These photos are from our wedding in 1996.  It was on of the most wonderful days of our lives; marred only by the big ass sports watch I was wearing.  The watch redeemed itself some weeks later when I was hit by a car and it gave its life protecting my wrist.

These photos were taken by Mike Velardi of Orchestrated Video and Photography.  There were scanned in from the proofs by me, so they aren't perfect.  Mike and his wife did a fantastic job of photographing and videotaping our wedding. I recommend them very highly. You can contact Orchestrated Video and Photography at 1-800-628-0547.

Mary and I had a traditional Jewish wedding that we altered slightly to conform to our egalitarian/feminist beliefs.   It was officiated by a friend from BU, Rabbi Josh Caruso and Cantor David Perper.  They did an amazing job.  The ceremony was held on the grounds of the New York Historical Society's Fenimore House on the shore of Lake Otsego in Cooperstown, New York.

Without further ado, the photos themselves....

This is from our bedecken, a sort of a pre-ceremony during which the bride and groom agree to the terms of the ketubah, the wedding contract. It was the first time that Mary and I had seen each other in a few days. It was a very powerful moment for both of us.






Here you can see us under the wedding canopy, the chuppah. The chuppah is said to represent many things, our future home, the tents that the Israelites lived in while wandering in the desert, and Abraham's tent --his tent was open on four sides so he could greet travelers. We used my grandfather's prayer shawl (talit) to form the roof. Also, the wine cup that I'm drinking out of belonged to my grandparents. Its one of the few things that my family has from before it moved the United States.

The chuppah is being held up by our friends Luke and Shirah as well as my brother and sister.




With the words "Haray aht mekudeshet li bita'abat zo k'dat moshe v'yisrael" --"Behold, you are made holy to me with this ring according to the laws of Moses and Israel.", I put the ring on Mary and we were married. It was wonderful and exciting, but all I could keep thinking about was when would I get to kiss her? Josh, our Rabbi, wasn't going to say "you may kiss the bride." Later, I remembered --right after I smash the glass!







Immediately after breaking the glass (and kissing) Mary and get to run off to be alone for a few minutes. So, why break the glass? Like all of the symbols in the Jewish wedding ceremony, there are many explanations for this tradition. We break the glass to: remember the Roman destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem and our exile from Israel; to frighten away evil spirits, to remember in this happiest of moments that the world is imperfect and needs to repaired; or does it have something to do with the bride's virginity?








Here are some nice portraits.














Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1