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Jodie and Josh

If you would like to help out during our wedding weekend, please let us know. We have several committees and many of them could use volunteers.  We know that we could use additional help with our bus captains committee, welcome committee, children’s programming committee, beer committee and decorations committee.  Let us know if you have special skills you would like to offer. Some of our friends and family have already offered to lend their skills to do lighting, DJing, music, song leading, dance lessons, baking, yoga instruction, service leading, officiating and more. What are your special skills?

• Adult rate for Sunday night only (Age 15+): $110 (New Reduced Price!)
  

• Youth rate for Sunday night only (Ages 7 – 14): $90 (New Reduced Price!)
  

• Child rate for Sunday night only (Ages 3 – 6): $70 (New Reduced Price!)
  

If you are planning to coming earlier than Sunday, check out the prices here.

Shabbat, is the Jewish day of rest, and is celebrated from sundown on Friday evening, until sundown on Saturday night. Different people have different ways of observing Shabbat, and for us, it’s all about taking time to unwind, pressing “pause” on the craziness of our week and reconnecting with our friends, family and each other. Our Shabbat together will include festive meals, singing, dancing, time for relaxation and three distinct prayer experiences.

First, on Friday night we and our guests will join together for Kabbalat Shabbat, which literally means to “receive Shabbat.” Our friends will lead our community in prayer and lots of singing. We will provide you with transliterations if you don’t read Hebrew, and always, singing along in a robust “la la la la la la” is a perfect way to participate (in fact, it was Jodie’s grandpa’s favorite way to sing along!).

After services, we all will have dinner together, beginning with Kiddush (a blessing over wine) and HaMotzi (a blessing over Challah— the delicious twisted egg bread that is eaten on Shabbat).

Some of our most favorite Shabbat memories come from our times spent at summer camp, so after dinner we will continue to celebrate Shabbat camp-style, with a sing-along (there will be song sheets with all the words!) and then some Israeli folk dancing, led by Josh’s dad, Alan.

On Saturday morning, our Shabbat celebration will continue with services in the morning, including a Torah service. This particular Torah service will be extra special because we will have our Aufruf as part of it. The Aufruf (Yiddish for “being called up”) is a tradition wherein the groom (in our case, both the bride and groom!) are called up to the Torah for an Aliyah (reciting the blessing over the reading of Torah). At our Aufruf, Jodie will read from the Torah. After Jodie finishes reading the Torah portion, we will be blessed by one of the service leaders. As we make our way back to our seats, everyone is invited to throw candy at us, literally showering us with sweetness.

Shabbat afternoon is all about chilling out: The pool and lake will be open, there will be different sports and art activities going on, miles of nature trails can be explored and more. On Saturday evening, after dinner and a lively mini-color war, we will all join together for Havdalah (which means “separation”), a beautiful and short service filled with song that marks the end of Shabbat. At Havdalah, there are three elements that are blessed: wine, spices and fire, each symbolizing different aspects of Shabbat. After Havdalah, Saturday evening will be capped off with a campfire down by the lake – then, off to bed to get ready for our wedding day!

As far as Jewish life cycle events go, the Jewish wedding is one that is filled with traditions and rituals that help to heighten the joy of a very exciting day. We are so excited to celebrate with traditions and rituals that focus on bringing our family and friends together with us as we embark on our marriage.

At 3:00 pm on Sunday, everyone will be invited to go to Tisches for either (or both, if you want to go back and forth!) the bride or the groom. The Tisch (which means “table” in Yiddish) is an opportunity for friends and family to gather with the bride and groom before the ceremony and help get them PUMPED UP! Traditionally, the groom (and in our case —both the bride and groom) would share some words of Torah, and friends and family interrupt them, easing their nerves with laughter and song. Our friends will be leading unique Tisches for us, where people will have the opportunity to share words of wisdom and love with us as we prepare to greet each other under the chuppah. Eventually, everyone at both Tisches will dance us to a third location where we will enact the Bedeken and sign their Ketubah (both the Bedeken and Ketubah are explained below). This is one of the songs everyone will likely be singing repeatedly with gusto:

Od yishama b’arei Yehuda
U’vchutzot, u’vchutzot Yerushalim
Kol sasson, v’kol simcha
Kol chatan, v’kol kallah

It will yet be heard in the cities of Judea
and the parts of Jerusalem:

Sound of joy and sound of gladness,
voice of groom and bride.

The Bedeken (which means “the checking”) is the moment when Josh will lower Jodie’s veil over her face. The traditional Jewish practice of the bridal veil, lowered by the groom just before the wedding ceremony, is customarily connected to two biblical events: Rebecca veiling herself when she first sees Isaac, the man who will be her husband (a reflection, many say, of modesty), and Jacob being tricked by his father-in-law into marrying the “wrong” sister, Leah, before he is permitted to marry his beloved Rachel (and thus the groom must do a “checking,” or Bedeken in Yiddish, to make sure he’s marrying the right woman). Neither of these associations was particularly compelling to us. One explanation that we really like is that on her wedding day, the bride is so filled with love and excitement, that a veil must be worn in order to protect guests from the glow on her face!

Next up: we sign the Ketubah! The Ketubah, or marriage contract, will be signed by the bride, groom and two witnesses. Our Ketubah is very special to us; it comes from an artist in Jerusalem where we lived last year and is a gift to us from Naomi and Elie Wurtman, Josh’s sister and brother-in-law. The signing of the Ketubah makes our marriage legally binding in the eyes of the Jewish community, and from there, it’s on to the Chuppah!

The Chuppah, or wedding canopy, may be the most universally recognized symbol of a Jewish wedding ceremony. We will stand under this canopy that represents the home we will continue to create together. The Chuppah evokes the imagery of Abraham and Sarah’s tent, which was open on all four sides to welcome guests, just as we intend for our home! Our Chuppah is extraordinary special to us; for Jodie’s 30th birthday this past year, friends and family gathered to sew together a patchwork Chuppah with fabric from Jodie’s mother, needlework from Jodie’s grandmother’s family, Josh’s childhood bed sheets, and t-shirts and fabrics from our schools, summer camps, jobs and other important landmarks along the way. Our siblings will hold the Chuppah during the ceremony, under which we will stand along with our parents.

Once Jodie arrives at the Chuppah to meet Josh, the traditional Hakafot (circling) will take place. Traditionally, the bride would circle the groom, symbolizing the creation of a new family circle. In Judaism, the number seven is a mystical number, representing creations and completion. We will mutualize this gesture. We will each circle the other three times, before completing the seventh circle together, symbolizing how central the other is to our lives.

One of the highlights of the wedding ceremony is the chanting of the Sheva Brachot, or Seven Blessings. We will have friends and family come up to read/sing each of these blessings, and during the final blessing, many people will join in. If you want to familiarize yourself with the words, here they are (otherwise, just clap along!):

“Asher Barah Sasson Ve’Simcha, Chatan Ve’Kallah,
who created joy and celebration, bridegroom and bride,
Gila, Rina, Ditza VeChedva Ahava VeAchava, VeShalom VeRe’ut.”
rejoicing, jubilation, pleasure and delight, love and brotherhood, peace
and friendship.

At the end of the ceremony, Josh will break a glass. This moment in the Jewish wedding ceremony is a joyous conclusion, though it is meant to remind us that both life and relationships are fragile. One tradition teaches that the breaking of the glass is meant to symbolize the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem— reminding us of the balance of joy and sadness in life. A contemporary interpretation that we really like is that the sound of the breaking glass travels through time and space, sharing our joy with those who are separated by distance and time. After the glass is broken, it is traditional that all in attending shout “Mazel Tov,” which means “Congratulations” in Hebrew.

After the ceremony, we will spend a few moments alone in Yichud (which means “uniqueness” in Hebrew, and comes from the same Hebrew root as the word for “together”), and enjoy our first moments as husband and wife!

Gear up during the cocktail hour and get your party shoes ready to dance as we attempt the longest Horah (folk circle dancing that originated in the Balkans, became common throughout Eastern Europe and became a national dance in Israel) in history!

It means so much to us to have all of you with us and we hope that this little guide has given you a sense of what to expect at our wedding weekend! No question is silly and chances are if you’re confused about something, someone else is too, so ask away!

Love
Jodie and Josh

The couple walked down an improvised aisle, stood under a tallit for a chuppah, had an officiant pronounce them husband and wife, they smashed (two glasses) and the crowd said “Mazel Tov!”

According to Time Magazine, ”The bride’s dress cost $36, she did her own hair and makeup, and the reception was held at a nearby hotel and only cost around $3,000. The couple, who met while working in Rwanda, wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The surprise activity was crafting a patchwork chuppah (a Jewish wedding canopy that symbolizes the home that the wedding couple will build together) for our wedding.

Beforehand, I (Josh) recruited our dear friend Jenny Rittberg, a skilled DIY seamstress, to help design the chuppah and lead the sewing party. She and I picked out fabrics together at Mood and another fabric store in the fashion district and asked our friends to contribute additional fabric that had sentimental or other special meanings.

About 15 of our friends and family members joined us on Saturday, December 4 at Home Ec. Jodie was indeed surprised and after we explained what we were doing and Jenny gave some basic instructions, we got stitching.  We ultimately produced about 25 squares that Jenny will help finish up and piece together to form our final chuppah.

Shabbat Challahween

A couple weeks ago we were at a dinner party (Shabbat Challahween) and we were lamenting about not being able to find an invitation designer.  Our friend Sarah (Nani) Beraha suggested that we get in touch with  her colleague Marielle Solan who is starting up a graphic design side-business.

We got in touch with Marielle and she was awesome. She totally got the style we were after and came back to us with a ton of great ideas.  Among the examples of invitations she found from other couples who got married at camps was one that was really grabbed our attention.

Found at: http://bit.ly/9ouuHC

This invitation encapsulated the design we are looking for. It strongly reminded us of our friends’ invitation that we loved.

What we loved about Andy and Elena’s invitation was the staid front page with the essential details and whimsy and funky retro-design of the inside. Whitney and Matthew’s invitation was so similar that we knew we were on the right track and found the right person to work with with Marielle.

So we met with Marielle tonight and brainstormed layout and text ideas. We are excited to be working with her and are looking forward to getting a first draft in December!

Do the room prices on your website include all meals over the weekend?

Yes and thank you for your question.

The room rates includes all the meals over the weekend: Friday night Shabbat dinner (a meat meal), Saturday breakfast (a dairy meal), Saturday lunch (dairy with fish), Saturday dinner (a meat meal), Sunday brunch (a dairy meal), a Sunday mid-day snack (dairy), the wedding reception (a dairy meal) and a final brunch on Monday morning (a dairy meal).

Photo by nicolaitan via wikimedia.org. Creative Commons License.