I have been waiting for just the right moment to blog Ellie and Faraz’s wedding at the Silver Spring Civic Building, in Maryland. As you’ll notice from the images, there are bystanders wearing coats; yes, this was a Winter wedding. However, I feel like this is the perfect time to get it up on the blog. Lately, I have felt overwhelmed by my own emotional responses to what I hear and read about over and over again, every day in the news. So much tragedy, difficulty, and divisiveness. Why is there so much hatred?! I felt like now was the time to post a wedding about love. Now, you know all of my weddings are about love, but this one had even more love than usual, and in such welcome, less common forms. The love was big and cross-cultural: a Jewish family and a Pakistani Muslim family joined together to see their children married, and then dance the night away (maybe with a little shoe-stealing and bartering-them-back mixed in). It was progressive and tolerant: Rabbi Deborah Reichmann, a female rabbi, and Imam Daayiee Abdulah, one of maybe three openly gay Imams in the world, celebrated the marriage side by side. It honored each family’s traditions: there was both a Ketubah signing and a Nikah ceremony, and both challah and naan breads were broken to start the meal. And it was so effortless and enveloping that it brought tears to my eyes. What follows are my favorite moments from that awesome day. Enjoy!
Wedding Coordinator: A Sweet Soiree Events | Venue: Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza | Officiant: Rabbi Deborah Reichmann
Officiant: Imam Daayiee Abdulah | Catering: Salt & Pepper Grill | Rentals: Zeffert and Gold | DJ: Bella Bakrania | Cake: Paisley Fig | Flowers: Da Vinci’s Florist & Lighting
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