Wedding of Miriam and Chris

Posted on by Thor

Chris and Miriam were married in Greensboro, North Carolina by Rabbi Eliezer Havivi. Miriam Dolan is a cousin of my wife Terry. We took a long car drive up to attend the wedding. The wedding day is considered the happiest day of one’s life. It is a personal Yom Kippur for the groom and for the bride. On this day all their past mistakes are forgiven as they merge into a new, complete soul. The veil conveys modesty for the bride and stresses that no matter how physically attractive she may be, it is the soul and character that are most important. The couple stood under a chuppah or marriage canopy which is a symbol of the home to be built and shared by the couple. It is open on all sides to convey that the couple should welcome people in unconditional hospitality. Miraim circled Chris seven times, which symbolized that the world was built in seven days. Two cups of wine were used in the ceremony. The first cup was sipped when the rabbi recited the betrothal blessings. Wine is a symbol of joy in Jewish tradition. The wedding is a sanctification of a man and woman. After the ceremony, the groom placed a glass on the floor and shattered it with his foot by stomping on it. This tradition stresses that even at the height of one’s personal joy, we must remember the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. After the ceremony the couple was escorted to a private room and left alone for a few minutes. This time of seclusion signified their new status of living together as husband and wife.

All of these traditions are somewhat new to me since I was raised christian, so I sketched with fascination. I was still adding watercolor washes when the ceremony was over and people began to file out to go to the reception. Terry lost patience when the synagogue was empty since she wanted to get to the reception to see the newly married couple arrive. I got my sketch done.

Wedding Dinner

Posted on by Thor

Terry and I drove to Greensboro North Carolina for the wedding of Terry’s cousin, Miriam Dolin. It took all day to drive up there and when we got there we collapsed in out motel room from exhaustion. We were given a little gift bag from the lady at the front desk. Inside was a map to help us find the home where a pre-wedding dinner part was going to be held the following evening. The home was gorgeous in a really nice neighborhood. The food was served on the center island in the large kitchen area. People would fill a plate and then sit in any of the rooms on the ground floor. I sat in the kitchen’s breakfast nook and started to sketch. At events like this I tend to only hear the overall din of all the conversations. Someone can be standing right in front of me talking and I just hear all the ambient noise. Doing this sketch calmed my nerves although doing the sketch was a major challenge because of the constant movement of all the people as they loaded their plates in a clockwise ebb and flow.
Miriam seemed very calm. She worked the room, greeting all her distant cousins and other relatives who had come from out of town. She had once played Mary Poppins at the Magic Kingdom so she has a consummate warm grace around crowds of people. She was the center of attention and she relished and was quite comfortable with that. Her fiance tagged along trying to learn all the names that were being thrown his way.

Tomorrow I will be sketching Boudoir Bombshells in Groveland.