Patrick and Becky Tie the Knot in an Interfaith Wedding Ceremony!

Becky and Patrick were married on May 2, 2009 at Gerrard Hall on the UNC campus. It is an older building with lots of character. I had never been there before the rehearsal. Apparently there was a fire in the building sometime in the past and it has been restored. The walls were painted a warm rose color with white trim. It has a wrap around balcony and beautiful woodwork. Becky and Patrick told me that theirs is the last wedding in the building due to a policy change that will no longer permit weddings in the building. At first they were told that no candles would be permitted for this event but acquiesced so the couple could have a Unity Candle.

The couple wisely hired Cori Stocum as their wedding planner/director. A smart move. I have worked with Cori before and she is a pro! For this wedding she enlisted the assistance of her husband, Brad, and I could tell he had helped out a time or two. I was delighted when Kristin, founder of KPO Photography, arrived. I had not seen her for at least a couple of years although we have done many weddings together in the past. It was good to re-connect. She takes a photojournalistic approach to weddings and tells the story of the couple and their families and guests in pictures. The musicians were a violinist, cellist and flautist from Florian, another group of wonderful musicians I have worked with before.

Becky is of Jewish heritage and Patrick is of Christian heritage and they wanted to blend wedding customs of the two faiths together in their ceremony. I sent them plenty of examples of interfaith wedding ceremonies and my special collection of ceremony components. They chose to incorporate the Christian elements with a reading of First Corinthians by Patrick's grandmother (she did a fantastic job!) and the Unity Candle. On the Jewish side we had a Kiddush cup of wine representing the cup of life and Becky's brother, David, presented these words in Hebrew and English. He did a superb job as well. Then at the end of the ceremony Patrick smashed the glass in keeping with the traditional Jewish wedding custom as all the guests shouted Mazel Tov, which means congratulations and good luck. As part of the wedding address, Becky reworded the seven blessings into a contemporary rendition which fit so well. They married under a beautiful canopy called the Chuppah. It was fashioned out of plastic piping then wrapped with fabric and decorated with lovely greenery and colorful flowers as you can see. The actual fabric of the canopy was made especially for the couple by a friend of theirs who put a monogram of their combined initials on each end. This is very special and something that can be passed down in their family for generations.

It was time to begin the ceremony. After the grandparents and the groom's parents were escorted in, the groom and his groomsmen entered with me, and the lovely bridesmaids in their pretty champagne taupe dresses and matching high heels processed in, Becky's mother and father escorted her in and placed her hand into Patrick's then lit the candle for Becky. I began with a warm welcome to everyone, an opening prayer, and a blessing for their parents with a tribute to them for modeling happy marriages that have stood the test of time. We continued with the reading, the wine ceremony, the vows, rings and Unity Candle. Then it was time for the final blessing and pronouncement followed by the kiss and glass breaking. Everyone was jubilant when Patrick smashed the glass and we shouted Mazel Tov! I introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. and they swept out followed by their very large wedding party. I invited the guests to proceed to the Carolina Inn which is only a block away for the reception. Marty and I followed the wedding party to get some photos. Isn't Becky's dress just the prettiest one ever? She was radiant and so was Patrick. It was a grand wedding! All the best to you, Becky and Patrick!