New York City – The Wedding

Once we returned back to Laura and Jason’s apartment from the day of touristing we were BEAT. We had only gotten 2.5 hours of sleep in 36 hours, walked nearly 30,000 steps and driven over 12 hours. But the wedding is the reason we made the trip to New York in the first place. So… we rallied! We got all gussied up and took a cab to the Yale Club where the wedding ceremony and reception took place.

The wedding was spectacular. It was by far the fanciest wedding I have ever been to and may ever attend (but I expected nothing less from the beautiful bride and groom). The evening started off with a duel Catholic and Jewish ceremony at 7:30 pm. Men were wearing kippots on their heads, the ceremony was under a huppah, and Laura, with her parents, circled Jason seven times once she got to the end of the aigle (this symbolizes the walls between the bride and groom falling and their souls being united). Then there was the oh-so-traditional smashing of the glass. Jason struggled a bit at first, but ultimately prevailed and the crowd screamed Mazel Tov! By 8, we were up a few floors for cocktail hour complete will a full bar and 5 food stations. Music was playing, waiters walked around with additional hors d'oeuvres and you could see the sun setting between the tall buildings. It was breathtaking.

Once cocktail hour was over, we were all redirected down back down the elevator to the room where the ceremony took place. The room was transformed into a BEAUTIFUL reception area with a large dance floor in the middle of countless tables. The centerpieces were out of this world! Massive! It was probably my favorite part of the décor.A few minutes after entering, the Bride and Groom were announced and had their first dance (which was choreographed… of course!). After the first dance, the guests were asked to join them on the dance floor for the Hora (chair dance), and the party was officially underway! No spare second was wasted and we danced the night away. Until dinner was served…

This reception was different than any wedding I had ever been to. There were 4 courses served, appetizer (yes more), salads, entrée and 3 different desserts. All was delicious. But what was so cool about this was that after each course, the band would start up again and the entire reception moved to the dance floor. After 30 or 45 minutes of dancing, the next course was announced and we would go back to our seats and continue to be served. Isn't that BRILLIANT! Not only was I able to eat more without feeling disgusting, but I was able to enjoy the food more as well. This should be done more often! The band was great as well. Not only did they keep the crowd engaged the entire reception but they played a great mixture of old and new hits to keep everyone entertained and even got in the middle of the dance floor to sing while breaking down a few moves. They were excellent and really the cherry on top of the entire night.

All in all, the evening was a huge success. I've never seen Laura look so beautiful and happy. And I can’t thank them enough for letting us stay in their apartment (that they had never even slept in). It was an absolutely perfect weekend and I can NOT wait to go back to New York City

{sorry for the blurry pic, but like I said, it was dark... this is the best I got}