Here Comes the Bride...

Two of my friends got married! More specifically, two of my Orthodox Jewish friends got married. Which means...I attended my first Jewish wedding!

The most noticable thing about a Jewish wedding is that it's SO not like the weddings you see on TV. And let's face it, most of my ideas about weddings came from the climax of movies or primetime TV during sweeps.

First, there's a shmorg, which is basically like a pre-wedding snack, only in this case, it was the most food I've ever seen in one room, school cafeterias included. They had a sushi bar, tables of fruit and pasta salads, falafel, schwarma, hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, baked chicken, some guy cutting a roast chicken, deli roll, and chinese food. Keep in mind this is all before dinner. I wanted to take a picture 'cause I didn't think my non-Jewish friends would believe me otherwise. I figured maybe after seeing that, they would see where my constant need to make sure people are well-fed comes from. :)

Then the beautiful bride comes in and sits in a big chair and all the girls go up to her and squeal and giggle and etc. One thing that really stands out about Orthodox weddings is the wedding dress--Just look at all the wedding pictures people are posting on facebook this summer and you'll see what I mean. Instead of the strapless, low-cut, but classy dress you might be used to seeing, the dresses come up really high and have at least 3/4 length sleeves. I think it makes it a lot harder to get a cute dress. (The bride in this case pulled it off though.)

Then there's the bedekin. All the guys sorta dance the groom into the room and he pulls the bride's veil down over her face.

Finally the ceremony. Okay, it's absolutely NOTHING like weddings on TV. Except for the breaking of the glass part. The bride circles around the groom seven times to symbolize the building of a home. It's divided into two parts--the "official" engagement and the actual wedding. During the "engagement" part the groom gives the bride her wedding ring. Then the katuba (Jewish wedding contract) is read in Hebrew. Then the wedding part happens and a bunch of guys come up one by one and say a prayer (or at least something in Hebrew) and then I think the groom says something, and then he breaks the glass. Which apparently symbolizes the destruction of the Temple. Then the happy spouses run off down the isle together. If you were actually paying attention to all that, then you may have noticed I didn't mention the bride giving the groom a ring. That's right! There's no "Do you take this man/woman?", no "I do," no giving-a-ring-to-the-groom. I think nowadays she generally does that during their alone time together after the ceremony (they get to spend time alone in a room right afterwards for like half an hour--usually to eat since most of the time, they've been fasting all day before the wedding).

Afterwards, the couple runs in together under an arch and lots and lots of non-coed dancing commences. Girls would come up and do some silly dances for the bride and brought along some schtick (posters, etc.) I'm assuming the guys did the same (I know some dancing-related injuries were had).

It was an amazing time--Everyone looked so happy. I'd really like to go to a Conservative or Reform wedding to see if and how they incorporate the Western customs we're used to seeing into a traditional Jewish wedding. (If anyone who's reading this is engaged, I'll assume my invitation is in the mail.)