One of the best parts of our wedding was our Rabbi, Rabbi Alan Katz of Temple Sinai in Rochester, NY. There was just something so incredible about having the Rabbi who bat mitzvahed me, bar mitzvahed my brother, and led my mom’s funeral, officiate our wedding.
Funny story: The day of my mother’s funeral was absolutely gorgeous. My mother was sick for so long, and had so many people who loved her, that the funeral, though incredibly sad, was also a celebration of her life. So it wasn’t just tears – it was laughter too. George was with me the entire time, saying kaddish with me beside my mom’s grave as we buried her. As we were getting into the limo to leave the cemetery, Rabbi Katz comes up to the open window and says to me: “So, I noticed Cara knew kaddish. . .is she Jewish?” And I said yes. And he says: “You know, I do weddings. . .” I promised to let him know as soon as she proposed.
As it turns out, he says we’re the first couple he married who he also suggested get married! We had no idea he was such a staunch advocate of gay rights. In fact, he began performing commitment ceremonies at our temple in the nineties.
Back to the ketubah signing. All the pictures are by the fabulous Cappy Hotchkiss.
The ketubah we picked was made by Tsilli Pines of New Ketubah. We loved working with her.
Here I am laboriously writing my name in Hebrew. That’s something I don’t do very often. Advice to all non-Hebrew-speaking Jews: practice writing your Hebrew name ahead of time! That way your ketubah won’t look like it was signed by an eight-year-old.
George signs. (An aside: Can you tell how much I loved my bouquet? I held it every chance I got.)
My maid of honor, Abby, was one of our witnesses.
After we signed, our parents gave us blessings and advice.
Then we swapped, and got some words of wisdom from our in-laws-to-be. Not sure what my dad said to George, but it got her all choked up.
Next up: My favorite part – the ceremony.
Part 2: See each other and group pictures!
Great story! I love New Ketubah’s designs, and the tree with the roots is my favorite.