The Wedding of the Decade

Jon and I went to a beautiful wedding on July 2. It was held at the Capitale - formerly a bank located on Grand and Bowery. It's the most remarkable site - the type of place that makes you wish your job title were Location Scout. The interior was grand to the max. The main room was full of columns; the ceiling is made of stained glass; the vault is still in tact and used by the waiters as a changing room. It's beautiful.

Anyway, here are some pictures.
The first person to come up and introduce herself to me was this woman, wearing the same dress. I probably shouldn't really point that out. It was embarrassing but at the same time, it's funny. Right? I guess that's what happens when dresses are bought in department stores.


The ceremony was incredible. The bridesmaids looked stunning. And the maids of honor looked stunninger. The bride had her sisters and brother standing with her under the chupah which I thought was really beautiful. There were actually quite a few people standing up there. Two rabbis, four parents, three siblings - it was crowded under there. But that should tell you how loved the bride and groom are. The Rabbi that married them also married the bride's parents. (I know the below picture is small but if you click on it, you can see the larger version on Flickr.)


I know you're all wondering what the dress looked like. It was hard for me to get a photo of the bride standing alone in her beautiful dress but here is my best effort. This is Jon standing with his beautiful cousin Daniela.


People are also usually curious about the wedding cake. The wedding itself was so extravagent that I was surprised to see this simple cake. But then I shouldn't be. Because as extravagent as the celebration was, the new couple are pretty down to earth people.


Here is a picture of me with my mother-in-law and the bride. Yes. I agree my head does look exceptionally huge in this picture. But everyone else looks beautiful.


At some point, Jon and I snuck away from the party and went upstairs to explore the building. Here is a shot looking down on the festivities.


And here is the bank ceiling.


This is the bride dancing with her father.


One of Jon's younger cousins is a gymnast. Here he is doing an incredible back flip.


Here is a shot of Jon and me. You can see in our faces how happy we were to help in the celebration.


And the final image with which I will leave you is this one of the portrait that was being painted of the wedding. I didn't even know this was a thing that could be done. Four photographers, one videographer and an artist rendering the live events in oil paint. They are definitely the best documented bride and groom I've ever met and I wish them the most happiness.