Ceremony Photos

So, let's meander through the rest of the ceremony, shall we?

The rabbi and the couple partake of the cup (wine).



Then the seven blessings are read. In this case, the rabbi read the first two and last two. I read the third in both Hebrew and English. Cuppa and Puff's Mom read the fourth and fifth blessings respectively.








Although the couple does not formally exchange vows, they do exchange rings.





Of course, they kiss after the ring exchange.



Then they each broke a wine glass.



Following the Jewish tradition, right after the ceremony the couple went off together for about ten or fifteen minutes. The second picture is an attempt to be arty. I know; I should leave it to the artists. You may have to view it large to get the effect.

Singing, Clapping and Dancing

If I recall correctly, there were three times when D played the guitar and sang, always encouraging the rest of us to join in. I have never witnessed such integration of music into a ceremony and found it to be quite wonderful.



Music leads to clapping and that's what the next four photos show from various distances, starting with the girls and moving back to take in the audience. The third picture is just a zoom of part of the one before it. When I looked closely at the whole photo, I found that all four of us — parents and grandparents — were engaging Nikki Dee as they clap as we often do this together. I, particularly, have a goofy look on my face.











Good music tends to lead to dancing. This one was impromptu. What fun! Imagine being spontaneous at your own wedding!



More to come tomorrow.

Under the Chuppah

The Jewish wedding ceremony takes place under a canopy called a chuppah (don't say the 'c'). For their event the girls had their west coast friends sign their best wishes at the party following the civil ceremony. Puff's dad has passed away, so on top, Puff placed her father's prayer shawl.

The first photo shows the whole scene and part of the audience. One has to appreciate how green everything was so late in August. That was the beneficial side effect of having such a wet summer. Another great thing is that by the end of August the insects were not inclined to bother us very much; earlier in the summer, they could have and would have made it miserable. Notice that the families stand beside the couple rather than sit through the ceremony.



The next photo is a little closer than the first. The flouncy bride's family and friends are on the right actually closer to Althegal. Except for Nikki Dee who was being a very good girl in the front row, that's our whole but tiny clan under the chuppah and to the left. The two brothers-in-law, Puff's and Althegal's, are holding the chuppah with Puff's nephew helping out.



Moving in even closer, you can see me looking off into the trees. At times I needed to collect my emotional self by casting my glance to the glorious surroundings. Cuppa seems to be having a similar moment. It was a beautiful scene on a beautiful day with the Crowe River in the direction in which I am looking (except lower). If you look closely, you can see that the officiant is playing the guitar at this point as he did at several junctures during the ceremony. It was quite poignant.



And finally, for this post, a closer shot under the chuppah with the rabbi reading, the girls holding hands, and my son-in-law holding the chuppah. The funky footwear is more visible in this photo, but if you look back up at the other photos, you'll see it there too. We didn't all wear pink or green Converse sneakers, but I was keen to go with the flow.



(Note: all of these photos as well as those yesterday were taken by my BIL.)

Along the Green Aisle

Even the last four years have brought about a difference in photography. When Thesha got married, there were digital cameras, but they weren't quite as ubiquitous or so many megapixels. I perhaps have access to half the pictures taken at the wedding and feel swamped. Nevertheless, bit by bit I'll try to wade through them and post them here and there on the WWW. Primarily for family, I think some of you regulars may appreciate a quick look too. In almost all cases, and certainly in today's batch, the photos were taken by others. All of these, for example, are from my Bro-IL, Treebeard who has some amazing photos posted on his Flickr site.

Today, I 'll show you the walk down the aisle, the green aisle. In this first photo, you can see where the wedding party collected for the traditional walk. It shows the lawn, which we call Bridgesward (or Bridge Sward)because there is the relic of a bridge if you were to point the camera the other way. The rabbi (not officially one yet) is the first to make the walk.



At thirty second intervals the rest of us followed. This is Thesha, my oldest.



Both Cuppa and I walked Althegal. This was very emotional for me, and there are a number of photos of me looking to the ground, but I managed to lift my head for a this one. Get a load of the funky vest and bowtie, will ya? I think it's been fifty years or more since I last wore one of those. Don't Cuppa and Althegal look smashing?



At the end of the walk, we both got a hug from the girl. Cuppa is about to get hers in the next photo, and I managed a smile while waiting for mine.



Then Puff came, escorted by her mother and sister.



Here, the two brides greet and are about to hug and kiss before being officially joined.



I'll try to keep the photos coming fairly regularly now that I've started because I know that a number of folk are getting anxious to see them.