Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Wedding Musings

(Jozef Israëls, "A Jewish Wedding," 1903, Oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum)

A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion.
I write "supposed to be," because the closer the date looms, the sadder I get.
In part it's the non-stop tumult: do this, go there, call that person, run the other errand. It never ends (or so it seems). But a large part of it is the fact that my first-born child, my one-time baby, will no longer be just mine. Even though she made her way out in the world, going to college, finishing a demanding degree, getting a job, paying off her loans, and taking her younger sister to the UK for 3 weeks over the summer, she's still my baby. And always will be.

Yesterday we all went to the dressmaker so that DD#2, the maid of honor, could have her final fitting before returning to college. The dress is a perfect fit. Now the shoes can go out for dying. See the lovely vintage rose color of the dress?Maid of Honor's dress
It's nearly the same color stripe I worked into her Ribby cardi years ago. She just retrieved it to take back with her. It's made of Berroco Luxe in Lavender and Begonia. Although I like Luxe as a dressy yarn, it has a too soft hand for a cardi in my opinion. Yet DD#2 saw the yarn in my stash and clamored for her ribby to be made this way. She loves it and that's what counts.
Ribby cardi II

At the dressmaker's, we all got a preview of the bridal gown. Even in the garment bag, we could see its shimmering yards of Duchesse satin, waiting to be worn. The first fitting date will be Thursday. A sneak peak of the pattern is here:

As for my gown, it wasn't ready enough for me to get a peak. But this is the pattern:

Mine will be deep moss green satin.

In Jewish wedding ceremonies, the mothers of the bride and groom play a role. When the marriage contract is read aloud being signed (this takes place before the guests assemble for the chuppah, usually during the pre-chuppah buffet), the two mothers break a plate, to symbolize that the couple are now engaged in the sense that they've entered the first of the 3 stages of the Jewish wedding ceremony. I don't remember my mother and late MiL doing this; it's a custom and not all Jews follow this custom. Still, DD#1 wants it, so now I have to find a mallet. Why we can't just drop the plate to break it (it'll be wrapped in a cloth napkin anyway) is one of those unanswered questions.

2 comments:

Julie said...

Part of my family is Jewish, and and I once had the pleasure of going to one of their weddings. Cousin was marrying a Presbyterian girl in Temple, with all the trimmings. So it was kinda fun to watch the bride's family try to figure things out. (All in fun.) When the bride walked in, half the temple stood up. Stuff like that. Good memories. Lovely wedding, great reception. They're still married twenty years later. I hope yours goes as well! Congratulations, best wishes, and good times all 'round.

Experimental Knitter said...

Thank you so much for your good wishes!