Chapter 110: Wedding Traditions

After another round of photos with the entire wedding party, then some with all the guys and their girls, they left the chapel to a shower of birdseed. Giggling and with hands firmly clasped together, they walked out into the sunny quad and David pulled up short.

“What on Earth?” He saw a chupah set up in the expansive lawn, and his mother’s Rabbi standing at the ready.

“You gave me my tradition, I want to give you yours,” Hath said, reaching up to kiss her husband. “We’re married in the eyes of my God, I want to be married in the eyes of yours, too.”

“You are wonderful,” David said. “Thank you.”

They led the crowd over to the canopy. Hath had done her research, and waited for David, his mother, Tico, and Sue to join the Rabbi under the chupah, the symbol of the new home and new life they would build together. She solemnly walked around David seven times before standing by his side.

The Rabbi recited a blessing over a glass of wine, then spoke the Birkat Erusin (prenuptial blessing), after which, David and Hath both drank from the glass. Hath turned to her new mother-in-law, who took a small silk purse from her pocket. Another slender gold band was tucked inside. Hath handed it to the Rabbi, who then handed it to David.

The Rabbi had David repeat the words "Haray at mekudeshet li betaba'at zu kedat Moshe v'Yisrael" ("Behold, you are consecrated to me with this ring according to the laws of Moses and Israel"). David slid the ring on Hath’s index finger.

Smiling, Hath turned to her brother, who drew a scroll from his inside pocket and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” David asked, already knowing what it was.

“It’s our ketubah,” Hath answered. “I had a friend illustrate it and write it out for us.” The ketubah was a traditional wedding contract. It basically spelled out the bride-price and extracted a promise from the groom to provide food and shelter for his bride. In modern times, and with an interfaith couple, the language was more relaxed. David read the scroll. He recognized the words from their vows written in Hebrew.

“This is amazing,” he muttered, and handed it to the Rabbi to read.

The Rabbi read the words of promise aloud, then rolled the scroll and handed it to Hath, who clutched it softly in her hand. It would be framed and hung in their house when they got home.

The Rabbi placed a small velvet bag on the ground – the traditional glass. David took Hath’s hand, and stomped hard on the glass, breaking it with a loud POP! Everyone cheered, and David swept Hath up into another kiss.

After Ang took photos of Hath’s and David’s families with the Rabbi, they headed the rest of the way across campus to the stone mansion on top of the hill. The house was used now as a function hall, and as they made their way to it, the students that were out and about stopped to applaud. David and Hath shared a kiss and a wave, and kept up their trek. The other guys were somewhere in the middle of the pack, and went unnoticed across campus.

At the hall, Ang took more photos, the couple with each of the tables of people. She would take more shots during the first dance, the toast, the cake cutting, and the inevitable garter toss.

The Rashbaums danced their first dance to “All I Ask Of You” from Phantom, the haunting voices of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman underscoring the emotion of the words. They sang the words to each other softly, eyes locked on each other as they waltzed around the dance floor. As the final bars of the music faded out, David dipped her low and kissed her tenderly. They stayed joined that way for several minutes until they realized the room was completely silent.

Blushing, they separated, David saying, “Can you blame me?” and making everyone laugh.

They sat down to a catered luncheon of simple foods, as that’s what David and Hath preferred. They started with a fresh fruit bowl, with grapes, berries, and melons all deliciously chilled. The spinach salad was crisp and light and the smoked turkey tender and delicious. An assortment of desserts was laid out on a table next to the cake. Stephanie had been working feverishly to provide the treats, and Hath had put her business card at everyone’s place setting, so they would know who was responsible for the delectable creations.

The cake itself was a four-layer cake, alternating chocolate and yellow. It was covered in white frosting, and decorated simply with fresh roses around the base. The topper was a traditional man and woman standing under a canopy of flowers. It was simple and elegant, like everything else that day.

After lunch, Ang took shots of the couple slicing into the cake together. They carefully fed bites of the light confection to one another, and shared a kiss after each one. There was a moment when David considered mashing the cake into Richie’s face – he was standing right next to them and grinning like an idiot, but decided a food fight at the wedding reception would definitely irritate his new bride.

When Hath sat for the garter removal, the unmistakable strains of the traditional Hora dance flowed from the speakers. Jon, John, and Richie hoisted Hath’s chair up over their heads, making her scream. “Don’t you dare drop me! You mush my babies, and I will kill you!” She screamed again when they started to spin her chair around. She looked frantically around for David, and saw him hoisted up by Tico, Nathan, and Ed, her brother’s best friend. The two groups brought the chairs close enough together so Hath and David could grasp the edges of a linen napkin and they were spun and twirled until Hath thought she would never un-dizzy.

“OK!” Hath said, breathless with laughter. “Please, put me down now.” The men complied and high-fived each other as they went back to their women.

“Can I please dive under my bride’s dress now?” David complained, and his new mother-in-law cuffed him on the back of his head.

“There are children present, you ass,” she hissed at him.

“Oops, sorry Mom,” David said sheepishly.

A stripper’s anthem played while David knelt in front of Hath. Slowly, he raised the hem of her dress until nearly her whole leg was showing. The men whistled and clapped, and Hath giggled gleefully. David traced his fingers up her silk-covered length, and slowly pulled the garter down over her thigh. When he reached her knee, he leaned forward and grasped it in his teeth, pulling it the rest of the way off. Smirking like a fool, he straightened and kissed his wife.
“Who wants it?” David called. He flipped it in the general direction of his friends, and laughed with Michael, Stephanie’s son, caught it. He didn’t know what to do with it, so he shoved it in his pocket. Hath took the throw-away bouquet and tossed it behind her at the gathering of unmarried girls and women. Ava caught it, and everyone thought it was cute that they sat together for the rest of the afternoon.

Hath and David made the rounds after a while, stopping to talk, kiss, hug, or otherwise thank each person for coming, then they made their exit. David had a single suitcase packed and waiting in the limo.

“Where are we going?” Hath asked.

“Somewhere where all you need is your passport, your bathing suit, and a smile,” David answered.

“But WHERE are we going?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Always,” Hath answered, leaning in for another kiss.

“Then trust me, you’re going to love it.”

They climbed into the car, and looked back, seeing their friends and family gathered on the porch of the hall, waving frantically. They settled into the seat, arms wrapped around each other. “Thank you,” David said. “Thank you for marrying me.”

Hath laughed.

“What?” David answered.

“That’s not the right line. The right line is ‘thank you for loving me’.”

David groaned and laughed. “How long are you going to quote us to me?”

“HOW long are we going to be together?”

“Forever,” David said, smiling.

“Then forever,” Hath said.

The couple joined hands and lips, and stayed that way until they reached the airport.






The Goddess wishes to thank Jovi's Willow for her help with this chapter....