I’m married!!! The day was amazing and went by SO fast. Everyone said it would fly by but it really, really did.
We started the day with my mom and I getting hair and makeup done. Things went wrong right away because my mom and I were supposed to both start at 11am but they said they had rescheduled my mom for 11:45am and seemingly never told her. This threw us completely off schedule.
Got to the venue where I immediately got makeup done. Having my bridesmaids there was amazing! I didn’t originally want bridesmaids, just seemed like something else to worry about, but I felt so much better having my friends there. Photographers whisked me out for a first look and that’s when I got way less anxious because I was with my groom and everything felt okay. He LOVED my dress and said it was made for me (it literally was), which was a huge relief!
We got really delayed doing all the family photos. Then neither of our ketubah witnesses showed up on time so that pushed us even further. The cocktail hour started so everyone went upstairs except me, and they brought me in about 40 minutes into it. I really wish I could’ve seen more of it because the food we picked sounded incredible and I barely got to eat any of it. There’s a Jewish custom called bedeken which is when the groom veils his bride. Everyone sang and cheered as he did it, it was amazing.
Onto the ceremony - it was really hot outside but it looked absolutely beautiful with all the flowers. This is actually the one part of the day I was very upset about. Some Jewish weddings separate men and women on different sides for the ceremony, but neither of us wanted that. We specifically told the venue (a country club, not a synagogue) that the seating should be mixed. But apparently someone from the venue started telling everyone to move to the men’s or women’s side, even making people get up after they already sat down. This really bothered me because his family is more religious than mine, and I know my extended family was kind of daunted by the idea that it would be an extremely Orthodox wedding and they wouldn’t fit in. I specifically reassured them that the seating would be mixed and they could sit with their families/partners. When I think about specific people who didn’t know anyone except their husband/wife, it really bothers me that they had to go through the ceremony sitting alone and confused.
Next was yichud room, where husband and wife can be alone together for a few minutes of peace and quiet. That’s where the emotions of the day finally hit me because I had a moment to stop and take it in. They took us up then to the ballroom and we immediately started with “simcha dancing” which is the Jewish hora music. That was SO much fun, there was so much energy and everyone was dancing. I lost my groom for about 15 minutes because he was dancing so hard he had to go throw up! Then the entree was served (braised short ribs and chicken stuffed with rice in an apricot glaze, DELICIOUS). Then we moved on to secular music like the Beatles, Earth Wind and Fire, etc. We had about 25 minutes of Persian music too, which was REALLY intense. The non-Persians were totally confused but my groom’s family was on the floor dancing like no tomorrow and klilililili-ing. Honestly this whole part of the night went by so quickly. First we were dancing and eating, the next thing you know, people are saying goodbye and that they had a great night.
I will post lots of photos when we get them! All we have right now is cell phone stuff. But I will say, after a year of agonizing, NONE of it mattered. When I think about the hours and hours of stress and worrying about the little details, I wish I could have it all back. The guests have no idea we spent 2 hours debating between white orchids and pink orchids, and they would’ve been equally satisfied with either.
Much nachas to you and your new husband. Mazal tov!