Saturday, November 10, 2007

Hava Nagila

I just went to the coolest wedding ever. Two of my former students who hooked up in my class got married tonight.

I coach Academic Decathlon and almost every year we have an "AcDec Romance" Well our AcDec Romance from 2001 got married tonight.

In March of 2000 we all went to France. So many of the folks that were there tonight were on that trip to France. The bride and groom were on the trip but they were not an item at that time. We had adventures. I had issues with the bride slamming four glasses of sauvignon blanc in about fifteen minutes. Her bridesmaid matched her but the bride got really sick. She was horribly sick the next day. The groom, theatrical person that he was, was part of a group of our kids who gathered on a sidewalk in Chartres singing about "Stupid Americans." It was really funny and people threw money in the hat.

In 2001, I had both these angels in two classes. Art History and Academic Decathlon. I didn't notice any particular chemistry until we went to the state meet in March. After that they were inseparable. They've been together ever since.

Tonight I witnessed the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended. I have never been to a Jewish wedding before but this was stunning. It was intimate and funny and everyone watching was involved. I've been to lots of weddings but I was a bystander, not a participant. Tonight I felt like I participated.

We pulled up to the venue and apparently entered through the back door. We didn't know that there was valet parking. Wine was being served from the get go. The reception started before the wedding. That was kind of cool. I visited with the bride who was the prettiest bride I ever saw. She hugged me so hard. I was lucky to have her all four years of high school. She was a delight. She told her bridesmaids that I was her second mother.

The wedding place was odd. It was in an incredibly quirky place not far from the jail. It looked very industrial from the outside, but the inside was filled with odd rooms that were decorated in eclectic ways. We got inside and it was wonderful. It was wonderland.

The groom wore pink converse high tops. This is typical of him. Well, I don't know about pink but he always wore converse high tops. The bride was in a gorgeous wedding gown. She was sublime.

I knew all of the parents involved and it was great to see them. It's just kind of funny to know that his mom and her mom are now related.

The ceremony was gorgeous. There were very many traditional elements that were enacted. There was a canopy and prayer shawls and they stomped the glass to everyone yelling "Mazeltov!!"

It was beautiful. I was happy to see so many people that I'd not seen in a few years. I was pleased to see two very favored students join themselves together. I cannot describe the look on the groom's face as he gazed into his new wife's eyes.

I hope I will be invited to the bris of their first son.