hora hora

having just experienced my first jewish wedding, here's the short version of what i have to say:

jewish people know how to throw a party.

(maybe what i should be saying is the Blooms know how to throw a party)

the longer version goes something like this:

there's no way to capture the essence of the entire weekend so i'll just fire at will and chalk this post up to sheer wedding over stimulation. i know exactly this "--" much about jewish traditions. i know holidays mean eating (except for that one where they fast -- yom kippa? yom kippotamus?) and i know that major events mean more eating. So basically i was looking forward to a full stomach and a beautiful dress (having already previewed the goods).

What i wasn't expecting was the overwhelming sense of participation that came from the wedding attendees. There was so much dancing and mirth that i couldn't walk 2 feet without bumping into someone cutting a rug. And the dancing of the hora. where do i start? bride and groom bobbing around the room in chairs raised above shoulders. the old and young alike zipping by in their circles with such zeal that i felt like i was in a ring around the rosy mosh pit. every so often a less coordinated person (i.e. me) would fall out of formation and stumble to a nearby wall.

But i'm getting ahead of myself.

The afternoon of the wedding (held at Woodend Mansion) was spent trying to stay out of the way. I figured my best course of action would be to camp out on a bench overlooking the grounds and wait for the wedding party to emerge from the house. Little did i know that my prime seating was also prime real estate for the pre-wedding video shoot. I apologize now to the bride and groom if you have a confused looking individual wearing a khaki suit sitting on a bench next to the best man in the background of your pre-wedding bliss.

After the photographers herded the wedding party from one pose to the next, the excitement died down a bit (at least for me). There was much milling about, meeting various sig figs and waiting for the rabbi to show (and waiting and waiting). Eventually I walked down to the wedding square with one of the other non party members. And that's when the rain started. Luckily it was the light rain you might relish on a long summer walk and not the heavy downpour that keeps you stranded inside for hours. I'd even go so far as to say that it added to the romanticism of it all... sitting in white folding chairs, surrounded by a sentinel of trees in the midst of greenery, the soft pattering of rain drops, the sound of jewish curls frizzling in the humidity...

the post-ceremony hours can be summed up with my first paragraph. the people were all incredibly nice, the food was amazing, the centerpieces were unreal. Basically there are not enough superlatives to go around.

you know it's a good time when even I get out on the dance floor. sadly, it may cease to be a good time for everyone else.