Monday, December 2, 2013

Three Sixty Degrees of Celebration

Yelena and Yury...it was on the door to the venue! 



At Tribeca 360, the venue space actually circles around 360 degrees...from ceremony space around to the cocktail hour space to the dining area and then the dancing.  There were views of New York from...well, 360 degrees.

Russian weddings often have the cocktail hour before the ceremony.  It has the effect of creating community and warm feelings to set the tone of the day.  That was certainly the case for Yelena and Yury's wedding.

Yelena and Yuri had their Master of Ceremonies introduce each member of the wedding party for the ceremony procession.  It was lighthearted and fun.  The readings and the vows were in Russian...the language close to the hearts of the bride and groom...and their parents.  Sharing a glass of wine after their vows signalled the beginning of their new marriage.



Ceremony Tip:  Yelena and Yury had time for a ceremony-walk-through on site the day of the wedding.  That's a wonderful idea to calm pre-ceremony jitters for them and members of the wedding party.  The flower girl got the ideas of what she would do...and she was simply the best ever!

Julie Laudicina, Celebrant!





Bis das der Tod uns Scheidet

They met on a train in Germany.  He helped with her luggage, and she began the conversation. When they got to Munich, he changed his plans and got on the train she was taking.  Eighteen months later he proposed and she said "Ja."

Now living in New York City, they planned a small and intimate ceremony in their new apartment.  Before they moved in, they invited their closest friends and their parents to come for their wedding.  With no furniture except a few chairs, there was plenty of room for everyone to mingle, sample the buffet luncheon, and drink champagne.

For the ceremony, I thought it was important for some of the ceremony to be in German.  So their friend read a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, and they spoke their vows in German.  My high school German permitted me to pronounce a few phrases without embarrassing myself.

Because there were a small group of guests, the ancient wedding ritual of ring warming worked beautifully.  Everyone present held their rings and said a silent good wish for Caro and Felix.



Ceremony Tip:  The ceremony area was decorated with many candles.  It created charming an elegant and warm setting...but we had to watch that the bride's gown didn't get too close.  Remember that the staging of a ceremony takes more space than most people think.   It's a good idea to actually place stand-ins for the wedding party in the space and see just how much space is needed.  The usual problem is that the front row of seats are too close to the ceremonial space. For this ceremony, it worked out, but we were mindful during the entire ceremony of the nearby flames.

Julie Laudicina,Celebrant!