It's a Nice Day For a...

...white wedding of Benny and Reut! Mazal Tov! They got married last night at a beautiful event. Benny has been friends with Sharon since they worked together at Summer Seminar a few years ago (don't mention t-shirt logos!). We picked up Yoni at the bus stop and drove 40 minutes west-southwest to Chafetz Chaim. Clouds were streamed and swirled on the big sky; a great sunset was on the way.

I was quickly pulled into an evening minyan as we arrived. Then we met up with Mr. Hawaiian Shirt and the D-Lightful One to sample the appetizers. Notable were the smoked tuna and the tortilla wraps, made to order with your choice of meat, guacamole, beans, and sauces. We ruminated on the surreptitious transfer of finished wraps into the hands of other staff. Was there an underground escape route for Mexican food? Delivery to honored guests who don't wait on line?

We stopped caring when we saw the next table being set up with a chocolate fountain. We had some drinks and mingled. In attendance was a young woman in a purple dress and gold shoes (and under her purple hosiery, the nails on her big toes were decorated with an American flag I think, although she spoke perfect Hebrew), and some people from abroad. One British woman had a nice visit to the U.S. recently, in which she toured New England and even got a big "Howdy!" from one of the friendly folks she met.

The location was beautiful, with white trees lit pink and blue by colored floodlights. Flowers and plants everywhere, and benches made from large wooden wagon wheels. The ceremony was very nice, with a handmade blanket topping the chuppah. It started getting cold out as everyone headed inside for dancing and dinner. We were seated with a few other Ramah staff whose company we enjoyed. The rolling mechitza moved quite a bit into the men's dancing area as the women continually needed more room.

Dinner and tablemates were lovely. Somehow I had an instinct for the exact moment that the chocolate fountain was turned on and the table of sweets and fruit revealed! From across the room, I saw the good stuff flowing and ran over with Sharon and Chava hot on my heels. We were first in line and immediately got some sticks (useful for jabbing kids out of the way) onto which we pinned fruits and nougat and let the warm chocolate drizzle onto our skewered desserts. By the time we took our first bites, a mad crowd had gathered. I returned into the frenzy to peel a banana, one-handed, and skewer the whole thing on a stick. I received light "battle damage" in the form of a few chocolate spots on my shirt: a small price to pay.

Then Hillel set up his laptop to project a video on a big screen, which featured the groom singing in a music video. Nice voice and a good idea. Bezalel joked that he wanted to check his email! Then we bensched (post-meal prayers with some extra wedding blessings) and drove home, getting in around 1 AM. The coffee buzz was wearing off by then; we were left to our Willy Wonka dreams.