each other – crying was rampant. I had bought a very large new tallis and the rabbi wrapped both Mark and Reesa in it to give them his blessing. It was a beautiful moment.
The retreat was sounded and we all adjourned to the patio for drinks and hors d’oeuvres before lunch. There was lots of socializing and finding seats. We sat with Pat and Mark Mulatz, Jay, Dori and Riley. The photographer seems to have a thing for Riley as she seemed to be taking a lot of pictures of her. I understand that because I think she is the most beautiful little girl around!
There were speeches – I spoke on behalf of Helene and myself – and music and conversation and food. It was a lovely lunch.
None of us wanted it to end but we eventually found ourselves back at the hotel and finally out of the suit and tie.
So what do you do on the evening of an afternoon wedding? You go to the Red Onion for hamburgers of course!!. Helene and I, Mark and Reesa, Sonia, Michael and Sofia, Pat and Mark, Jackie and Tammy, Reesa’s Mom and Dad and an assortment of other friends took over the Red Onion. The hamburgers and fries were a treat.
The wedding took place on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
There are days that stand out in my mind – days where I remember just about everything that happened. It usually starts with emotion but it’s the emotion that etches the events of the day in my mind.
Each of the days my children were born were days like that – although they were, for Jay and Mark, nights. Stacey had the sense to be born during the day.
Wedding days also seem to be those kinds of days too. I have very clear recollections of Jay and Dori’s wedding.
Today was Mark and Reesa’s wedding. We woke up and climbed into our suits and dresses. This was a morning wedding and we needed to make sure we were at the venue on time. We had found Brock House the day before to make sure we knew the route and the timing. Mark had asked for my wedding band and my tallis – that had all been taken care of beforehand.
Brock House is an older mansion backing onto Kitsilano Beach. The Chupa was set up in the back yard with two sets of white chairs set up in front with an aisle between. The decorations were white and beautiful. The patio/covered deck area was set up with round tables for lunch.
Helene and I walked mark down the aisle behind the Rabbi. We walked down the aisle to the strains of an acoustic version of Iron Maiden songs. The aisle had been covered with white feathers and it looked like we were walking on clouds. We talked to each other just about the whole way down the aisle – mostly laughing.
We both hugged Mark and then took our place under the chupa while the groomsmen and bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Of course Jay and Stacey were who I looked for and enjoyed watching. As we stood there we could hear the water lapping up against the beach – between the clouds (feathers) on the ground and the water sounds in the air we were transported.
Finally Reesa came down the aisle with her Dad and the ceremony started. The Rabbi did the usual things, sang, prayed and eventually declared them husband and wife. They each read ‘vows’ to each other – crying was rampant. I had bought a very large new tallis and the rabbi wrapped both Mark and Reesa in it to give them his blessing. It was a beautiful moment.
The retreat was sounded and we all adjourned to the patio for drinks and hors d’oeuvres before lunch. There was lots of socializing and finding seats. We sat with Pat and Mark Mulatz, Jay, Dori and Riley. The photographer seems to have a thing for Riley as she seemed to be taking a lot of pictures of her. I understand that because I think she is the most beautiful little girl around!
There were speeches – I spoke on behalf of Helene and myself – and music and conversation and food. It was a lovely lunch.
None of us wanted it to end but we eventually found ourselves back at the hotel and finally out of the suit and tie.
So what do you do on the evening of an afternoon wedding? You go to the Red Onion for hamburgers of course!!. Helene and I, Mark and Reesa, Sonia, Michael and Sofia, Pat and Mark, Jackie and Tammy, Reesa’s Mom and Dad and an assortment of other friends took over the Red Onion. The hamburgers and fries were a treat.
posted by Cyril Kesten at 1:03 PM
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