Honoring family

It is said that the love ones who have passed come back to attend a "simcah" and to stand under the chuppa with bride and groom. Our chuppa was small, but we wanted to find a way to honor those visitors. We wove as many people as we could  into the fabric of the ritual.   


 We used my brother's Tallit for the chuppa. We used a glass of my paternal grandmother wrapped in a cloth decorated by my maternal grandmother for Ric to stomp on. I wore my Dad's signet  ring. My original wedding ring, which I put on later, has the diamond from my grandmother's ring. The seashells in the bouquet were all collected with my cousins on our very recent trip to Israel on the beach at Cesarea. The seashells on the tables were ones I had collected over the last many years from beaches everywhere. Ric and I drank from the new wine goblets the Cindy gifted us and lit a candle in the matching holder. We set the stage by inviting those who love and loved us, and those we love, into the space. 


The congregation and guests did the rest.