Amrita & Izi - A Worlds Worth Of Love

I really don't know where to start with this wedding. It was only the other night on August 22nd. So fresh in my mind. It is difficult to put into words how meaningful this wedding was for me. Not only is every wedding meaningful to me. These past brides I write about will never be forgotten. I guess because this was my first Indian/Jewish wedding. My husband is Jewish and we had a Jewish ceremony. We had the same elements during our ceremony. Could that be it. Not sure. But, something about this one really had me crying the entire weekend. Everyone knows that I am an easy crier. But, when I tell you the front of my dress had big bloppy tears all over it - trust me, this one struck a nerve. Kind of like when the Grinches heart grew three sizes too big and it burst at the end. Yeah, I was there. So, let's start at the beginning. Such a sweet, soft spoken couple. He from Turkey and she from India. There was a bit of an accent barrier and she spoke so quickly, I did have them repeat themselves - often. But, something about them. They would look at each other and giggle. Not flirty eyes, just shy eyes almost. It was very endearing. We met on several occasions to go over the details and every time I did, I could envision their wedding and it would be more and more clear that it was about just the two of them. Nothing showboat, just special. We always assist the bride & groom with their rehearsal and that is where I met their bridal party. People from the other side of the world. Here for Izi and Amrita. It was fantastic to learn about their cultures and hear all about where they met each other. I happened to look down and noticed Amritas beautiful Mendhi designs on her arms. I have never seen real Mendhi on a person, only photos or on TV. When she turned her hands over - I cried. It was so special. Obviously, she was treated like a princess because the amount that was on her hands, she would have had to sit there for hours. Who fed her, who helped her in the little girls room, etc. Just the fact that she was treated like a princess told me a lot about how this culture treats their brides - with absolute respect and adoration. What's more, Izi invited me to their Seder that night. I never go to the rehearsal dinner but something made me feel like part of the family. His family sang the blessings and we enjoyed a delicious meal melting both cultures in that small moment. The next night, I was invited to be a guest at Amritas Sangeet celebration. This was where I was a blubbering idiot. So, there is a stage with an oppulant bench for two. It had a lush backdrop of two indian towers in pink and gold. Before our bride made her entrance, groups of women would come in performing dances - announcing the brides arrival. Then, surrounded by her bridal party (who were holding a red cloth high above her head) they walked her to the stage. Yeah, like royalty - I was overcome and could barely see through the tears. I was so happy for her. Something about the amazing music being played and the way they walked - overtook me. It's those moments when I just get it. I understand why I do this. My husband even got it. I tried to show him a piece of what I do by asking him to accompany me to the Sangeet and he really understood that what I experience with every wedding is special. So, then later, after a delicious Indian meal, our groom arrives in his stoic turban! The crowd was cheering him and surrounding him - dancing for him. A true celebration of the couple. the next morning, I am exhausted, but, I have a big day ahead. And, it's raining. I keep thinking positively - it's New England and anything can happen, right? So, off to the brides home for hair and make-up. I expect Amrita to be lounging after a night of celebration but she's on the floor working on a slideshow. I think she had 5 hours of sleep but still looked fantastic. I, on the other hand, needed another large regular. Hair and make-up are going well and Amrita sits to start her beauty treatment and I am off to the hotel to check in with vendors. The Cambridge Marriott was working fantastically getting evrything done in time. Jen & Salem were my contact there and anything I needed to be handled, was handled already - love that! Unfortunately, it was still raining. My bride arrived a bit behind schedule (but arrived) and we began the Ketubah signing. Our groom was in one room and our bride in the other. Five signatures and photos later - we are walking to the ceremony. Working carefully to obscure the bride, we lined everyone into position and reminded them where to stand. Piano (played by Yuval - fantastic) starts and they process. Thirty minutes later - I swear it was a gunshot outside but no - it was the glass being stomped by my really proud groom! It was so loud!! A smiling couple headed to the rooftop garden for photos with the bridal party - yes, it stopped raining for just that amount of time to get them done - another miracle. The hitch here was that they were supposed too head over to the Charles River Bridge but timing was against us so we switched to plan B. Once photos were done, Amrita came to change into her Lehenga gown. Can I just say - way better than a wedding gown. So many details and a long time to put on. After dressing, she had her make-up touched up (even though she still looked beyond fab) and we head back down for introductions. Her pink and gold reception was dressed with pomander ball centerpiece highs and lows from Dogwood floral (which looked incredible). The gold chiavari chairs with pink sashes made the look complete while the walls were splashed with incredible colors and designs by CJC Event Lighting. The entrees were salmon or vegetarian to satisfy their multicultural guest list and lots of clean plates were made. A delicious cake, adorned with photos the bride provided of their travels (Montillios) was enjoyed by all! It was a tower of travel and decadence! But the best was watching them, on a large screen. Photos of their childhood and and family then photos of the two of them during their travels together. I was actually jealous of their travel, the love from their family, the way they were celebrated. I wished that our culture, celebrated and adored my brides & grooms the way these two were. We have a lot to learn about other cultures and how they treat each other and strangers like me. I was blessed to be a part of this wedding weekend. A stranger to the culture, a family member made, an evening never to be forgotten.

Michelle, My Belle

OK, so it is Michelle & Chris but my mind goes right back to that special father/daughter dance every time I see her name! This great party was held on August 14th at the historic Commanders Mansion in Watertown. Beautiful on location ceremony in the "orchard" at a perfect 78 degrees with sunshine! My bride was a stunner in her grecian style wedding gown - breathtaking. Might I just say now, that I always cry when I see my brides. There is something to say about a bride just about to walk down the aisle. They are quiet, nervously smiling and awkwardly walking with their escort. Michelle was laughing and soaking in the surprise of it all. We had decorated all of the white chiavari chairs in a plum colored sash so the entire scene was incredible! She and Chris spoke their own vows to each other - very special - then loud cheers and clapping! I was fortunate to be in the back orchard peering through the grapleaves to watch their first married kiss. An honor. A delicious glass of champagne and decadent HD's were served up by Eat Your Heart Out Catering which kept the crowd munching and laughing. Out to the tent where Orchids n Blooms worked their magic again with high and low arrangements accented by peacock feather plumes. We dressed five square tables in the plum with white chair sashes while the rest were dressed with white linen and plum chair sashes. The entire room beamed with excitement! Off to intros and the toasts! Our Best Man realized he forgot to ask all to raise a glass to our shining couple - just another reason to pour fresh champagne! After a delicious, nut free dinner, the guests were enchanted by a 9 foot table filled with delicious chocolate desserts and a fountain for dipping jars of cookies and treats. Outside, the crowd danced continuously to the incredible sounds of The Scooby Snax Band. Then came that special song. Michelle, My Belle. Proud Daddy, Mom looking on, holding her hands to her chest and beaming. Their little belle, now married woman. Always a cherished daughter. Where's my crying towel...

Jessica & Rui!! Like Boston Royalty!

What can I say about this couple? From the moment I met them back in 2008, I knew they would be fun. They bantered back and forth like a couple already married and had fantastic ideas for their wedding. Their wedding was held back on August 6th at the beautiful Boston Harbor Hotel. All was in place for a spectacular event complete with rich navy linens with lime green accents from the floating white orchids, walls splashed with lush color and a really fun photo booth. The night before, I had a bad feeling that something was going to be up with the hairdresser as she was a bit salty to me both times I spoke to her. But then on the day of - I was optimistic and planned to kill her with kindness. About a half hour after I arrived at the hotel, I just wanted to kill her. She called Jess, 30 minutes before she was to start 7 heads of hair and cancelled. She did have a good reason but not sure if it was true. I will give her the benefit of the doubt but she could have at least tried to get a replacement. What ev. So now it's on. I am now supposed to get hair started in 20 minutes without a stylist. I went to the concierge - please tell me you have a salon on site. Nope. So, where is the closest salon - three blocks away. I am walking and talking to the salon on the phone begging for help. Nope - booked. OK, I am still walking and calling the one person I know can help me. Cheryl Greene. She does a lot of my weddings and on this day, I knew she was working at her home salon but had clients coming - grrrrrr. But! She says, call my friend Jimmy at Delaria Salon over on Commonwealth. I do, but get the other Boston location from 411 and tell the DM my tale of woe. She tells me she will call me right back. I start walking back to the hotel. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I reach the front door. Ring - "We can do it but they need to come to the salon" - NO PROBLEM!!! But wait, we have make-up coming too! Can we use a couple of chairs for the make-up girls - "SURE"! Oh, my god Becky. Saved. So I make it up to the bridal suite and call the front desk to set up cabs to bring the girls over for 12:30. My bride walks into the suite - so calm (I heard later she sets quiet when she is freaking out - justified). I tell her all the good news and she sighs and says - ok. I knew she was bummed. It's not the way it should be - but, sometimes these things happen and it all gets worked out. And, within 15 minutes of the brides call - situation averted and we are back on schedule. Now, for the record, this miracle would not have happened if we were in the boondocks on a Saturday. This was a Friday in Boston and they pulled in girls from other Delaria salons that were available to come to Summer Street. Pure luck on my part but incredible service on Delarias end. OK, so forget about the bad stuff - the rest of the day went awesome! Hair and make-up done with 30 minutes extra on the clock! The room is gorgeous, they have a beautiful ceremony - only glich was the ring bearer didn't want to hold the pillow - he only wanted the goldfish crackers. Buy, hey, I bet that picture will make them laugh later on and there wasn't a screaming ring bearer whipping a pillow around. Post ceremony they enjoyed photos in the courtyard where I think the entire guest list was watching instead of up in the rotunda eating unbelieveable HD's and having cocktails. That's ok too! On the ocean - beautiful couple - way better idea. After cocktails, the guests got caught up in the awesome photo booth (NH Photo Fun Booth). This was so much fun - but, since I photograph terribly I just had to keep trying it (mmm hmmm). The dancey dance in the reception was awesome, plus a great song sung by the DJ Corey (MCO Productions)! My gorgeous bride changed into her Chinese dress - a red stunner - and went back out to dance some more. My groom walked around like royalty and he really deserved it! They worked so hard to be sure this wedding was everything they'd dreamed of - and they achieved it. From back in 2008, when it was just a dream until 2010, a beautiful reality.