If the White House is hosting a dinner, you can be sure that it has been planned, designed, prepared to every minute detail. Food, colors, flowers, music – all have been thoughtfully selected for the occasion and the guest list – in this case India’s Prime Minister Singh and other dignitaries. Here’s what they came up with, perhaps you can get some ideas from the pros.
The Tent Entrance
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Whether you stand online or go online for your shopping discounts, the shopping season has officially been kicked off. For all of you planning a wedding and setting up the place you’ll call home after that wedding, the shopping season was kicked off the day you said ‘yes’. If you’re in the spending money parsha anyways, you may save a chunk of change by riding the shopping wave. For us shomer shabbos folks, the winter Black Friday is just too short to spend shopping, so finding some great deals online may be the only way to go. Here are some that be of interest to the wedding shopping community.
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It’s been more than three years since the ChossonKallah.com wedding directory has been providing thousands of families with resources to plan their wedding. Three years ago, the directory covered the New York area only. Since then we have expanded to include New Jersey, California, and Florida regions. As of December, we plan to cover the Maryland / Washington D.C. region as well. If you have had a really good experience with a wedding vendor in that locale let us know about them; leave a comment or send us a line via the ‘Contact Us‘ page. …And Thanks.
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Living out of town has its definite pluses and minuses. On the minus side, I had to head all the way to school in the big bad city of New York. On the plus side, that was where I met my husband. We met through the traditional way, introduced via a shadchan, or matchmaker. In this case, my matchmaker was my high school principal, who matches up at least ten to twenty couples a month on dates. Not all of those dates turn into marriage, but with the game of probability in play, the more matches you set up, the more likely one turns into a engagement.
We dated in New York, and finally took the big plunge and got engaged in January. The next big thing was setting a wedding date. Here’s where another plus, in my opinion, comes in. Since I live out of town, there are only a few (try one or two) kosher wedding halls available, making my choices far easier. I simply called one up, found out that they would be available for X dates, and then spoke to all who were concerned. This included the rabbaim who would be coming in for the event, the parents on both sides, and of course, my then chassan. After about a week of deliberation, we set the date for Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the first day of the Jewish month of Nissan.
Getting married on Rosh Chodesh usually has many pluses to it. First of all, getting married on the first day of the month is a good omen–for a full and complete marriage, and a new beginning. Secondly, usually an Orthodox Jew who gets married on the first of the month does not have to fast prior to their wedding date. This applies for all months, except… you guessed it! Nissan. Why? Because that day was the day when the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was finally inaugurated, and on that day, the High Priest’s, Aharon, two sons Nadav and Avihu, brought a forbidden offering, and were killed. So, on that specific Rosh Chodesh, those who are getting married still fast. Rosh Chodesh Nissan is also an auspicious day to get married, for there are those that say that that might have been the birthday of the world.
Out of town preparations for a wedding also constitute major pluses. There are a limited amount of choices, and this makes it rather easy. I got engaged at the end of a semester in college, making me available in my home town for ten days to get things organized. And so I did. I started ordering a shaitel, decided on a menu for the hall, booked a photographer, arranged the flowers and chupah, and set up a videographer. However, the minus to living out of town was that it was a lot harder to find a wedding dress there. So I elected to do that type of thing in New York.
I ended up renting my wedding dress from a rental place in Boro Park, due to the simple fact that I fell in love with it. My second shaitel came from a phenomenal shaitel macher there as well, and this became the shaitel that I would end up wearing to my own wedding.
For you see, there are those who say that since a Orthodox Jewish woman covers her hair after marriage, after the wedding ceremony takes place, one is considered to be married. And therefore, following that train of logic, the bride’s hair should be covered after the ceremony. Now, like any other bride, I was hesitant about that idea, since I loved my hair, and couldn’t picture wearing a wig on my most special of days, even if my chassan did ask me to. But the more I looked into it, and discussed it with my Rebbitzen, the more I came to the conclusion that I would wear a wig. I wore it throughout the pictures, and if I do say so myself, it looked stunning. Most people at the wedding did not know I was wearing one at all!
So, I got my happy ending, and a fabulous wedding, even if it was geographically undesirable!
Wishing you and all the rest of Klal Yisroel the same- happiness, joy, and all the blessings in the world!
NMF #7
NMF #7 is a newlywed, living in Israel, writing about her experiences there as an Orthodox Jewish girl. You can find her writings and perspectives about Israel, married life, and the world at large at her blog: Israel Chronicles.
Diamonds are forever, but who’s keeping track of time?
The Chassan’s watch – a commonly given gift by the Kallah (a.k.a. her parents) to her future husband, a gift among many others that are exchanged throughout the engagement, that says, as much as a Tallis, you’re now a married man. ….and don’t be late!
There are so many styles and brands to choose from, it seems like there’s a watch style for every person. Square or round, steel, gold, or platinum, black or white, clunky or light, showy or low key …and so on. Many have a weekday watch and a shabbos watch. A shabbos watch is usually more dressy and decorative. (Not only to show honor to the shabbos, but because it is then considered an adornment, an element of a person’s outfit, not just an instrument that tells time, and thus wouldn’t be considered carrying.)
Certain styles and brands are more popular in different communities. There are the more ‘yeshivish’ options, by Geneve, available at The Chassan’s Place (at last search the prices were lower than other websites and even Overstock). Some Examples:
Euro Geneve - round face, V links: $2,700
Euro Geneve - Ridged links, rectangular face: $3,266
I am not certain that these watches are not loosing their popularity even within the yeshivish circles. I am personally not a big fan. (understatement)
Another Gold watch option that I personally prefer to those above is this Concord Delirium (too in your face and flashy for my taste, but still better than the Geneve; I do like the rose gold, though):
Concord Delirium - 18k rose gold
This Concord is now available at theWatchery.com (a Jewish owned website) for a decent price (for it): $5,495, enter coupon code EMCRD10 at checkout and it will be $4,945.50.
The next two I really like for their simplicity and vintage feel. Also from the Watchery.
Blancpain Villeret Chronograph - 18K White Gold / Blue Dial: $13,110
IWC Vintage Portofino - $10,900
To be continued…
P.S.
Are you a watch person? Let us know your favorites.
