Sunday, April 5, 2009

Footloose


There is an interesting challenge, planning a "Jewish style" wedding in a city where I only know gentiles. I use the term "Jewish style" modeled after the term "Kosher style" in that we are taking the facades and cultural representations of the Jewish Wedding, without the Rabbi, prayers, and, well...without the religion I guess.

I don't even know how this is going to play out when it comes to the ceremony, right now I am trying to navigate through the plans for the reception. And I am wondering if other people know more about it this. Is it only Jews that dance through the whole wedding? All of the Jewish weddings I have been to, you dance right away after the ceremony and cocktail hour, and then the dance in punctuated by the meal. At the non-Jewish weddings I have been too, there is the ceremony, then the whole dinner, speeches, and only after dessert is served do people get up to dance. That seems to be the norm here in Winnipeg, and it is making it hard to plan my Jewish style wedding, especially without any other Jews around. I am not a gal who has been imagining her wedding day since she was a kid. Not even close. And there is nothing wrong with what I perceive as the "gentile style" (ooh, that has a nice ring to it), but when I think about the wedding I want to have, the one that we should have and represents us, the dancing the night away thing seems pretty important.

2 comments:

  1. There's a beautiful YouTube video where the bride and groom start having their spotlight dance...

    ...and then "Big Butts" (or whatever the song is called) comes on. They act shocked for a moment, but then they go into this whole choreographed dance that has everyone howling with laughter.

    Now THAT is a wedding. Fun, not solemn and proper. I don't know what you, your fiance, or your families prefer, but I felt like I should put across the idea. Forget formality if you don't want it. It's your fiance's and your wedding. It's not about making your families coo over your day. You should enjoy it first and foremost.

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  2. OMG, my fiance will LOVE that suggestion.

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