Wedding Report!

I went to a wedding last weekend in Virginia. We had a great time. The wedding was a really nice event. Every wedding I go to I come away with a few more tips, or ideas. It's the best way to figure out what you want for your own wedding. Here's what I have to report:

- At the tail end of the ceremony the woman officiating commented that golf is a big part of the groom's life. The groomsmen lined up horizontally facing the Chesapeake Bay and in a salute each took a shot off into the water. Then they lined up with their golf clubs and raised them like military swords. The bride and groom walked under the swords and back down the aisle.

It was a great idea for someone that loves golf. A 10 man golf salute. It was the talk of the reception. It really showed me that we should find a way to make the ceremony OURS. Instead of something sterile, we should somehow inject some of US into it.

- So another chapter in the DJ vs Band debate. The band at the wedding was AWESOME. They had a great sound and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I heard "the band is great" multiple times. HOWEVER at the end of the day, more people hit the dance floor when the band took a break and the bride's ipod playlist was plugged in. The guests at the reception were young. A lot of people in their 20s and 30s there... and they LOVED dancing to popular music from right now. The band played music that was a bit older. SO, it showed us that having a band was really great, but music selection is every bit as important.

- The buffet was full of great food. The highlights were lamb chops and a great beef roast. Because there was no seated dinner, that meant that there were no assigned seats. This was nice, but at the end of the day, once you got your meal you had to scurry to find somewhere to sit. The feel of the wedding was very much more cocktail hour-ish as I got the feeling the bride and groom wanted us to get up and dance more than sit down and eat. The vibe was very young and fun.

All in all it was a really great love filled event. You could tell they focused on making sure everyone was having fun. The bride was the first one in the dance circles and yet she made a great effort to go around and talk to everyone in attendance. It was great.

HOWEVER, a quick note to all of my non-Jewish friends out there. Take time and buff up when you go to a Jewish wedding. You will have to lift the bride and groom (and usually their families) up in chairs during Havah Nagilla. When they are lifted in these chairs, you're required to hold them safely in the air... not drop them to the floor. Unfortunately at the wedding this last weekend I witnessed someone get dropped from about 8 feet up... Unbelievably this was the first time in my life I've ever seen someone get dropped. I've been going to bar/bat-mitzvahs and weddings for years and never saw this happen. I'm now incredibly paranoid. I'm going to go on a diet to help you all out, but please do your part and try not to drop me. If you have weak arms, perhaps you sit this one out....