Pittsbugh Wedding Reception

So immediately after the ceremony, we snuck a couple pics with the newly married couple... figured we had to get while the gettin' was good.

Of course I have to share a pic of me and the Husband.

We then headed to the reception room... some of these photos are from my friend Jackie who is an amazing photographer and just like me, loves to snap photos. My laziness set in when I realized Ms. Jackie was all over it with the pics...

Here is a photo of the escort cards.

Shells dominated the theme...why? Because the groom proposed to the bride using a mussel shell... He placed the ring in there... so that's what sits on the yummy German Chocolate Cake ... a replica.

Here is our cute table setting

A few photos from Jackie... of the Wishing Well tree

Another photo from Jackie of our friend Julie... with the DONUT MAKER !

And here are some photos of my friends :)

The couple were lifted on to chairs... here are some blurry pics...

They went from holding a white towel/napkin... to the terrible towel.

And of course, a picture of me with the beautiful bride.

We had such a great time... dancing, sweating and getting our groove on. What is not pictured is the beautiful cookie table - all her family and friends made different cookies and guests took them home as favors! :)

Congrats to the beautiful bride and handsome groom... our newly married friends whom we love dearly!

Pittsburgh, A beautiful Wedding

The wedding was so very beautiful. It was my first Jewish wedding I have ever attended, and had I know how romantic these ceremonies were - I may have opted for one myself !!! No joke!

The ceremony began with the Chuppah being brought in to stage the area where they would say their vows...
"A chuppah (Hebrew: חוּפָּה‎, pl. חוּפּוֹת, chuppot, literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together. While a Jewish marriage is still considered valid in the absence of a chuppah, a chuppah is still considered a basic requirement for a Jewish wedding." (Source Wikipedia)

One thing the couple noted in their program was that the Chuppah symbolizes their home with the support of four poles but there are no walls, to show that their home is always open to family and friends.

The bride came in with both parents and then they stood under the Chuppah... the groom joined his bride as they walked towards the Chuppah.

The bride then walked around the man. "The bride traditionally walks around the groom three or seven times when she arrives at the Chuppah. This may derive from Jeremiah 31:22, “A woman shall surround a man”. The three circuits may represent the three virtues of marriage: righteousness, justice and loving kindness (see Hosea 2:21). Seven circuits derives from the Biblical concept that seven denotes perfection or completeness." (Source Wikipedia) To show equality in this day and age, the bride walked 3 times, the groom then did the same to the bride 3 times, and then they walked the last circle together.

Here is an image of the signed Ketubah... signed earlier that day.

A ketubah (Hebrew: כתובה ; "document"; pl. ketubot) is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. (Source Wikipedia)

And then there was the exchanging of rings... the seven blessings (which i participated in). "Sheva Brachot (Hebrew: שבע ברכות‎) literally "the seven blessings" also known as birkot Nesuim (Hebrew: ברכות נישואים‎), "the wedding blessings" in Jewish religious law are blessings that are recited for a bride and her groom as part of nissuim. In Jewish marriages there are two stages - betrothal (erusin) and establishing the full marriage (nissuim); historically there was often at least a month between the two events, but in most[citation needed] modern marriages, the two are combined as a single wedding ceremony." (Source Wikipedia)

And then the exciting stepping on the glass (which i did not get a picture of)

announcement of man and wife...

and then it was party time for the reception to celebrate this awesome marriage.

A jewish ceremony is filled with so much tradition and culture. Every thing has a symbol or meaning. I found it super sweet and could not stop myself from getting weepy throughout! It was so exciting to be part of this wedding!

Next up... the fun reception! :)

Pittsburgh, Exploring {cont'd}

so we continued to explore downtown along the water front and came to what is sometimes referred to as "the best ballpark in baseball"... and we could see why. The ballpark sits on the water and is just beautiful

I made the Husband pose for a few photos...

This was behind the wall to the left of where my Husband stood...

And for fun, we compared feet sizes

Unbeknownst to me, we stumbled upon this memorial for Korean War Veterans, which always gives me pause to say thanks!

This was the view from the ballpark on one of the bridges ...

And a marker which shows the floodline from 2004

Of course no walk is complete without a photo of Heinz field, where the Steelers play. Also a beautiful stadium... right on the water!

This is the point... where you can walk or bike to and just sit and enjoy the beauty before you!

And as we continued to walk back towards Station Square where we were staying, I looked back to capture this image!

And of course, a pic of me and the Hubs... :) It was a bright sunny day, so the hat was useful but i prob should have put my sunglasses on!

We continued to walk back and right as we crossed the bridge, I snapped a photo of where the wedding recpetion would take place... The Grand Concourse!

After a hot sweaty morning of a lot of walking, we finally made it back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. It was such a great morning of quality time spent, a beautiful city explored and anticipation of witnessing a beautiful ceremony later in the day... stay tuned for those photos!  :)

Pittsburgh, A Mini-Downtown Exploration

The Husband and I explored Downtown Pittsburgh in the short amount of time we had by first, stopping to eat at Delucas

After breakfast we decided to walk the river front. If you don't know, downtown Pittsburgh is located where the two rivers meet to form the Ohio River: the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. They have created beautiful walk/bike paths along the river front (which in downtown is almost everywhere) so that the beauty of the river can be explored. You can imagine b/c of how the city is built around the rivers, there are plenty of bridges... Here are a few shots that we took along our walk...

Heinz is huge in Pittsbugh (little did I know...), so the football stadium is named Heinz field, many other buildings bear the name "Heinz" and you pretty much see it everywhere. It's pretty cool b/c its such a familiar thing to me but i had no clue how huge it was in Pittsburgh or that it even came from there... check out some of these photos...

Along the walk/bike path there were some benches and in front of these benches was this stone...

I made hubby strike a pose ;)

I bought a hat at this little vendor near breakfast... best idea ever since the weather was hot!

And along side the river front was these murals by some students in the area

We had such a great time walking, but the best pictures are yet to come... well at least for you sports enthusiast...

If you haven't been to Pittsburgh, I highly suggest a visit. Husband and I are already planning another trip :)